I thought I'd set up a general Solo / DF64 thread for any owners on here that wanted to discuss the grinder / modifications etc. I've stumbled across this webpage which gives numerous 3D print mods for the grinder, which may be of interest: https://www.yeggi.com/q/df64/ Has anyone changed the clump crusher on theirs? I cleaned my grinder out yesterday (original model & 1st release) and I'm wondering whether a new clump crusher might be worth investigating. Has anyone installed any of the clump crushers from the site above? Would they recommend any of them?

@"dutchy101"#p8235 I have an early one, I left the exit alone, which appeared to be some kind of membrane, with a slit/s in it?

Yes, that's the one @"DavecUK"#1 . I didn't realise you still had yours. I remember the clump crusher being a bit of a bug-bear for a few of the early adopters, particularly one user but if I recall correctly, they were quite fond of quite oily dark beans, which probably affected the mechanism more for him than most. It's not something I've really given much consideration to until yesterday when the bellows were getting quite hard to work - they'd push down and stick. I assumed the chute was getting a bit blocked by a build-up of grinds and when I took the top off there was a fair amount of coffee around the chute chamber. It broke off very easily with a cocktail stick and the vacuum cleaner got it all out so it may have just been more of a sign to give the grinder a clean than anything else. Now I'm back at work, I can access a 3D printer so was wondering whether it's worth giving a go to a new clump crusher

> @"dutchy101"#p8247 Now I’m back at work, I can access a 3D printer so was wondering whether it’s worth giving a go to a new clump crusher I think my clump crusher loosened up with usage….so I didn't get any problems. I wonder if people removed em too soon?

That's a good point. The complaints seemed to be within a few days / weeks of ownership.

@"dutchy101"#p8235 I did this mod and I quite like it: https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/58285-new-g-iota-df64-solo-64mm-flat-burr-single-dosing-grinder/?do=findComment&comment=845046

So I've just upgraded the burrs to Mazzers looking forward to seeing what difference they make. My new point zero is about -15 now -haha Was surprised how much build up there was underneath the original burrs. [URL=https://i.imgur.com/Ft7vbx5.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/Ft7vbx5.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

@"dutchy101"#p17882 the dial plastic can be heated with a hair drier, unpeeled and reattached at zero, if that becomes an ocd issue :)

Cheers I've got a 3d printed pointer which works perfectly but will bear this in mind. I've seen Bella Barista are selling replacement ones with the better font which I might get at some point.

@"dutchy101"#p8235 I have tried a few mods some more successful than others. I am currently using this clump crusher and am very happy with it. My grinds are very fluffy and no clumps to be found. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4885588 I have recently discovered that I was over prepping my basket and getting channeling and wildly differing pours. I was grinding with RDT then WDT distributing then tamping thinking I would get consistency. I am fairly new to manual espresso lately. Now I grind into portafilter use the wdt tool to very gently spread grinds evenly careful not to do too much deep prep or over stirring, basically using the WDT tool to level the grinds nicely then tamp. Now my pours are much better and consistent. I believe I may have been allowing the fines to fall to bottom of basket and clog holes causing excess pressure and channeling. less seems to be more in this instance. I also have an anti-popcorn device installed which I believe may help consistency. However on occasion if you dump all beans in at beginning then turn on machine it may only grind a few of the beans and then you will find the rest sitting atop the popcorn device waiting to drop, but a push with your finger solves the issue. I have also tried a different clump crushers not listed above that actually removes the clump crusher all together and focuses on flow and zero dust. I did find that I could completely clog the grinder if I ground close to touch point and fed all the beans at once. If feeding slowly there were no issues. It did produce very nice fluffy grinds with no clumps and very little mess. The download files are located here: [https://grabcad.com/library/df64-exit-c ... ownspout-1](https://grabcad.com/library/df64-exit-chute-and-downspout-1) and the original post is: https://www.home-barista.com/grinders/hacking-df64-exit-chute-t79493.html I may revisit the above chute since i have changed my prep routine and am grinding quite a bit coarser now and the clogging issue may be non existent then. However the grinds are so nice with zero retention with the first clump crusher there really is no reason to change.

@"BBritton"#p17899 Thanks. After changing my burrs yesterday and giving the grinder a thorough clean I decided to take a look at an alternative clump crusher and have gone with this one: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1158485851/turin-df64-declumperanti-static-screen?transaction_id=3020828443&campaign_label=proteus_transaction_buyer_notification_boe_convo_url_treatment&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=proteus_transaction_buyer_notification_boe_convo_url_treatment_010170_419265317394_0_0&utm_medium=email&utm_content=&email_sent=1652997729&euid=XVFPIHGp1NIXnN9lOnHcg1eD4uLt&eaid=1034529098115&x_eaid=d3a88a7d73&verification_code=a1c48cf0c26f9fc6d535133c3d8c0f4b Annoyingly I've just noticed it is shipped from the US.

