# Compak E8 Grinder Periodically Spraying Everywhere...



## benbaldwin (Dec 30, 2011)

Hi,

I have had my Compak E8 Grinder for sometime now and for the most part, it's an amazing, super quick piece of grinding machinery that presences itself on my kitchen worktop ever so nicely! However, every now and then when I place the portafilter onto the holder to grind, the grinds spray all over the place and not directly into the basket as they 'normally' do.

Has anyone else had any experience of this? It's really ticking me off that something of this value is unable to grind into the basket each time, every time!

Thanks so much in advance!

Ben


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

I don't single dose, I use the smaller hopper. The only time I have an issue is when I've finished off the last set of beans then I'll take the hopper off, run the grinder and tap the top (where the hopper goes on) to clear it out.

Generally the next shot will be messy, it'll spray grinds everywhere and then it settles down again for the next grind.

Don't know if that helps but otherwise it seems super consistent to me.

Don't judge me


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## benbaldwin (Dec 30, 2011)

So, you weigh the beans and chuck them in the hopper and grind until nothing more comes out? (sorry if I've completely missed what you said!)


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Are you single dosing?


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## benbaldwin (Dec 30, 2011)

@froggystyle no I'm not. I used to single dose on my Mazzer Mini, but I have the small hopper on the Compak and go through approx 500g per week with ease so wanted to take advantage of the timer etc so I wasn't weighing in and out all the time. Why would that matter?


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

He said he does not single dose


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

I was just wondering why single dosing had been mentioned.

Light roasts or more developed?


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## benbaldwin (Dec 30, 2011)

Light roasts - nothing but Extract Dr Strangelove. I find it pretty annoying, especially if I've just cleaned up. Sometimes it will go for a few days of behaving and then randomly just spray everywhere... just a waste!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Is there a silicon flap up in the shute on the E8?


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## benbaldwin (Dec 30, 2011)

Yes


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Any issue with it, bent, out of shape or anything?


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## benbaldwin (Dec 30, 2011)

looks completely fine to me.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

hmm god knows then, i know with my E10 if i use more developed beans they spray about a bit, but never had it with lighter beans.

Have you opened it up and had a check at the top of the chute?


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## benbaldwin (Dec 30, 2011)

oh no... I'm not the biggest fan of taking things apart! ha!


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

froggystyle said:


> I was just wondering why single dosing had been mentioned.
> 
> Light roasts or more developed?


I said I don't single dose because I didn't know if Ben does or doesn't (until he confirmed that he doesn't). I was thinking if single dosing it's a bit different.

Sorry Ben, as I said I just don't find that it sprays at all for me apart from after I've cleaned it out. I'm usually using light to medium roasts.

Don't judge me


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

If you've had the grinder a while, it may just need a clean. The curtain at the top of the chute can get pushed to one side and it's also possible for coffee to build up around that part of the cute after a long time without cleaning.

Cleaning is pretty easy. Undo the silver dome and remove (remembering to unscrew the crew which holds the burr adjustment). Then take off the plastic cover which holds the touchpad. It's then just a question of unscrewing the chute and taking it off. You'll be able to see the dosing curtain at this point, remove, clean everything up and you're done! 10 mins.


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## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

Just don't take the burrs off, as they have to be re-aligned by sight alone. I am not convinced mine are, but impossible to tell really.


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

I believe Reiss encountered the same issue and put it down moisture from the PF impacting. Check the Londinium forum for his findings


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

We've had a number of reports of this happening and with different causes. In all cases, the flap has moved or become twisted somehow, usually through cleaning but Compak think that it can be caused by moisture in different operating environments. Reiss may have found another potential cause too. It's easily resolved and whoever supplied your grinder should be able to supply a flap that is identical but made with slightly thicker rubber which has always resolved the issue in our experience.


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## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

foundrycoffeeroasters.com said:


> We've had a number of reports of this happening and with different causes. In all cases, the flap has moved or become twisted somehow, usually through cleaning but Compak think that it can be caused by moisture in different operating environments. Reiss may have found another potential cause too. It's easily resolved and whoever supplied your grinder should be able to supply a flap that is identical but made with slightly thicker rubber which has always resolved the issue in our experience.


Over time the flaps do seems to get bent out of shape and coffee creeps behind them, further compounding it.

