How-to: Saeco Vienna Plus Grinder Calibration

Saeco's Vienna Plus superautomatic features an internal coffee grinder with 18 different grind settings. While removing the hopper and burr set for cleaning is relatively simple, making sure that both the grinder and the doser are engaged properly after the fact takes a little bit of extra attention. Watch as Brendan walks us through how to do this.
Learn more about the Saeco Vienna Plus here: www.seattlecoff...

[@thetheoshow6830]

Ok you two... I just want to say a big thanks to you both (I never comment on much of anything online... so you all should feel soooo oh very special). But sincerely, thanks for taking the time to post your videos. they've kept our machine alive and, in turn, our house functioning and caffiniated. Be well and keep smiling!

[@Chris181054]

Thank you so much. Our local Saeco shop has closed down so I panicked when a little water got into the grinder and gummed the whole thing up. Your video and about an hour's picking and vacuuming saved the day.

[@zarilla]

OMG! 2009 Vienna Plus Problem. My grinder problem hit me within a day. I was lucky enough to find another online document that gave me the basics on how to clean my grinder. Since it had not been done since I bought the machine it really needed cleaning (vacuum, brushes, toothpicks) but the document did not give me good details. I spent three hours trying to make it work. No luck. I found your video. 15 minutes later my machine is as good as store bought! Brendan, you are my new hero!!!

[@damn3putts]

I am glad that I found this tutorial. I was gifted a Vienna model and using this tutorial I have successfully got the grinder completely cleaned out and calibrated and a better tasting Espresso. Thank you so much!

[@santoshpursad5313]

A big Thank you team for this video, cleaned up my old machine and didn't set the adjustment correctly - this video set me right!

[@Acrisa01]

Have been using a Saeco Vienna Superautomatica, the same one for more than 10 years, I learned many maintenance point with Parts Guru, and finally I know him! Thanks for your advice and help, today I use the “BEST DESCALER FOR EXPRESSO MACHINES” that I bought from parts Guru a long time ago. Thanks for this video and greetings from Chile Southamerica

[@martaszkotak-dydynski4918]

Genius!! I have no words to say thank you in a way I would like to!!! My machine is 14 years old. It went to the service only once for some gaskets change.. few months ago I decided to give it a nice clean and I did. Unfortunately. After that was nice and clean but coffee was watery and I wasn’t able to have coffee anymore. Until today!!! With all that fixing I dropped the little part that turns the wheel inside the machine but who cares at this point :). My husband told me to throw it away but l had a feeling I could mace it work!! My coffee is how I like it now and all that matters:). Also looses some water underneath but I can live with that:). Maybe some day I will do some more fixing to have it perfect. Thank you thank you thank you!!

[@sharonjones6556]

Thank you very much. I panicked when my grinder failed!!! Then I went straight to KZbin and did a search. Viola! My machine is now working good as new thanks to you. I am a 69 year old female and if I can do it, anyone can.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Glad we could help!

[@johnl.sulpizioii1379]

Wow, what a most helpful video! After watching it, I was able to quickly clean my grinder, which had become clogged, preventing my Vienna Plus from completing its grinding and brewing cycle. Thanks much for your help, and for saving me two 250 mile round trips to L.A. to get the machine worked on.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

So glad it helped- happy brewing!

[@ericshirey1320]

Great content and very helpful video that can save people a bundle since this is easy to do and avoids having it serviced. I'd only suggest a couple things: shoot it again in focus (esp closeups of the machine) and explain which way you adjust the dose meter and gear. You spent lots of time going over the grinder numbering system and how to calibrate it then just quickly said you adjust the dose to the max in passing and never explained or adequately showed it. Also a couple tips--if anyone has problems with the chute getting clogged, as I do, since I like oily French roast beans (evidenced by grinding, then error light since no coffee gets through), there is no need to go in from the top to clean it (and no need to waste the coffee by vacuuming it), just open the door, remove the brew unit, find the chute trap door and run a small, long object, like an opened large paper clip, up in the chute while holding a small container under to catch the ground coffee to save and use separately, not in the machine. This takes a minute or two, vs. 15-20 by going in from the top. Or, better yet, if you jiggle the dose meter by turning it up and down one notch while coffee is grinding, it virtually never clogs.

