Hello, Home-Barista community!

I recently bought a 3D-printed chute upgrade for the DF64 which came with a declumping screen - the seller claiming improved performance and thoughtful, tried & tested design. I installed it, replacing a previously-purchased custom declumper, and, to my surprise, the grinder got clogged after a couple of grinds.

I opened it up to do a post-mortem analysis and I think the cause was that the opening between the two sides was too small, and the plastic flaps too rigid. I next tried using the grinder without any declumper at all - what a terrible mess! Now I'm trying to decide whether I should give the new declumper a second chance - or just reinstall the old one (sidenote - I still have the stock one tucked away safely - I've never given it much of a chance, but it did feel very rigid.).

I am attaching the two declumpers to this post.

I am wondering if y'all geeky tinkering coffeeheads would have any opinion on what makes a good declumper, and whether there is a specific design that rises above the rest.

And, maybe in particular, which one of the two do you think should perform best, based on how they look?

TLDR: declumper conundrum: any thoughts on the physics involved and why one declumper would be better than the other?


P.S.: this is my first post here and actually my first post on any forum of this type since about 2009 when I was about half the age I'm now. Dang this feels good

I use this mod, similar to your previous declumper but made of silicone and more symmetrical. Installed it over a year ago and haven't had any problems with it. Still prevents bellows sneezes and doesn't clog as it's less stiff. You're probably right that the base of the flaps in your new declumper are probably too rigid and cause clogs.

man i've really tried so many of them including the two above. i don't really thing any thing is better than the other. to me , they are all ok. nothing better really. i've also tried different chute. hence why im moving on to something diff altogether.

Curious why you're moving on and what you're considering. Apologies if it's been covered in another thread elsewhere.

my main issue is cleaning and declumper. i swear i've tried everything. every declumper out there . exit chute. i think it's really not designed well. i really got tired of the workflow. swapping burrs once in a while too. i bit the bullet and got a lagom p64. so amazing. not a single clog. so easy to clean. and swapping burrs is a breeze.

"Declumper" seems like a misnomer to me. How can clumps form in the grind chamber, given all the spinning and wiping action?

I've completely removed the declumper and don't see a pile of clumpy grind in the catch cup. Without the declumper it can be a static disaster however, and that can create very negative customer reviews. So, I think of the declumper is more like a clumping-declumping flow restrictor intended to mitigate static issues.

Does the Lagom P64 have a "declumper"? Apologies for being lazy and not looking it up, but the HB thread for the P64 is over 200 pages!

I imagine rpm has a lot to do with static issues, and the Lagom P64 is variable speed. Do the owners run it slower than the DF64?

GDM528 wrote:Does the Lagom P64 have a "declumper"?

yes.
Lagom P64 Flat (Option-O)

GDM528 wrote: I imagine rpm has a lot to do with static issues, and the Lagom P64 is variable speed. Do the owners run it slower than the DF64?

Yes, i usually run mine at 6/7 for espresso which roughly 950-1100rpm so a bit slower than 1400rpm of df64.

The Australian version of the DF64 runs a modified version of the V3 declumper. In our testing this performed better than V3 and significantly better than V4. One thing with the silicone declumpers is when they are new they feel stiff however they do soften and performance improves once worn in. So if you have a silicone declumper don't rush to change it. Run it in and see how it performs.

This is what I was using. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1215654772 ... for-df64-g Changed both declumper and chute design which helped tons. I tried df64p on side but the designer didn't have one for df64p back in the time which made me give up on df64p with ssp hu burr and back to df64 with hu burr with this mod. Main issue it resolved was clogging few people here mentioned on really fine grind.