Suddenly pre-infusion has tons of flow and handle goes back very fast

Lloyd Alvarez

Starting yesterday, without having changed anything else like grind, dose, tamp, etc. The pre-infusion stage now has tons of flow (normally I either get nothing or just a few drops during this stage) and the pump even kicks in to add water. Then when i release the handle the handle now goes back much much faster than it did before. I recorded a video in case it's helpful: https://goo.gl/photos/MQEMPboXG4MehEKq9


Any idea what might have suddenly caused this change?

Frans Goddijn

have you tried a variety of alternative recently roasted beans?

Lloyd Alvarez

Yes, i have tried different beans but again, this was a sudden change when nothing else changed. In other words, yesterday with the same beans, grind, dose, etc, it was working normally as expected. I am wondering if some gasket or something like that might have broken inside the machine.

Frans Goddijn

Lloyd Alvarez post=13609 wrote: Yes, i have tried different beans but again, this was a sudden change when nothing else changed. In other words, yesterday with the same beans, grind, dose, etc, it was working normally as expected. I am wondering if some gasket or something like that might have broken inside the machine.

Not sure from your description if you have checked this with other beans today, or sometime ago.

It sounds like your beans are getting old (roasted when exactly?) or your grinder (which grinder exactly? PS Oh I see it's the Sette, a rather new grinder. New grinders can need extra frequent adjustment, especially this radically new design grinding machine which has some issues for some new owners) needs to be adjusted. You may not have willingly changed the grind but it can still happen without you noticing it.

Richard Gregory

I've had brand new grinder burrs do stuff like this, but then you could have fixed it with a finer grind setting. That was during what they call 'break in' period.

That's the only thing I can think of that might do that to you and be hard to nail down.

My understanding of how the gaskets work is limited, but I don't think that would be a symptom of a failure. If your PI pressure went up due to a heating element not shutting off or something maybe this would happen, but then there would be other symptoms like the pressure release valve (not the correct name but you get what I mean) would open.

I guess your screen could have been blocked up and the obstruction finally gave way.

Another wild guess. Good luck!

Reiss Gunson

hi lloyd

i wouldn't worry unduly - nothing will be 'broken' & I'm sure we can work it out

did you move the machine around on your kitchen bench at about that time? (even an inch?)

kind regards

reiss

Robert Hall

Lloyd,
Sometimes weather can have rather drastic effect on grind. Not sure where you are. I'm in the mid-west US and the weather is changing. I just recently had to tighten up my grind quite a bit on my Monolith. My rule is that when the flow increases, tighten the grind and visa versa!
Rob

Reiss Gunson

the reason i enquire whether the machine was moved is it is critically important to lift all four feet off the bench when you move it

dragging it, even on just two legs is one of the worst things you can do for your machine as the bottom of each leg has an o-ring in it to stop the machine sliding around

if the machine is dragged across the bench these o-rings will cause the machine to vibrate and judder chronically, to the extent that you are likely to change the setting of the secondary pressure switch

if this has occurred it is no big deal, but you will need to tweak the pressure switch probably an eighth of a turn to pull the pre-infusion pressure back to where it was

this may not be the cause, but i am struggling to think of other explanations just now, based on the information you have provided above

Lloyd Alvarez

I don't believe the machine has been moved but we do clean around it so it's possible it was bumped inadvertently.

Although Frans and Richard's suggestion about the grinder break-in might have been the culprit as I adjusted the grind way finer (much much more than a normal weather or bean change adjustment) and it seems to have normalized the flow again.

but the pre-infusion still feels heavy so I think I will also try to adjust the pressure switch. Is there a video or guide somewhere I can follow to do it?

Reiss Gunson

https://londiniumespresso.com/forum?view=topic&catid=27&id=926

(you will need to be logged in as a machine owner to access this as it lies in the permanent file)

Robert Hall

Here is my point. See pic of my Monolith below. A week ago the blue marker was in the 5 position. With the recent weather change in the Midwest look where it is now!
Rob

Robert Hall

Attached files

Lloyd Alvarez

Wow, that does seem like a large adjustment. I was comparing it to my other grinders (Mazzer Mini and Mahlkonig K30 and Peak) which never required such large adjustments. But adjusting did seem to fix things so thanks for the input and reference.

Ron Lewen

Robert Hall post=13621 wrote: Here is my point. See pic of my Monolith below. A week ago the blue marker was in the 5 position. With the recent weather change in the Midwest look where it is now!
Rob

I've also noticed a big shift in my grinder setting over the past few days.

Robert Hall

I have always had to make grinder adjustments with major weather changes...I guess I don't ever give it a second thought.
Rob