Posted Fri Oct 12, 2012, 10:09am Subject: Re: I think I have a problem - becoming an addiction.
STURDY!
That is and was my very first impression. Well-built. Feels like all the energy goes into comminution of the beans, with minimal vibration.
So far, quite consistent. Outperforms my Hario Mini Mill Slim with fresh modification. No contest.
Probably the best Press Pot Grind I've seen. Less fines than a Ditting KR804 set at 9.
Bean loading - could be better.
Need to add an agitator. Beans have a tendency to stick in the hopper.
All that metal = minimal static.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Re: agitation, see here. Haven't needed to do anything like this with mine. I've also read about at least one user who preferred to keep a chopstick handy.
Posted Sun Oct 14, 2012, 12:58pm Subject: Re: I think I have a problem - becoming an addiction.
Getting to know the machine.
Nomenclature: I'll call the settings OEL0 to OEL4, for the number of CCW turns from the "zero point".
Quick look - full tight is about 1/4 turn tighter than the brass washer zero point - to me this makes sense, as the burrs are bound if fully tight.
My first check is grinding 3 beans on OEL0, OEL1, OEL2, OEL3, and OEL4.
I have reference grinds from a calibrated Ditting KR804, and quickly judging by eye and a few small sieves:
OEL0 = Ditting 1 (D1), or Turkish grind. All very fine particles, fluffy, and near talc-like. Impressive. OEL1 ~ D3-4, some distribution of particles, all less than 1mm. OEL2 ~ D7 to D7.5. Some particle size with a handful a smidge more than 1mm. OEL3 ~ D9, French Press setting, to D9+ (Ditting KR804 only goes to 9, supposedly 900 micron). Handful of particles > 1.5mm, the majority pass through 40 OPN sieve (1.01mm), and a bit less than half passes through a 30 OPN sieve.
OEL4 is not good, inconsistent, boulders, with some fines. Larger particles some >1.8mm, all less than 90 OPN (2.28mm), and fair number of chunks between 1.52 and 1.02mm. I'd expect this is a typical limitation for burr grinders even if concentricity is held very well.
I've gotten the most consistent results for CCD brewing at about 1.25minute contact before draindown (the grounds float at first pour, and right about 1 minute begin dropping almost en masse) with OEL1.75.
Press pot seems to do quite well at OEL2.75, with a small amount of fines. Needs about 3 minutes on CCD at this grind before they start to drop.
AeroPress works well in large range, but OEL1 if used with 30-50 second contact time prior to pressing works surprisingly well if used "verted".
Neat little grinder.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012, 7:41am Subject: Re: I think I have a problem - becoming an addiction (OE LIDO)
So, interesting developments so far.
I have been monitoring the "zero" point. When I received my LIDO, the zero point at the brass washer was 1/4 turn away from about 2Nm "tight". "Tight" is where you turn the set screw to where you feel resistance - and you will feel significant resistance if you try and crank the grinder. Don't do that - burr clash is possible.
After maybe going through 3 kg of coffee, I've noticed two things:
1) a squeak during grinding 2) a gradual change toward coarser grind, equivalent to approximately 1/4 turn.
Not surprisingly, the "zero" point has changed - it's now 1/2 turn from "tight".
I took a q-tip with food grade mineral oil (the kind that you use for maintaining wooden bowls and wood cutting boards) and went fully loose with the adjuster, and applied sparing bits of oil at the bronze bearing areas.
When I assembed it and reset the grinder, the squeaking got WORSE! Tight is still 1/2 (instead of 1/4) turn more than the "zero" set point at the bronze washer.
I figured out that the source of the squeak was actually the contact of the set screw to the contact bearing surface on the axis of the center burr. A dot of oil at that spot and the grinder was quiet.
So, this got me to thinking that maybe the wear-in is where the set screw tip gets match/ground to the contact surface on the axis of the center burr over the first several thousand cranks of the grinder. I started to get grounds floating several seconds longer at 1.75 than before, and I tightened to 1.5 and it's back to making normal grounds submersion times and the coffee end strength is trending back up.
Other than putting a contact needle bearing or lubricated ball at the tip of the adjuster, I don't know how I'd improve this - but it is something to be aware of. Periodically check your zero point to where "tight" is, you may need to vary your setting over time as your grinder set screw wears in.
Cheers!
(and this means that I have to re-do my grind analysis that I started. Bummer.)
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
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