Messy/Spraying Shots

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
saskskier
Posts: 13
Joined: 8 years ago

#1: Post by saskskier »

Hi there,

I'm having major trouble with messy, spraying shots when using a bottomless portafilter. I've previously had a Silvia/Rocky combo without any issues, then upgraded to a Bezzera BZ10/Compak combo. Never had any issues with getting clean and consistent shots. Then I won a Profitec Pro 500/Mazzer Mini E last year and have only had a handful of clean shots since.

I don't think I've changed anything in my technique (weigh grounds, WDT, even tamp, flush), tried adjusting the grind, playing with tamp pressure, etc, but no success. I don't feel like changing the machine/grinder should change things that much, but maybe? Could it be the pressure is running too high on the machine and just blowing through the puck? Any other thoughts or ideas?

Thanks

Beewee
Posts: 196
Joined: 6 years ago

#2: Post by Beewee »

Howdy fellow Calgarian,

Definitely worth checking the group pressure. My shots were rather prone to spraying for a while and I didn't realize until recently that my Vivaldi Mini was running at 10 bar. Ever since I dropped it down to 8.5-9.0 bar, the problem has more or less gone away. I'm not familiar with the Pro 500 but on the Vivaldi, the group pressure is controlled by an over pressure valve behind the front panel. The bleed valve works by discharging water and feeding the water back into the pump inlet once it exceeds its set pressure. The pressure of the OPV is adjusted using a wrench.

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Beewee
Posts: 196
Joined: 6 years ago

#3: Post by Beewee »

Here are the instructions for adjusting group pressure on the Pro 500: https://clivecoffee.zendesk.com/hc/en-u ... p-Pressure

chipman
Posts: 1169
Joined: 16 years ago

#4: Post by chipman »

Your post is a little confusing. Have you always used a bottomless portafilter, or has the problem started when you changed to bottomless? If this is just rearing it's ugly head with the bottomless, maybe it's operator error and not the fault of the machine. Perhaps posting a video could help.

saskskier (original poster)
Posts: 13
Joined: 8 years ago

#5: Post by saskskier (original poster) replying to chipman »

Sorry about that. I've used a bottomless portafilter with both my previous machines without issues.

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Jake_G
Team HB
Posts: 4295
Joined: 6 years ago

#6: Post by Jake_G replying to saskskier »

What basket size/dose are you using? Have you verified you have headspace between the shower screen and the top of the puck with the portafilter locked in? Rest a nickel on top of a prepared puck and lock it into the group and then pull it out. If the nickel has been pushed into the puck, this could very well be your problem.

Cheers!

- Jake
LMWDP #704

emradguy
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#7: Post by emradguy replying to Jake_G »

Agreed. While it doesn't hurt to check the machine pressure, inspect the group and shower screen for cleanliness, and watch water flow when there's no pf engaged on the group, this problem is almost always related to basket preparation. Checking dry dose weight/basket fullness, bean freshness, grind, and revisiting distribution (and tamp process to some degree) should solve it.
LMWDP #748

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Beewee
Posts: 196
Joined: 6 years ago

#8: Post by Beewee »

Along the lines of basket prep, it's also good to check if you have more slop between the portafilter basket and tamper outer diameter. If there's more wiggle room, it's harder to get good compaction on the edges and that will increase the chance of channeling on the sides.

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slipchuck
Posts: 1485
Joined: 7 years ago

#9: Post by slipchuck »

I reduced the amount in the portafilter basket by 1.0 grams and it greatly reduced squirts and streams


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