How do I unblock the grinder in my coffee machine?
Discussion
I have a Gaggia Titanium which is giving me the 'Grinder Blocked' message. The manual simply states that it should be sent to Gaggia service for this to be fixed, but I don't want to do that for the following reasons...
1: It still makes perfect coffee with pre-ground coffee, so I don't want to make myself coffee-less by sending the machine away.
2: If I send it away it might be damaged in transit.
3: If I send it away it might be along time before I get it back.
4: There's nothing to suggest that the grinder won't become blocked again - I don't want to have to send it away every time this happens.
So, does anyone know of either...
A: A service where someone will come to my home and fix it there?
B: Where I can get a diagram showing me how to remove the grinder and unblock it myself?
1: It still makes perfect coffee with pre-ground coffee, so I don't want to make myself coffee-less by sending the machine away.
2: If I send it away it might be damaged in transit.
3: If I send it away it might be along time before I get it back.
4: There's nothing to suggest that the grinder won't become blocked again - I don't want to have to send it away every time this happens.
So, does anyone know of either...
A: A service where someone will come to my home and fix it there?
B: Where I can get a diagram showing me how to remove the grinder and unblock it myself?
Edited by MitchT on Saturday 17th January 11:24
this might help
You do not need to clean the grinder as often as you may think. Usually we do not recommend cleaning the grinder unless there is a problem with calibration or a clog. Avoiding oily beans, flavored beans, and beans stored in the fridge or freezer will typically prevent issues.
If you do experience issues with your grinder, cleaning it is the most common solution. To clean your grinder, follow these directions:
1. Remove the water reservoir, turn off and unplug the machine.
2. Take the cover off of the bean hopper and vacuum out the beans.
3. Remove the 3 Phillips head screws that are in the bean hopper.
4. Lift up the bean hopper and set it aside.
5. Open the machine’s service door and remove the drip tray and the brew group.
6. Remove the rubber gasket from the top of the grinder area.
7. The grinder is made up of 2 pieces. The inner piece has 4 tabs that the rubber gasket sits on. The outer piece has teeth in a ring on the exterior covering ½ the circumference.
8. Rotate the outer ring 180 degrees counterclockwise. You should be able to lift off the inner ring. There is a red spot on the outer collar which should now be facing the 9 0’clock position when you are at the front of the machine.
9. Vacuum out all of the beans and ground coffee.
10. If possible, use a small pipe cleaner to get grounds out of the “pathway” going to the front of the machine. It is located on the floor of the grinder at about the 5 0’clock position.
11. Above where the brew group would be located, there is a gray triangular tab attached to a door on a hinge. Pull down on the triangle – coffee grounds may come out.
12. Look above the trap door and you will see the other end of the chute. Vacuum out the chute and clean with a pipe cleaner.
Reinstalling
1. Drop the inner burr onto the grinder with the tab that has the red and blue marks facing the right hand side of the machine at approximately the three-o’clock position.
2. Rotate the outer collar so that the red mark lines up the red/blue marks on the inner burr.
3. Reinstall the rubber gasket that goes over the grinder. The slots in the gasket line up with the four tabs of the outer burr.
4. There is a straight piece located directly to the right of the grinder. This is your dosage control. There is a piece that can slide backwards and forwards on this dosage arm. Push this arm all the way to the back of the machine.
5. Set the knobs in the bean hopper to #0 on the grind setting knob. Set the doser knob all the way to the plus setting. Now place the hopper back into the machine.
Note: You may have to rotate one or both of the knobs, a small amount, to get the bean hopper to set down on its supports.
6. Install the 3 screws.
7. Replace the water reservoir.
8. Fill the bean hopper with a cup of beans.
9. Plug in and turn on the machine.
10. Reinstall the brew group and the drip tray.
11. Once the machine warms up, press the small coffee button. When the grinder comes on set the grind setting to 6.
Note: You may have to press the small coffee button twice or 3 times before the machine will make a cup of espresso
You do not need to clean the grinder as often as you may think. Usually we do not recommend cleaning the grinder unless there is a problem with calibration or a clog. Avoiding oily beans, flavored beans, and beans stored in the fridge or freezer will typically prevent issues.
If you do experience issues with your grinder, cleaning it is the most common solution. To clean your grinder, follow these directions:
1. Remove the water reservoir, turn off and unplug the machine.
2. Take the cover off of the bean hopper and vacuum out the beans.
3. Remove the 3 Phillips head screws that are in the bean hopper.
4. Lift up the bean hopper and set it aside.
5. Open the machine’s service door and remove the drip tray and the brew group.
6. Remove the rubber gasket from the top of the grinder area.
7. The grinder is made up of 2 pieces. The inner piece has 4 tabs that the rubber gasket sits on. The outer piece has teeth in a ring on the exterior covering ½ the circumference.
