Thank you Dr Faulken! I panicked when by B&D grinder stopped working this morning. Your video showed me how to fix it, and I was up and running again within minutes, at no cost!!!
I just found a couple really nice mods for this grinder listed on Amazon's 3 star rating reviews for the CBM210 model. In the easiest of these, you remove the grinder assembly as per usual cleaning, and make a shim by tracing the grind plate on a yogurt cup lid or business card (+ piece of card stock to get the plates even slightly closer) and then reassemble. All of the responders to the mod reviews said they were able to get far more consistent and finer grinding. Hope these help!
First of all, this grinder does not have conical burrs. It has flat plate burrs. And with any burr grinder, you should be able to remove the top burr to clean both of them. The burrs can become clogged as well if they are never separated to be cleaned. This too can cause the motor to burn out prematurely. After watching another video here on youtube, (Black & Decker CBM220 Burr Mill Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder Unboxing by, Michael Stewart), you are able to access the burrs by opening the hopper, reach in and turn the burr counterclockwise until it stops clicking. About 3/4 thru the video, he shows how to access the burrs. Then pull the upper burr out. This will enable you to clean both burrs. Just poking around with wires and tiny brushes will not dislodge the stuff caught between the burrs.
Hey, by the way, thank you so much for posting this. I've been somewhat bummed with my purchase until seeing this and the mods I found in the Amazon reviews. I really appreciate the time and thoroughness of your video : )
Good video. I have a different model, the CBM310BD, and I find that the kind of bean makes the biggest difference in how much the grinder plugs up and how often I need to clean it. I am using a Colombian coffee right now, and it is very oily, and plugs up my grinder quickly. When I use Tanzanian coffee, it is much less of a problem. It is important to get all the ground coffee out of all the nooks and crannies in the grinder, as all those nooks and crannies allows the grinder to function properly. There is are two small buttons on mine that need to be depressed by the lid and grounds container, or the grinder will not start. I have mine for a couple of years, and use it as much as 3 times a day. It would be helpful if Black and Decker published some of this information; I couldn't find anything.
This was useful, thanks for posting it. I use a French press, coarse would be my setting then, and I'm thinking about getting this grinder. Knowing about the clogging and how to deal with it saves me A LOT of potential aggravation. I want a cheap burr grinder, and I'm not put off by the maintenance as long as it works. If I do get one I'll post here about how coarse grinding clogs over time.
Good video and you're 100% right about the flaw. Not sure how it should be solved. The chute could be made out of a material that the oil in the beans doesn't stick to, Teflon or Peek maybe? I don't know. I have an older version (205) and it's the same. This same design is used in others as well. I had a Cuisinart 8oz comical burr grinder (~$50) which I loved. After owning it for a while and cleaning it, I noticed the motor starting to strain and then suddenly it barely worked. I looked online and found all kinds of bad reviews and people complaining that it started to or had died or wasn't grinding well. That's when I got out a small bright flashlight and some tools and went to work investigating. I started dismantling it as much as I could which wasn't much but I got it down to where I could see the entire grinding chamber. I figured that in it's condition it was going to have to be fixed or replaced so what did I have to lose? I found the grinding chamber had impacted grinds all throughout. It was caked everywhere. I went to work cleaning it all out but no matter what tool I used I couldn't get at it all. I decided that I needed to make one. I cut up a wire clothes hanger. I hate them anyway. Incidentally I have used these hangers for make-shift tools many times and it has always done the job. I was able to make a couple tool that I could bend with pliers too suit each and every corner and recess inside. After I finished, I reassembled it, loaded a couple ounces of beans and crossed my fingers. To my delight it worked perfectly, just as it had when I unboxed it.
Ceramic, conical hand grinders rock! I have a Kyocera which looks identical to the Hario Skerton model and works the same. Very consistent grind every time. Very quiet and no friction to heat up and spoil the beans! It's great if you're only grinding for 1 or 2 people.
