I would check to see the center burr is tight with the shaft, I wonder if it is staying stationary as the motor rotates?

cannonfodder wrote:Could be a capacitor going bad or a rock in your beans.

Thank you for the reply. If there was a rock, it is not there now, the burrs are rotating just fine, by hand, or "grinding air". So it means a capacitor problem?

danetrainer wrote:I would check to see the center burr is tight with the shaft, I wonder if it is staying stationary as the motor rotates?

Another interesting suggestion. So you mean that it starts grinding, that after a second the burr "slips" off the central shaft? But then I wonder how it re-fixes itself again for the consecutive tries. The bolt is, however, firmly tightened, there was nothing done to it, that could free it somehow. But I will keep it as a possibility.

As for your question, yes, the central burr rotates as it always did. And it grinds, but only for a second.

Thank you.

Addition: today I was listetning to the grinder while running it empty ("grinding air"), and noticed that it also changes the tone after one second. It starts grinding, then after a second it clicks, and then the sounds changes to less audible hummmmm and then it stops after the timer finishes counting (2.8 seconds).

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified Electrical anything. The following is some of the information I have found when the capacitor of my roaster melted down.

There are 2 type of motor that use a capacitor. They are dubbed Capacitor Start motor and Capacitor Run-Start motor.
The Capacitor start motor uses the capacitor stored energy during the acceleration of the motor but stops using it after the motor is at full speed. Such a motor needs the capacitor to gives it the ability to handle a large starting torque. The run
The run-start motor continues using the capacitor during normal operation. This motor needs the capacitor to orientate the rotation of the electric field and also to increase the starting torque.

It is possible that the motor will turn is the capacitor is blown but the motor will not be able to take the torque from the beans.

The Nino and most big conical (if not all) use a key that prevent rotation of the bur on the shaft. If the key is missing that would be a big quality escape from the manufacturer. I wouldn't think that it is the issue but it is possible.

The sound of the grinder will indeed change when the start capacitor is switched off.

Whale wrote:Disclaimer: I am not a qualified Electrical anything. The following is some of the information I have found when the capacitor of my roaster melted down.

There are 2 type of motor that use a capacitor. They are dubbed Capacitor Start motor and Capacitor Run-Start motor. (...)

Thank you for the explanation, it helps a lot, to understand the issue and inner workings of the grinder. I will now read up on the capacitors, thanks for the push in that direction. Hopefully, I will talk to a grinder technician (of Mazzers, not Elektras) on Monday-Tuesday, maybe he will have something to add too.

I doubt it is the key or something with the burrs/shaft, since the grinder was working ok for a year, before this happened out of the blue.

p.s.: I have also located an italian manufacture of the motors for Nino, so maybe they will be of some help too.

Does the new coffee chute design really give you more access to the coffee path? I looked at a parts diagram and it appears to me that the metal flap (Elektra calls it 'blade') is still permanently attached the same way the old design was. Depending on the type of beans used I see coffee buildup behind that flap and it requires to crack the case open to clean it. I hoped the new design would remedy that issue and provide easier access but from the parts diagram it appears they only made the slide removable not the real culprit: the metal flap.
Can someone with the new design comment on that please?

Thanks,
Wolfgang

You are correct that the flap is held in place by the mounting screws for the lower part of the chute.

However, I don't have problems with anything building up behind the flap on either my old or new version Nino. Anything left there (and it's precious little in my experience) is purged with next dose you grind. And bean fragment/grounds retention is very low generally. Just purging a double dose is sufficient most mornings, or a triple at most.

hth

Mike

Vad wrote:Thank you for the explanation, it helps a lot, to understand the issue and inner workings of the grinder. I will now read up on the capacitors, thanks for the push in that direction. Hopefully, I will talk to a grinder technician (of Mazzers, not Elektras) on Monday-Tuesday, maybe he will have something to add too.

I doubt it is the key or something with the burrs/shaft, since the grinder was working ok for a year, before this happened out of the blue.

p.s.: I have also located an italian manufacture of the motors for Nino, so maybe they will be of some help too.

May I ask how did your story ended up? Can you add what prompt you to get Nino in the first place? Thanks.