I removed mine all together which solved my clumping issue but does add the fun of static


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## FranD (Nov 25, 2015)

I was another with this issue at first, and this was because the curtain was crooked. Quick poke to straighten it and it's been fine since.

Like Aaron says, they do seem as though they accumulate grinds behind them, makes me wonder whether I really purge enough to clear retention. I still get a certain degree of clumping, particularly when I'm going finer, but it doesn't particularly bother me anymore. It can sometimes make distribution a little difficult, but mostly I can just grind, tap and tamp with 4/5 shots pouring centre.


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

I'd recommend cleaning out the grinder at least once a month in a domestic setting, weekly in a commercial one. This will prevent the build up of coffee that occurs in every on demand grinder I've seen inside of.


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## lespresso (Aug 29, 2008)

if you don't dry your portafilter before placing it under the exit chute you are almost guaranteed to have trouble. A hot steaming PF is going to send moisture up the chute with the results reported here. Not sure the flap is the culprit tbh.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

This won't necessarily help but if it makes anyone feel better, I am having similar issues with my E37s. Sometimes it sprays, and sometimes the grinds pile up in the chute. The result is that it's anyone's guess how much coffee will actually come out, which renders the 'on demand' function a bit useless. I don't feel confident taking anything apart beyond whipping the top burr carrier off for normal cleaning and it looks fine in the grind chamber. I always have a dry PF when grinding (I wipe the basket with kitchen roll before each grind) but it still happens. I was just beginning to think 'should have got an E8 but it seems it's something that can happen to any OD grinder. I am also wondering if something is out of position or needs cleaning - but it's been like it from new so maybe it was the beans I seasoned it with? I hope you and I can find a solution.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

I have the E10, Santos 4 and Macap MC7, all OD grinders, all spray at random, more so on certain beans, all have similar chutes, maybe its just the design?


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## lespresso (Aug 29, 2008)

Locating your grinder hard against your steam wand presents a similar risk as not drying PF


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

Can anyone upload a video showing how the spraying action looks like?

T.


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## drude (Apr 22, 2013)

foundrycoffeeroasters.com said:


> I'd recommend cleaning out the grinder at least once a month in a domestic setting, weekly in a commercial one. This will prevent the build up of coffee that occurs in every on demand grinder I've seen inside of.


As a new E8 owner, I've not cleaned mine out yet. What would you recommend as a good routine? Reluctant to remove burrs if it can be avoided.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

having used an E37S for month now, I can say no spraying. On the whole, the same bean varietal. I have not mucked around with the static chute, it is as it came out of the box. Are you changing beans a lot? If so, then perhaps it is expected. And it would be interesting to see the spraying in action, if possible


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

drude said:


> As a new E8 owner, I've not cleaned mine out yet. What would you recommend as a good routine? Reluctant to remove burrs if it can be avoided.


Ok, so this is how you change the dosing curtain on the Compak E8. A decent clean would follow the same routine.

1. Turn off and unplug the grinder, remove the hopper from the top.

2. Remove the silver domed burr chamber plate. This is done by removing the three black screws on the top and fully unscrewing the bolt which you use to lock the burrs in place. As you lift off the silver plate, there is an orange rubber insulating cover that may be stuck in the silver domed cover. If it is sat on top of the burrs, remove this too. Be careful to keep hold of the fluffy washer things that are located with the screws.

3. Next, you need to remove the touchpad. First, remove the two small grub screws that you can now see having removed the silver plate (be careful when you refit these later as they don't need to be very tight at all, the plastic is at risk of splitting if too tight.) Next, you need to fully unscrew the bolt that is situated just above the chute which dispenses coffee into your porter filter. You'll probably hear a large bolt washer fall off behind it as you do, make sure you retrieve this as you'll need to put it back on when re-assembling (it sits just behind the plastic on the touchpad). You can now (gently) remove the touchpad - don't try to remove it completely as there are cables connected. It should just rest on the side of the grinder when removed. Be careful not to catch the fibre optic cables which supply the lights. If you do dislodge them, they just easily pop back in.

4. Now you will be able to see where the chute connects to the grinder body. Remove the screws that hold it in place and the chute can be easily removed.

5. You should now be able to see the dosing curtain which covers the hole where the coffee exits. Remove it by unscrewing the clamp. You can now clean all around, removing the coffee build up.

