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

Alex_L

That makes sense. Seems like I’ll have another go tonight after the kids are down at cleaning, reinstalling them and checking the top burr alignment.

DavecUK

Alex_L That makes sense. Seems like I’ll have another go tonight after the kids are down at cleaning, reinstalling them and checking the top burr alignment.

Of course if the bottom burr shaft is perpendicular and normal to the axis of rotation, then the bottom burr might indeed need shimming, or both might need shimming. This is always the difficulty with shimming and I do think the influencers make it look too simplistic.

Try top burr, can you get an even touch on both burrs. If no, which burr is even and which not
Then work out which out of the two burrs might be misaligned, one or both e.g. if the top burr has a partial touch and the bottom burr even all the way round…probably top burr is misaligned.
If bottom burr is uneven and top burr uneven, bottom burr is misaligned and possibly top burr as well
etc…
etc..

You may have to remove shims from burrs to try and work things out

Alex_L

Thanks - I’ll work through those steps and see where I get to. I suspect this will be harder than the videos suggest….

FadedFrontiers

Alex_L does the Mazzer burr fully fit and sit flat in the bottom burr holder? Me and some others found that the middle part of the burr holder was slightly too large for the Mazzers resulting in a wobble, so it may be that. If so I wouldn’t bother shimming, it won’t fix it fully.

Another user found success replacing the bottom burr housing but you aren’t guaranteed that it will fix it either.

PartySausage

There’s always the possibility that the bottom burr might not be sitting on the burr carrier correctly. The inner diameter of Italmill burrs is listed as 38mm with the Mazzer’s 37mm.
The Mazzer 033M/233M burrs are reported to fit the DF64 but with some of the burr carriers the tolerance isn’t that great & they don’t fit.
I’ve got some 233M burrs to fit to my DF64 when I get round to it though I don’t know until I get in there whether they’ll fit or not

Alex_L

FadedFrontiers I think that might be the issue. Just switched the bottom burr with the original italmil and subtlety the original sits much better on the carrier. Looks like back to stock and a very lightly used set heading to eBay.

Maybe time to upgrade to the niche duo 😂

FadedFrontiers

Alex_L it’s a pain but at least you’re spoilt for choice with the other 64mms that will fit it. Plenty out there to experiment with, just ask @tompoland who has a few 😁

DavecUK

Alex_L Maybe time to upgrade to the niche duo 😂

You wouldn’t regret it….

tompoland

FadedFrontiers my favorite to date are the Goriila Gear for rich full bodied espresso. But if you want bright and juicy especially with light roasted espresso the SSP HU would be hard to beat.

mattp

Hi, I have a Solo DF64 v1, couple of years old and after the last clean out I have found the screw thread increasingly crunchy as I tighten it in toward zero. I had an issue with alignment so it was taken on and off quite a few times and I thought I was being careful but the this crunchiness is getting worse. I am guessing this is an indication I’ve knackered the threads which I read are pretty delicate.

Anyone else with a DF64 had a similar issue? Is it resolvable with a spare part or should I start saving for a replacement grinder? Are the newer ones more robust?

FadedFrontiers

mattp I had this issue and after a lot of investigating discovered for my grinder it was the point of contact between the upper burr carrier and the adjustment collar that had become rough, rather than the threads.

Try cleaning and lubricating the surface where they meet but if that doesn’t fix it then you may need to replace one or both.

mattp

FadedFrontiers Thanks, I’ll give that a go. It is when the pressure increases as the springs are more compressed so that makes sense.

dutchy101

I’ve noticed my grinder does this too. I’ve just spoken to Bella Barista and they’ve suggested to get some Autosol metal polish and to rub this onto the top of the upper burr carrier and also on the upper lid of the collar which should hopefully smooth it all out again. Going to give this a try and will report back

FadedFrontiers

They initially suggested some molykote and that just made the grinding worse for me, so I settled on some PTFE spray which did the trick.

Interested to hear how the metal polish goes!

mattp

I just tried pushing the top burr carrier down to release the pressure on the upper lid and the crunching stopped happening around where I was grinding but started again as I neared zero. I also took the upper lid off and can see and feel some roughness on the carrier and the lid and running my finger round there were a few tiny metal flecks.

Here’s the rough patches:

Thanks for the help, looks like that’s the culprit. Hopefully get that smoothed off before I get some crunchiness in my coffee…

mattp

Putting small amounts of Autosol on the rough areas and then screwing on the upper lid and working it in by tightening and loosening the grind setting has removed almost all of the crunchiness for me. I can now tighten to the zero point with minimal resistance and it was pretty bad before. Bella Barista kindly showed me this on my grinder when I dropped off my machine for servicing

dutchy101

Yes mine has improved a great deal too

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