I know I'm a little late to this thread, but I feel your pain @jeffdt I found this thread by searching "jamming issues Macap M7D".

I would periodically have issues with my Macap M7D jamming when I first got it, especially with lighter roasts. I was using a La Spaziale LUCCA A53, which has a 53mm portafilter. I recently upgraded to a Linea PB ABR for our shop, which has a 58mm portafilter. I received the new machine on Monday - hooked it up Tuesday. I have had non-stop jamming issues since then. I have used all of these coffees previously on this grinder and while I had periodic jamming issues they are non-stop now. I have tried cleaning the grinder with RINZA tabs.

I have to weigh out each shot individually and grind them one at a time. If I load the hopper it instantly jams within grinding three doses.

The only difference was my switch to a 58mm portafilter, which means I have to grind a little finer to hit the same parameters. So, I'm assuming that the motor is unable to grind fine enough for modern espresso. However, this now makes sense why I would have periods of it jamming more than others and now it jamming non-stop. Since the "solution" is to grind coarser I will be unable to use this grinder with my Linea PB and it now makes me hesitant to use it with my LUCCA in a catering setting. I have not replaced the burrs, but when I reached out to Clive about getting more they said I hadn't gone through near enough coffee to need new burrs.

Very frustrating situation - if anyone has any updates or suggestions I'm all ears. At this point, I'm now looking into upgrading my espresso grinder setup.

I am wondering if it might be the burr geometry that is making that particular model jam?
Just a thought ..

Randy

Reading the thread I am amazed that no one has checked.

1. That the capacitors are not faulty, they may have had a bad batch

2. That the correct spec cap is installed, perhaps the factory made a mistake on a batch.

These grinders shouldn't jam and the comment I read that any grinder can jam if you grind fine enough is not true. Some grinders can jam when you go really fine, but they shouldn't (and certainly not a grinder like yours) that's just poor design and all grinders will jam if you tighten them up so much that the burrs jam together.

I have used plenty of different grinders and it definitely sounds like something is wrong with the grinder and not just a bad design.

brughcoffee wrote:I know I'm a little late to this thread, but I feel your pain @jeffdt I found this thread by searching "jamming issues Macap M7D".

I would periodically have issues with my Macap M7D jamming when I first got it, especially with lighter roasts. I was using a La Spaziale LUCCA A53, which has a 53mm portafilter. I recently upgraded to a Linea PB ABR for our shop, which has a 58mm portafilter. I received the new machine on Monday - hooked it up Tuesday. I have had non-stop jamming issues since then. I have used all of these coffees previously on this grinder and while I had periodic jamming issues they are non-stop now. I have tried cleaning the grinder with RINZA tabs.

I have to weigh out each shot individually and grind them one at a time. If I load the hopper it instantly jams within grinding three doses.

The only difference was my switch to a 58mm portafilter, which means I have to grind a little finer to hit the same parameters. So, I'm assuming that the motor is unable to grind fine enough for modern espresso. However, this now makes sense why I would have periods of it jamming more than others and now it jamming non-stop. Since the "solution" is to grind coarser I will be unable to use this grinder with my Linea PB and it now makes me hesitant to use it with my LUCCA in a catering setting. I have not replaced the burrs, but when I reached out to Clive about getting more they said I hadn't gone through near enough coffee to need new burrs.

Very frustrating situation - if anyone has any updates or suggestions I'm all ears. At this point, I'm now looking into upgrading my espresso grinder setup.

I'm actually using the LUCCA A53 as well. I noticed something similar; it would jam ~90% of the time on a light-medium roast and probably 10% of the time on a darker roast. A 10% jamming rate may be usable at home, but not in a catering setting. So I'm stuck being unable to cater now as I can't afford a real grinder right now.

I contacted a local tech and he seemed interested in helping until I told him that I sent it back to Clive and they were unable to find a problem. I'm guessing he's thinking it's a factory defect and it would be a waste of his time to try to fix it. I don't know for sure.

To say that I'm disappointed in Clive Coffee over this whole thing is an understatement.

