# Just bought a beast - Any advice on taming it?



## Daily_Grind (Jan 25, 2015)

Watched this on fleabay for a few days and saw no one bidding. Listed with little info except "left behind in coffee shop" & "don't even know if it works". Gambled a last few seconds max bid of £20 and beat one other bidder with same tactic. Mine for £5.51 !!!

Just got it home and basically the motor runs & sounds smooth, but it's in a grotty state (yes, that is mould on the beans left behind in the throat). So about to start stripping it down. May need new burrs etc but we'll see.

Would be grateful for any info on what other badged versions exist, what spares are compatible, is it likely to be any good etc etc.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Talk to marcuswar, pretty sure he has one of those and knows about modding it etc.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Looks a bit Rossi/Brasilia to me (RR45)


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

Yeah it's a Brasilia basically. Should be easy enough to clean up and get new burrs

Totally bonza bargain. Well done that man there!


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Amazing price!


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## Mr O (Jan 14, 2015)

Great buy mate, keep posting photos of the refurb


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## Mouse (Feb 28, 2014)

With a bit of love, this will end up gleaming I reckon!


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## Daily_Grind (Jan 25, 2015)

Mr O said:


> Great buy mate, keep posting photos of the refurb


So far have it dismantled and basically just needs a damn good clean; enough thick oily residue to reproof a Barbour jacket.

Burrs don't look at all damaged but I think they are worn. Though have no experience or indeed new ones to compare them with. Will post some sharp close-up pics when I manage to free off the screws & remove them.

No 'end float' detected in the motor bearings, and as stated when I ran it up the other day, sounds smooth & quiet. So that's all good.


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## marcuswar (Aug 19, 2013)

DoubleShot said:


> Talk to marcuswar, pretty sure he has one of those and knows about modding it etc.


Yep, that's a Rossi / Brasilia RR45... sort of baby brother of mine (RR55OD & RR55). That looks to have the 40 click adjustment collar whereas the 55's have 80 positions of adjustment. I believe its a simple job to swap the adjustment collar and locking button to effectively upgrade to the 80 one, if you can find the parts!. Alternatively it's possible to get infinite adjustment by simply unscrewing the top burr collar and removing the locking button completely and then just add some form of screw arrangement to push up against the collar to lock it in place.

One thing to note is that since Brasilia went bankrupt a couple of years ago the burrs may start to get harder to find, so probably worth getting a set (~£25-£30) now as they will probably last a lifetime in a domestic environment.

I think there is a magnetic hopper interlock on that model as well so a good mod is to short this out so you can junk the large hopper and use something smaller (collapsible rubber camera lens hood).

If you are giving it a "deep clean" then DO NOT lever the lower burr carrier off with a screwdriver or jack it off with screws through the burr fitting holes! It is VERY easy to warp them slightly and then you'll struggle to get a consistent grind. The best method is to simply remove the central nut and washer, unscrew the burrs and then heat the lower burr carrier with an electric paint stripper gun for a 5-10 seconds. The carrier should then expand and pop off easily (wear gloves!). I use a couple of allen keys to get under the carrier and just lift it off.


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## marcuswar (Aug 19, 2013)

Ohh , fogot to say... ABSOLUTE BARGAIN , WELL DONE !


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

Just drag your finger across the blades, you can tell whether they feel sharp edged or not


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Preferably when the machine is not running


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## Daily_Grind (Jan 25, 2015)

I wouldn't presume for one minute that anyone's been on the edge of their seat waiting for this but ..... The beast is back in service.







and I'm going to call it Shrek. Big, ugly, but kinda lovable all the same for producing nice fluffy grounds to help me improve my coffee (actually remove the excuse of blaming equipment and concentrate more on technique).

Main delay was tracking down & waiting for new burrs (Should've just gone to Happy Donkey in the first place).

All pretty straightforward and very rewarding, particularly in light of the outrageously cheap price I paid. Still can't believe my luck really. Here's a few pics of the yukky bits, clean bits and the finished article:


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## @3aan (Mar 2, 2013)

Thats no beast, thats a baby.


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## samjfranklin (Jan 1, 2015)

Awesome work and so cheap too! Maybe you could mod it to remove the doser?


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## Daily_Grind (Jan 25, 2015)

samjfranklin said:


> Maybe you could mod it to remove the doser?


I'm all over it. Love its efficiency, hate the faf of sweeping out the doser after every small batch I need. Got some ideas already and will be posting on the appropriate thread I found the other day.


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

Leave the doser in place and just do a sweep clean mod on the vanes. Should be easy enough to do.


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## Daily_Grind (Jan 25, 2015)

CamV6 said:


> Leave the doser in place and just do a sweep clean mod on the vanes. Should be easy enough to do.


You mean remove the vanes?


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## marcuswar (Aug 19, 2013)

I think Cam means add some extra cardboard or plastic pieces to the vanes ala Mazzer Doser mod so that they sweep the bottom of the Doser fully.


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## Daily_Grind (Jan 25, 2015)

OK, I see.

While they are reasonably efficient at sweeping the floor of the doser on the way round, it's more a case of clearing up all the static loaded grounds off the wall/central spindle/top of the vanes. I know static is a whole other issue, but I think I'd prefer to mod it somehow with a funnel attached to the top ring (then deal with whatever static that produces).


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

I get static with mine, all the grounds stick to the side around the opening. You could try the tin drinks can mod although I tried it and took it off as I couldn't get all the grounds out of the exit hole. I just hold a brush in front of the exit hole now and they all fall down. Bit of a faff but works for me.

Have a look to see if you can get the 80 step ring etc. and if thee is any play on the upper burr carrier wrap one wind of ptfe tape round it before screwing it back on. Can't say there are many knocking around on the forum. I like mine but don't know what it compares to tbh.


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## Daily_Grind (Jan 25, 2015)

Odd thing is, I was reading another thread at the w/e all about static probs people were having with these but mine hardly had any. Today I unplugged/moved it then put back in the same socket and suddenly its coating the doser insides with static charged particles. Will be investigating this phenomenon further.

Whilst trawling t'internet for burrs I didn't find much hope of sourcing an 80 step ring, so unless I get lucky & find a used part, think I might make it step-less with some sort of locking screw arangement.

Oh, and yes I have used ptfe on the threads, but there's still a slight movement because the spring loaded retaining pin seems to have worn away a little at its hole. Will maybe try a couple more layers tomorrow.


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## marcuswar (Aug 19, 2013)

After spending months with static issues and now having my RR55OD static free, I think I can say with 99% certainty that the static isn't to do with electricity supply or plug sockets. It's down to the speed of the grinds exiting the chute, the atmospheric humidity, the ambient temperature and the beans themselves.

A metal flap at the just the right angle WILL fix it.. but it's hard to find that magic angle. To deal with the build up of grinds behind the flap just use a collapsible camera hood as a replacement hopper and give it a thwack to "puff" the retained grinds out.


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