Baratza Paddle Wheel with Felt Assembly Replacement (fit Encore, Virtuoso, Virtuoso +), Part# 6380

Love this little add on. It doesn't get quite everything thing, but that's okay. I've paired it with a bellows attachment to help push out any extra grounds.

After having my trusty Baratza Encore since 2012, I've gone through a ton of coffee grinding...and that may not be an exaggeration. I was looking over tech docs for replacing the M3 burr but decided to go with the M2. And also checked out paddle wheel replacement vids. I tried the first way using vice grips but it was not successful. And remembering a cone burr replacement on Baratza's site I watched it again and discovered the case comes off without unscrewing the base...and I did see a warning of not turning the machine upside down. Anyway I put the base back on and tried the vice grip thing again and it worked. I was able to remove the cone burr, paddle wheel, & felt gasket. Took a bit of patience since the felt gasket seemed lit it pretty easy to stretchy out and kind of flimsy and wouldn't hold a round shape for the drive shaft. I did manage to seat it OK and replaced with paddle wheel and spun the cone burr down to the point where it aligned itself with the two mounting pins seating into the burr. Did a hand tighten and put the machine back together and it wouldn't turn on. I took the case off and cleaned out a bunch of grounds that managed to get into the motor and drive area. Couldn't figure out what was going on. So I checked the trouble shooting steps on the Bartatza site and it gave me some ideas. I think when I turned it upside down, the ring for the grind setting must have moved a little bit. so when I had it upright, the switch that matches up the grind ring assembly was working when I clicked it about 5 clicks clockwise and plugged the grinder in and it worked. So when I had it upright and put a little downward pressure on grind adjustment plate...and moved it to click 3 times, that simulated putting the hopper back on the grinder and the need to click it forward for a cam on the grind plate engages the switch. So I put it all back together and life became good again.

I talked with Igor today and he told me of a new method to remove the cone burr without taking the machine apart or using vise grips. And that was to remove the hopper, gasket, and ring assembly and to use a 15/16th socket with an impact wrench and set it to go clockwise since the cone burr has a left hand thread. Also put a couple of folds with a paper towel to keep from damaging the cone burr. So I checked out my tool box and actually was able to use a US sparkplug 13/16th deep 6 point socket with the paper towel protection and it worked. I also tested it with a 21mm 12 point socket and that worked...although I would prefer 6 point to lower the risk of slippage.

Anyway the old and current paddle wheels is in the attached pic and it looks like around 1/3 of the paddle length was ground down, so I have a replacement standing by. In another repair video on Baratza' s site, the presenter was explain Baratza designed and engineered the Encore (and probably others) that the weak points should be made out of plastic or some other material that will break before it causes damage to the machine. The paddle wheel is one of those weak points...and if the paddle wheel gets really worn down, it can cause chute blockage and not moving the beans towards the grinding mechanism. Another weak point part is the ring gear holder. Then he showed a handful of debris that they took out of customer machines that were sent back for repair. And it included rocks, pieces of metal, and a rusty iron bolt. Anyway, that video is what caused me to inspect the paddle wheel and determined I definitely needed to replace it.

As always, keep supporting French Press and their employees and always give a tip, like I do...because Igor might not be paying them enough...lol Thanks for the great coffee community support Igor!

So you can see in the pic below, the original paddle wheel and felt washer were pretty beat up and the new ones on the right will be and have been moving the beans like they should. My Encore sounds completely different and the grinds I'm getting were OK-good before and are totally awesome now. I also showed some of the coffee candy French Press sends out with every delivery..which I think is great personal touch.

Service is great. My parts arrived quickly and my grinder is working like new. Thank you

My Baratza Encore is back from the dead with this new part. Service from this vendor has been excellent.

replacement got to me quick. It's a simple plastic molded piece, so not much to review.
The instructions from baratza to replace are available on the French Press Coffee website. The replacement process is not easy. I followed all the instructions and found that my grinder settings are now off. I have not been able to find trouble shooting instructions to help resolve this. It'd be wonderful if French Press Coffee could provide some better instructions or trouble shooting tips.

Our 20 year old Solis was solid till it wasn’t. The Baratza Encore has a serious design flaw, a sacrificial plastic part that renders the grinder inoperable. If it fails again we’ll toss it

Got the right product and works great.