I've got this grinder and thought it had broken round about month 2. But I simply looked in the output chute, saw all the caked on grinds and grabbed my trusty chop stick and just poked it inside and make a quick circle around the output chute. Done deal, all fixed up, fixed up for about 2 more grinds, then it's packed up again. I use Starbucks espresso beans and grind it as fine as it will grind (yeah we drink this as coffee in my house instead of espresso), and find that it's really oily.
this may be an older video, but... most baristas and grinder manufacturers recommend cleaning the chute weekly at a minimum, and definitely doing a full cleaning every time you change beans. also, the brushes provided with any burr or flat grinder (i have a capresso infinity, same thing with that) are nearly useless. they're too small. go get yourself a natural (not synthetic) brush from the kitchen department of a grocery store or an art brush (1/2" wide+). compressed air works really well too.
And yeah, the finer the grind that we do, the quicker it cakes up. The finest grind of the Starbucks espresso beans means cleaning it every two hoppers full of beans, where as with a coarser grind we might be able to go 5. Other brands of coffee don't cake nearly as quickly in my experience (at least not some of them). It takes me literally no more than 5 to 10 seconds to clean it out, so I'm really not bothered about it considering I bought it on sale for under $10.
it is a FLAT burr grinder. Good for french press, not for espresso. Most annoying part is the powder like grind(see at 1:13) which is a byproduct of any grinding setting and static electricity.
@zomgz932 Oh damn, sorry for getting the type wrong, and sucks that the grinder is not going fine enough for you. Do you live near a Costco? They have a pretty good Krups grinder on the cheap that you could try.
the black and decker burr grinder is a FLAT burr grinder. and im banging my head against a wall for buying it. the grinder would be great for a french press but is utterly horrible for anything finer grind than that. on the finest setting is only slightly finer than a pre-ground coffee can. so utterly useless for espresso which i bought it for... i have to initially grind in the B&D then once again in my blade grinder to get a espresso grind.
10 years later, the info is still valid - thanks, Dr. - this fixed my Black & Decker burr grinder - different model, same hopper feed design.
Thank you Dr Faulken! I panicked when by B&D grinder stopped working this morning. Your video showed me how to fix it, and I was up and running again within minutes, at no cost!!!
I just found a couple really nice mods for this grinder listed on Amazon's 3 star rating reviews for the CBM210 model. In the easiest of these, you remove the grinder assembly as per usual cleaning, and make a shim by tracing the grind plate on a yogurt cup lid or business card (+ piece of card stock to get the plates even slightly closer) and then reassemble. All of the responders to the mod reviews said they were able to get far more consistent and finer grinding. Hope these help!
First of all, this grinder does not have conical burrs. It has flat plate burrs. And with any burr grinder, you should be able to remove the top burr to clean both of them. The burrs can become clogged as well if they are never separated to be cleaned. This too can cause the motor to burn out prematurely.
After watching another video here on youtube, (Black & Decker CBM220 Burr Mill Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder Unboxing by, Michael Stewart), you are able to access the burrs by opening the hopper, reach in and turn the burr counterclockwise until it stops clicking. About 3/4 thru the video, he shows how to access the burrs. Then pull the upper burr out. This will enable you to clean both burrs. Just poking around with wires and tiny brushes will not dislodge the stuff caught between the burrs.
Hey, by the way, thank you so much for posting this. I've been somewhat bummed with my purchase until seeing this and the mods I found in the Amazon reviews. I really appreciate the time and thoroughness of your video : )
Thanks Docter Falcon. Im trying to raise my kid by not saying swears and i watched your movie and now hes all like"thats fucked up"
Good video. I have a different model, the CBM310BD, and I find that the kind of bean makes the biggest difference in how much the grinder plugs up and how often I need to clean it. I am using a Colombian coffee right now, and it is very oily, and plugs up my grinder quickly. When I use Tanzanian coffee, it is much less of a problem. It is important to get all the ground coffee out of all the nooks and crannies in the grinder, as all those nooks and crannies allows the grinder to function properly. There is are two small buttons on mine that need to be depressed by the lid and grounds container, or the grinder will not start. I have mine for a couple of years, and use it as much as 3 times a day. It would be helpful if Black and Decker published some of this information; I couldn't find anything.
