I can only imagine that the IMS basket is slightly narrower than the Lelit.
If you dose less in the Lelit basket the puck should not stick to the shower screen.
Perhaps a different basket :IMS competition, VST, Pesado might help.

Oh, have you done the 5cent test for head space?
Prep a basket and put a 5cent piece(any small thin coin) on top.
Fit the basket to the group and then remove it without pulling the shot.
The coin should have left a very slight indentation in the top of the puck.
If the coin has been pushed deep into the puck then there is not enough head space.

    Amberale - you are missing the point. The basket is empty when it sticks. It doesn’t stick with coffee in. 😊😉👍

    MBdoc ideas. The basket doesn’t stick if it’s full of coffee only when it is empty during initial warmup. It’s an IMS basket on Lelit Elizabeth.

    For what’s worth, I used IMS, VST, Lelit original (now it’s made by IMS anyway) and never* had this problem.

    *It did happen to me a couple of times, but only when the basket was wet (e.g: I washed the basket beforehand) and I then went about the warm up routine.

    All with the Elizabeth.

          I hadn’t heard about this one. I find with 20g in my IMS basket there is no indentation I I remove the dry filled basket. After pulling the shot there is a definite impression of the screen and a little liquid on top of the puck.

          I don’t think any of this is relevant to my problem as the stuck basket only happens when the empty basket in the portafilter is kicked into the brew head and after it has heated up. It never happens when everything is cold.

          I am going to slacken off the retaining screw so it is just past snug to allow the brass disc to move a little so it can center itself in the basket to see if that solves the problem. I don’t think it should matter if the brass disc is able to move slightly as I think the important seal is between the rim of the basket and the gasket in the brew head so any slight leak through the red o ring undervtgd brass disc shouldn’t matter.

          Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

            MBdoc - well… if the screw is too tight, water somehow gets behind the gasket. I used to have this issue, email lelit at the time and everything. I could even squeeze the gasket with a chopstick or something blunt and water would come out. Since then I only tighten the screw literally hand tight, and then s further quarter turn. My “stop” point is when the shower screen can no longer be rotated with your fingers.

            Not sure if this helps but worth a try.

              MediumRoastSteam

              Sorry it was early morning and I hadn’t been properly caffienated. :(

              My thinking was along these lines;
              Mbdoc was having pucks stick with the original basket=possible overdosing.
              IMS basket sticking when warming up=possible smaller than original basket.

              If the original basket doesn’t stick then the problem is the new basket.
              If dosing the old basket slightly lower stops the puck sticking issue then problem solved.
              Does that make sense?
              :)

                I get this with my Minima. I’m using a ridgeless VST basket. I try to drop the shower screen every couple of days and wash it in water with washing up liquid - seems to help

                Thanks for all these ideas.

                I am clearly confusing some of you with my previous references to sticking pucks (ie the puck sticking to the shore screen). This is not the problem since I changed to 18g IMS ridgeless basket which easily accommodated my 20g dose for our two morning lattes. On my other Elizabeth I have a similar VST basket and, as far as I can tell they perform identically.

                This problem is only that the basket locks onto the brewhead sometimes when I fit the portafilter just snugly on the brewhead when the machine is cold and try to remove it when it is hot. Usually a wiggle of the portafilter frees it but my post a few days ago was prompted by the basket being so solidly jammed on the brewhead that it wouldn’t release until I levered it off with a teaspoon. It’s too hot to try to remove it by hand and wiggling the portafilter wouldn’t release it.

                My conclusion is that it must be caused by the basket and brass disc being slightly non concentric so that if the disc is solidly locked by the central screw the basket will jam if it is rotated slightly so that the eccentricity locks it in the groove between the brewhead and the brass disc.

                I hope that by only tightening the central screw just snug it will allow the disc to shift slightly to maintain concentricity with the basket and allow even clearance all round.

                I hope this rather lengthy explanation helps to clear up any confusion about whether it is the puck or the basket that is the problem.

                If anyone has advice about the effect of any leaking between the red o ring and the brass disc due to the fixing screw being too slack I would appreciate it.

                Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                  MBdoc My conclusion is that it must be caused by the basket and brass disc being slightly non concentric so that if the disc is solidly locked by the central screw the basket will jam if it is rotated slightly so that the eccentricity locks it in the groove between the brewhead and the brass disc.

