Ok.. took grinder apart, cleaned as per tutorials I saw online. Wasn't overly dirty or anything but I did notice something. I am almost grinding at the zero point! When screwing the top burr on I go till it stops (zero point), then I backoff ever so slightly and screw the hopper down. THIS is where I have been grinding, which doesn't seem right at all is it? I am now wondering if the pressure in my Silvia is too high, thus requiring way too fine of a grind, which is in turn adding more fines? I suppose I need to try reducing pressure until maybe a grind setting of 3-4 (instead of 0 ) is achievable?

The rocky has problems of wrong installation of burrs. I am convinced. Or there are any other defects because of which the wide spacing on size of fractions turns out.

Well, been doing some experimenting. I reduced pressure on the Silvia a bit, ground the rocky on #3 notch =3 notches up from 0, normal tamp shot was a gusher

Tried again grind setting at #2 notch, updosed a bit, normal tamp shot was 20 seconds and shot was terrible. No flavour in the milk drink. However no grinds in the cup at all. So it seems #2 produced no fines in the cup hmm

Tried again with slight pressure increase, notch #1 and harder tamp. Shot gushed through in 15secs!

So I am basically back to square1 grinding at 0 ! But still why can I only get shots at 1 or 2 notches up from zero? This goes against everything I've seen online with the sweet spot for rocky+silvia being 4-5 notches up from zero point.

Pretty much at a loss here to what is going on.

*edit tried another with slightly reduced pressure, 18gm full dose in stock double basket, 1 notch up from zero point, hard tamp. from the power switch to finish was 22 seconds. No fines in the cup but shot still too fast for my liking. I like a good 3-5 seconds before shot starts, then thick mousetails. This shot was more of an instant start and close to gushing, not much color. I'm sure I could drop back to 17.5gm dose, grind at 0 setting and get a better pull -but then my drink tastes nasty as fines in the cup ruin it. I might just take my whole damn kit and beans to the cafe where I bought it and have them do some testing (not that I have time for this)

another update- I have decided to try the teflon tape mod. So I'm screwing everything back with the teflon, it all seems more solid, however I get to the stop point... i then back off so that the center bolt can turn and I notice that as I rotate the center bolt one side of the burrs is ever so slightly scraping. Is this normal? It makes me feel as if the burrs are misaligned but maybe this is normal? Will do some googling. Hope to hear from someone here soon.

I recorder the sound of me slowly dialing it to zero point, should it be clicking like that? My mazzer zero point was a uniform sound where the rocky is somewhat of a wobble/scrap. Audio file is here: http://www.filedropper.com/memo

ok lol. Well now after reassembly and using the teflon mod, things seem different now. The zero point is registering at -3, so I guess now when set to 1 i am in that 4-6 notch ball park, who knows... I am sort of chasing my tail but will pull a couple shots later and see what happens..

the teflon mod - the very first operation which is necessary for making after purchase of the rocky.

Try dropping own to 16 grams per shot. The Silvia I've been playing with freaks out with anything more, with stock and other double baskets.

srossnz wrote:As for beans, these are various beans roasted in my Behmor 1600

That may be your problem, or a contributing factor. Have you tried a pro roasted batch from a known roaster of exceptional quality? I home roast and think I do a good job at it but I also know my limitations. My home roasts will never be as good as a properly roasted artisan coffee. I do it as a hobby, they do it for a living. Personally, I would start there. Some fines in the cup are normal, but your photo looks excessive. Also wipe the spouts of your portafilter before you start your shot. A lot of grinds hang onto the back side of the portafilter spouts.

Thanks guys. Well machine is warming up this morning so I'll report back to see how things are going with the teflon mod after this mornings shots. I guess it could be my home roasts leading to fines but it's odd that of all the Behmor 1600 reviews I've read no one seems to have that issue. I got the home roaster because I was sick of spotty quality locally roasted beans. For one there are none in my area, and mail order was hit or miss.

ok 2 shots this morning, i'm grinding 3 notches from zero point. 17.5gms normal tamp gets me 22secs from flipping the switch. I might go 18gms and that should slow me down just enough. Big reduction in fines since the teflon mod. I am using 2 day old fairtrade from Uganda. Nice earthy flavour but I think my next batch will be nicer as I went a tad darker. I have an LM basket showing up tomorrow. At this point I think with my current kit I'm getting about as good as "I" can get it. Might upgrade the grinder in 6 months or so if I have some cash handy.

you havent got a damaged top rubber where the bowl seals !!

miff2000 wrote:you havent got a damaged top rubber where the bowl seals !!

Do you mean the rubber seal in the group head? I'll have a look but machine is not even a month old..