It works fine, but I find that I have to brush it out to get all of my grounds out of it. Not a huge deal, but I have the itch to play with a new gadget now, and this should help finance it.
I'm looking for something doserless with little to no ground retention (either from static or physical design), and something that grinds at least as well as my MDX. I really really want a Versalab, but my budget of around $600 or so won't get me one and it doesn't appear there is anything else out there with a similar design. I'm looking at some of the Macap stuff and the Vario-W. The regular Vario had some pretty mixed reviews, so I'm a little apprehensive about it. And from what I've read, the Macap M4 holds a lot of grounds from static in the chute.
Is there anything that recently came out that I'm missing?
calblacksmith Senior Member Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 4,017 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: 2many I need to thin the... Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Thu Feb 2, 2012, 11:11am Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
I think you pretty much answered your own question.
Very nice job on the MDX, clean and shinny! It looks like a different grinder! Mine is just stock black so the plastic base isn't so noticeable, but it really does not matter at work, sitting on a cab with miles of room all around.
Nearly all grinders that were designed for coffee shop use, will have some retention in some form or another and some worse than others.
I have an MDX at work and it grinds just fine, easily the equal of any of my SJs. It does have more grind retention than the SJs do but that is only because the chute between the grind chamber and the doser is wider than on the SJ. The unmodded doser on the MDX sweeps cleaner than on the SJ but it has a lot of plastic in it vs the all metal dosers on Mazzers.
On my MDX, I removed the upper black plastic ring that screws to the body of the grinder and made a custom doser lid to fit the clear plastic window. The grinder used to be an automatic and I converted it to a manual thus the upper plastic ring with the housing to hold the microswitch really got in the way. Now cleaning is very easy and I have clear access to the grind chute, though, yes there still is the issue of retention but a 1" paint brush makes quick work of the grounds and I single dose so the grinder is empty after every shot.
Yes, for sure there are grinders out there that will do a better job, such as the versalab, and there is serious drool factor with that grinder but most of us do not have a budget for it!
Posted Thu Feb 2, 2012, 10:48pm Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
If you enjoy the restoration process, you might try picking up a worn but internally sound Major. I think that it would be an upgrade to your everyday grinding (faster, less retention in my experience), and the big physical presence would really feel like an upgrade. The whole thing might even come in under your $600 budget.
On single dosing cleanup: If you pick up a little silicone prep bowl that's a bit wider than your bean intake (why can't I think of the name for this...?) you can invert it over the hole and push down quickly to flush the burr chamber and grounds chute clean, often clean enough to not require any brushing.
signal15 Senior Member Joined: 2 Jan 2006 Posts: 109 Location: Brooklyn Park Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Feb 7, 2012, 10:47am Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
russel Said:
If you enjoy the restoration process, you might try picking up a worn but internally sound Major. I think that it would be an upgrade to your everyday grinding (faster, less retention in my experience), and the big physical presence would really feel like an upgrade. The whole thing might even come in under your $600 budget.
On single dosing cleanup: If you pick up a little silicone prep bowl that's a bit wider than your bean intake (why can't I think of the name for this...?) you can invert it over the hole and push down quickly to flush the burr chamber and grounds chute clean, often clean enough to not require any brushing.
I was considering staying away from commercial machines this time around, because as someone else had mentioned, there is going to be more retention in them since they weren't really meant for grinding a single dose and then sitting all day.
That bowl idea is great. I often thought that a little puff of air through there would clean it out, but hadn't thought of a good way to do it without actually using compressed air.
I called 1st-line to ask them some questions, but they never called me back. :(
adan0327 Senior Member Joined: 6 Sep 2011 Posts: 44 Location: Toronto Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: la cimbali m32 dosatron 3... Grinder: Astoria Super Jolly Vac Pot: hario tc2 Drip: chemex, v60,kalitta... Roaster: Lol.... Pan :D
Posted Wed Feb 8, 2012, 8:55pm Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
How did you give your grinder that kind of finish? I want to do that on my super Jolly. Did you manually sand everything? Also what would be a good buffing compound to use for that nice mirror finish?
jwoodyu Senior Member Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 435 Location: Michigan Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Allex Duetto II Grinder: Mazzer Major, Barratza Vario Roaster: Poppery
Posted Wed Feb 8, 2012, 10:18pm Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
+1 on the major it will do fine job. It's kinda of fun to play with making the doser and doser less mods the price is right and you should always be able to get your money out of it.
What machine should you buy? Buy what ever I have in my profile.
Posted Thu Feb 9, 2012, 6:01pm Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
I got a great deal from Chris Coffee two years ago and got a Cimbali Junior which is a doser and stepless, I was looking at the Macap M4 but he was out of them at the time, but the Junior was on sale and at the same price as the Macap. The Cimbali has a bigger motor and has 64mm burrs compared to the 58mm in the Macap. But now all he has in the Cimbali line is the Hybrid which has both flat and conical burrs. Sometimes they get what is called buyer's remorse and then you can get a real good deal on grinders and espresso machines
signal15 Senior Member Joined: 2 Jan 2006 Posts: 109 Location: Brooklyn Park Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Feb 20, 2012, 1:19pm Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
I took everything off the grinder so it was just the body, and sprayed it with something called Aircraft Stripper. It was about $3 for a can of it at Walmart. Do it outside, it's NASTY stuff. The paint basically just fell off of it, but I needed a second coat of stripper and had to use a scrubby sponge to get all of the nooks and crannies. Use gloves. I also used a respirator and goggles.
I then sanded the casting marks out with 60->80->120 grit. And then keep moving up grits (wet sanding) all the way to 2000 grit. Then I used polishing wheels with compound. It took HOURS. After I got done, I called a local polishing place, and they would have done it all for $50. I spent more than that on sandpaper and polishing stuff. So, if you want to do this, just strip it down and bring it to a polishing place.
Also, you'll want to wax it with a good carnuba wax as the aluminum will oxidize over time if you don't.
I'm really seriously considering the Vario-W right now. I'm still reading reviews and such, but unless someone can think of a good reason NOT to go with this one, I think I may try it out.
Posted Mon Feb 20, 2012, 1:57pm Subject: Re: I got the itch for a new grinder. Recommendations?
signal15 Said:
I'm really seriously considering the Vario-W right now. I'm still reading reviews and such, but unless someone can think of a good reason NOT to go with this one, I think I may try it out.
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