Exploding Dream!!!

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Exploding Dream!!!

Postby Shannoncita » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:40 am

Just thought I would share this:

One afternoon last week I arrived home with my little bag of freshly ground beans from Monmouth Coffee with eager anticipation (as I do about twice a week as I still don't have my own grinder), I always try to hurry home so I can have the freshest experience possible. While you all are lucky enough to experience this pleasure daily, I have to enjoy it while it lasts... an afternoon at the most.

The previous grind was a bit course so I had them grind slightly finer. So as usual I filled the portafilter, tamped, etc...
But when I switched on the machine (Innova Dream) the coffee failed to appear, even after several seconds and the pressure guage was as high as I have ever seen it, almost 15bar. Clearly something was wrong. I switched off the machine, waited a moment and then slowly started to release the portafilter...
I am a little uncertain of the moments that followed, but I think I remember a popping sound, and the next thing I knew, I was standing covered in grounds surrounded by coffee walls, with what I can only imagine was a very shocked look on my face. It was then I realised, my Dream had exploded!
I can only take this as a sign that I really should buy a grinder.

Has anythings like this ever happened to anyone? How is it possible for that much pressure to bulid up. Is it the machine or just the grind that was the problem (it has been more or less okay since)?

Thanks

Shannoncita
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Postby CakeBoy » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:14 am

Hi Shannoncita

Wow, that was certainly some espresso mess to clear up! Must have been quite a shock too. What a waste of coffee :D

Usually the problem with pre-ground is that it is not fine enough. They obviously went really fine with the grind after you mentioned it was too course the week before. I have tamped too hard in the past (like most here) and ended up with just a dribble of espresso, but never what you experienced. You effectively turned your ground coffee into a blind filter and built up the pressure which held until you released the portafilter because the coffee created a vacuum seal that a real blind filter would not.

It has probably been ok since because you have perhaps been tamping with less pressure. You just need to find a balance between grind and tamp pressure. How has the coffee been since? Does it have good body and crema? If it is to your taste then it's ok. If the grind is too fine, you will get powder leading to slight sediment in your drink, in which case it may need to go coarser with a harder tamp to maintain the right resistance to the water flow. Hope that sheds a little light. Others on here who know way more than me will be able to help you more.

I would get a grinder anyway if possible, then you can have that lovely freshness every day as you clean the walls :roll:
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Postby badwolf » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:19 am

sounds like a bad case of portafilter sneeze

if you grind too fine and/or tamp too hard it's easy to choke the machine

i do it myself from time to time :oops:

next time it happens turn off the pump and give it a few minutes for the pressure to die down before removing the portafilter

if there's more resistance than normal when moving the handle give it a little longer and all should be well :wink:
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Postby simonp » Thu Oct 27, 2005 7:57 am

This is why fancier machines have a 3-way valve, which dumps the pressure when you turn off the pump, saves all that clearing up!
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Postby Bertie_Doe » Thu Oct 27, 2005 8:46 am

Shannoncita wrote
I can only take this as a sign that I really should buy a grinder.

It's prolly a good idea to invest in a grinder, as pre-ground starts to stale after a few hours (some say after a few minutes). eBay's a good place for a grinder and you won't pay OTT, now that simonp has bought his 'mazzer'. But don't delay - he leaves us a very narrow window of opportunity.
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Postby simonp » Thu Oct 27, 2005 9:22 am

cumberpach wrote:eBay's a good place for a grinder and you won't pay OTT, now that simonp has bought his 'mazzer'. But don't delay - he leaves us a very narrow window of opportunity.
Q.Cumberpach


Hey, leave off, I bid on 2 grinders in a year, and I get that sort of accusation :cry:
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
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Postby CakeBoy » Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:42 am

A real grinder, sigh ........ some of us can only dream :wink:
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Postby Bertie_Doe » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:37 pm

I'm dreaming of losing 20 pounds weight ...you couldn't substitute the chocolate (sigh) on your cake with grated turnip and sprouts. I hate turnip and sprouts.
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Postby CakeBoy » Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:21 pm

Turnip and sprout cake coming up! Cream with that sir? :?
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International muffin blagger

Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
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Postby Kaarina » Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:37 am

About the explosion - happens to me every once in a while too. If I end up with too much/too hardly tamped coffee in the portafilter, I usually wrap a towel around my Piccola and then take the portafilter away. Cleaning reduced to wiping the piccola itself, while the proud owner remains clean....
Of course, I am always to blame when that happens. I usually have added "just a little more" coffee grounds to the portafilter and then the lever wont go down (or would of course if I insisted, but I feel sorry for the corpus of my piccola..)
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Postby JulieJayne » Sat Oct 29, 2005 10:11 am

I even had this type of explosive "sneeze" with a Francis Francis and coffee pods, actually as we were demonstrating it to a potential customer! Fortunately most of the coffee missed the customer and they did actually buy the machine.
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