Pucks sticking - double basket only

jcb1973

Strange behaviour ATM with my Lelit Elizabeth. Every double basket puck (16g) is sticking to the shower head, this never happens with the single basket (10g). The only change I have made recently was to reduce the pressure to 9.5. Any thoughts?

JahLaza

to my knowledge it can be the result of a number of things.

How much you dose firstly, see the coin test online

If you change bean it can suddenly start to happen and you may be able to improve it but some beans are just worse than others

If you grind too fine it can contribute to it

In the end of the day if the coffee tastes good it doesn’t matter just wipe the shower screen more often after making cofffee! That issue pretty much stopped for me when I owned an Elizabeth when I bought an IMS shower screen

tompoland

@jcb1973 other than the pressure, has anything else changed?

It sounds like a simple case of too much coffee in the basket.

The coin test that was mentioned by @JahLaza mentioned goes something like this I believe: pop a 5 cents coin on top of a tamped dry puck, place the portailfter in the group head, pause, then remove. The coin should be ever so slightly depressed/indented. If it is pushed completely into the puck then the basket is overfilled. If there is not indent the it is undefilled.

Someone please correct me if I have this wrong, it’s a relatively new concept for me.

jcb1973

@tompoland There’s actually no indent with the 5 c test, so maybe I am under filling the basket?

I could also be grinding too fine , extraction times are 35s plus, there is a touch of bitterness.

@JahLaza - what was the shower screen you switched to?

tompoland

jcb1973 no indent, the yes mayb underfilling. With some machines (strong preinfusion pressure) this can create more channeling. It may not be a biggie but you can either try upping your dose a couple of grams or using a smaller basket and see if you notice that the pour is more even (assuming you are using a naked basket).

JahLaza

jcb1973 hi, I just realised I typed shower screen here. That’s incorrect, I bought an IMS competition basket and the stuck pucks pretty much stopped then. I never replaced the shower screen,I kept using the one that came with the machine. I had seen a few users reporting the stock shower screen with the Elizabeth is fine so no need to change that

MediumRoastSteam

This is no news and one of the annoyances with the Elizabeth. It is related to many things: Coffee, dose, pressure, etc.

I get them most of the time. The key is to remove the portafilter and wiggle a bit so the puck dislodges.

Friend of mine with an ECM Synchronika got them 25% of the time. So go figure.

I actually went on and tested this almost to exhaustion, even took it to Bella Barista: Using a different grinder (Eureka 83mm flat) I pulled shots for 2 hours and had no sticky pucks. Went home using the Niche or a Feldgrind and guess what? Got stuck pucks!

I can confirm that using some IMS baskets solves the problem for me at least. I currently use a VST 18g and accept the stuck pucks. Or use a puck screen. :-)

See: https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/threads/are-you-getting-sticky-stuck-pucks-please-give-me-your-feedback.56781/

tompoland

MediumRoastSteam the voice of experience… nothing beats it.

MediumRoastSteam

jcb1973 - You should’ve read mine! 🤣😂👍

MediumRoastSteam I can confirm that using some IMS baskets solves the problem for me at least. I currently use a VST 18g and accept the stuck pucks. Or use a puck screen. :-)

voegelin

MediumRoastSteam

Which IMS basket did you get? 16g or 18g?

Kind of surprising and amazing to find out that I am reading your post again. Thanks for the reply last time about Elizabeth setting. I am running into this puck issue as well. I am using VST 18g. Putting 18g darker roasted bean in, 100% puck sticking to grouphead / showerscreen.

I check this online. Find a few suggestions:

Increased dose: I tried 20g in VST 18G, it’s not happening, but I don’t really enjoy 20g flavor.

Decreased dose: suggested by my local dealer.

Change basket: Guy on reddit said he used VST 20g for 18g dose, and it was fine. I will try this latter.

dutchy101

Surely a puckscreen will fix this, no?

tompoland

dutchy101 or filter papers if (like me) you tried a screen and found it hard to get it completely clean of odd bits of rancid coffee 😧

dutchy101

tompoland

Interesting - I tend to give mine a scrub with a brush in hot soapy water after every coffee and also a soak in Puly Caff every other week.

jcb1973

JahLaza LOL, I actually bought a new shower screen after reading your post!!!

JahLaza

jcb1973 sorry 😣 how’s the pucks now anyway? Have you tried altering dose/grind/beans etc.?

jcb1973

MediumRoastSteam I know whom I should ask first next time :-)

jcb1973

JahLaza no problem, made me laugh… Good that you didn’t recommend a new machine, who knows what I might have done then!!

As it happens IMS basket has resolved sticking for me also. Need to grind much finer with IMS basket, is that normal?

JahLaza

jcb1973 yes, I’ve found I can grind finer with it, and have also read this online. I’m not sure the reason but I think it’s mainly due to the basket having more holes with more uniformity. There are far more experienced people than me on here who can advise I think I saw some commenting on this in the past. Well glad to know you’ve overcome that issue, hope you’re enjoying great coffee 😊

dutchy101

IMS and VST baskets both tend to need finer grinds than stock baskets in my experience

MediumRoastSteam

voegelin - I use a VST 18g :-), and more recent a VST 20g and I dose 19g of coffee.

I use a puck paper on top of the puck, and don’t seem to have this issue anymore. Alternatively, you can use a puck screen.

I can’t remember which IMS basket worked best for me back then. I remember trying a few of them and they seemed to mitigate the problem.

Adrianmsmith

voegelin it is going to stick if you put too much coffee in. Just reduce your dose until it stops happening. If you reduce too far, you will end up with sloppy pucks . find the middle ground.

P S it is great that someone reads a thread that is older than a month and replies to it 🤔🤭🥰