Tight Grinds

Teaboy

I have a Niche Zero which I have had since the early days from indi gogo now I have an issue, I have started to lean more for lighter roasts and when trying for a long pre infusion I need tight grind, I have Zero on 9.5 setting but would like to go tighter however even at 9.5 she struggles and is not happy to the point of needing some lift lid on and off. I think I need to get a different grinder however I want something that will last well and with low to no (lol) retention.

I am unsure whether to get a Duo or wait patiently loosen grind and wait for the Philos if it’s any good.

I would appreciate any thoughts, thank you.

dfk41

Teaboy Righty ho! For some reason folks seem fixated with zero on their dial equalling the point at which burrs touch. Of course you can easily achieve that if you want. In theory, you can tighten the burrs beyond zero if needs be, until they touch. So I would not be concerned about going beyond 9.5, unless your burrs actually touch and chirp.

Teaboy

dfk41 I don’t have an issue with zero I have it zeroed at zero, the issue is stalling so I can’t go tighter not that I am unable to go tighter.

DavecUK

Teaboy Do you have a power meter you can pot on the grinder, so you can tell me how many watts it’s drawing? These grinders shouldn’t stall, it’s definitely not a thing!

Then contact Niche (after providing the data here and getting feedback), it could be a control board issue (there is a component on the board that stops the grinder is there is an overload because of a jam (foreign object). If this has gone out of specification, it could be causing the grinder to cut out when it shouldn’t.

Or (and this is not likely, but can happen), it has developed a motor issue and you may have to replace the motor gearbox….and easy enough job taking 10m.

Getting the power readings will go a long way to identifying the cause

Teaboy

DavecUK Hi Dave, thank you, unfortunately I do not have a plug in power meter, stalling only seems to occur with lighter roasts. I have just ordered a power meter.

DavecUK

Teaboy I have just ordered a power meter.

Handy things to have

simonc

How light a roast and where from?
I’ve had a niche that was very good, actually from Dave, but on a few very light beans it would stall.

Teaboy

simonc They were lightly roasted as I asked, they start off okay then a stall and motor hums so quickly lift lid wait a bit then pulse it with lid up and down and it gets through them, looking at @Cuprajake video I should probably get a Duo but @Cuprajake will your zero happily tightly say on setting 8 grind greens?

Teaboy

@DavecUK thank you for your help, draw at stall today was 240w, I can avoid stalling by only feeding few beans at a time, just it’s not happy for all beans to be dumped on top of plastic disc.

Thank you

Rob

DavecUK

Teaboy draw at stall today was 240w, I can avoid stalling by only feeding few beans at a time, just it’s not happy for all beans to be dumped on top of plastic disc.

That’s approaching the max before the safety system switches in. I guess you can feed in in 3 smaller batches.

I assume you have checked it’s clean inside, no caked on coffee and you are not using the gorilla gear burrs?

Teaboy

DavecUK thank you, all clean inside, still have the original koni burrs in, I just guess too light a roast and have to be careful.

DavecUK

Teaboy I do think too many roasters simply show the beans to the roaster and then pack them!

Too many roasters go far too light, I hope it’s a trend that will fall out of favour soon, so coffee tastes a bit more like coffee again.

MediumRoastSteam

Teaboy just guess too light a roast and have to be careful.

Where are the beans from?

I had a Zero from the start, mainly go for lighter stuff, and never had a problem.

Teaboy

MediumRoastSteam Hello, sorry I bought some very ebony mountain Ethiopian beans and I have to grind them soo fine and the beans are light as a feather too so NZ takes a while whilst the beans float to the burrs. I am not a fan of full roast just needed some for cooking, anyhow I made some flatties for good measure and bad art practice, I don’t often have milky coffees. I am puzzled the finest of grind is needed, so super fine or waterfall happens.

thank you for your help.

MediumRoastSteam

Teaboy -

Strange. A picture would be good. I don’t understand how ebony and light roast can be in the same sentence. 😊

Ebony is usually associated with very dark, but you then say light roast?

And yes, very dark beans, oily, can require a very fine grind. And your grinder might become messy inside. Is your grinder clean inside?

Teaboy

MediumRoastSteam sorry the beans weight is soo light, grinder is spotless I take burrs out at every coffee change, probably ott, I am looking forward to my kaffelogic arrival sometime in the future then I can roast to a good point.