[@cfritzsche]

Excellent video! The instructions were very thorough and clear. The camera work was superb and complimented the instructions perfectly. The bits of humor and personality, which enhanced the video, were not overdone -- just right!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yay!!! So awesome to hear this. Shared it with Brendan -- he was happy that he was able to help you out :D - Kat

[@kristinvanderpol9699]

Thank you so much for the video and for keeping it uploaded even after so many years. Super helpful!

[@nthangmai]

Thank you. Your video is very instructional, clearly explained, and easy to follow. I was able to fix the grinding problem and did the calibration.

[@tinaradosevich8772]

Fantastic video! Many thanks. I have a Saeco Vienna De Luxe machine that's probably 12 years old. I've had no problem until about 6 months ago when all the coffee started leaking all over my counter top when making coffee. I replaced the gasket on the brew unit because you could see it was pretty eaten away. I was able to make one cup of espresso without any leaks. Thought I fixed it but after that first cup, now it doesn't take in any water. I found another video that talked about cleaning the the grinder. (Your video was better). So I just finished cleaning the grinder, which was super easy, but it still doesn't take in any water. The frother works fine but if I try and make an espresso, I hear the coffee grinding and all the other noises the machine makes, Then it sounds like it's taking in the water, but no coffee comes out and after all the noises stop, the compressed coffee is expelled into the container. Any idea what's wrong? Thanks!!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Hi Tina Radosevich, If your machine is grinding and then dumping it typically means that a grind adjustment needs to be made. If the grounds are completely dry then I would suggest moving to a slightly finer grind setting. If the grinds are slightly damp, try moving one or two numbers larger for a coarser grind setting. You could also check out the brew unit cleaning video at SCG Tech Tip: Saeco Superautomatic Brew Unit Disassembly Hopefully this does it, but if not, the next step would be to have your machine checked out in a service center, unfortunately. - Teri

[@jflake18407]

I just found this. IT made it so much easier to take my VP apart, clean and reset SO much easier.......Tons of help

[@rileymjohnson]

I can't thank you enough for this! This worked like a charm, and my coffee withdrawal headaches have eased.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Honestly, I don't know on that machine. We carried it only for a short while and then discontinued it. Then it came back as a refurb, but I have very limited experience with it since we had a demo for only a couple of weeks. One place to check would be up in the hopper - some of them have a little nub that sticks up that you can adjust the grind with, usually and allen wrench will work - Kat

[@agenorbernardinijunior7123]

I appreciate the detailed complete class. Congratulations on the video, it helped me a lot. My best wishes. Brazil!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Great to hear! Glad that you've gotten her back in tip top shape. - Kat

[@GamingPat]

Thanks so much for your very exactly explained video concerning the calibration I have ever seen so far. I will try to follow the steps in your video.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yes, the brown wire goes to the positive connection :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Awesome!!!! So happy we helped :) - Kat

[@Carlo8836]

Thanks! I was able to finally fix my old machine with this video!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

They are very popular in our repair and refurb departments :) - Kat

[@jaytuckermoody]

Thanks! Your video helped me fix a clogged up burr grinder!

[@esria]

Soooo helpful and detailed, and also good camera work. Thank you so much!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

+esria Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!

[@adriant602]

You are the best!

[@laurielc]

oh man, i just got my machine back after $125.00 to put it back to line up where it should. noone at saeco or the repair shop could explain it to me. said they had no idea. thanks in advance of my next jam!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yay!!!! Glad we could be of help :D - Kat

[@francescoromanini]

Grazie, senza di te non so come avrei fatto. Ottimo tutorial

[@horsthh1]

Thank you for your help, my chute was all plugged up, did not know what to do.

