User Manuals
Where can I download a C40 User Manual?
Where can I download a X25 Trailmaster User Manual?
Grinder Care
How can I best clean my C40 grinder?
Please don’t soak your grinder in water, or wash it in the dishwasher - it isn’t dishwasher safe. This could damage the wooden veneer and the ball-bearing cartridges in the long term.
Body
Your C40 grinder is a robust piece of kit, but of course it’s good to take care of it too. If you own a Nitro Blade® grinder with a wooden veneer, then we recommend avoiding scratches and keeping it dry. If it gets dirty, then a damp cotton cloth is enough, and we would recommend drying it immediately.
You can care for the wood with a good, natural beeswax polish, like the one in our Wood Care Balm Set.
Burr
We recommend simply brushing your burr and grinder interior clean. Our Comandante® Brushes can help you with that, and it’s also easier if you disassemble your grinder first (see General Use, below).
You can also blow coffee dust out of hard-to-reach areas using compressed air, a camera lens blower or good old lung-power!
Important for Ironheart® owners: please don’t use water to clean your burrs, the carbon steel isn’t stainless and should be looked after carefully.
How can I best clean my X25 TRAILMASTER® grinder?
The easiest way is to disassemble your grinder (see General Use, below) and brush all parts clear of coffee dust using one of our Comandante® Brushes.
You can also blow coffee dust out of hard-to-reach areas using compressed air, a camera lens blower or good old lung-power!
X25 TRAILMASTER® is not dishwasher safe, because over time this could damage the ball-bearing cartridges. You can, however, rinse it with water and even use gentle, natural detergents if you would like to. If you do, we strongly recommend disassembling the grinder to allow the moving parts to dry. (This avoids an unnecessary build up of coffee dust).
How often should I clean my grinder?
Thanks to Nitro Blade®’s highly inert surface, you can afford to relax. There’s no need to clean your burrs between uses! Once a week (heavy use) or month (light use) is more than enough. We recommend simply using a clean bean jar each time to keep your dose of ground coffee as fresh as possible.
We nevertheless recommend regular cleaning of the burrs and interior to keep your grinder running smoothly and your coffee tasting fresh! You should find the right balance for you. After all, if you’re too busy stressing about the cleanliness of your equipment you might not be able to enjoy your coffee at all!
Important for C40 Ironheart® owners: it’s important to keep your burrs dry and we would recommend cleaning your burrs with our Burr Care Set on a weekly basis if you’re using your grinder on a daily basis.
It only takes a couple of minutes - see how in our Cleaning Video.
General Use
How do I disassemble and reassemble my grinder?
Knob
Your wooden knob has a simple push button closure in it. You can simply pull it off the crank, and push it back on - when it clicks it is correctly attached.
Crank
The crank attaches to the axle thanks to a small magnet. Simply pull the crank away from the body. It helps if you hold the crank near the lid.
Burr
Important for the C40 grinder: please don’t unscrew the three mounting screws around the burr. These have been carefully and precisely tightened by hand during production to ensure the correct calibration of your grinder. Undoing them can damage your grinder and void warranty.
You can watch our Disassembly and Reassembly Video, or read the instructions below...
Disassembly: To remove the conical burr, simply unscrew the 3-pointed grind setting dial all the way.
- Be careful to hold onto the dial and the burr, so that you don’t lose anything!
- We recommend disassembling your grinder above a table or similar flat surface.
You can remove the cone, spring, washers and axle - for cleaning, for example.
Reassembly: it is important to reassemble the axle and washers correctly.
- The top washer should be inserted before the axle, with the raised edge towards the bearing.
- Attach the crank to help hold everything in place.
- Insert the bottom washer onto the axle, with the raised edge facing towards the bearing.
- With the spring reinserted into the cone, slide the cone back onto the axle.
- Whilst pushing the cone into the body of the grinder, screw the grind setting dial back onto the axle.
Where does the red O-ring belong?
The red O-ring is a non-essential feature, designed to hold the lower washer in place during disassembly.
Note: the red o-ring is no longer installed in any of the latest production models. We found that the grinders worked better without it.
If your grinder didn’t come with one, there’s nothing to worry about!
If you would prefer to keep your O-ring, then see the drawing below - it belongs between the washer and the spring:
What grind settings are suitable for different brewing methods?
The ‘right’ grind setting depends on your personal preference and recipe, and of course it also varies from coffee to coffee. With all other variables fixed, grind finer to increase extraction or coarser to decrease it. Here are some good starting points for you, but please trust your tastebuds and dial in to suit your grinder, your coffee and your preference:
- 3-8 Clicks for Ibrik
- 7-13 Clicks for Espresso
- 14-20 Clicks for a Bialetti or stovetop coffee pot
- 18-35 Clicks for a pour over filter coffee (depending on dose and brewer)
- 25-35 Clicks for Cupping and French Press
- Aeropress? Well, that depends on your recipe ;)!
Where Is Zero?
Hold your grinder horizontally. When the burrs are open, the handle will turn and fall down to the 6 o’clock position. Whilst gradually closing the burrs / tightening the grind, click zero is the first available setting where the handle no longer falls (from 9 o’clock, for example). The burrs hold the handle still. (If you tighten the burrs even further than this, you are going to click -1, -2, etc., so to speak., so from zero you only need to open the burrs). As you open the burr from point zero, you can count the number of clicks to track your grind setting.