DaveC wrote:Reading the thread I am amazed that no one has checked.

1. That the capacitors are not faulty, they may have had a bad batch

2. That the correct spec cap is installed, perhaps the factory made a mistake on a batch.

These grinders shouldn't jam and the comment I read that any grinder can jam if you grind fine enough is not true. Some grinders can jam when you go really fine, but they shouldn't (and certainly not a grinder like yours) that's just poor design and all grinders will jam if you tighten them up so much that the burrs jam together.

I have used plenty of different grinders and it definitely sounds like something is wrong with the grinder and not just a bad design.

At least one other person suggested the capacitor(s) may be bad, and it seems like a good possibility. I just don't have the equipment or knowledge to check!

I meant that you have not replaced it already...it's the next move you should make because the caps are cheap. I didn't mean to bother testing it.

Hello all,

I have been using the Macap M7D for about 5 years now and absolutely love it. I recently came across this thread discussing the problem of jamming that was occurring with this machine and saw the video that was posted. I too was having this problem at random times and immediately thought that I was overusing the machine OR that it was nearing it's replacement date OR that there was too much weight being placed on the burrs by the amount of coffee I had in the hopper OR that it was too cold outside and it was malfunctioning due to the low temperatures. For the quick, jump to the last paragraph. For context, keep reading.

I use it for running corporate events and weddings here in Texas and it started happening at the beginning of one of my wedding events. I calmly went through the process of closing the hopper throat, removing the hopper, and removing the excess beans in the base of the machine. I then would attempt to grind the remainder of beans out to no avail. Just a dull whirring noise. I usually have the grinder plugged up to the same power source as my single group espresso machine as well as my water filtration system. This day, after running through all scenarios in my head, I had the thought that maybe the grinder needed more power than it was getting by sharing with the other machines. In desperation I quickly flipped the switch on my espresso machine and tried the grinder again. After a couple of seconds it came back to life. I replaced the hopper and turned the espresso machine back on and while the machine was pulling power, I would get the dull whirring noise. When I flipped the switch on the machine again, the grinder would come back to life. EUREKA!!!!! Of course it was a bit taxing to have to turn my machine off for every dose of coffee but by golly there was the solution!

The problem with the grinder "jamming" is likely not a jamming problem at all. It is most likely a problem with your power source being used by so many other things that not enough power is getting to the grinder. I am currently doing research on electricity and how it all works but the main problem seems to be not having enough power available when the grinder needs it. Fix your electrical problem, fix the jam!!! This power fix may occur through a thicker extension cord if you use one or doing research ahead of time on what power source you will be plugged into and what other things are using that source. Purchasing or renting a generator with enough power may be a bit of a monetary stretch but it could be a viable fix. This theory makes sense in the case of the guy who sent his grinder back to Clive for a different grinder to use at his event and Clive saying there was nothing wrong with it. Clive's power source situation was most likely better than his and his replacement grinder probably required less power to run if it ended up working with everything being equal. Hope this helps and revives your hope in the Macap M7D!

Best regards,
Asante Williams

I was experiencing the exact same problems with my Macap M4D. I had been using the device for 5 - 6 years once it started. A more stringent cleaning regime seemed to help a little, and so did replacing the grinding burrs. However, it did not entirely solve the problem. Like mentioned in this thread, jamming seemed to occur more often on light roasts (which I usually prefer).
After reading the thread, I realized that replacement of the capacitor was one of the things I did not yet try. I ordered a capacitor very similar (same capacity, same brand, but with different terminals) to the one that came factory installed for ~10USD and replaced the old for the new.

What then happened went far beyond my imagination.

