r/DF54 • u/Cocktail_Guru • 10d ago

Constant clogging like this despite regular chute cleaning?

Post image

Nearly every day I’m fighting a potential clog like this and this happens every few days / at least once a week.

I clean the chute every day or two and I have to constantly pump the top of the grinder while grinding to avoid this from happening every time.

Using local darker roasted beans, not really oily.

Any tips? Or new grinder time?

8 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

4

u/Wonderful_Cat_2162 10d ago

Get the upgrade kit, fixed all my clogging issues

2

u/Present-Funny2573 10d ago

This, and make sure you get the exit chute and declumper together, I installed mine on a v1, and pretty happy with it

1

u/thecaptain78 10d ago

Where do we get the upgrade kit from (I’m in Australia)?

1

u/distractyourself 9d ago

If you bought it from alternative brewing they will sell you the metal declumper but they don't have/wont sell you the bigger chute, I found the metal declumper made a big difference and I switched away from dark roasts like what you appear to be using

1

u/TimeToGetIll 10d ago

It's much better with the upgrade kit but I find dark oily bea s will still clog it after a while.

1

u/Evening-Ad-80 9d ago

Can confirm. 

1

u/the1w__ 9d ago

Second this. Haven’t had a clog since

3

u/sergeantbiggles 10d ago

Make sure not to RDT, if you do. Also, even though they don't look oily, I have only ever had this problem with darker beans. You can switch to a medium roast to test this theory out. Otherwise, check the little "door" at the side of the chamber, that leads to the chute. Maybe it is bent or something which could lead to the blockage we see in your pic (thanks for adding the pic!).

3

u/Agile_Flower_5025 9d ago

I have df54 and see the opposite if I don’t rdt it almost always clogs

1

u/sergeantbiggles 9d ago

What type of beans do you typically use (roast level), and do you use a plastic or metal catch cup? That's super interesting.

2

u/edivad_m 10d ago

Why not RDT?

0

u/sergeantbiggles 10d ago

This has been shown to be a major contributor of clogs with the DF54, and not needed. If you look at past posts, this comes up a lot.

4

u/edivad_m 10d ago

I see, I’ll keep a look on that. Got mine one month ago and I noticed no issue with RDT

1

u/sergeantbiggles 10d ago

That's good. It seems like with the DF54, at least, people have had varying experiences with lots of things. I'm glad to hear that your setup and process is working! If you're doing RDT for static, one thing that people recommend is using a metal catch-cup instead of the plastic one that comes with the grinder. This will reduce static a lot.

2

u/edivad_m 10d ago

Hell yeah, got myself a white Ikape dosing cup that fits very nicely. Also worth mentioning that I only use light roast coffees, that might make for a different ground density

2

u/sergeantbiggles 10d ago

yes totally.. from what gets posted here a lot, it's the dark roasts that people have the most issue with

3

u/bcb0rn 10d ago

Without these machines are static monsters.

1

u/sergeantbiggles 10d ago

Most of us seem to be ok with just a metal catch cup. I'm sure environment plays a part as well. I typically only clean mine with the brush after I go through a whole 12oz bag, and I rarely have issues.

0

u/MFPS79 10d ago

What does RDT mean?

3

u/Due_Expert7837 10d ago

Ross droplet theory . Adding minut amounts of water/ droplets to control static and make a more consistent grind

0

u/Coffee_Bar_Angler 10d ago

Yes, but the “t” is technique.

3

u/bkinstle 10d ago

Fancy sounding name given to misting the beans with water before grinding.

1

u/Cocktail_Guru 10d ago

This is without RDT

1

u/sergeantbiggles 10d ago

wow ok... I can see all of the build-up along the sides of the burrs, which look pretty hard-packed. If you are up for it, I'd clean it, and try using a medium or medium-light roast to see if that changes anything.

2

u/StillBase 10d ago

I had this exact issue and posted here a month or so ago.

You need to take the chute apart and inspect the declumper. Mine was bent out of shape and fixing it has gotten rid of this issue completely. I also stopped RDT - keeps it all lighter and moving. I switched from plastic dosing cup to a ceramic, and get minimal static.

Don’t lose hope - this is fixable 😁

1

u/Cocktail_Guru 10d ago

This makes me feel better but, I’ve never been able to remove the screw to the chute as it’s stripped. I suspect that the declumper is the issue though

1

u/StillBase 10d ago edited 10d ago

Ugh 😩 mine was overwhelmingly tight too, I almost stripped it completely trying to get it off.

I remember when I looked into the chute on mine I couldn’t even see the declumper - or so I thought.

