tompoland
Thanks, Tom! I fully suspect it’s something I’m doing wrong, I’m just not sure what to try adjusting next.
LMSC
Thanks for the suggestions, LMSC. I guess that’s one question I’m still unsure on—say I do a deep clean and find the best position (set sticker at 4 o’clock for me, which gives burr chirp at 0.5 on the dial). After grinding a few doses, burr chirp no longer happens at 0.5 marks, so is it safe to grind finer than this point? If it is, then if I were to recalibrate the 0 point to where clean burrs chirp, I’d still be needing to grind below 0. I realize that the 0 point is just a number, and I could set it above zero in anticipation that the burr chirp point will move lower after use. This just seems inconsistent with the experience that others have described.
And yes, the videos have been very helpful!
MediumRoastSteam
Thanks for these questions!
1) I’m using the burrs in the black carriers that came preinstalled, so unless the burrs were put into the wrong carriers, they should be correct. I just compared them, and the ones I’ve been using (presumably espresso) seem to have more shallow teeth around the edge, whereas the other set (presumably filter) have edge teeth that protrude upward more. Does that sound correct? Is there another aspect of the geometry I could check?
2) I haven’t done any alignment (e.g., shims) or zero calibration, I’ve just checked which of the three positions allow me to go lowest on the dial before the burrs touch, and I’ve always checked this after cleaning.
3) Yes, it’s been tight every time I’ve taken the top burr out.
4) Springs are in place. I definitely noted that in the manual—I could easily have seen me vacuuming them out had it not been described in the manual. :)
5) Yes, I’ve tried the three different positions, and I’ve made sure the top burr is “springy” when pushed down. When clean, the factory position (12 o’clock) consistently gives burr chirp around mark 3, and the other two positions give burr chirp around mark 0.5.
Contacting Niche sounds like a good idea. Thanks!