Rancilio Rocky Ultimate Fix to make it a zero-retention coffee grinder

PLEASE READ TO THE END for all-important tips and PLEASE SUBSCRIBE ❤️
1. This simple, inexpensive upgrade solves the problem of grounds left in the grinding wheels and spout after grinding a dose of coffee. You no longer have to strike or shake the grinder to get them out - methods which don't get them all out anyway. With this fix, simply press the lid down, and a puff of air forces the grounds out into your porta-filter basket. With this fix, you get true zero-retention grinding from the Rocky Rancillio.
2. IMPORTANT: After pushing down on the lid to expel the grounds left in the chute, lift the lid slightly anywhere on its circumference to break the vacuum and the center of the lid pops right back up, ready for another push. (I should have shown that in the video.) I typically do two pushes into the filter basket after grinding to dislodge and use all the grinds left in the machine for the current dose, then I press the grinder button again briefly in case any bean fragments have remained in the grinder. Finally I press down on the lid once more.
3. ANOTHER TIP: If you have been filling the hopper with beans, you will surely have noticed that every so often, the beans get stuck somehow at the bottom of the hopper, causing the beans to stop passing through the grinding wheels even as the machine is still running. There are two ways to deal with this annoying problem.
A. You can remove the finger guard, which helps when you have to push or shake the beans back down toward the grinders. The beans will still get clogged occasionally, but you will be able to tamp or knock them back down to the grinders far more easily. The finger guard is easily removed by removing the three screws that hold it in place and then re-installing the screws to secure the hopper in place. NOTE: If you choose this method, BE SURE TO STOP THE GRINDER BEFORE USING YOUR FINGERS OR AN IMPLEMENT TO TAMP THE BEANS DOWN.
B (my preferred method) leave the finger guard in place and simply do not fill the hopper with beans. Just put a single dose into the hopper when you are ready to make coffee and you won't have this problem at all, ever. The Rocky will grind a dose for a double shot of espresso or enough for a pour over every time, no clogging, but if you load the hopper up for multiple doses, the beans are going to clog at the bottom of the hopper from time to time and you will have to shake or knock the grinder or lift the lid of the hopper and tamp the beans down into the grinding wheels using an implement of some kind in order to get the beans to grind again.
Using the method shown in this video, and putting only a single dose of beans into the hopper, the Rocky will work perfectly, without fail. All the grounds will be thoroughly eliminated from the spout and expelled into your filter basket each time you grind a dose of coffee. It will be a zero-retention grinder.
loading only a single dose also preserves the freshness of your beans.
I purchased the Anchor Hocking 2-c. Round True Seal Canister at The Container Store on sale for about $5.00.
The True Seal canister is also available at Amazon
NEXT: to solve the annoying problem of beans getting lodged in the screw holes of the finger guard: if you are using only a single dose of beans in the hopper, as I do, you do not need to remove the finger guard, but a few beans may still get lodged in the plastic screw holes of the finger guard when you dump beans into the hopper - and if you remove the finger guard, beans will then get stuck in the three screw hollows)
To fix, go to your local Ace Hardware Store , locate the aisle that has screws and such, and find the drawer that has "thread protectors." They are color coded to size. Purchase three of the yellow thread protectors. (You may want to remove the finger guard and take it with you to Ace just to make certain the thread protectors you are buying perfectly fit the screw holes in your finger guard. Three of these yellow thread protectors will cost you a little over a dollar total. (37 cents each)
Re-install the finger guard, securing the three screws that hold the guard and hopper in place. Then insert a yellow thread protector into each screw hole - insert with the open end of the thread protector facing down into the hole - and push it in enough to leave about 1/4 inch of the closed end protruding above the screw hole. They will be a very snug fit so that they will stay in place even with prolonged, vigorous grinding but can still be removed by wiggling them out whenever you have to unscrew the finger guard and hopper for cleaning or maintenance. If you use the correct size thread protector, it will fit perfectly in the screw hole and will solve the problem - no more beans clogging the screw holes. Also, the color scheme at the bottom of your hopper is now Black and Yellow, in case you happen to be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
See video: • Rancillio Rocky Grinde...

[@steveoh4511]

Thanks a lot!! You are a genius. I always had such retention problem with Rocky and considered to buy a recently popular single dose grinder. Fortunate to find your video. Thanks again for sharing your brilliant solution.

[@lex2759]

@steveoh4511 how you get on? Did it improve? I’m thinking of getting the rocky.

[@user-gw2og1kl3i]

Thanks Tom. I have ordered the glassware you recommend on Amazon. Great method to solve the Rocky issue of retention. Preferred option compared with "3d printer solutions" and putting the grinder on a 30 degree angle. This grinder is so robust, that has always been the drawback. I will update when it gets here. Cheers

[@lex2759]

How did it go?

[@justinmccarthy1596]

@@lex2759 Hi Lex, it works very well. I measure out daily dose and use the lid to push remaining ground coffee. I am sure its not zero retention, but it makes a very solid and robust grinder an even better appliance. Thanks again!

[@lex2759]

@@justinmccarthy1596 yeah still deciding whether to replace my lelit fred with the rocky