u/Typical_Cucumber_525

Just got my Meticulous and mostly dialled in but struggling with consistency.
Setup:
• Italian Style profile, 90°C, 1.8ml/s, 40g
• Varia VS6, 1200 RPM
• 18g in, medium-dark blend
• WDT, puck screen, adjustable tamper

Issue:
Grind size 1.0 → 29 seconds, ~7.9 bar, smooth curve
Grind size 2.0 → 22 seconds, ~4.8 bar, flat curve

Anything above 1.5 on the VS6 just flows straight through with barely any pressure. The VS6 manual says espresso range is 2–5 so grinding at 1.0–1.2 feels wrong but it’s the only way to build adequate pressure.

[attach both screenshots]

Is this normal for the Meticulous? Am I missing something or is the constant flow profile just requiring a much finer grind than traditional machines?