                  But wouldn’t the exact same happen with coffee in it? And, as you say, happens without coffee, but doesn’t happen with coffee?

                  MBdoc If anyone has advice about the effect of any leaking between the red o ring and the brass disc due to the fixing screw being too slack I would appreciate it.

                  It depends what “too slack” mean. As per my post above, that screw should not be too tight anyway, it it does, it will cause some issues, which may well be related to what you experience.

                  So yeah, literally hand tighten the screw and then a further quarter turn (or two) until you can’t rotate the shower screen as a starting point.

                      Thanks for this comment. I agree it is a bit odd but I assumed it was because without any coffee the basket can move very slightly further upwards so it is more likely to jam. However, that said, as I only fit the portafilter so it just locks in place and don’t force the lever to the full lock position this doesn’t seem very likely.

                      Anyway, this morning with the central screw just snug the basket was quite free and I think it was a bit easier to lock the portafilter fully than usual.

                      Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                        MBdoc this seems strange, in all honesty. Is the gasket (seal) properly seated? try removing it, give it a good clean on the group and the seal, and see if that helps.

                        MBdoc On my other Elizabeth I have a similar VST basket and

                        To eliminate culprits, you could swap the brass dispersion plates (If I read correctly you have two Elizabeths?) and see if the problem gores away snd manifests itself on the other one.

                            A good idea. Unfortunately they are in two different countries!

                            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                            If only the IMS cart is stuck and not others, the problem is in the cart. I had the same problem with the IMS The Single h.19.5 basket, but I think it was because it was too low. So I just don’t use it…

                            You might be right. I can’t remember if it happened with the VST basket or not.

                            However if loosening the screw fixes the problem I won’t need to change anything else. Time will tell.

                            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                            It your machine originally used ridged baskets it’s unlikely to hold a ridgeless well. An easy answer to getting ridged out if that was a problem is an extraction tool. Amazon,. few quid and 1st class post included

                            An empty basket sticking, strange, I had some odd problems with an OE rubber seal on one machine but the problem wasn’t yours. Replaced with a part made by a company with the name of CafeLat or something like - carefully selected grade of silicone rubber.

                            Coin test, IMS basket, I’ve found it’s not a good idea to assume that the capacity IMS state will be correct on all machines. To be pretty sure the basket isn’t overloaded I’d suggest no impression from a 5p coin but some would suggest a 1p.

                            Thanks for the ideas.

                            I changed to the ridgeless basket because with my favoured 19-20g load the puck was sticking badly as the tapered basket wouldn’t cope with this load. The ridgeless baskets have straight sides so hold the higher load easily with only a light impression of the strainer on the puck after the shot.

                            The problem with sticking is only with basket empty never after a shot.

                            I suppose it could be sticking onto the rubber gasket but I assumed it was the brass plate as there is a definite score mark on the inside of the basket at about the bottom of the brass disc level.

                            I do clean the gasket after each shot with a ring brush so it shouldn’t get dirty enough to stick but next time I clean the portafilter, screen etc with detergent I will give the ring a good scrub with the so,Union as well.

                            I will see how it goes with the centre screw just snug.

                            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                            19 days later

                            A short update.

                            I am now back in France and using the VST 18G ridgeless basket. This one doesn’t stick and no mark on the inside of the basket has appeared. Maybe the IMS basket is very slightly smaller in ID so that it just binds on the brass disc. I might take the VST basket back with me and try it on the UK machine to check.

                            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                            4 months later

                            A, hopefully, final update on my experience with sticking baskets.
                            An earlier idea was that the sticking was caused by the thick brass disc being slightly off centre and thus binding on one side of the basket. My solution was to leave the securing screw only just tight enough to snug the brass disc against the rubber O ring. This did seem to work initially but latterly I have been getting sticking again with my VST 18g basket.
                            New thoughts are that maybe by leaving the brass disc looser it is sitting lower down and thus engages deeper into the basket and sticks as the basket narrows slightly towards the bottom.
                            I have now tightened the centre screw much more so the O ring is compressed and hence the brass disc closer to the portafilter mount.
                            So far it has worked.

                            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum