Coarse/fine, dosing change, puck screen/no puck screen. Nothing seems to change my extraction time of around 14 seconds from 18grams. It's seems like it's pouring out so fast. Again tried a finer grind and nothing. I even tried switching to a 9lb spring on my gaggia classic pro. I notice a lot of excess water going into the drip tray when I turn off the machine. I have been trying for the past hour to get something to change, but no luck. Any ideas?

Is your coffee fresh?

What grinder are you using?

Have you ever been able to pull shots you've enjoyed with your grinder and machine?

Yes fresh coffee roasted in the last week. Using a Baratza Sette 270WI.

Video shows what I'm dealing with.

What coffee are you using?

At what temperature are you pulling shots? Are you significantly above sea level?

I second the comment altitude, because it looks like the water is flash boiling during the shot. High altitude will make that worse. The follow up to that point is that the Gaggia Classic is very unstable in terms of temperature. Maybe try some temperature surfing? I used to use that machine and adding a PID made a humongous difference. Maybe there is a bad thermostat?

I also use a Sette 270. When I first had it, shots ran fast. Eventually I had to add shims under the burrs to get a usable range of grind settings that were fine enough for espresso.

Good luck!

I'm located just above sea level. Not sure what temperature I am pulling shots at. Would this be measured based on the temperature of the coffee or from within the boiler. I have noticed that the water is considerably hotter than before. Is there any way to tell if my thermostat is defective. May be worth replacing either way since its inexpensive. For temperature surfing is the recommendation to brew for 5-10 seconds without the portafilter installed to allow cold water to be brought in and bring down the temp, then quickly attach the filled portafilter and brew?

I have to agree with the opinion that that machine is brewing at above boiling temperature.

You're not steaming first and then trying to brew with a half-empty boiler at 120C or something, right?
You see the drip tray gaining water when the machine is off... Can you see it coming down the relief tube or is it escaping through the grouphead? If so, it might just be that you need to clean/inspect the brew valve. Usually they clog on a Gaggia Classic, but I suppose sometimes they have to get stuck open, too.

Koston33 wrote:Not sure what temperature I am pulling shots at. Would this be measured based on the temperature of the coffee or from within the boiler. I have noticed that the water is considerably hotter than before. Is there any way to tell if my thermostat is defective. May be worth replacing either way since its inexpensive. For temperature surfing is the recommendation to brew for 5-10 seconds without the portafilter installed to allow cold water to be brought in and bring down the temp, then quickly attach the filled portafilter and brew?

Can you post another picture of you doing the exact same thing as the first video, from about the same angle (Maybe further away for safety) but without any portafilter or coffee? Just the bare shower screen? Just to confirm that it's far above boiling.

And yes. You can do as you described, let the brew run cool water in and steaming water out without the portafilter in place until the water from the showerscreen is liquid, again... Then put the portafilter in and brew with the liquid water just to see how fast the flow is. (Although I am pretty sure that we're already deciding that you should replace the brew thermostat).