[@helliko2]

Great video. Love my Vienna plus!

[@brainretardant]

Thanks, I am back up and running. Thanks for the burr setting video :)

[@europe699]

I am fromRussia. thanks a lot for your video!very helpfull!!!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

+Смирнов и Компания Cheers!

[@Rustaponi]

Very well spoken. Thanks a ton man.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Awesome! - Kat

[@sybilyang]

Omg thank you so much for the tutorial. It's exactly what I needed!

[@acquatecdourados]

Parabéns, Obrigado

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

It sounds like your grinder assembly needs to be looked at by a tech; the burr fastening clips may be undone and might need to be replaced. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

No; the grinders are very different between those two machines, so don't calibrate in the same way. - Kat

[@fabricionagao66]

Fantastic! Saved me. Thank you!

[@paulprice6799]

Fabrício Nagao n

[@AntonioCanoJunior]

Really amazing videos! It's helped me a lot! I'm from Brazil and I bought this machine this week, the Vienna Plus and had a lot of doubts about how to use it, and looking on the youtube i found you! Tks from Brazil! How can I use the machine to save beans? I do not like strong coffee and then I would set it to not spend too much beans. Put in the maximum position (-) and the nearest number 0 in the grinder is the correct way?

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

On the dosage knob at the top, (-) should be the weakest and (+) should be the strongest. Hope this helps. - Steven

[@jcamper8772]

Hi. Very good video. I did everything you mentioned on the video to clean the grinder on an old amended Saeco EASY unit. Replaced all the Orings, Food safe greased the unit. After assembly, the red hazard keeps flashing and the unit will not allow me to make a coffee.. I checked the drawer, the brewer unit and the door, beans and water. All the tabs are triggered for these three items. It appears that the unit, thinks I have NOT refilled the hopper. Any idea the steps I can take to isolate the issue ? Any help would be appreciated. Thks again for the great technical videos .

[@qaz99995]

Thank you!Great video

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Thank you!! :) - Kat

[@fabiancarrazan]

gracias!! muy buen video y explicacion sigan asi!!!

[@tatojanc]

Great videos... You guys are awesome... Thanks a lot

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Awww, thanks! -Kaylie

[@gm6633]

Hi Brendan. Your videos are great! Kudos! Q. Do you have a video explaining how to recalibrate the grinder on a Saeco Stratos. My coffee comes out to quickly... My settings are at max coffee and no.1 coffee grind. I feel the coffee grounds are not fine enough. Plus it's now leaking and overflowing on the side little plastic bucket instead of overflowing in the main front bucket which is much bigger in size! The overflowing of water in the small side bucket just happened lately when making coffees. Any help would greatly be appreciated ! Tks!

[@PINGANTU]

Saved me. Thank you!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

+Paul Adamson You are very welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@danieltoma6954]

Thank you so verry much! It is really helpfull!

[@croachain]

tnx for great explanation

[@ralph9987]

Thanks for this, very helpful. I have a magic comfort and the is a blue and a red mark , how do the marking correspond on this model. I just bought a 2nd hand one and coffee is too weak and watery how is the portion size calibrated? Thanks in advance

[@danielbronson8718]

Awesome video. I just picked up a functionally identical Trevi Automatica for cheap, and this explained to me why the cabinet was full of beans, and why one screw on the hopper was missing. Clearly a previous owner had tried to open it, and didn't think to empty the hopper beforehand. Calibration was fairly simple. Slightly different from what you describe here, but easy enough to tell the difference between tight and loose while twisting the outer gear. I got my not-quite-zero point all set, replaced my hopper, and... nothing. The lower burr spins, but no beans seem to be drawn in. It spins for a moment, and then just errors out with the red LED. I emptied the hopper and tried it with like three beans, and they simply don't go anywhere. Could this be something I did, or could this be the reason the previous owner tried to remove the hopper? Thoughts?

