Astra grinder issue/question

[milowebailey]

So I have several grinders, but my most recently acquired home Espresso grinder for the cabin is an Astra (cunill re-brand).t the

The problem is even though it's a burr grinder I can't seem to get the grind fine enough.  I don't think it has that many minutes on it.  Is it possible that the burrs are so bad that it will only grind coarse?  I'm one step up from the burrs touching and still a bad grind...

anyone have one of these or know what I should do.  The Burrs are $40 and I don't think I want to throw that much money into this grinder if it's not going to improve things... I'd rather sell this and find another commercial grinder.  I just liked that it's small.

[Tex]

So I have several grinders, but my most recently acquired home Espresso grinder for the cabin is an Astra (cunill re-brand).t the

The problem is even though it's a burr grinder I can't seem to get the grind fine enough.  I don't think it has that many minutes on it.  Is it possible that the burrs are so bad that it will only grind coarse?  I'm one step up from the burrs touching and still a bad grind...

anyone have one of these or know what I should do.  The Burrs are $40 and I don't think I want to throw that much money into this grinder if it's not going to improve things... I'd rather sell this and find another commercial grinder.  I just liked that it's small.

Check the burrs by drawing your thumbnail over the machined edges. If they dig into the nail they're OK. The Tranquilo I had was able to grind to my satisfaction.

[CAGurl]

The Tranquilo I had was able to grind to my satisfaction.

And before Tex had it it ground to MY satisfaction....

Susan

[milowebailey]

Top burr seems ok, but bottom one is questionable...

I have a Rossi RR45 and a Santos... maybe I'll sell this one and bring one of those monsters up here to the cabin.

[Tex]

The Tranquilo I had was able to grind to my satisfaction.

And before Tex had it it ground to MY satisfaction....

Susan

And she's very picky, maybe even a bit obsessive!

[Tex]

Top burr seems ok, but bottom one is questionable...

I have a Rossi RR45 and a Santos... maybe I'll sell this one and bring one of those monsters up here to the cabin.

I'd sell the RR45 on eBay for >$250, buy new burrs and keep the Tranquilo. It's really a good grinder!

[milowebailey]

Top burr seems ok, but bottom one is questionable...

I have a Rossi RR45 and a Santos... maybe I'll sell this one and bring one of those monsters up here to the cabin.

I'd sell the RR45 on eBay for >$250, buy new burrs and keep the Tranquilo. It's really a good grinder!

wanna buy the Tranguilo?

The Rossi is an even better grinder

[milowebailey]

Well not being one to give up... I took the Astra apart today thinking what would cause an uneven grind?  As I pondered it I thought what if the burrs were not parallel.  Thinking what if someone took the burrs off or changed burrs but didn't clean the mounting surfaces... This could cause the burrs to be not-parallel.   

Sure enough there seemed to be coffee grounds under the bottom burr (which I'd never had off).  I cleaned it, re-assembled it and wah-lah, I'm now getting a good grind.  Very even, no big chunks and fine as I need. 

As I type this I'm enjoying a fine Latte.

Interesting that I can get better microfoam with the Gaggia (with silvia steam wand) than I can on my Brasilia...  I'm wondering if I have too much pressure on the Brasilia... I've never checked it... down another rabbit hole.

[Tex]

Well not being one to give up... I took the Astra apart today thinking what would cause an uneven grind?  As I pondered it I thought what if the burrs were not parallel.  Thinking what if someone took the burrs off or changed burrs but didn't clean the mounting surfaces... This could cause the burrs to be not-parallel.  

Sure enough there seemed to be coffee grounds under the bottom burr (which I'd never had off).  I cleaned it, re-assembled it and wah-lah, I'm now getting a good grind.  Very even, no big chunks and fine as I need.  

As I type this I'm enjoying a fine Latte.

Interesting that I can get better microfoam with the Gaggia (with silvia steam wand) than I can on my Brasilia...  I'm wondering if I have too much pressure on the Brasilia... I've never checked it... down another rabbit hole.

Re: Brasilia pressure gauge

Don't trust the gauges on your machine. After getting bumped around in shipment you'd think the retailer would recalibrate the gauges before installation, but I've never seen it done (in fact I've yet to see a shop that had the tools to calibrate a Bourdon-tube gauge). I've had a dozen or so commercial machines to play with and I've yet to see one (new or used) with a gauge I'd rely on!

If you want to know what the boiler pressure is, the best thing is to ignore pressure readings and put a thermocouple probe down into the steam level of the boiler. I keep my boiler temp adjusted to 247°F.

The same holds true for the pump pressure gauges; the only way to adjust the group pressure with any degree of accuracy is to use a portafilter mounted gauge.

edited: David Mankin tested steam wand tips and found the 4-hole tips produced large uncontrollable bubbles, that might work OK if you've got a 50oz milk jug. For smaller home style jugs (<30oz) a 2-hole tip produced smaller and more easily managed bubbles that made for finer microfoam. My Nuova Simonelli machines had 4-hole tips and I just stuck toothpick ends into two of the openings, and it worked fine.

[Tex]

Top burr seems ok, but bottom one is questionable...

I have a Rossi RR45 and a Santos... maybe I'll sell this one and bring one of those monsters up here to the cabin.

I'd sell the RR45 on eBay for >$250, buy new burrs and keep the Tranquilo. It's really a good grinder!

wanna buy the Tranguilo?

The Rossi is an even better grinder

I'll pass on the Cunill, but I don't agree with you that the Rossi is better. Look at the specs and you'll see they're nearly identical.

I see you found the problem, and I'm not surprised; folks often take short cuts and then blame the machine when results suffer.