Can I buy accessories and extras for my grinder?
Yes! We have developed a range of care products and also optional extras to help you customise your grinder for you. Click here to shop accessories.
What is the C40 Ironheart® Grinder? Where can i find one?
The C40 Ironheart was first produced in 2017 in a limited quantity. Our Ironheart burr set uses a super hard Carbon Steel. Its performance is exceptional, but it requires care because it isn’t stainless. We therefore decided to focus our energy on producing our renowned NITRO BLADE® burrs, which provide world class grind performance in a very low-maintenance format.
What is the Red Clix Competition Axle?
The Red Clix Axel Kit from Comandante has been designed to take your Comandante C40 Grinder to the next level!
With an ultra-fine precision thread, this axel will give your Comandante C40 coffee grinder an expanded click range - resulting in even better precision and more control.
Comandante Red Clix Axle Kit Includes:
- Metric Precision Thread Axle
- Grind Grade Dial Red
- 2x Washers
- 1x Spring
Watch an introduction and FAQ video here.
Toubleshooting
Is it possible to get spare and replacement parts for my grinder?
Yes, of course! If anything gets lost or goes wrong, please contact your local dealer or contact us directly.
We produce long lasting and repairable grinders with the goal of reducing their environmental impact over time.
My comandante® grinder is squeaking - what can i do?
This can happen because we use 100% natural wood for our
handles / knobs. Sometimes the wood can squeak in contact with the crank, but
this is easy to fix!
View video here.
Simply remove the knob from the crank, then lubricate the
crank or the inside of the oak knob. You can use a natural mineral oil like the one in our Burr Care Set or simply olive oil. Then reattach the knob to the crank (push until it clicks), and your problem should be solved!
I have a problem with the wooden knob / handle - what can ido?
The connection between crank and the wooden knob is a simple
push-click button. When reassembling the knob, push until it clicks. - If this doesn’t fix your problem, we are here to help! Contact us.
I can see fines and boulders in my ground coffee - is this normal?
Coffee beans have an organic structure, and roasted coffee is brittle. This means that coffee always breaks and shatters unevenly during the grinding process, creating both a super fine dust or ‘fines’, and - at medium or coarser grind sizes - irregular larger shapes or ‘boulders’. Both are inevitable. The question is how well a grinder can reduce them to levels that contribute positively to the extraction and flavour, rather than negatively.
We design, develop and test our burr sets in our Laboratory at Comandante® HQ. By looking at the particle distribution of ground coffee we can purposefully analyse and make sure that the grind performance of our burrs is optimised for brewing high quality coffees.
Don’t be scared if you see some fines or boulders in your coffee grounds. This is normal, and you can be certain that your Comandante® burr set produces a fantastic particle distribution to help you get the best out of your coffee. All you need to do is check that your grinder is correctly assembled, clean, and then find the grind setting and recipe that tastes best to you!
My burr cone looks off-centre - is this normal?
It is normal for your Nitro Blade burrs to have some contact at finer settings. The cone burr in the middle has been built as a “floating cone”. This is a deliberate design with performance advantages. Unlike some other grinders, the cone has flexibility on the axle. Without load (when the grinder is empty) you are able to move the cone on the axle, and it may sit ever so slightly off-centre due to the spring. But don’t worry: as soon as you grind coffee, the cone follows the centricity of the axle and the burr ring. We have tested this very carefully in our laboratory!
My grinder’s burrs are touching - is this normal?
It is normal for your Nitro Blade burrs to have some contact at finer settings. The cone burr in the middle has been built as a “floating cone”. This is a deliberate design with performance advantages. Unlike some other grinders, the cone has flexibility on the axle. Without load (when the grinder is empty) you are able to move the cone on the axle. But don’t worry: as soon as you grind coffee, the cone follows the centricity of the axle and the burr ring. Rest assured that we have carefully aligned and calibrated the outer burr ring with the axle of the grinder at Comandante® HQ with the aid of the three custom mounting screws on the bottom of the grinder. (Please do not adjust or remove these!)
Your burrs won’t damage each other. This can depend on how the burr cone is sitting on the spring, and also how clean your grinder is. (If your grinder has collected a load of coffee dust over time, it’s probably worth cleaning your grinder! See the cleaning section above).
We have tested this very carefully in our laboratory, and the grind performance of this design and with our burrs will help you brew many delicious coffees!
My crank ‘wobbles’ on the axle - is this normal?
Yes, the loose connection between the crank and the axle is actually a deliberate and very important design feature, so you have nothing to worry about :).
The loose connection is necessary to ensure that it is easy to remove and reattach the crank and lid. If it was tighter, then this would be more difficult. (We tested this during the design process to find the perfect fit!)
The ‘loose’ connection has absolutely no effect on the axle and the burr mechanism. And certainly no effect on grind performance. There is only a positive effect on how easy it is to use the grinder!
My axle gets stuck during disassembly and/or reassembly. What can i do?
Check our video guide.
If you’re still having problems after this please contact our Support Team!
If your question isn’t answered here, please contact our Support Team, who are always happy to help!