Azkoyen Capriccio / Quality Espresso Q9 Series - Page 3

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
day
Posts: 1316
Joined: 9 years ago

#21: Post by day »

Shife wrote:I just looked up the specs again.. It's .006mm, not .006in. Whoops. Quite a big difference in size there.
:shock: now thats some fine tuning step size my friend
Yes, i you per this on an iPhone

Shife (original poster)
Posts: 552
Joined: 9 years ago

#22: Post by Shife (original poster) replying to day »

Ya. My tendency to use 1/4 turns of the dial to get anywhere probably makes a bit more sense now.

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rubbish cyclist
Posts: 6
Joined: 9 years ago

#23: Post by rubbish cyclist »

I have also just obtained one of these, albeit the original Azkoyen model. Got it for about $230 given the current exchange rate.

Issues thus far have been that it was utterly filthy and that the burrs aren't symmetrical. They may also have been worn, but they were still fairly sharp.
Cleaning-wise, I should have taken photos, but suffice to say that I half expected an Indiana Jones-esque flock of bats to fly out of the internals they were so dark and dank. Once cleaned up, it looks much better and doesn't smell so musty. The coffee residue on the threads of the top burr assembly and the female threads was like tar. I chased out the threads using about fifty toothpicks, followed by a scrubbing with a toothbrush and a fair few wipes with a cloth. They're now much, much better, although not completely devoid of gunk.

After reassembly, the burr carrier moves smoothly as I turn the worm drive. I did notice that there is a little bit of slop in the threads though - there's no obvious deformation of the threads, but at certain points I'm able to slightly move the upper carrier a tiny amount. I'm unsure as to whether this is how it is with this model, or it's something I should address with some ptfe tape.

Now, more pressing is that the bottom burr carrier seems to be a tiny bit off-axis. It's barely noticeable unless looking directly down on the fixing bolt in the center, and only noticeable from how the screw and the brass surround mate up. One or the other might be off, but I'm unsure how they relate. The burr carrier has a different attachment from the OPs grinder - it looks like the one from the Shockwaves website.

I'm unsure if I should remove the bottom carrier and see if it's not just been put back on a bit off, but I have no idea how to undo that big old slotted screw. I gave it a bit of a go with the widest screwdriver I had, but it didn't budge. I'm unsure of the threading of the bolt, so I don't want to do something stupid.

The original burrs have been replaced, resulting in a much better grind, but the burrs still chirp before they mate all the way around. I've been testing by spinning the bottom burr with my fingers, and once I get the burrs to touch on one point, I can usually push or pull the top carrier and eliminate the rub. Again, not sure if that's due to the threads or the bottom carrier being off.

Aside from that, it grinds nicely. I choked my machine at a setting where there's no burr rub, so the issue isn't the end of the world.

Any advice from you fine people?

Oh, this is also my first ever electric grinder coming from a Hario Mini-Mill :mrgreen:

jpboyt
Posts: 220
Joined: 14 years ago

#24: Post by jpboyt »

Fun grinders once you discover and become familiar with their oddity. Screw is lefty loosey. Normal for a right hand thread. Early uses the flat head and brass washer. Next generation uses standard stainless bolt and flat washer. I use my 1/4" drive impact with a Harbor freight big slot bit. The chirp is because the lower burr holder is not perpendicular to the motor armature axis and the upper is at an angle to the the housing bore. Loose threads will enable a small amount of play or rock in the adjustor. I found about 0.003" total error in one grinder I checked. You can sorta do poor man's math by finding the high spot and rotating the lower 180. Crank adjustor down till it won't allow the burr to rotate. Gently please. I think that the housing has a 1mm pitch so you get .039" per rotation. I suspect that you will get an eighth of a turn or less. More than that and you probably need to be looking at a new rotating burr holder or having yours faced so that it is perpendicular. Nothing to be done with upper as you are stuck with factory threads unless the adjustor was machined with burr mount not normal to the threads. And as far as the burr carrier being off axis, highly unlikely. The problem more likely lies with the screw and washer. Flathead screw sorta finds its own home which may not be in the center. Got good burrs for these grinders on my web site if you decide to put the grinder into a high volume location where it belongs. And you have an early motor. Later motors have the discharge hole opened up to a full round configuration. Reduces clogging. I have three of these grinders on the kitchen table now being overhauled. I bored out two of the motors to match current configuration. Yes, I am divorced but not because of coffee equipment in the house. At least I don't think so.
jpboyt

rubbish cyclist
Posts: 6
Joined: 9 years ago

#25: Post by rubbish cyclist replying to jpboyt »

Cheers! Everything I needed to hear. Yeah I saw the discharge hole in the motor is pretty narrow. May see about boring it out myself as it does seem incredibly small for such a grinder.
I'll check when I get home regarding how perpendicular the burrs are. If I do need a new carrier, are you familiar with any sources for them?
Once I've gotten them nicely aligned, I may well invest in some good burrs. The new ones look far less well-engineered than the ones I took out, and even in a low-volume environment (10/15 grinds per day), it's always nice to know that you're using something that will last a very long time.

gowyn
Posts: 29
Joined: 9 years ago

#26: Post by gowyn »

Just picked up one of these myself. Paid $175CAD, steal!

All cleaned up, no cracks or damage and runs great.

Thanks for the tip on the hopper, gonna look into that now.

My machine has only 10000 grinds on it, good to know a little ways away from a rebuild at 150m

Shife (original poster)
Posts: 552
Joined: 9 years ago

#27: Post by Shife (original poster) »

It's great grinder, but the looks are hard to get past. My wife has grudgingly allowed me to keep this on the counter... for now. The response I get most is "what in the hell is that?"

I've got several pounds through mine now and I'm very happy with the consistency. Upgradeitis is calling though..

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