Why Is My Breville Coffee Grinder Not Working?

Possibly, your coffee grinder has been running smoothly, giving you a perfect grind for your coffee. Now it suddenly stops, leaving you in suspense. Both of you are now jammed. But, don’t worry. I will help you understand why your Breville coffee grinder is not working.

Clogging or jamming is the primary reason your Breville coffee grinder is not working. It can be due to foreign material accumulation, wrong settings, jammed beans, or improper operation. Even so, you can fix the problem by cleaning your grinder thoroughly to remove the blockages.

Breville Smart Pro Coffee Bean Grinder

This is one of the premium coffee grinders in the market today. Some of the features you will love about this coffee bean grinder include:

• Stainless steel conical burrs.
• 60 precise coffee grind settings.
• 18-ounce coffee bean capacity.
• Direct porta filter grind.
• Precision electronic timer.

Reasons Your Breville Coffee Grinder Is Not Working

Like any other machine, the Breville coffee grinder cannot work if it has a problem. The most common problem you may encounter with the coffee grinder is:

The Grinder Jamming/ Clogging

If your grinder is frequently jamming, it may be clogged with coffee grounds, oils, and debris. The grinder section prone to clogging is the burr chamber.

Generally, when your grinder is jammed, the motor fails to spin the burrs, making it hard to grind the coffee beans. If that’s the case, you will often hear a humming sound. 

Luckily, you can fix the problem without looking for a professional. Besides, you don’t have to replace the parts because the grinder is often not broken.

Clogging Causes

Failure To Clean Your Grinder – After using your grinder, some coffee grounds and oils may stick inside the appliance. If you fail to clean them regularly, they build up over time, making your grinder to clog.

Wrong Settings – If the burr’s setting is extra fine, it makes the burr chamber to jam. Therefore, the grinder may fail to release the coffee grounds through the coffee machine.

Jammed Beans – You can have a bean or two failing to get from the grinding chamber.

Improper Operation – If you hold the portafilter closer to the discharge chute, the coffee grounds pile peak can lodge the chute opening, resulting in a blockage.

What To Do To Unclog Your Grinder

For your grinder to continue running smoothly, you need to clean it thoroughly. I will show you how to clean the Breville coffee grinder in 11 simple steps;

11 Steps Of Cleaning The Breville Coffee Grinder

1. Open the coffee bean hopper. It’s where you store your whole beans, awaiting to grind them with the grinder.

2. Remove any coffee beans residues from the bean hopper into a container.

3. Lock the coffee beans hopper back to its place.

4. Run a grind cycle until you don’t see any coffee grounds flowing from the grinder.

5. Open the coffee bean hopper once again and put it aside.

6. Unlock the burr and remove it. To do so, hold the handle at the outer burr’s top and turn the burr to where there is the align arrow.

7. Brush off any coffee grounds from the burr. You can use a cleaning brush to clean the crevices and the lower part of the burr.

8. Reinstall back the outer burr and then lock back the coffee bean hopper properly. At this point, don’t replace the coffee beans yet.

9. Clean the coffee grounds chute. It is the tube or channel through which coffee grounds flow to the filter basket. To clean the ground chute, slide the cleaning brush into it. Move your brush inside and out of the grounds chute in a spiral motion. In the process, you will get rid of any grounds clinging inside the ground chute.

10. Replenish the coffee beans into the coffee beans hopper.

11. Set your espresso machine ready to brew your cup of coffee.

The Grinder Safety Clutch Being Activated

If you overfill the filter basket with coffee grounds, it can make the grounds chute to back-fill. The back-filled coffee grounds can clog the grinder.

What you need to do is to clean the grinder. It will help clear any coffee ground residues from the grinder chambers and other sections.

Breville Coffee Grinder Making a Loud Noise

If you hear a loud, weird noise, it is a sign of foreign material in the grinder. Perhaps it is blocked, thus struggling to perform its functions.

What You Need To Do

If that’s the case, switch off your grinder immediately. Unlock your bean hopper and get rid of the blockage from the chute.

Thereafter, bring out the upper burr to clean it. Also, remember to clean the lower burr. I will teach you how to clean the conical burr grinder in a short while. Follow the steps.

No Coffee Grounds Coming From The Grinder: Why And What To Do

If you are not receiving any ground coffee in your filter basket, first check the bean hopper. Probably there are no coffee beans there. Therefore, you have to refill the hopper.

If that’s not the case, check the coffee ground chute. It may be clogged, making it hard for the grounds to pass. Ensure you clean it to clear the blockages.

Another possible reason might be due to infiltration of the grinder chute and chamber by water. Even so, solving the problem is still simple; clean the ground chute and the grinder chamber.

The Breville Barista Express Grinder Won’t Start: Why And What To Do?

When you switch on your grinder, you expect it to start running immediately. You may get worried if it fails to do that. But there is nothing to worry about; some of the possible causes might be;

• Debris accumulation in the grinder.
• You have not reinstalled the hopper properly.

What To Do – Take out the hopper and clean the debris. You can use a damp cloth to wipe the hopper. After this, dry it thoroughly. Then, return the hopper to its position the right way.

How To Clean Your Conical Burr Grinder

Follow these 10 easy steps to clean a conical burr grinder:

1. Unlock your hopper.
2. Empty from it the coffee beans.
3. Lock the hopper back to its place.
4. Run an empty grind cycle for about 5-10 seconds.
5. Unlock to remove the bean hopper.
6. Open the upper burr and take it out.
7. Use a brush to clean every area around the upper burr, lower burr, chute, and any other grinding surface.
8. Reinstall the upper burr and secure it by locking it.
9. Place the bean hopper in its place and lock it.
10. Replenish the coffee beans in the hopper and cover them with the lid.

Final Thoughts

I believe by now you can tell why your Breville coffee grinder is not working. Use the solutions above to fix the problem. If you try all the above and the coffee grinder still fails to work, talk to a qualified professional. You might have to upgrade it or replace it altogether.