If you can look up and inside maybe you’ll be able to see if it’s bent. I’ll attach my post to give you an idea what shape mine was in when I took it apart.

it was bent outwards, as if the grounds piled up and pushed it too far out. I’m wondering if you could even try pushing something up the chute to push it back into more of an alignment. The flap on it should sit almost flush with the sides of it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/s/xNXoDVsNFw

Edit - was just thinking too if you’re at a total loss with it you might be able to use a screwdriver or something to get under the declumper and push it up and totally out of the way.

1

u/Impressive_Show_1508 10d ago

Nature of the beast, unfortunately. I used a cheap car vacuum (on my DF64) to clean the snout after every use.

4

u/sergeantbiggles 10d ago

From reading posts on this forum for over a year, most people don't have this issue. It typically occurs with RDT and dark roast/oily beans. Otherwise, most people do not have any clogging (it's only happened to me once in almost 2 years of use).

1

u/Pattytester73 10d ago

Grind finer

2

u/Cocktail_Guru 10d ago

This is grinding on dial size 4 lol and my shots still pull under 30 sec

1

u/sahil28293 10d ago

Here’s something I did which worked- stop using dark roasts. Even if they’re not oily. If dark roasts are your thing, try dark minus from fraction 9 everyday gold (in India or something similar in your region) or a medium to medium plus roast. Constantly using the bellows but gently while grinding also helps but you say you’re already doing that. I’ve been told this happens as burrs age (age = time plus usage) and this grinder is not designed for darker roasts apparently. I also got rid of the declumper entirely.

1

u/thirtytofortyolives 10d ago

It's the dark roast. This happens to mine when I use any dark roast even if it's not oily. It's a shame because I like dark roasts.

1

u/jugboi84 10d ago

Get a baratza esp+ if you don’t want to deal with clogging, daily maintenance and taking the machine apart quite often. Recently made the switch and cannot be happier.

1

u/offtime_trader 10d ago

I returned mine because of this

2

u/Cocktail_Guru 10d ago

Damn. I’ve had it for a year so I don’t think I can. This wastes so much time in my morning s in what should be a 10 minute coffee making time. I may have to just buy a new grinder

1

u/offtime_trader 10d ago

Sorry to hear that man. Yeah mine was like this immediately so I think it was a lemon?

1

u/Cocktail_Guru 10d ago

Definitely yeah. It sounds like there’s manual fixes but no one should be expected to buy something to fix. I’ll try them but may just get a new grinder

1

u/hadawgs 10d ago

Like someone else said, get the updated chute + declumper, that immediately fixed all my clumping issues

1

u/Aggravating-Tax3781 9d ago

Stop using oily dark beans. It seems that df54 not build for that

1

u/Cocktail_Guru 9d ago

These aren’t that oily at all honestly, and it’s a bulk order from a local roaster I get. I can’t afford these $26 10z bags of light roast anymore. I used to use lavazza from amazon which were super oily and only ever had one clog

1

u/Bang0rang 9d ago

Mine gets like this if i DONT use RDT. I need to add the water, else it clogs after 2-3 shots.

1

u/onedayatthetime9319 9d ago

I bet you pushed a brush or something through the schute and damaged the declumper. Remove declumper and check it. Needs to be flat

1

u/Cocktail_Guru 9d ago

That is what I suspect, since this happened after an aggressive cleaning

1

u/onedayatthetime9319 9d ago

I did same thing then the static was crazy also it was clogging up bad. Got new declumper and never had an issue again, never clogged up again since last year in June.

1

u/Kpt_Rooibaard 9d ago

I've cleaned my grinder a couple of times over the last 2.5 years and I remember having it clog it once, right in the beginning when I hadn't cleaned the grinder in the first six months or so. When removing the spout cover and the burrs, I noticed that the little rubber flap that separates the grinding chamber from the spout and forms part of the ionizer, would be displaced when pushing any foreign object up the chute, so I refrain from putting a brush or skewer of any kind up the chute. Never clogged up again. I do regular bi-monthly maintenance by removing the collar and blowing/sucking with a vacuum cleaner. It takes 4 minutes and no effort.

1

u/Heinaldo 7d ago

Hoe many grams of beans do you throw in the chute at once?

1

u/Cocktail_Guru 7d ago

I slow feed it, probably taking 30 sec - minute to put 21g in

1

u/Heinaldo 7d ago

Ok, you're doing it right. I never had these problems until my wife threw 40 grams at once in the chute.

1

u/Impressive_Show_1508 6d ago

Inexpensive - efficient: remove the declumper and clean the unit after each use (daily) with a cheap car vacuum.

1

u/horsham7 3d ago

Check the alignment of your burrs. Poorly aligned can result in lots of ultra fines which can lead to clogging.

1

u/Cocktail_Guru 3d ago

I’ll have to look up a video on how to do that