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Can I use Minute Rice to Clean my Grinder?
MPSAN
Top  #1 Print Post
Posted on 02/20/2017 9:46 PM
Hello ALL:
I have a Baratza Encore and see that Baratza does not want you to use Rice to clean it. However, I had seen that Minute Rice was OK as it was soft.

So, can I use Minute Rice? It also kills me to run beans after cleaning and then throwing them out!
"If it Ain't Broke, Fix it 'til it is"!
 
Koffee Kosmo
Top  #2 Print Post
Posted on 02/20/2017 10:06 PM
NO rice - any rice - as it will blunt your burs

This is the correct way and the best way
It's not hard to remove the top burr carrier and wash under water then dry

While the top burr is drying get a small brush and a vacuum
While loosening the coffee in the lower burr chamber with the brush vacuum up the stale coffee until clean

Wipe with a just moist cloth if required to finish off

Reassemble when all is dry

KK
I home roast and I like it. Designer of the KKTO
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Bezzera Strega, Mazzer Robur Grinder, Pullman Tamper Convex,
(KKTO) Turbo Oven Home Roaster.
 
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turtle
Top  #3 Print Post
Posted on 02/21/2017 6:41 AM
I've never "cleaned" my grinders other that sticking a vacuum hose in the throat and turning it on.

I only grind once a day (maybe twice every other once in a while).

Now if you owned a busy coffee shop, I am sure a weekly cleaning would not be excessive but a home user? Maybe once a year. Once every 6 months if you have OCD.

I replaced the burrs in my SJ after using it for a couple of years and there was very little if any "gunk" inside the machine.
Mick - "Drinking in life one cup at a time"
"I'd rather be roasting coffee"

Roaster 1: San Franciscan SF-1
Roaster 2: Hottop B-2K+
Roaster 3: 2 kilo Chinese drum
Grinders: Mazzer Major - Forte BG (x3)
Pour over: Hario - Bee House - Chemex - Kalita - Bodum
Drip: Bunn CWTF15-1 & CW15-TC (commercials)
Espresso: Pasquini Livia 90 auto
Vacuum: Cona - Bodum
Press: Frieling - Bodum Colombia
 
jkoll42
Top  #4 Print Post
Posted on 02/21/2017 11:04 AM
If Baratza says no rice then no rice. As KK said the cheapest way is to pull the grinder apart and manually clean. I do that with one of my grinders.

The other ones I have are a bit of a pain to open up so every couple years I run Urnex Grindz through. It's a few $ per dose which for me is more cost effective than my time to tear apart the grinder. I have some old test coffee I use to flush but even if you don't you're talking a dollar or two of beans.

I think we often get caught up in the minutia of $. Is $5 every year or two worth potentially screwing up the Baratza burrs?
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
MPSAN
Top  #5 Print Post
Posted on 02/21/2017 1:21 PM
Thank You ALL:
I STILL have the sample of cleaner I got with my Encore years ago. I may just use it. I thought it was funny that the Manual says to use Grindz, but the sample was something else. The Burrs do come out, but Baratza makes a point of saying to NOT clean with water. I also grind about 30gms each morning, and do remove the bin and chamber and clean them about once a week. I also tip the grinder upside down when I do this to remove any beans that may have been caught. Usually it is chaff that is in there. I suppose I can bring the grinder out to the garage and use the shop vac on it. I am a little surprised that it can take a minute to grind the 30 gms.
"If it Ain't Broke, Fix it 'til it is"!
 
MPSAN
Top  #6 Print Post
Posted on 02/21/2017 6:02 PM
Well, I did pull the Burr ring out and used a brush that Baratza packs with the Encore. I was surprised at how little there was to clean and it looked good. I also brought it to the shop vac in the garage. I may use the Free cleaner they gave me to see if it even changes color, but I do not think I need it more than once a year.
"If it Ain't Broke, Fix it 'til it is"!
 
snwcmpr
Top  #7 Print Post
Posted on 02/22/2017 11:01 AM
Against the 'grain' alert. Pun intended.

I use INSTANT rice. Not uncooked rice, that is WAY TOO HARD.
Instant rice, Minute rice, is soft and will not damage the grinder. You can test it by squeezing it in your fingers. Not like regular rice.

Is it optimal, is it better than vacuuming, brushing, or other manual cleaning??? I am not going to say. But, i will say that the INSTANT rice is not going to hurt.

Please no flaming, it is just my experience. YMMV.
If you have NOT used instant rice, then you are not sharing your experience, but are sharing a bias.

Ken in NC
--------------
Backwoods Roaster
"I wish I could taste as well as I wish I could roast."

As Abraham Lincoln said "Do not trust everything you read on the internet".
 
MPSAN
Top  #8 Print Post
Posted on 02/22/2017 2:52 PM
Minute Rice is soft. I did use it once. I grind 30 gms in the AM and do not grind any more. I must say that I have never felt that the rice did any good. Not sure that Grindz would either. Still, I may as well try the free cleaner that came with my Encore. I think it was Full Circle.
"If it Ain't Broke, Fix it 'til it is"!
 
snwcmpr
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Posted on 02/22/2017 3:02 PM
I ran the instant rice a few times, until it came out 'white as rice'.
--------------
Backwoods Roaster
"I wish I could taste as well as I wish I could roast."

As Abraham Lincoln said "Do not trust everything you read on the internet".
 
jkoll42
Top  #10 Print Post
Posted on 02/22/2017 6:35 PM
I'm a bit surprised they make a specific point to say no water. They're ceramic.
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
coffeeforblood
Top  #11 Print Post
Posted on 02/23/2017 9:20 AM
Cleaning your grinder? What a novel concept. If I was going to grind things other than coffee, I would clean between materials, but as long as all I am grinding is coffee, I guess I don't see the point. I have taken my mill apart a few times and looked at the burrs and there is never any buildup inside. I have used this mill for probably four years, every day and sometimes twice per day and have never cleaned it. There seems to be no detrimental affect. I will say that the burrs are beginning to dull a bit at this point, but I think that is just because of the volume of coffee they've handled, not because they haven't been cleaned. Can someone more experienced than me offer a good rationale for cleaning the grinder regularly?
 
MPSAN
Top  #12 Print Post
Posted on 02/23/2017 3:09 PM
Yes, and they say that a product like Grindz will take out the oil on the burrs. I guess I just do not see how that can happen when it only runs thru the grinder for 15 seconds or so! I just can not see the difference. I can only see a difference when I have had a buildup of chaff that I clean by just turning the base upside down and letting the chaff fall. At that point I clean the Bin's as long as they are removed anyway.
"If it Ain't Broke, Fix it 'til it is"!
 
snwcmpr
Top  #13 Print Post
Posted on 02/23/2017 3:56 PM

Quote

MPSAN wrote:
So, can I use Minute Rice?

If the discussion goes to needing to, than I suppose that is a different question than "Can I?"
Just saying.

Ken in NC
--------------
Backwoods Roaster
"I wish I could taste as well as I wish I could roast."

As Abraham Lincoln said "Do not trust everything you read on the internet".
 
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