In the past I have cleaned the grinder blades 4 times however this time I noticed some of the grind mixture winds up on the counter under the main motor of the unit. When I picked up the grinder and shook it back and forth about a half cup of the ground beans fell out from under the unit (the motor area). Also the last time I cleaned the blades I replaced the hopper that the company mailed me when I bought it. The hopper that came with the unit was cracked just a little yet it worked. I just wanted to put the new one on.. Your thoughts?

I burned mine out and had to repair it by trying to grind a pound of beans. I say pulse works the best--2-4 seconds each burst. One can grind 5-10 seconds but it heats up inside and in my case, contact melted (metal) from ongoing current to motor via switch. I rigged it but would recommend staying under 10 seconds. pulsing works best in coffee grinders and food processors.

I've long ago lost the manual that came with my grinder (I actually don't remember if it even had one), but I don't think it listed grinding times. You just grind a few seconds and check, then grind a little more if it's still too coarse. Unlike a burr grinder which is adjustable, in a blade grinder the same grind time may result in different consistencies as you change beans. By now I've just learned how long to hold the button for the different beans I buy, and the first few times I try a new blend or varietal I have to adjust the time. I think you'll just need to experiment and then you'll know what works best for your tastes.

On the bottom of the Grinder, You will find several Rectangular holes. With a flat screwdriver push tangs to release bottom. In main shaft, there is a small slot for a flat screw driver. Inseret proper dcrewdriver in slot and turn blades counter clockwise. This should remove blades..

How to Clean SmartGrind Blade Coffee Grinder - White

1. Always unplug the unit before cleaning. Wash the lid in warm, soapy water - not in a dishwasher.

Wipe the grinding bowl, base, and other parts with a slightly damp cloth or sponge. Take special care

around the blades; they are sharp! Dry parts thoroughly. Do not immerse grinding bowl, base or plug

in liquid or under running water.

2. Never use harsh detergents or abrasive cleansers or scouring pads to clean any

part.

3. To remove residue or aromas left behind by nuts, grind one tablespoon of baking

soda in the bowl then wipe thoroughly.
4. Use the built-in cord wrap on the underside of the unit to store the cord

I'm on my second grinder of this model.......... in the past 2 months. The first stopped working so I just took it back and replaced it. The second time it quit working I removed the cup with the grinded coffee and noticed smoke wafting up from the unit. Both times it quick working I was grinding 12 cups of beans (12 cups of brewed coffee, not 12 cups of actual beans). The unit shouldn't have a setting to grind that much coffee if it burns the motor out, which is what happened.

Hello, and thanks for using FixYa.

I'm guessing the problem is that the grinders blades, or the parts that do the grinding have become somewhat dull, (opposite from Sharp.) and no longer can get to the beans like it used to.

Cleaning the machine properly might improve its performance.


CLEANING/MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS
1. Be sure plug has been removed from outlet.

2. Beans can be removed from the hopper by lifting off the lid and pouring excess beans out. Hold down the Manual button to cleanout any remaining beans.

3. The bean hopper, bean hopper lid, grind chamber, and grind chamber lid can be washed by hand with hot, soapy water or placed in the top shelf of a dishwasher. Dry thoroughly.

a. Remove the bean hopper by rotating counter-clockwise bringing the selector past grind setting 18, align the arrows and lift up. Make sure the hopper is empty.

b. Remove grind chamber by pulling toward you.


4. Remove the burr grinder, once the bean hopper has been removed, by grasping the metal handle and lifting up. Use the brush to remove grinds or wash by hand. Replace the burr grinder onto the unit and rotate until the piece is fully inserted. Push handle down and replace hopper.

NOTE: The hopper will not attach to the unit if the grinder has not been fully inserted.

5. Wipe body of grinder with a damp cloth.

6. Any other servicing or maintenance should be performed by an authorized service representative.

WARNING: NEvER ImmERSE UNIT IN WATER

Rotate the bean hopper counter clockwise until it stops. Lift it off. Remove the outer burr with the 2 wings and clean under the burr. Clean the opening going to the chute for ground coffee(inside where the burr was).
Install the outer burr. Install the bean hopper. Rotate the bean hopper to the French press grind (coarsest) and operate the grinder. This will clean the burrs and the passages. If it starts to clog, repeat the last part to clean the burrs and passage. It must be grinding to go to a finer setting, but you can go to a coarser setting any time. Another thing. Turn the grinder upside down (empty) and rotate the bean hopper back and forth to clean the threads of the adjusting burr..

There is a nut that you release from the middle of the grinder wheel, (grinder blade)
This nut is flat and has four holes in it.

You will see you are providing a spanner wrench to remove this nut. The wrenches' actual name is Lock Nut Wrench. It has a U shaped end with two pins sticking out. On on each side of the U shape.

The pins are inserted into the holes in the flat lock nut, located in the middle of the grinding wheel. The wrench is laid flat against the grinding wheel, with the two pins of the wrench going into any two holes of the nut.

At the top of the Makita grinder you will see a Black button. The button is pushed down to keep the grinding wheel from spinning. Holds the grinding wheel in place, as you turn the lock nut loose. When you release the button, a spring inside pushes the button back up out of the way.

As you view the Makita grinder, Release Button towards the Back, grinding wheel towards you, the nut is turned to the LEFT, to loosen. It is a Left threaded nut.

The grinding wheel spins to the Right. Using a left threaded nut insures that the nut will stay tight, due to the direction the grinding wheel spins.

From the manual I found online here.
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE COMPLETELY CLEAN AND DRY ALL PARTS AFTER EVERY USE. Always turn coffeemaker OFF and remove the plug from the electrical outlet before cleaning. Open the reservoir lid*. Remove the grinder basket lid by using the recessed area on each side of the lid. Then remove Grinder Basket. Open Filter Basket Door. Remove Filter Basket Cover, Filter Basket and Filter Basket holder. The grinder basket, grinder basket lid, filter basket and filter basket cover can be washed in warm soapy water and rinsed thoroughly, or cleaned in the upper rack of the dishwasher. Dry all parts after every use. Do not put any water in the unit once the grinder basket has been removed. Wipe the area under the grinder basket with a damp cloth. If water gets into the grinder motor, the motor may become damaged and may malfunction.
DECALCIFICATION Decalcification refers to removing the calcium deposits which form over time on the metal parts of the coffeemaker. For best performance from your coffeemaker, decalcify the base unit from time to time. The frequency depends upon the hardness of your tap water and how often you use the coffeemaker. To clean, fill the water reservoir to capacity with a mixture of 1/3 white vinegar and 2/3 water. Turn the coffeemaker on by pressing the ON button. One cycle should be sufficient to adequately clean the coffeemaker. When the cycle is completed and the five beeps sound, turn coffeemaker off. Repeat operation, this time using fresh cold water.

I suffered with a stuck grider unti for a long time and just solved the problem..... Remove the filter basket and through the front door look up twords the back left. You can see where the grinder unit sits. There is a slot area where you can stick a screw driver under the grinder unit and pry it up. Do this in a jiggling motion and make sure you are well under the grinding unit, doing so on the edge of the grinder unit underneath will not give you enough suface to work with, in fact you will just bend or crack the edge. Looking in from low on the front (kneeling on floor with unit on counter, worked for me) will let you locate where the screw driver or smal pry tool needs to go. Mine was stuck for a very long time and No amount of pulling or prying from the top would work, I made it pop out in a matter of seconds using this technique from the bottom! Good luck, I'm going to finish my cup of coffee now! :-) Steve
a little cooking oil on the shaft before you insert the grinder will help, spray on pam works well and is easy to do...