Hoping that you all might be able to offer up a few *easy* pointers on cleaning a Rocky doserless to a mechanically declined coffee nerd. I have been using Rocky many times/day now for just over a year and while have had no issues, I figure it's probably time for a cleaning or past time for a cleaning. Not being the most mechanically gifted guy on the block, hoping that one of you folks might have a few easy-to-follow instructions that even i could understand.

thanks in advance

The simple answer is Grindz or Puly Grind.

No endorsement implied as never used either

snaab wrote:I have been using Rocky many times/day now for just over a year and while have had no issues, I figure it's probably time for a cleaning or past time for a cleaning. Not being the most mechanically gifted guy on the block, hoping that one of you folks might have a few easy-to-follow instructions that even i could understand.

While commercially available grind-y cleaners (and some over-the-counter home remedies) will probably suffice, it isn't a bad idea to be somewhat familiar with the guts of your gear. That way, you get to replace your own burrs if you chinger one on a rock or something, or you drop the stone off your ring into the grind chamber (don't ask).

There is a fairly detailed description that Mark Prince does that's pretty darned good, but if you just remove the hopper and upper burr by unscrewing it all the way off, you can get to the most important bits.

So - a little exploratory surgery, eh? Assuming this is something even a mechanically-declined person can do without hopelessly screwing up the grinder? I try never to underestimate my ability to break things....

If you're really worried, try cleaning your grinder with Grindz instead.

If you have not been there yet, you can come a long way with a paintbrush/toothbrush, a vacuum cleaner and a piece of moist towel (without pulling anything apart).

Also, it is very easy to remove the two screws on the snout and give that a good wash.

thanks all - finally have some time to dedicate to this today. since getting my hands on Grindz is a little difficult (living in China, have to order everything on-line, cross-fingers that item can be shipped here and that it will show up), going to try the basics first, per ChristianB and Psyd's thoughts.

Well, I finally decided to clean my doser less Rocky today and I'm impressed. It's really easily done. I was worried because the Macap M4D sitting net to it is clearly not intended to be cleaned by any one other than a trained factory technician. I use the Snap cap that has been talked about on occasion to blow it clean at the end of every dose ground and it almost didn't need to be cleaned. There was a bit of coffee on the leading edges of the sweepers and stuck in various cracks and crevices, but not so much that I felt like it needed cleaning.

The one thing I did that I didn't remember reading about is right after removing the hopper I put one of the screws that held it on back in the upper burr carrier so that I'd know where to align it when putting it back on. It came loose right at 11 turns and at the end 11 turns put it right back where it was. Tape or a Black Marker would do the same.

Ira

ira wrote:There was a bit of coffee on the leading edges of the sweepers and stuck in various cracks and crevices, but not so much that I felt like it needed cleaning.

... I put one of the screws that held it on back in the upper burr carrier so that I'd know where to align it

Two nits;
Usually you can tell that your grinder needs a cleaning because it smells like old coffee instead of fresh ground coffee. Saves you killing Schroedinger's cat every coupla weeks.

To replace the upper burr/hopper, set it on top of the machine and 'unscrew' it until you hear/feel the thread seat, and then screw it back in. Of course, being gentle and careful not to cross-thread it.

Two nits;

I understand your comments, I don't understand why you think they're nits. I'm sure it needed cleaning because it's been my daily grinder for the last year and this is the first time I've opened it up. I was pleasantly surprised to find how clean it had stayed. I know how to start threads, I used the screw to make sure to get the numbers in the same relation to the burrs and to count the right number of turns. I didn't even talk about how to start the threads, that's been covered plenty of times.

Ira