8. Rotate the outer ring 180 degrees counterclockwise. You should be able to lift off the inner ring. There is a red spot on the outer collar which should now be facing the 9 0’clock position when you are at the front of the machine.
9. Vacuum out all of the beans and ground coffee.
10. If possible, use a small pipe cleaner to get grounds out of the “pathway” going to the front of the machine. It is located on the floor of the grinder at about the 5 0’clock position.
11. Above where the brew group would be located, there is a gray triangular tab attached to a door on a hinge. Pull down on the triangle – coffee grounds may come out.
12. Look above the trap door and you will see the other end of the chute. Vacuum out the chute and clean with a pipe cleaner.
Reinstalling
1. Drop the inner burr onto the grinder with the tab that has the red and blue marks facing the right hand side of the machine at approximately the three-o’clock position.
2. Rotate the outer collar so that the red mark lines up the red/blue marks on the inner burr.
3. Reinstall the rubber gasket that goes over the grinder. The slots in the gasket line up with the four tabs of the outer burr.
4. There is a straight piece located directly to the right of the grinder. This is your dosage control. There is a piece that can slide backwards and forwards on this dosage arm. Push this arm all the way to the back of the machine.
5. Set the knobs in the bean hopper to #0 on the grind setting knob. Set the doser knob all the way to the plus setting. Now place the hopper back into the machine.
Note: You may have to rotate one or both of the knobs, a small amount, to get the bean hopper to set down on its supports.
6. Install the 3 screws.
7. Replace the water reservoir.
8. Fill the bean hopper with a cup of beans.
9. Plug in and turn on the machine.
10. Reinstall the brew group and the drip tray.
11. Once the machine warms up, press the small coffee button. When the grinder comes on set the grind setting to 6.
Note: You may have to press the small coffee button twice or 3 times before the machine will make a cup of espresso
Thanks Matt! During a very prolonged spell of Googling I couldn't find anything nearly as helpful as that. I did find a very detailed exploded diagram but it didn't inspire sufficient confidence in me to have a go. Your instructions, however, are exactly what I require. Will probably have a go this evening or tomorrow morning.
Well that was all simple enough. However, I am now getting the 'Coffee Beans Empty' message, even though the hopper is full of beans! The first time I pressed the 'Small Coffee' button the grinder worked but no coffee was produced (as indicated in your instructions), so I pressed it a second time expecting it to take three goes (again, as per your instructions) and that was when the 'Coffee Beans Empty' massage came up and that's all I'm getting now.
Okay, just cleaned it out... again!
There was a definite problem bean in the grinder which I had to prise out with a screwdriver! I am guilty of two of the things that one shouldn't do - Storing beans in the fridge and buying oily beans - so maybe they're factors in today's problems. I can stop storing the beans in the fridge (I thought that was where they were supposed to be kept, so where instead?) but I will have to continue buying oily beans as they are the only ones that produce the amount of crema that I like - I guess cleaning the grinder out is something I'll have to do every now and then.
I've left my beans somewhere warm and dry and I'll have another go at making a coffee later when I'm confident that the beans are ready.
There was a definite problem bean in the grinder which I had to prise out with a screwdriver! I am guilty of two of the things that one shouldn't do - Storing beans in the fridge and buying oily beans - so maybe they're factors in today's problems. I can stop storing the beans in the fridge (I thought that was where they were supposed to be kept, so where instead?) but I will have to continue buying oily beans as they are the only ones that produce the amount of crema that I like - I guess cleaning the grinder out is something I'll have to do every now and then.
I've left my beans somewhere warm and dry and I'll have another go at making a coffee later when I'm confident that the beans are ready.
Hi, I have the same problem. My machine has just been retunred from having an electrical fualt and now has a blocked grinder.
I followed these helpful instuctions and managed to get it to spin up, then it stopped again. I have cleaned it thoroughly and can not see any more beans, debirs at all. I can turn the centre grinder as well. Do i need to take the centre piece off, it has a small white cap and a "torx" screw head holidng it down? Will this help?
If you can let me have the link to the schematic this might help me as well.
Thanks in advance.
I followed these helpful instuctions and managed to get it to spin up, then it stopped again. I have cleaned it thoroughly and can not see any more beans, debirs at all. I can turn the centre grinder as well. Do i need to take the centre piece off, it has a small white cap and a "torx" screw head holidng it down? Will this help?
If you can let me have the link to the schematic this might help me as well.
Thanks in advance.
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