6. Thats it, now you just need to reverse what you did to get the grinder back together.

I know this sounds complicated but honestly, it's pretty simple. The whole job takes less than half an hour and there is no need to remove the burrs at all. Just to be clear, every incident of spraying that we have seen has been related to the curtain becoming twisted or moving out of place. There may well be different causes of this problem but reseating, cleaning or replacing the curtain with a slighter thicker one has solved the problem for all the grinders that we have dealt with.


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## @3aan (Mar 2, 2013)

I do single dosing, no problems with spraying whatsoever, 19 grams in and 19 grams out, retention? yes but do not take that in account, because the grinder is used in My coffee-trailer 6 kilo's in a row. ;-)


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## DC63 (Jan 16, 2011)

Buy a 58mm metal camera lens hood ebay fits nicely in basket no mess £3.39


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## lespresso (Aug 29, 2008)

I've been running some experiments with my E8 on this issue since this post was started. I think you will find that if you move your grinder to the opposite side of your machine to which your steam wand is on that you are likely to eliminate the issue. For the same reason it is much more likely to occur in winter when you have the windows shut in your kitchen and steaming saucepans than it is in summer. Taking the grinder apart should be a last resort: a clean dry kitchen towel folded up and carefully deployed up the exit chute should resolve it in seconds.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Having just taken almost half an hour to produce 2 cups of coffee this evening I feel very grumpy! I love my E8, I really do, but for goodness sake when it sprays I want to leave home!

Tonight it did it half way through the grind. I'd already made the first coffee, it was cooling on the worktop while I cleaned the chute with my 'patented' tool - a flattened drinking straw (and checked the flap was down), tipped the half quantity out of the basket and started again. Oh my! this time virtually the whole lot shot out and over the basket with such velocity it managed to clear the worktop altogether, landing across the floor and on the dog!! Mega clear up this time, a brush up the chute (on the end of the vac tube), a good look and the anti static flap is back down with not a speck of coffee grounds hiding anywhere. Then a quick sweep of the dog and I am ready to roll.

Managed it on the third go, and the fourth (the first cup of coffee was cold by now)!!!

I have been cleaning it every morning, carefully checking the flap isn't impeded by any grounds, and usually I have a trouble free day. I'm not sure I want to clean it every day really . . .

Do you think mine has the stiffer anti static flap, @foundrycoffeeroasters.com ? We bought it at the end of March.


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

MildredM said:


> Having just taken almost half an hour to produce 2 cups of coffee this evening I feel very grumpy! I love my E8, I really do, but for goodness sake when it sprays I want to leave home!
> 
> Tonight it did it half way through the grind. I'd already made the first coffee, it was cooling on the worktop while I cleaned the chute with my 'patented' tool - a flattened drinking straw (and checked the flap was down), tipped the half quantity out of the basket and started again. Oh my! this time virtually the whole lot shot out and over the basket with such velocity it managed to clear the worktop altogether, landing across the floor and on the dog!! Mega clear up this time, a brush up the chute (on the end of the vac tube), a good look and the anti static flap is back down with not a speck of coffee grounds hiding anywhere. Then a quick sweep of the dog and I am ready to roll.
> 
> ...


That doesn't sound good, ours never sprays at all and it does sound as though your flap isn't functioning properly at all. I couldn't say for fur whether Compak ship the grinders with the 0.5mm or the 1mm flap. I'd be happy to send you out a 1mm flap and you could see if that sorts out your issues?


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

foundrycoffeeroasters.com said:


> That doesn't sound good, ours never sprays at all and it does sound as though your flap isn't functioning properly at all. I couldn't say for fur whether Compak ship the grinders with the 0.5mm or the 1mm flap. I'd be happy to send you out a 1mm flap and you could see if that sorts out your issues?


Aww! Thanks, it does sound like my flap isn't functioning! I will message my addresss









I still love the grinder, just not this particular side of it


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Took it to bits to check this morning. This is what we found (after 2 grinds last night)!

  

The flap seems to be catching/binding once it gets angled.

We shaved a half mm off each side to see if that would help.

  

The flap is definitely 0.5mm by the way.

  

Made two cups then peered up to check. It is stuck again.










The coffee is perfect. 18.4g in, 28s, 35g out (Red Brick)










I bet the 1mm flap will be a (I almost said game changer) help!!


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## Rom (Jan 20, 2017)

Hmm, not good. I hope the new flap sorts this.

