I use a Cory Gasketless Vacuum brewer with the either a Silex Lox-In or New Cory Filter Rod. My grinder is a Solis 177. I have, as a last resort, set the coarseness to appx 7 1/2 (coarsest grind). At least I _expect_ it to be coarse. Recently I have had problems, where there were none before, having the brewed coffee return to the lower pot. I sucessfully boil the water-36 oz, place the top with 6 measures of coffee on, and watch the water rise slowly to the upper level. I allow it to gurgle for about a minute. I remove the unit from the heat and await the coffee's return to the lower chamber. It takes forever. In the past this worked fine using a 6 grind on the Solis with medium roasted beans. I have begun roasting much darker now just short of espresso roast. Apparently too fine grounds are clogging the glass filter. When I noticed this, I coarsened the grind thinking that the darker roast was grinding finer, but at 7 1/2 I've reached the limit, and the clogging remains. Could my grinder be out of whack?? I have done nothing out of the ordinary to it. [Like grinding rice!! [;-) ] How would I be able to tell if the burr settings were off, and _more importantly_ how would I reset them? Waiting patiently, Alec homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
I wouldn't think a slightly finer grind would cause major problems by itself. I generally roast to full city and grind at a 3 setting with my Solis 177. No problems so far with my Cory gasketless (old cory filter rod). In fact, I get a really strong vacuum with vigorous bubbling in the lower unit with the heat off as it drains. I use the same amount of coffee as you do (6 measures). Any possibility that the Cory isn't sealing anymore. New defect in the glass or something? Secondary speculation: could the change to the really dark roast make a difference? I don't roast that dark, so I have no idea, but it's another variable that has changed (more oil). JKG <Snip> or <Snip> coarseness to <Snip> the <Snip> allow it <Snip> lower <Snip> medium <Snip> noticed <Snip> grinding <Snip> remains. <Snip> ordinary <Snip> homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
Do you make a point of wetting the milled surfaces of the containers, or use them dry? There is more oil on the surface of the beans. There just seems to be an excess of fine grounds packed around the rod and settled in the bottom of the pot. Tonight I'm going to hand grind some to see if that makes a difference. I'll go very (French Press) coarse. Alec At 06:10 PM 5/26/01 Saturday, you wrote: <Snip> homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
At the suggestion of others, I have been wetting the surface. I don't know if I'm doing it the best way, but I'm taking a wet cloth and wiping on both sides of the top edges of the lower container. Then I "gently and lightly" press the top container against the bottom container. Anyway, I've been getting good suction. Hope yours returns to normal. It'll be interesting to hear if the hand-ground coarse coffee makes any difference. JKG <Snip> containers, or <Snip> homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
I suggest you repeat the siphon operation WITHOUT any coffee in it. If the water doesn't go down very quickly, then the problem is probably already in the filter element. -- Ryuji Suzuki "I can't believe I'm here. People always say that I'm a long way from normal." (Bob Dylan, Normal, Illinois, 13 February 1999) homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
On Sat, 26 May 2001, Alec McCrackin wrote:
<Snip>
It's not likely your burrs would need adjusting so soon (the 177
hasn't been around that long!).
One odd trick I've learned from alt.coffee, which might be
affecting you as well, is that the vacuum works much better if you
keep the heat no more than medium and heat the water slowly. I think
it's our tendency to think hotter is better, especially if we're
encountering problems with it, so take care with the heat and see if
that helps.
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