Does anyone remember how tight was set the first time you took it apart?

I have a second grinder that I haven't taken the burrs out of yet, I planned on checking it when we clean out the grinders this week. I'll report back.

I was having this very same problem until recently with my K10. It turned out I was using the wrong lube on that spring. Most food grade lubes are no good in there. I tried using ALL in One lube and it made it glide like butter, but it wasn't food grade. It left a really bad smell in the assembly. Eventually I found Super Lube which is food grade and works as good. I tighten the burr screws really hard and I have no problem.

Unfortunately I never solved the issue with my K10, and it's still sitting unused in storage. I have a second K10 PB I've been using for the past year. Today I decided to install new burrs and do a thorough cleaning. This necessitates removing and reinstalling the screws that hold the upper burr assembly together. Rethreading the upper burr assembly, I felt and heard the familiar grinding from the first post in this thread. It was almost impossible to remove because of the friction.

I spent a few frustrating hours tinkering, and I haven't got anywhere. From the replies here and reading elsewhere, I'm still very unclear whether the four upper burr screws are meant to be reefed down or left at some undefined torque. Compak's burr replacement video on Youtube is no help because it's for a grinder with a different adjustment system. A Compak technician apparently told someone they should be "a little loose". Many people say they have no issue fully tightening the screws. Some people use lubricant for the black spring, but there was none applied as it came from the factory. I've tried using large amounts of Dow 111 on both sides of the spring as well as where the burr holder rotates against the carrier, but it didn't really make any difference. With the screws fully tightened, the adjustment mechanism is almost frozen now. Even loose, the action is extremely rough now.

I would certainly appreciate any advice on how to proceed since I now have two unusable Compak K10s and no espresso grinder

I wish I could help. I have the most recent K10PB version. Got it new 1 year ago from idrinkcoffee.

However, other than the finger guard mod for easy sweeping, I haven't tinkered.

I'm too nervous about opening it up. All the stories I've read about cross-threading, misalignment, and burr rub made me fearful of messing things up. I've only used Grindz to clean it. That's it.

Have you tried contacting Compak or idrinkcoffee? Maybe they can help.

Alternatively, try contacting this guy. I've been following his fixes and restorations and he seems to know his stuff. He's in the GTA and services equipment for many cafés in the area:
https://m.facebook.com/911latte?refsrc= ... 2F911latte

Good luck finding a fix!

Bob_McBob wrote:I have a second K10 PB I've been using for the past year. Today I decided to install new burrs and do a thorough cleaning.

Just curious: Why did you replace the burrs after only one year?

The burrs are rated for 1200 kg. Do you grind 200+ lbs of coffee a month?

FWIW, my K10 is six years old and I've not seen any need to replace the burrs (or open it for a cleaning, for that matter.) The consistency is dead-on and there's never any rancid or foul taste from whatever grounds are permanently stuck in the grinder (I do try to vacuum it out once a week.) Then again, I grind an average of about 5 lbs of coffee a month. At that rate my original burr set should last 38 more years!

More on the subject, how tight were the screws before you removed them? My guess is that you should tighten them down with about the same force you had to use to unscrew them. Maybe you should try Super Lube.

I was swapping in a newer set I already owned because it had six year old burrs installed for various reasons. I don't ever open my grinders for deep cleaning since reading this excellent post by Ken Fox. I do thoroughly clean a grinder to install burrs, though.

I don't know how tight the screws were originally because I just assumed they were reefed down. They were as tight as they were when I installed the burrs over a year ago. There seems to be no consensus on how tight they're supposed to be in this thread or anywhere else. It's difficult to partially tighten them without ending up with one loose screw because the spring compresses unevenly. I'd imagine uneven tightening has some effect on burr alignment as well.

I also don't know whether the contact surfaces between the burr holder and burr carrier as well as the spring surfaces should be lubricated. I believe the former had some lubricant, but the spring didn't when I checked.

If I leave the screws very loose, the friction is acceptable, but the feeling is rough. If I tighten them down, it's almost immovable at this point, with or without lubricant. I don't really like leaving them randomly loose.

If the grinder only works with the screws at some undefined tightness, it's hard to imagine so few people have run into this problem, considering the number of cafes using them and the lack of a service manual. And it doesn't explain why people like John have no problem running their grinders with the screws reefed down.

Bob_McBob wrote: And it doesn't explain why people like John have no problem running their grinders with the screws reefed down.

Quite true. No idea why you've had issues with your K10 & I haven't. I opened mine up when it first arrived & the screws were loose. I didn't like that idea as I didn't want them backing out. They've been tight for 5+ years now & I've removed the carrier many, many times over the years for cleaning. No odd noises, no binding & no cross threading although you do have to be careful when you first start reinstalling the carrier. I do put some lube on the spring washer every few years when I do a complete tear down.

I haven't opened up my K10 in a year+ now, but I went through the same issue.
(my memory was incorrect... content removed and new posting will be made)

Since I've never taken my K10 apart, it's hard to visualize exactly how the assembly fits together just looking at the Compak diagram and your photo. Can you post a photo with all the parts laid out in the order they fit together?