This was useful, thanks for posting it. I use a French press, coarse would be my setting then, and I'm thinking about getting this grinder. Knowing about the clogging and how to deal with it saves me A LOT of potential aggravation.
I want a cheap burr grinder, and I'm not put off by the maintenance as long as it works. If I do get one I'll post here about how coarse grinding clogs over time.
?
Good video and you're 100% right about the flaw. Not sure how it should be solved. The chute could be made out of a material that the oil in the beans doesn't stick to, Teflon or Peek maybe? I don't know. I have an older version (205) and it's the same. This same design is used in others as well. I had a Cuisinart 8oz comical burr grinder (~$50) which I loved. After owning it for a while and cleaning it, I noticed the motor starting to strain and then suddenly it barely worked. I looked online and found all kinds of bad reviews and people complaining that it started to or had died or wasn't grinding well. That's when I got out a small bright flashlight and some tools and went to work investigating. I started dismantling it as much as I could which wasn't much but I got it down to where I could see the entire grinding chamber. I figured that in it's condition it was going to have to be fixed or replaced so what did I have to lose? I found the grinding chamber had impacted grinds all throughout. It was caked everywhere. I went to work cleaning it all out but no matter what tool I used I couldn't get at it all. I decided that I needed to make one. I cut up a wire clothes hanger. I hate them anyway. Incidentally I have used these hangers for make-shift tools many times and it has always done the job. I was able to make a couple tool that I could bend with pliers too suit each and every corner and recess inside. After I finished, I reassembled it, loaded a couple ounces of beans and crossed my fingers. To my delight it worked perfectly, just as it had when I unboxed it.
Ceramic, conical hand grinders rock! I have a Kyocera which looks identical to the Hario Skerton model and works the same. Very consistent grind every time. Very quiet and no friction to heat up and spoil the beans! It's great if you're only grinding for 1 or 2 people.
I've got this grinder and thought it had broken round about month 2. But I simply looked in the output chute, saw all the caked on grinds and grabbed my trusty chop stick and just poked it inside and make a quick circle around the output chute. Done deal, all fixed up, fixed up for about 2 more grinds, then it's packed up again.
I use Starbucks espresso beans and grind it as fine as it will grind (yeah we drink this as coffee in my house instead of espresso), and find that it's really oily.
this may be an older video, but... most baristas and grinder manufacturers recommend cleaning the chute weekly at a minimum, and definitely doing a full cleaning every time you change beans. also, the brushes provided with any burr or flat grinder (i have a capresso infinity, same thing with that) are nearly useless. they're too small. go get yourself a natural (not synthetic) brush from the kitchen department of a grocery store or an art brush (1/2" wide+). compressed air works really well too.
And yeah, the finer the grind that we do, the quicker it cakes up. The finest grind of the Starbucks espresso beans means cleaning it every two hoppers full of beans, where as with a coarser grind we might be able to go 5. Other brands of coffee don't cake nearly as quickly in my experience (at least not some of them). It takes me literally no more than 5 to 10 seconds to clean it out, so I'm really not bothered about it considering I bought it on sale for under $10.
it is a FLAT burr grinder. Good for french press, not for espresso. Most annoying part is the powder like grind(see at 1:13) which is a byproduct of any grinding setting and static electricity.
@zomgz932 Oh damn, sorry for getting the type wrong, and sucks that the grinder is not going fine enough for you. Do you live near a Costco? They have a pretty good Krups grinder on the cheap that you could try.
@DrFaulken nope but im going to get a hario mini mill soon
Yo we would comment about him saying "what's fcked up about it" I had to hear that three times to believe he did.
I'm tellin'... you swore
you swore ahhhhhhhhhhhh am telling hoya
the black and decker burr grinder is a FLAT burr grinder. and im banging my head against a wall for buying it. the grinder would be great for a french press but is utterly horrible for anything finer grind than that. on the finest setting is only slightly finer than a pre-ground coffee can. so utterly useless for espresso which i bought it for... i have to initially grind in the B&D then once again in my blade grinder to get a espresso grind.