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

The grinder not taking any beans could be a result of a number of things. First, make sure your electrical connection is correct, you need to have the positive and negative wires hooked up to the right parts of the grinder motor, if they are swapped the motor will rotate the opposite direction. Second, if your grinder if calibrated to '0' or really fine grind, it will not have the ability take down any beans. Third, if you did take your burrs all the way out to the the stainless steel ball bearings at the bottom of the burr assembly, go back through and make sure everything is lying properly, which can be very detailed. If any of the small part are not in place, it will mess with the calibration of the burrs. If none of these solve your issue, I would recommend taking your machine to a Saeco Certified Service Center. - Brendan

[@MM0SDK]

BTW finally grabbed a used V2 Silvia for £255, but your descaling and backflushing silvia guides were a god-send..... yuk. Finally pulling shots and starting to get to know her.... silvia, the fussy cow...lol. What were Rancilio thinking with the curved tamper.

[@phil290]

hello, I have a saeco incanto. the grinder had consumed the rasatore, I replaced it with a new rasatore and when millstone it blocks as if it was under stress.

[@Carlo8836]

Actually the real problem was the switch below the solenoid. I took it out and cleaned it and now the whole thing works like a champ again. That switch can get grimy after some years.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Great to hear :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Hahahahaha - hey! Don't knock it 'til you've tried it! ;) - Kat

[@kevindavidson8049]

Just let him explain the process-why the second banana slowing down the information? Cackling away-Good info guy

[@louiselaforest5797]

Great video. I cleaned up the grinder and recalibrate it as in the video. Nevertheless, that did not solve my problem. No matter how much grind I choose (from 0 to 18), the grind is always the same as if it were still at 18. Any idea what's wrong ?

[@martaszkotak-dydynski4918]

Louise Laforest your tool that supposed to turn the grinder settings is broken probably. Mine was.

[@brainretardant]

I had the motor drop out the bottom of my Vienna plus (in the mail) and there was just a hole with the outer index ring. There were 2 wires to the motor that pulled loose, brown and black, I reconnected brown to positive on the motor and it is spinning in the correct direction. I think that is okay. There were 3 click tabs that snapped the center burr and motor back to the top ring assembly after I tore the whole thing apart. Could you tell me if the pos is brown on that motor? thx

[@davesmith914]

Great video, it helped a lot🙂 Does anyone know the size of the bearing ball that clicks under the ring? It is missing in mine, and the grind size keeps changing on its own🙁 Edit: I have found it in a parts catalogue, its "STAIL.STELL AISI 304 SPHERE D=3,2MM"

[@marcelbuergstaller5881]

I cleaned my machine out, it worked for one day. Then it when back to not completing the grind cycle. Do you have any tips for me?

[@donweil16]

my saeco vienna deluxe is delivering half a cup of coffee when the dial is turned fully clockwise and a quarter of a cup when it is half way. any idea what is causing that problem?

[@margosresy]

Hi!! Thank you veruy much for the tutorial but i have an other problem with my grinder. It keeps uncalibrated enery other day and grides accumulate under the spinnimg part of the grinder so i have to recalibrate it very often.What is the problem with it?

[@blex5579]

should mention that you only adjust the grinder while engaged (when you have beans inside...forgot it myslef and will have to do the whole thing again..)