The General Solo / DF64 Thread

dutchy101

Initially I tried with the marker test for alignment but gave up trying to shim until I saw a video that helped me with this (the key was to put a hole through the folded foil for the screw to go though that would hold the shim in place. I ordered a new sticker for the dial and then redid the burrs a couple of weeks ago. Pretty much perfect alignment now.

pete4eyes

dutchy101 nice! My issue is the inner diameter of the burr. Seems the 033m are 37mm but the italmil are 38mm and the burr isn’t happy with the carrier. Will check it out again tomorrow and maybe file the inner edge of the burr down a touch… 0.5mm all the way around ain’t much…! But maybe tolerances meant yours was fine. Lucky me…

dutchy101

pete4eyes

Ah that’s a shame. I didn’t have that issue fortunately. Hope you can sort it

FadedFrontiers

pete4eyes yeah I had the same issue with the inner diameter being slightly too small and causing a tilt. I tried best to centre it using foil, checked with the marker method and although alignment seemed okay I didn’t notice a major difference between them and the Italmills so in the end switched back.

It’s an annoyingly slight difference in sizes. As you say filling the inside burr surface should do the job otherwise if you can find something to add some height to where it sits on the bottom burr holder ever so slightly that could also fix it.

This may work if it’s thick enough, but I haven’t tried it, just going by pictures: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1251632818/df64-burr-gasket

pete4eyes

dutchy101 thanks! Should be fine eventually. No turning back now as I’ve spent the money on the burrs haha.

pete4eyes

I’ve gone down a slightly different road and ordered a spare bottom burr carrier from Bella barista for £15. Going to see if it has the same issue and if it does the. I’ll modify the carrier rather than the burr. But if I’m lucky, it’ll just fit…

@FadedFrontiers , that spacer(?) probably would do the job as well, nice find. Will keep it in mind if my above plan fails

dutchy101

Was going to mentio the bottom burr carrier at BB. Hope it solves it for you.

pete4eyes

@dutchy101 cos I know you’re dying to know…! New carrier arrived. Fit is much better. Inner diameter of the burr doesn’t interfere with this carrier vs the one that came with my grinder.
I’ve done a bad job of alignment to the upper burr and have about 3 steps between first touch and 100% touching. Will repeat the alignment process when I’m not tired next time I clean the grinder. Touching point is at circa 30 on the original adjustment ring but I’ve also bought a new sticker so will remove and stick this one down once I’ve redone the alignment so it is set to zero = touching point.

dutchy101

Great stuff. Annoying that you’ve had to purchase the new carrier to do this though. I’m sure once the new burrs are seasoned it will all be worthwhile

pete4eyes

Fingers crossed! Had to grind about 5 steps coarser from touching point than with the italmil burrs and still got a very slow extraction this morning. At the same count from touching it just totally choked and had to abandon that shot. I think that suggests a more uniform grind than before but that might just be alignment rather than the burrs themselves? Time will tell…!

Kape17

pete4eyes Hello, can you give us the latest update on the mazzer burr on your DF64 before I dive into the rabbit hole so to speak? Thank you

pete4eyes

Kape17 hey, I’d say it’s worth the faff. Though I kind of enjoy the faff… noticeable improvement in grind quality and flavour on both filter and espresso in my limited opinion.

Kape17

pete4eyes I installed the mazzer burr on my Turin, testing it this morning. I have read a lot of good things about it.

Kape17

pete4eyes I have the mazzer 233m I did not have an issue with the fitting, the burr fitted perfectly. How many pounds of beans to season the burr?

MediumRoastSteam

Kape17 - interesting. I got curious to find out about the 233M rather than the most common 0033M burr set.

Apparently, the 233M are the newly re-designed version:

https://www.home-barista.com/advice/mazzer-super-jolly-for-home-use-in-2022-t81069-10.html

FadedFrontiers

MediumRoastSteam interesting, there’s a lot of big claims about these new burrs in that thread which I’m skeptical about.

Seems like the biggest advantage is faster grinding time which I’d assume would negatively impact overall uniformity with a more aggressive pre-breaking geometry, except some users suggested it’s somehow both quicker and better tasting than SSP HUs.

Still even having a comparable performance is good value for ⅕ of the price, same with the 33m and 189d.

MediumRoastSteam

FadedFrontiers Ditto!

@Kape17 - If you don’t mind me asking, where did you buy the burrs from?

Kape17

MediumRoastSteam

MediumRoastSteam I bought it from Amazon.

Kape17

Just an update on my Mazzer burr 233M. This was my second test. Bean - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Natural light roast (fine grind on 6) 17g to 50g in 40sec , taste is on the fruity note, medium body. Lever profile on the V.

As it was reviewed by others. It is 20-30% faster than the stock italmill burr. I will test more as the burr get more seasoned.

FadedFrontiers

To add to the growing list of DF64 versions out there, there’s a variable rpm one (v model) being released:

DavecUK

FadedFrontiers Seems like they are really getting their act together….not sure how useful variable speed it….but they have it.

« Previous Page Next Page »