Loving the cup n saucer (non) combo


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

The flap didn't sort it, but we HAVE worked out *possibly* what the problem was. More soon.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Having trialled the new position of the grinder over the last few days I am pleased to say we have cracked it! No more periodic spraying!

The original position of the grinder was to the right of the machine, away from the steam wand. What we haven't noticed was that when I purged the steam it went into and then out of the drip tray - straight up the grinder chute!

Here is my technical drawing of the steam path superimposed over a handy photo.










Having moved the grinder to the dresser, well away from the machine, all is working as it should (and the Rocket looks far nicer on its own, and the grinder looks better on the dresser anyway) and the usual feeling of calm has reinstated itself in the kitchen


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Humidity is a killer on grinders


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

Shouldn't humidity make it better? It reduces static, so the drier it gets the worse it should behave.

T.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

I see it this way. If the steam was shooting up the chute then it was dampening the area least likely to benefit from being damp, in relation to static. (I know what I mean, I'm not very good at putting it into words).

A single drop of water to 18g of beans can make all the difference as the beans following the grind path into the shaker on something like the HG-1.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

dsc said:


> Shouldn't humidity make it better? It reduces static, so the drier it gets the worse it should behave.
> 
> T.


Agree I just said it is a killer, especially in commercial environments


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

Maybe it's a case of "too much of a good thing"







I'm fairly sure I've read elsewhere re moving grinders away from the machine and achieving better grind results.

T.


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## mmmatron (Jun 28, 2014)

I'm having similar problems with my E10 but it doesn't have an anti static flap. I think it's going on a little journey across the kitchen following your findings!


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

mmmatron said:


> I'm having similar problems with my E10 but it doesn't have an anti static flap. I think it's going on a little journey across the kitchen following your findings!


Mine almost went on a little journey straight through the window until I worked it out! Hope it does the trick with your E10.

I thought I wouldn't like it not adjacent to the machine but I actually like it more this way.

Let me know how yours behaves after a few days' trial


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Yay , you are sorted sometimes it is the simplest of things that throw us , I was starting to wonder what was a drift as mine has not,given me any of the issues you've had , I went really fine on my grind with last weeks coffee and well off my normal sweet spot and was expecting to have loads of issues dialling back in , suprised even me how easy this grinder is to use , dare I say I think I'm now starting to get attached to it .

great news you are all sorted


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

dsc said:


> Maybe it's a case of "too much of a good thing"
> 
> 
> 
> ...


In the case of the E8, the problem doesn't seem to have anything to do with static, or not directly at least. When the curtain is positioned correctly, the static is dissipated and the coffee exits the chute in a fairly orderly fashion. The problem arises when the curtain gets wet (from steam wands or excessive humidity in the environment). The humidity results in the plastic curtain distorting in shape, which then stops it doing its job properly.


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## mmmatron (Jun 28, 2014)

Would you recommend a flap for E10?


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

foundrycoffeeroasters.com said:


> In the case of the E8, the problem doesn't seem to have anything to do with static, or not directly at least. When the curtain is positioned correctly, the static is dissipated and the coffee exits the chute in a fairly orderly fashion. The problem arises when the curtain gets wet (from steam wands or excessive humidity in the environment). The humidity results in the plastic curtain distorting in shape, which then stops it doing its job properly.


What plastic is the curtain made from? From what I've read only Nylon absorbs quite a lot of water and can swell, other plastics do so as well but the affects are negligable.

T.


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

dsc said:


> What plastic is the curtain made from? From what I've read only Nylon absorbs quite a lot of water and can swell, other plastics do so as well but the affects are negligable.
> 
> T.


Not sure that it's actually plastic but moisture does seem to make it twist and move from its position. I could try and find out.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

How I see it is the moisture from [our] steam wand dampened the chute and exit path causing some clumping. It just took one clump to stay put under one side of the curtain with more ground coffee adding to it (snowball fashion) and before long the curtain ended up pushed up, the exit gap was smaller and thus distorting the flow.


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

MildredM said:


> How I see it is the moisture from [our] steam wand dampened the chute and exit path causing some clumping. It just took one clump to stay put under one side of the curtain with more ground coffee adding to it (snowball fashion) and before long the curtain ended up pushed up, the exit gap was smaller and thus distorting the flow.


Yes, that does make more sense.


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