Do you clean your grinder?

the beer revolu

I got a notion to clean my Rancillio Rocky yesterday as it occurred to me that in the 5 years I have it, I've never actually cleaned it.

So, I took off the hopper and removed the top burr and cleaned everything. The amount of coffee grinds, gunk, resin and crap in there was shocking.

Next job is a simple mod to make it stepless - I just need a couple of bits.

So, do people clean their grinders and if so, how often?

ArrBee

Never cleaned mine in about 7yrs. Maybe I should.

Kurooi

Never occurred to me... Grinder is pushing 3 years now...

the beer revolu

I think you should 😜

Kurooi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121710223#Comment_121710223

At this point I'd just traumatize myself....

2011abc

Manual / hand grinder I do every 1-4 weeks .Could be placebo effect but doing that and /or new Brita kettle water filter to me makes noticeble difference to pourover quality

alec76

I do clean my grinders and also service my car regularly, I know some people just don’t bother:)

Krusty_Clown

Absolutely! Every 4-5 months. My grinder is around 15 years old and used to sit in a coffee shop, grinding thousands of doses a day. Still works like new. Usually try to get through the grinder, espresso machine and roaster in the same weekend.

fullstop

Yes, about once a year.

Hodors Appletart

yeah, every few months

ballyharpat

yeah about twice a year.

3d4life

Not before I came across this thread 😌

Planet X

Prompted me also…….could be 3-4 years. Gave it the vacuum cleaner etc etc. A lot of build up blockage in shoot ……she’s suckin’ diesel now.

9jamie

I grind about 1-2 shots a day, few times a week, Eureka Mignon MCI which is set up as no retention, inclined with a bellows. I clean it out maybe twice a year - I find because of the lack of retention with my setup, the only part that needs cleaning is underneath the burr housing. Fortunately, I don't find 'cooked coffee', but I have seen this pretty bad on other grinders and it's absolutely necessary to clean grinders that accumulate and bake coffee, particularly those using hoppers.

cbreeze

I've a little Krups one which I clean every time I use it. It's easy because the blade is accessible

BrimstoneCoffee

I clean mine on a regular basis. I think it's definitely something that needs done, at least once in a while.

Krusty_Clown

James Hoffman uploaded a video on coffee equipment maintenance. Interesting enough (I'd have been doing most of this anyway), but not a chance I'd be doing it with that frequency. My basket and shower screen get cleaned every three months, at the same time as the descaling! I like the tip about using citric acid. Must pick up some.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl7kuC1IQ-g

CorkBoyInDub

So I want to preface this post with two points and you'll see why

1. I've never been a huge coffee person
2. I'm also a bit of an idiot

About 18 months ago myself and my wife moved in to a new house and she wanted to get a nice new coffee machine. I was always a cup every few days type of person so it didn't bother me but we ended up going for quite a good machine - the Sage Barista Pro. Since then I've began drinking coffee more regularly so the machine get's put to good use. I have never thought of properly cleaning the grinder out.

Lately it's started to make a loud grinding noise and the machine is out of action. When I opened it all up I noticed there was a felt washer there which was useless it was so worn down. I'm guessing that's where the issue is. Does anyone know where to buy one of these? They have them on the Sage website but they're €16+ incl delivery which feels steep. Can't find them anywhere else online though.

Krusty_Clown

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122384310#Comment_122384310

You've got to identify the part number. If it's a generic part (like an o-ring) you can search for it and get it much cheaper. See if you can find it here: https://www.coffeesparesdirect.co.uk/domestic-machine-spares/sage-bean-to-cup-spares

the beer revolu

Now I've started this thread I guess I have to regularly clean my grinder!

Did it again yesterday 😊