Mazzer Super Jolly start issues after grind setting adjustment

#1: Post by **aaronotb** » June 16th, 2014, 5:28 pm

I have a Rio branded SJ that I haven't used in a while, so I thought I'd sell it. However, in testing it out, I discovered that if I make a large adjustment in grind size from coarse to fine (with beans in the hopper) with the grinder off, it won't then start. If I then re-coarsen it a bit, it starts and I can adjust finer with the burrs spinning. It works perfectly for the small adjustments you'd make when dialing in (again, with the grinder off), it just refuses to start when making larger changes finer while not on. I'm guessing that whatever is retained in the grind chamber is compacting between the burrs when I adjust finer, and that this resistance is too much for the grinder to overcome from a cold start. However, I don't think this used to be the case (I think it used to have sufficient power) and I would have thought that as a commercial grinder it would have enough "juice" to power through pretty much anything.

I thought it might be an issue with the capacitor, so I ordered a new one and tried it out. However, no luck. Same issue, it works fine, but can't start when there are some compacted grounds between the burrs.

Has anyone come across this problem? Or does this grinder always need to be on to adjust finer? Many thanks!

#2: Post by **keepitsimple** » June 16th, 2014, 6:22 pm

aaronotb wrote:.... does this grinder always need to be on to adjust finer? Many thanks!

Yes. Applies to all grinders that retain any beans or grounds in the burrs when grinding is stopped.

Mazzers are very solidly built, but there's always the possibility of doing some damage if you don't. You may get away with very tiny adjustments, but it isn't good practice.

#3: Post by **darilon** » June 17th, 2014, 10:01 am

If you do adjust finer without grinding at the same time it can gum up the burrs and requires you to remove the upper burr carrier and do a thorough cleaning to restore proper function. Thus, always make adjustments while the burrs are spinning.

#4: Post by **drgary** » June 17th, 2014, 12:28 pm

I would like to reinforce that this is not a defect in your grinder -- unless you keep the motor running so long against resistance that you damage the motor. From your report it seems you haven't done so. The fact that your grinder doesn't overcome the resistance now is an imperfect experiment. Are you using the same amount and size of beans of equal hardness to past attempts? It's hard to know that.

June 17th, 2014, 3:05 pm

Many thanks for the responses. This isn't my SOP (I usually am adjusting with the grinder on, and also keep a dedicated espresso grinder so even when I'm lazy, most adjustments are only small ones) so I don't have a lot of data points. I tried the same experiments when I purchased the grinder and now as a pre-sale inspection. It is possible that I didn't subject the grinder to the same extreme gymnastics originally, but it did seem like it could chew through anything a couple years back. I'm probably using denser, less developed beans this time around (then: Red Bird, now: CC Rustico).