[@davidcook5462]

Aloha Brendan: Thank you for the wonderful video. I have a question about robustness of the coffee. We have a Saeco ViennaPlus at work, which consistently makes a great cup of coffee (with the grinder set to 5). I recently purchased a refurbished model - identical to what we have at work. This model produces a weak cup of coffee (it has the right foam on top, but not robust or strong at all). I followed your video and cleaned the grinder. The grinder was set with the red aligned (rather than two notches off, which you suggest). With the red markers aligned and the grind at 0 - we get pucks, but they are still course. Do I need to replace the grinder (the grind wheel you remove in the video)? Or are there some other adjustments I can make? I've inspected the brewing unit, and it appears clean with a clean screen/filter. Mahalo!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

First you want to make sure you got all three tabs from your upper burr into place. Aside from that, the reality is that no two machines are the same. A 5 setting on one may be a little different on another. Have you tried a different setting? It could also be the dosage setting. I know you said the grind is more coarse, but a higher dose of coffee means a tighter puck. - Steven

[@davidcook5462]

Seattle Coffee Gear Aloha Steven - I took your advice and dismantled it again and carefully cleaned it. Upon reassembly indeed, the grinder was not fitting into the slots easily. After fiddling with it I got it to seat. Now it is completely different. Moving the clicking gear (outer grinder ring) towards zero becomes very tight - something it never did before. Coffee tastes MUCH better. Thank you again. It was almost certainly that the grinder was not in those notches properly (and shipped that way from the company that reconditioned it). Much mahalo!

[@hernanmartinez1591]

Hello there! On Saeco Syntia, could you confirm me if the knob that adjusts the grinding coffee should be in the middle position once the upper plate is in its mark? Thanks in advance.

[@AttitudeXX0854961]

ok, is there still a way to make it grind finer? I have never taken it apart btw.

[@AttitudeXX0854961]

can you do anything like this with another saeco, say an espresso italiano? I never seem to be able to get mine fine enough...

[@AttitudeXX0854961]

I believe i am as fine as possible, but hey its worth a try?

[@tulip9814]

An AWESOME video. However… now my outer ring does not make any clicks when turned, and it tends to drift by itself towards the higher numbers. Any idea where this clicking part is hiding? I couldn't find it, and sadly there aren't any relevant professionals around here. :( I tried removing that thin ring upper part with the gear on it, but found nothing beneath.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

The part that is responsible for the clicking is Saeco part #128610421. It's a small stainless steel ball that sits in the grooves underneath the grinder ring. It creates all the friction that is needed to prevent your grinder ring from moving on it's own. Seattle Coffee Gear does not sell this part individually. But you can find it for sale on encompassparts.com when searching with the following part number: 996530012441 (128610421). I hope this helps! Good Luck! -Brendan

[@tulip9814]

Seattle Coffee Gear Thanks!!!

[@MM0SDK]

aaawwwww bless. Gently unplugging your 110v mains supply. Us British, we have great, superior, high-and-mighty 240v big manly mains voltage..... ggrrrrrrrrr......lol. Love the vids as always ;) Mark. x

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

I'll say! ;) - Kat

[@mnovo]

Is the a link as to why my grinder does not click indexing?

[@jflake18407]

look at all them

[@anf1952]

HELP... Bom dia, será que alguém poderia me ajudar? tenho uma máquina de café Saeco Italia, quando ligo ela aquece a agua, mas a luz vermelha de advertência fica piscando e o botão para tirar café não funciona. Att. Adolpho

[@savansavan6984]

what alram mean .coffee dispens blocked

[@SungkiHong]

Thanks a lot for your video! I actually went into a problem... when I took off the hopper the beans fell down into the machine =( should i try to get them out or just leave them inside the machine. Thanks a lot!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

You should take them out because if they go stale they can go rancid and attract mold or pests. Remove the water tank and turn the machine over to get as many beans as possible. Then use a vacuum cleaner with a narrow attachment to suck up all the left over beans. - Miranda

[@Cr42yguy]

burr burr burr

[@alekzzisrec]

hey, did u do settings with delonghi grinder also ??

[@jflake18407]

Look for it...

[@marcelmartel9379]

Ren français...

[@bronekmiller9692]

Dlaczego nie nadajecie w języku polskim ?!

[@THEPAINOFITALL]

Thank you, fixed for free

[@danieltoma6954]

Thank you so verry much! It is really helpfull!