thirdshifter wrote:Basic question here, but: what kind of grease do you use on the bolt threads / under the head (of the bolt that goes in the adjustment collar)? I just have Dow 111 for gaskets/o-rings?-- will that work here?

Also -- does anybody know an exact replacement for that screw (not a harder version, just exactly what OE uses)?-- I didn't see if for sale by OE. Thanks!!

EDIT: I found some Lubri-Film at work -- I'll try that!

I have a can of food grade grease used in Kitchenaid gear boxes and pretty much use it on all grease points outside the water/steam paths, use Dow 111 for that. Might try anti-sieze next as the screw is binding again, with possibly a washer if I can find one to fit.

I'm wondering if anyone can help me solve a problem that I've encountered with my Pharos 1.1 since converting to 2.0 several months ago. I used the grinder for a little over 2 years prior to the conversion with no real problems. In fact, after the conversion, I didn't really have any problems for a couple of months, but while working my way through a bag of particularly hard beans, the shaft began to bind up. The burrs were not touching at all but the shaft was very difficult to turn. So I loosened all the bolts and went back to the beginning of the alignment process (as per the third installment of the video "how-to" guide). I got most of the binding to go away, but not all of it, so I completely disassembled the grinder. I cleaned everything, reassembled, and realigned. The grinder worked well for a couple of weeks, but then the shaft started binding up again (although I have not ground any particularly hard beans since the initial occurrence of this problem). After disassembling the grinder again, I found that the burr shaft was stuck in the upper bushing. After separating the two, I could see and feel evidence of scoring both around the shaft and inside the upper bushing. While replacing the upper bushing in the top plate of the grinder, I noticed that the top plate had a malformation in the portion in which the bushing sits. I do not know how this piece of metal got bent, but I suspect that due to this malformation, the bushing is not aligned with the shaft, thereby causing binding. I have attempted to straighten this "bushing carrier" in the top plate, but I am unsure if bending it back to "straight" (by "eyeballing it") will be sufficient to rectify this problem. Additionally, since I am unsure as to how it got bent in the first place, I'm not sure what I ought to avoid in reassembling and aligning the grinder. Any thoughts?

In addition to this problem, in order to tighten the hex bolt on the adjustment collar enough to keep it from moving while grinding, it seems that the hex bolt seems to get "stuck" in place. In order to either tighten (sometimes still required to keep the adjustment collar from moving while grinding) or loosen from where it starts to "stick", it seems that I need to use an inordinate amount of force, and then the bolt will only turn in a jerky, hesitant manner. Due to this binding of the hex bolt, I have "stripped out" two hex bolts and one hex key!

This suggestion looks like it may help with the adjustment collar hex bolt:

lucasd wrote:Add thrust bearing set AXK1226, twice AS1226. Best from INA or SKF.

In such case you can have the screw tight, but still you can adjust it by hand and it stays in place even with super light roast.
Should also be easier to turn.
One drawback you will loose some regulation for coarse setting, though I see no reason to go beyond that.

I want to ensure I understand this post correctly: are you saying that I should use two of these needle thrust bearings, stacked between the adjustment collar and the bushing on the top plate? If your suggestion would help reduce how much I need to tighten the hex bolt, I'd love to try it.

Any input you can provide to help me resolve these issue is much appreciated!

you need two washers AS1226 and
one bearing AXK1226

You put washer on brass bushing, than bearing (with little grease), washer, collar.
Do not use nylon washer. Tighten the hex so you can move it with some force, it will stay in place.

Great! Thanks! I'll give it a try...