Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

nantucket66 · 25 Jun 2017 at 20:27

Thanks for the replies.

fez said:
Have you considered a second hand Mazzer super jolly.

I think I'd prefer to buy new as opposed to something used. I've done a bit more reading/research and I think I've narrowed it down to either the Eureka or the Mahikonig Vario, is the Vario worth the extra money over the Eureka?

Cheers

jpaul · 26 Jun 2017 at 12:17

Did you discard compak/fracino k3 on demand also in that price range .. suspect I would visit shop, and decide based on build quality.
Agree about re-conned Sj's, seemed difficult to appraise state if you purchased blind on ebay.

For water tank in built softeners has anyone gone to lengths of purchasing Kosher salt (where ?) for re-charging it,
as it seems you should do, as opposed to regular table salt which has other add-ins, the catch is it seems about £5/Kg.
I may buy another cartridge and swap them regularly so I re-charge one, at leisure.

Grimley · 26 Jun 2017 at 19:48

Another offer from Rave Coffee folks.

*As of Midnight tonight you can use code: COOLRUNNINGS at the checkout to receive 10% off all roasted or green coffee*

Phal · 26 Jun 2017 at 20:42

It lasted about 3-4 years without any issues or particularly good care but my Iberital MC2 grinder experienced a failure to chooch!

Easy enough repair at least

jpaul · 26 Jun 2017 at 21:12

The mangled wire stub was meant to be engaging with the helical cog for grind adjustemnt ? that piece of metal is junk ???
or if the wire stub is the main drive that is worse.
..in either case need to remove if from the OC recommended list.

Raymond Lin · 26 Jun 2017 at 21:25

MY IM2 refuse to die, it's 10 years old at least.

Phal · 26 Jun 2017 at 21:53

jpaul said:
The mangled wire stub was meant to be engaging with the helical cog for grind adjustemnt ? that piece of metal is junk ???
or if the wire stub is the main drive that is worse.
..in either case need to remove if from the OC recommended list.

Na there's no problem with the metal parts at all. That part is fine (as you'd imagine if it's driving a plastic part). It was a quick set of photos but that part is a kind of worm drive I guess and it engages directly with the plastic wheel teeth.

In my case, something got stuck hard enough that the worm drive ground through the plastic teeth (you can see the plastic shavings around it).

I don't think it's a bad idea to have a sort of sacrificial part in there. If anything manages to get wedged in the grinder hard enough then the plastic goes because much more damage is done. It's cheaper to replace the plastic part than to get a new set of grinder burrs or a new motor etc.

jpaul · 28 Jun 2017 at 14:50

Grimley said:
Another offer from Rave Coffee folks.

still running until mid-night .. multi-day !

Phal said:
Na there's no problem with the metal parts at all. That part is fine (as you'd imagine if it's driving a plastic part).

the vertical metal section was embedded in a plastic gear, that engaged the helical then ? - or more importantly how much does it cost to fix ?

Phal · 28 Jun 2017 at 18:06

jpaul said:
the vertical metal section was embedded in a plastic gear, that engaged the helical then ? - or more importantly how much does it cost to fix ?

Yeah it looks kinda weird in the pics but it is a shaft with machined teeth. I'm not sure why it was designed that way instead of just having a normal set of teeth on the end but it does engage directly into the plastic gear wheel.

Here's another angle. Depth of focus is a bit shallow with my macro lens! It's about 4 or 5mm in diameter I guess (the metal bit) and it's coming out of the motor.

The part itself is pretty cheap (found it in two places for £11 and £13) but with delivery it was just under £20

haz_pro · 2 Jul 2017 at 12:22

Well, having taken a break from DIY espresso, my Gaggia Classic and (POS) Eureka Mignon have come out of retirement.

Being a glutton for punishment, I've bought another used grinder from eBay unseen - last time I done this the grinder turned out to be a dud (the Mignon I mentioned previously), although I soldered through using it for about a year.

I pick up the grinder this week, its a ~15 years old Brasilia rr45. I have no idea what sort of condition the insides will be, but it doesn't look too bad (given it's age) on the outside. Plans are to break it down completely for a clean, potentially replace burrs, do some sort of small hopper mod, and potentially mod it to be doserless - we'll see. Might even paint it if i I can sand the chrome off.

Seller picture below.

jpaul · 2 Jul 2017 at 17:00

So we should not buy a 'for parts' Mignon off of Ebay, what was the failure mode - burr spacing due to carrier/axel issues ?

you new one looks fine, but too many of the ebay grinders have hopper cracks, you cannot tell what height they have been dropped from.
should have an ebay video option so you can see/hear products in action.

haz_pro · 2 Jul 2017 at 22:18

The mignon was advertised as perfect working order. Turned out that the guy was super dodgy and had sold 5+ faulty units to myself and some other members of a UK coffee forum.

I don't think I'll be selling my mignon, but if I do it will be with full disclosure of the problem. Not sure what's causing it. I tried to align the burrs with shims but nothing really worked.

I don't plan on using the hopper for the rr45 any way, but would be nice if is not completely cracked (seems OK condition from the photo). I'm looking forward to a mini project.

shez · 3 Jul 2017 at 22:20

Just ordered from Rave for the first time using the introductory 20% discount. Switching from my local roasters who are on the pricey side.
I've gone for the following;
1x Signature Blend - 1kg
1x Kenya Gitchathaini AA - 350g
1x Costa Rica Finca Don Beto - 350g
1x Colombian Suarez - 350g
Looking forward to reporting back.

Ayahuasca · 4 Jul 2017 at 17:09

Either my aeropress is already knackered or the 1KG bag of fudgeblend was a bad idea, it tasted awesome at first but a week later it's lost most of the notes and is more bitter, was kept sealed in a dark cupboard as well, I think I'll stick to smaller bags or get my own grinder.

Scottland · 4 Jul 2017 at 19:49

There's a saying amongst coffee ~~snobs~~ aficionados; green beans keep fresh for 12 months, roasted beans for 12 weeks and ground for 12 minutes. Or some ******** like that

Raymond Lin · 4 Jul 2017 at 20:02

Scottland said:
There's a saying amongst coffee ~~snobs~~ aficionados; green beans keep fresh for 12 months, roasted beans for 12 weeks and ground for 12 minutes. Or some ******** like that

It's probably not far off the truth.

scottomus0 · 4 Jul 2017 at 20:14

yeah pretty spot on!!

Dj_Jestar · 5 Jul 2017 at 11:31

It's the 888 philosophy. 8 months, 8 weeks, 8 minutes.

Jolteh · 5 Jul 2017 at 19:00

Snagged a sage dual boiler last month and have been really enjoying it. Definite step up on my coffee game.

Upgraded the crappy built in tamper to a puck style one (chinese copy of the pricey OCD one). Really recommend one if you're on a 58/58.4mm size portafilter. Makes an even tamp effortless and has made my coffee taste a ton better.

jpaul · 5 Jul 2017 at 20:30

looks nicely engineered.
Is it dynometric (whatever the word is) is so it clicks at a tamp force, or, is it adjusted relative to basket/pf rim ?
I had seen discussions, about, what I thought was the same, on coffeeforum, as being helpful for levelling out an irregular grind mound, then
following up with a conventional tamper too.

Don't know if the Sage had an insulated boiler/eco mode but I found bigger boilered machines consume a fair bit of electricity, I need to get a wifi
switch.