I don't know why, but I am scared to install the new worm gear. It's just sitting there, looking at me.

Lol Julia! Mine arrived today but I just put a new half pound in the hopper. I'll probably install on Friday. If you haven't done it by then we can form a support group and do the replacement on the same night!

Deal!

mallen4248 wrote:Instead Of the rubber cap that covers the entire top and throat of the upper burr carrier on the old version, there is a rubber sleeve in the throat. If you look at the 2nd picture you can see what I'm talking about. The Ceado hopper fits the new carrier exactly as the old one, so any other hopper would fit the same on both.

Thanks for the clarification. Makes absolute sense!

baristainzmking wrote:Deal!

Julia (and everyone) I just installed the Worm Gear Upgrade and the process went very smoothly. All you need is a large Phillips head screwdriver (for the screws that hold the top down). I think it's a #3 Phillips head. And then either a smaller Phillips or a large flat head screwdriver for the combo screws that attaches the upper burr to the top which you'll be swapping out. I used a large, wide flat head.

Also, having a brush to clean (I used a Pallo brush) and a vacuum will help.

It takes like 30 seconds to pop the old top off. A couple of minutes to vacuum everything (and use the stiffer brush to clean out the burrs while you have it open, vacuuming as you go). Then another couple of minutes to take off the upper burr, clean and vacuum the screw and the underside of it, and then to attach to the new top. Then replace the new top where the old top was. It uses the exact same screws.

Couple of warnings: there are no instructions, but it was super intuitive and easy. Also no screws, so you'll re-use the existing screws for the top plate and the upper burr. Don't accidentally vacuum them up like I almost did.

Final and most important warning: as others noted, the initial setting and placement of the grind label is totally arbitrary. The burrs on mine were very, very far apart when I first installed it. I took OP's advice seriously and just kept tightening it a lot (like dozens of rotations). I put it in Manual Dose mode and would lightly tap the button to spin the burr in millisecond bursts--just to get it to start spinning but not holding down the button to keep it spinning. I would tap the button, tighten a bunch of turns, when the burrs were about to stop I tapped the button again to spin them, tightened. Repeat. Repeat. At some point the burrs will start touching (you'll hear a light chirp of metal on metal). At that point I loosened it maybe six turns of the worm gear and started dialing it in. If I had not done this, I could have wasted pounds of coffee dialing it in, because I seriously turned the worm gear maybe fifty twists (maybe not full revolutions, as each turn of my wrist was maybe half a revolution), but bottom line I turned it a lot. If you do as I did, and turn it while having the machine lightly turn the lower burr until you hear the chirp, you will save a lot of time and wasted bean.

Once you're dialing it in, don't let the fact that you had to turn it dozens of times fool you, that was just initial setup. Once you've backed off of the burrs touching, it only takes little turns of the dial to make measurable adjustments.

The 37S looks much sharper with the new gear set!


Final words: I know I was worried about alignment changing, apparently that was a needless worry. Grind quality is as good...actually a little better than before. I think it's better not because of any change in alignment, but maybe because I fine-cleaned both the upper and lower burrs, and it had been about 3 weeks since I last opened up the 37S. So if anything, this tells me I should open up and clean the 37S every week or so.

Thanks for the update CarloM! I have a practical question for you. When you are tweaking the grind, are you running the grinder as you turn the knob? Or can you make minor adjustments when the unit is no grinding? I know what the manual says, but I wanted to see what people do in the real world. Thanks!

I have the Ceado grinding when I adjust setting. With the old lever model I'd waste a lot because sometimes the lever wasn't easy to adjust or I'd pull too he'd and overadjust so had to back it off. Now with the dial it takes less than a half second pulse for me to turn the knob in either direction.

Thanks for the detailed instructions, Carlo!!
I changed the worm gear on E-37 and it wasn't as scary as I thought!! The dialing in took a while, and I used the technique similar to yours. I think what I need to do is to have the burrs touch and then dial back from there, as you did. I didn't quite get there. I am doing the fine tuning this afternoon when I get back home.

The upgrade was a little trickier with the SSP burrs I have installed in my grinder. I initially started by backing off half a full mark from zero point. But the grind was so fine that it clogged the burrs. I forgot that the SSP burrs grind much finer than the stock burrs. So, after cleaning the burrs, I started again at about 4 full marks from zero point. Things dialed in at about 2 1/2 marks above zero point.

I also noticed that the dial in point occurred when the grind weight for the preset double dose time matched the old weight - 18.5g in 5.6 seconds. Once I achieved that weight, I also had the same shot time as before. Just another example of how rock solid consistent this grinder is.

I really enjoy being able to fine tune the grind adjustment with the worm gear. The Macap grinder I previously owned had a worm gear adjustment and it's the only way to go.

That's actually a great observation, Dave. I too found that the weight/time output ratio was pretty much identical after installing the worm gear upgrade. I get 18.2g in 4.8s with the stock burrs and the espresso blend I'm using.