acgibbs Senior Member Joined: 25 Jan 2012 Posts: 3 Location: Campbellsville Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Jan 25, 2012, 11:22am Subject: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
For the past couple of weeks, I've been unable to get a fine enough grind on my 9-month-old Baratza Virtuoso Preciso to get a decent shot. I've got the grinder cranked all the way down to 1A and still can't get a 2 oz shot in 25 seconds (more or less)....instead, they're coming in at 15, 12 or even 10 seconds...fast and blonde.
Coffee is fresh - less than 2 weeks off roast. Pulling shots with a double-basket Rancilio Silvia.
Suggestions? Can this grinder be re-calibrated and, if so, can someone point me to a tutorial?
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,013 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Wed Jan 25, 2012, 11:29am Subject: Re: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
acgibbs Said:
For the past couple of weeks, I've been unable to get a fine enough grind on my 9-month-old Baratza Virtuoso Preciso to get a decent shot. I've got the grinder cranked all the way down to 1A and still can't get a 2 oz shot in 25 seconds (more or less)....instead, they're coming in at 15, 12 or even 10 seconds...fast and blonde.
Coffee is fresh - less than 2 weeks off roast. Pulling shots with a double-basket Rancilio Silvia.
Suggestions? Can this grinder be re-calibrated and, if so, can someone point me to a tutorial?
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,013 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Wed Jan 25, 2012, 11:47am Subject: Re: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
The web site has lots of troubleshooting with how tos and pics.
There is a calibration screw that is adjustable but from the sound of it this is not the issue. They should be able to save you plenty of time on your troubleshooting plus get a part out to you this week if that's what you need.
acgibbs Senior Member Joined: 25 Jan 2012 Posts: 3 Location: Campbellsville Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Jan 25, 2012, 12:08pm Subject: Re: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
FYI - Baratza.com has a pretty great troubleshooting section with step-by-step instructions to solve a number of common issues (including mine). Good clear photos are included for just about every step.
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 9:19am Subject: Re: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
Did you solve your problem? I have the exact same problem (8mo old Preciso; bought it in May) that spontaneously stopped grinding fine enough in December after a routine disassembly and cleaning with Grindz. I got ahold of their customer support, and after some email exchanges back and forth for a week, they sent me a shipping label and I sent it back.
I just got it back a week ago, and it's exactly the same: can't grind nearly find enough even at extremely low settings. I took it apart over the phone with them and reseated the adjustment ring: still no effect. I asked about the fineness adjustment screw, and they said that's for finer adjustment problems than I'm having. At 10, the coffee it grinds brews a shot in about 3 seconds. They asked me to try new coffee (mine is frozen from Red Bird, but I live next to a coffee roaster): fresh oily beans got me up to 5 seconds. The best I got out of Baratza over the course of three days of phone calls was mild disbelief and a promise of another return label.
Kind of wishing I'd bought a different grinder right now. Coming up on two months this thing's been broken, and no one knows why. What am I supposed to do when this happens again out of warranty?
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 9:50am Subject: Re: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
Just read through the first ten or so pages of the Grinder subforum. What the hell is going on with the Preciso? A ton of people seem to be having the same problem? Really starting to regret getting stuck with this grinder now...
siedkins Senior Member Joined: 16 May 2011 Posts: 2 Location: London, UK Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 10:49am Subject: Re: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
I have exactly the same issue - I have just calibrated to the finest setting as per the Baratza guide and also per Seattle Coffee Gear's YouTube guide and I am still getting 15 second double shots and that is now on number 6. I have tried going tighter but the grinder jams and I have to then take it apart to clear it.
cracker23 Senior Member Joined: 2 Feb 2012 Posts: 8 Location: Saudi Arabia Expertise: Just starting
Posted Mon Mar 5, 2012, 7:55am Subject: Re: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso - Not Grinding Fine Enough
Same problem here. I replaced the entire plastic mechanism that controls the fine and coarse adjustment. Now I'm in the high 10's getting 25 second shots.
I am no expert, but I think that the plastic pieces which make up the adjustment mechanism are pretty flimsy/cheap and prone to breaking or losing "tightness". Now that I've seen these internals, I'm not gonna be constantly moving the adjustments back and forth between coffee and espresso as I worry this will eventually cause another issue.
The grinder seems to be top notch in build quality except for these components.
The guy that I dealt with at Baratza was really helpful, though.
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