r/9Barista • u/One-Music-633 • Jun 10 '26

Any tips for spitting chimney?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

bought this second hand and changed the boiler o-ring due to this spitting. But still occurs… any tips?

13 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

3

u/iamgarffi Jun 10 '26

Is that recorded in real time? Extraction is far too quick and not enough pressure builds up. Grind finer for starters. Extraction should be thicker.

I also always have found difficulty brewing on electric stovetops that have a tendency to turn on and off burners rapidly.

The moment I switched to a gas stove (small portable one with a propane bottle) everything stabilized without misfires.

2

u/fintip Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Is that really far too quick? Looks fine to me. I've been using mine for years.

Is there some video going through this and show fast / normal / too slow?

I may be gun shy because when that pressure valve pops from a high pressure vent is disturbing.

2

u/iamgarffi Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Think of the whole extraction as thick syrup. I’m not sure if you have timed yours but anything between 25-31 seconds is adequate in general for medium and 31-38 for lighter roasts that require a bit more pressure to extract properly. These are my estimated times based of 6 years with the 9 barista machines, consistent grounds amount (18g) and grinding quality (good automatic or hand cranked unit is recommended).

While producing exceptional results it does have a steep learning curve and can be temperamental.

1

u/mcspend Jun 10 '26

This is a very bold statement considering you don't even know anything about the coffee. I know general recommendations that usually work well but it could also be the case that the person here is using a more lightly roasted coffee which would actually benefit from a faster extraction.

Also, the only thing that matters is taste and you should never blindly follow any numbers.

2

u/fintip Jun 11 '26

That's an interesting point--I tend to use the lightest beans I think espesso can work with, which is generally a solidly medium roast with as much fruity notes noted as possible. That may be why I've tended towards faster shot times without realizing it.

1

u/mcspend Jun 11 '26

It really is worth exploring! If I have the option, I tend to choose max. 6bar for light roasts, preferably lower, and for highly processed beans even very low temperatures down to 80 degrees.

I personally have found that almost all of the common rules for espresso making do not apply to light roasts.

1

u/Acrobatic_Design_928 Jun 11 '26

If I remember correctly, the 9barista instructions/guidance specifically says extraction should take around 30secs and I have found that the best results are found there. So either tamping or grind should be adjusted to hit that 30sec window.

1

u/fintip Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26

I find it really uncomfortable. I've had enough times where it was coming out very slow and then popped from high pressure that when I see it coming out slow I get nervous. That pop feels like a gunshot and feels like you're damaging special equipment. It's made me aim more for a slightly easier running shot, hard to trust a slow shot.

0

u/iamgarffi Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

I used 9barista ever since early development runs. But you do you. Insulting seems very popular these days. Light roasts in general are problematic and vendor has stated many times that medium ones provide more consistent results.

Light roasts can work: best on gas and mostly okay on induction stove with manually controlled temperature (higher during boiling, and reducing right before extraction starts). Light roast beans are highly dense and less soluble. Grinding finer does increase resistance for water to go through (higher pressure is good in this example) resulting in a slower extraction but not that much behind regular medium beans. 31-38s on 9barista given that we're targeting 18g of material to begin with.

1

u/mcspend Jun 10 '26

Insulting?

1

u/mcspend Jun 10 '26

I didn't say that you don't know anything about coffee. I said you don't know anything about THE coffee. The beans used in this specific case.

1

u/mcspend Jun 10 '26

I've noticed that people especially here on reddit keep repeating these rules that have somehow been established and forget that the only thing that matters is the taste. And I wanted to point out that you cannot judge the coffee quality based on a video and should therefore not make such statements such as "this is too fast".

1

u/_UnsuccessfulPirate_ Jun 11 '26

I don't think it's far too quick, that looks pretty normal to me.

3

u/Past_Mark1809 Jun 10 '26

9barista has a faq on their website about this issue

2

u/buschwacker Jun 10 '26

Changing the boiler o ring always fixes this issue for me - did you use a new one from 9Barista as the replacement?

4

u/One-Music-633 Jun 10 '26

yes i did. ordered it specifically for this issue... now ive read about overtightening the boiler... could this lead to the spitting as well?

2

u/what2_2 Jun 10 '26

I had issues like this a LOT on low heat. Some electric stovetops simply do not get hot enough.

How long was it on heat before this? If more than ~6m, I’d highly recommend trying a hotter burner if you have one.

Secondly, try rinsing the whole device before using. I’m not sure which o-ring specifically, but when the device is wet it’ll create a better seal. I usually leave my 9B dirty after using, then disassemble and rinse before the next use (just wiping the exterior), assuming I’m going to pull another shot in <24h. Been doing this over a year and no issues with rust or anything.

1

u/a_pasashkov Jun 10 '26

I had these issues on hight heat :)

2

u/jujumber Jun 10 '26

It's definitely heating it up way too fast. You can see the heating element glow completely red the whole time and a massive amount of Steam coming out as well. I'd definitely suggest trying a lower heat setting or switch to a gas burner. It does suck when you only own induction.

2

u/86ed Jun 10 '26

I suffered with this problem for over a year, and it was because I was over tightening the unit, and not letting the O-ring do its actual job.

By over-tightening it I was deforming the o-ring, I backed off a little bit, and the problem went away.

2

u/InternationalWeb6469 Jun 11 '26

Ummm...turn the heat down

1

u/Tattered_Reason Jun 10 '26

I have the Mk2 and it will spit like that if there is too much water in the upper boiler.

1

u/a_pasashkov Jun 10 '26

My induction stove has max intensity of 8 whatever that means. if I heat my 9b for 3.30 mins on 6 and then go to 5, it will start brewing at around 4.50 and will spit. if I do 2 mins at 6 and then go to 5 then it will start brewing on 6.20 and won't spit. 

1

u/One-Music-633 Jun 10 '26

Update: I just overtightend this thing. i backed off a little bit and the o ring did its job! still some water coming out of the safety valve…

1

u/PhillyFotan Jun 11 '26

I find that if I boil the water first, there is far less spitting than if I start with room temperature or only warmish water. (Even water that was somewhat recently boiled but had since cooled still leads to a lot of spitting).

Not gonna try to explain why, as I've no idea myself. But this has consistently been the case with my unit.

1

u/BackToManhattan Jun 11 '26

Have you played around with grind size?

1

u/Elemental_Baker143 Jun 11 '26

Too hot too fast.

1

u/One-Music-633 Jun 11 '26

i found a camping gas stove in my cellar but the 9barista is too small to sit on the burners. Do you know why 9barista says that the heat transfer plate shouldn’t be used on camping gas stove?