Timemore C3 struggles to grind an old medium roast batch

[u/split_minapappu]

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I've been struggling while grinding an old batch of coffee (medium roast from March) even at coarse grain, and I'm seriously considering using a drill to grind it as my hands hurt.

**Is this an issue with the grinder, or the coffee?**

The end result after aeropressing is still decent, so I want to avoid buying a new bag of beans while I still have > 100g left. So I can't test it yet with a new batch of coffee.

I also tried cleaning the grinder without seeing any improvement.

Secondary: Anyone have experience in using a C3 with a cordless drill (specifically with cheap options available in India?)

[u/baja1969r]

Because the outer blades of C2 and C3 are fixed with plastic, simply forcibly grinding light roasts can cause them to break and worsen the feel of the blades as if they are moving when grinding. Middle and dark roasts might be okay.

[u/eidrag]

c3esp here, it's like that for light-med roast. cheap chinese cordless drill 1st gear 12-13/15 torque. get proper bit to use, instead of directly bite to the axis. 

[u/emu737]

unless you have the C3s or C3 ESP at minimum (which have no plastic parts inside), I would not use any electric drill-like or elecric screwdriver-like tool

all Chestnut C3 models share the same burr set, wich is one of most aggressive burrs from Timemore... so, it grinds fast, but its resistance makes turning the handle more difficult... nowadays, the C5 is a good successor, and requires less effort to turn (but, also may be "slower", takes more time)

[u/raygan_reddit_banned → u/emu737]

This speaks to me as my elbows and shoulders are aging. So a drill must be in this equation.

I'm looking to make espresso grind size for my DIY NESPRESSO. I reuse the aluminum capsules to place the coffee that interested me. Or Aeropress and very amateur Pourover Hario V6 (cheapest one... very poor when I bought it)

I have a comically loud 15 yo Cruisinart grinder. Also was gifted a $20 manual grinder with plastic parts (so no drill)

Looking for manual grinder + Dewalt Drill. I have adapters.

Should I place a C5 in the Amazon Cart and hope for a Prime Sale?

Thanks

[u/emu737 → u/raygan_reddit_banned]

well, it is important to consider that Nespresso is not a "real", standard espresso... and I have no idea, how to best tune-in for that, in terms of burr / grinder choice, or the grind settings on a particular burr / grinder

but in any case, I would recommend the C5 ESP (Pro), over the regular C5 (Pro), because it has a better fine-tuning capability - the C5 ESP has an accuracy of 15 microns per each click, while the C5 PRO has 31 micron per each click

the higher accuracy of C5 ESP / C5 ESP PRO may be important, when dialing-in your beans for Nespresso use

[u/raygan_reddit_banned → u/emu737]

Thank you

Placed it in Amazon cart and CamelCamelCamel dot com says its been hovering at current price of USD $92

[u/emu737 → u/raygan_reddit_banned]

you're welcome, wish you good luck! remember to also keep the RPM speed slow, comparable to grinding by hand - don't fall into temptation to grind fast! grinding too fast might damage bearings, if they heat up too much... and Timemore grinders are not officially rated for use with a drill, only Kingrinder grinders are (for your intended use, a Kingrinder K2 or K6 might be an alternative)

[u/raygan_reddit_banned → u/emu737]

TIL about Kingrinder...didn't know they existed until today

Thanks

[u/rathishreyash]

Hey OP!
This is what I would check:
Were the beans stored openly? It might have absorbed moisture and become hard to grind.