VolatileBeans Senior Member Joined: 20 Feb 2012 Posts: 11 Location: Pensacola, Florida Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun Mar 18, 2012, 9:12pm Subject: Rossi RR45
Whilst doing my weekly searchs in craigslist, I stumbled upon a Rossi RR45. I hadn't remembered hearing about it ever being discussed here on the forums. But I did remember hearing something about it--a google search later and I remembered that Mark had done some comparison tests between the Rossi, Mazzer Mini, Rocky, and some others. It seemed solid. I did a search here on the forums and read some. Sounds good. So I looked back at the advertisement and saw the price. $100. Jaw dropped a bit, not gunna lie.
So my only question is, does anyone have a detailed review of this thing up? I already know some of the pros and cons such as large size and loudness but I would like to read more in depth.
If I do get this, I'll get the 80 step mod for sure. Also, are hoppers usually removable? I really dont need that massive thing and I'd imagine I can fashion a smaller one.
Posted Sun Mar 18, 2012, 9:40pm Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
When I was shopping a few years ago, I found a lot of them for $100-300. I've never owned one - but I would expect them to be in the ballpark with a super jolly (63-64mm flat burrs) but many of the posts I read did complain about them being noisy.
The hopper ought to come off easily (many of them have a slider so you can lift them off when they are filled with beans - I think this was so you could swap hoppers with different types of coffee). Though most of these grinders expect to have the weight of the beans in the hopper to help feed the beans being ground - if you just dose in one shots worth of beans, they tend to popcorn and bounce around with 4-5 beans bouncing for a long time before they finally go through the burrs. I suspect this gives a little bit less consistent grind than with a full hopper - but still very respectable.
That was my experience with the 64mm flat burr grinders - when I went to the Mazzer Major with the larger burrs, there is none of that popcorn bouncing action.
Hope it turns out great for you - I've only heard good things about the grind quality and that they are noisy. Plan on replacing the burrs - easy to do.
Posted Sun Mar 18, 2012, 9:46pm Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
RR45s are sort of a small-ish step down from a Super Jolly, but if the one you found is in good shape (motor spinning down smoothly, burrs reasonably sharp, does not appear to be abused, no internal rattling...etc.) it is well worth $100. They have a solid build, and the newer ones have some nice gasket-ing. It does not single dose as well as a Super Jolly. The hopper is removable. Parts are very easy to get from Rosito Bisani. You do need to see it in person however, as these are not as tank-like as a Mazzer but are equally as common, which means that a there are a lot of them out there that have really been beat up and down. They are a little unstable when the feet start to go. If it's in good shape and doesn't need a lot of new parts (these add up quick on a commercial grinder), for $100 out the door I would jump on it. Heck, you could add your own review to the record...
Note: I do tend to be a bit cavalier in my grinder buying, I love playing around with new stuff.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,671 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 5:54am Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
Just to add to the above though they pretty much covered it, I have had my hands on this grinder and it performs well. As it is stepped though that may be an issue. It has a pretty good range of adjustment but some would rather have steples. Parts should be easy to find and at that price, if the motor is in good shape, and it isn't too beat up, I would buy it.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
shmulibaby Senior Member Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 44 Location: NYC Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: La Nuova Era Cuadra Grinder: Rossi RR45, Krups Conical Drip: Melitta single cup Roaster: Popcorn Popper
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 10:17am Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
I just wanted to mention that a while ago (maybe a year or so) there was someone on this board and on HB that said he couldn't use the grinder without the hopper in place. I don't know if he had that problem resolved or was able to mod it, but it's probably worth asking the seller before comitting to it. I would say that if aesthetics are not a priority, even if u can't use it without the hopper, you could probably just cut off the vast majority of it and cover the exposed part with some random cap laying around the house. I for one don't use the hopper and cover it with some flat object like a tunafish can.
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 10:23am Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
it's possible it has a safety switch that requires the hopper in place.
One possible advantage to having a hopper - you can pump the lid up and down while grinding and that sometimes will help "puff" out the grinds from the chute so there isn't as much retention when single dose grinding. Without the hopper you can sometimes get the same results by slapping your hand down on top of the grinder - but you can only do that after the grind has finished -- pumping the hopper lid is something you can do during the grind.
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 10:27am Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
As far as I know these don't have a hopper safety switch. I just picked up two '09 RR45 ODs, the top the the RR45 line, and they run without the hoppers.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,671 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2012, 10:54am Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
The one I had did not have a safety switch nor did it ever look like there was one, I saw that comment by that person but I wonder if he was talking about the upper limit switch on the doser lid. The grinder will run with the doser lid on or off but it is attached with a wire, could that be a source of confusion?
A bean hopper safety, I did not see any trace of one.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
adan0327 Senior Member Joined: 6 Sep 2011 Posts: 45 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 Mon Mar 19, 2012, 7:11pm Subject: Re: Rossi RR45
I have a gold one. It does not have any of those switches (which is good). It does a good job for espresso but I'd still rather use my mazzer super Jolly for espresso as it is stepless and provides micro adjustments. I remember at one point I did use it for espresso but calibration was a little hassle but it worked don't get me wrong. I use mine for drip coffee and for $100 its totally worth it to pick one up (its still a commercial grinder). the doser is slightly more messy than a super Jolly but its still a noteworthy espresso working horse for a bargain. You can convert the rossi to stepless by wrapping teflon tape around the top burr carrier threads. Ps. Ive seen a rossi sold for $65 on ebay. I bought mine for $115.
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