The coffee that had been in the grinder at the time of replacement used to be one of my favorites. I was starting to wonder whether I was getting the most out of it with the grinder issues I was encountering. The grinder was set such that it would just not jam (finer was not possible since it would otherwise get jammed, and dose was adjusted accordingly to still get a reasonable extraction speed).
After replacement of the capacitor, I wanted to do a quick test, and without changing the grinding settings I tested the device. Interestingly, I immediately felt that the motor was kicking in more aggressively (the Macap tends to rotate a little on my smooth kitchen counter when it starts grinding - a phenomenon that I had not encountered for a long time and reappeared after replacement of the capacitor).
The thing that still strikes me is that the coffee that was brewed with this first shot had a totally different taste. I was way more rich in flavour than previous shots, and I immediately recognized the flavour elements I liked so much about this beloved coffee. The dullness (/ 'flat' flavour) that I had experienced over the past few months was suddenly gone, without changing any of the grinder's setttings!
To check whether was fooling myself, I made an espresso for my wife without telling anything. She immediately responded asking why the coffee was tasting so different. Now to you this may all sound obvious, but to me the impact of the capacitor on the final espresso was way beyond expectation.

This all happened a few months back, and in the meantime I have been enjoying many other coffees, all without jamming, while grinding way finer than in the previous months.


P.S. replacing the capacitor is an easy job, but please take safety precautions. Always unplug the grinder first before unscrewing the bottom of the grinder. Discharge the capacitor by using a voltage tester screw driver (touching each of the poles of the capacitor with the screw driver's end, while touching the metal plate at the top of the screw driver with a finger), and replace the capacitor with the same type (note voltage and capacity).

Hello, I specifically registered so that I can chime in and confirm that the jamming is probably caused by the start capacitor. I'm using a Macap M7d for 3 years until is started jamming. First I thought it was the beans as I just changed to a different roaster. Was following this thread for a long time. I endured for 2 years opting to turn the conical blade using an allen screw to give it space to generate momentum for every single dose. Imagine how inconvenient that is. I finally followed one of the advice that I saw that had the same problem but was for a Macap 4d I think. I opened the lid under the machine and bought a similar rating capacitor. I just installed it 30 mins ago and tried it. The grinder no longer gets jammed and you can hear the difference. It sounded more energetic. I wanted to share with you all. 2 years I waited and endured and now relief.

Hi all,

OP here - thought I'd update with the specifics of what I hope is a permanent fix, for future searchers.

I'd been without the jamming problem for a couple of years mainly since i favor darker/northern italian roasts. I tried some Ethiopian beans (smaller/drier) recently and the jamming started again - i went back to my original post and saw that a couple of folks had had success swapping out the run capacitor. I'd ruled that out, prematurely it seems, because when the jamming first started espresso coffee shop actually sent a replacement capacitor, which didn't fix the problem. In fact I sent the whole friggin thing back to italy, where it got stuck in customs for months, eventually Macap replaced the motor and they sent it back, but problem was still there with certain beans.

However, as one commenter pointed out, the whole batch of capacitors may have been bad, or just be under spec'd for the machine. The one in my machine was a Romanian made Ducati 70uf 450V motor run capacitor. So I ordered a similar spec'd capacitor for $15, I'll try to link below, and lo and behold the problem was gone, same ethiopian beans now ground fine. In fact, as other posters have reported, the grinder actually seems to be running differently/better, so much so that I've had to revise grind settings for all my coffees, as the capacitor is somehow having a bearing on the actual results from the grinder. Thought I was imagining this, but tried with several coffees, and in my case they all had to be set a little coarser on the collar for correct timing.

Anyway, just thought I should put this out there for any Macap users who may encounter the same problem (heard it happens on M4d's too?) - I love this grinder but the jamming was getting super annoying, glad to have it finally running as it should. I may end up writing to Macap as they did try to be helpful/sent vids etc, I wonder if they have never encountered the problem because they would likely mainly be grinding Italian roasts there, also wondering if this could be an issue particular to the 110V version.

Capacitor I ended up getting is below - though I'm sure any similar spec'd capacitor would work. As another user commented, it's not a complicated procedure but please take care to unplug the machine before opening, and discharge the capacitor before removing - if you're not comfortable with this get a tech do it !! You'll also likely need a new zip tie to secure the capacitor.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MF9T5NN

Good luck!
Desmond