I'm getting myself hyped to buy a large conical grinder. The Wega 6.8 comes at an attractive price. And, I understand it's a rebadged K10. What I don't know is whether it's a K10 or a K10 Pro Barista model. What's more, I don't know the difference between those. It appears to me the Pro Barista model provides easier access to the doser and presumably then to the coffee chute. But I'd like to know how much of a difference this makes to me, a guy making 5 doubles each morning and one in the afternoon. How user friendly (or not) is any of these grinders. I now use a Fiorenzato Pietro T80 with a sawed off hopper. So, I drop enough beans for one double into the burrs, close the chute at the bottom of the hopper, add another dose of beans for another double, put the lid on the hopper, grind for my first shot, dose into the portafilter, draw the shot and proceed to shot number 2. Will I be able to use one of these grinders the same way? Or, will I be confined to doing just one double at a time and dispose of the hopper? I know there's lots of information in these forums, but I can't find the answer to my questions. If it's there I hope someone will point me in the right direction.
Thanks

I have a K10 Pro. Several others have the Wega 6.8. The functional differences, as I am aware:

- Wega has an autofill in the doser. K10 has no autofill
- Wega has a toggle on/off switch. K10 has a on/off knob

If I had to do it again, I would've bought the Wega and modded it, but I purchased before I knew about this deal. I believe that they provide the same grind quality, as the burrs and motor are identical.

You can saw off the included hopper or purchase the K3 hopper for ~$40 USD. Several users here, including myself, do away with the hopper altogether and use it as a single dose grinder, and we're pretty happy with the results.

Per Compak's webpage http://www.compakgrinders.com/en/productos/0201.htm, the K10 Conic has the front mounted aluminum tamper. Online pictures don't show it but it makes the whole front significantly larger than the Pro Barista version. Mine is an older production so it has the rectangular On/Off switch and is said to be less reliable. I read this somewhere but couldn't find the original posting on this.

You can easily make the Conic's doser/throat more accessible. Compare to my SJ, it takes longer to clear out the K10's chute than the SJ. You can probably do what you proposed because, IIRC, the hopper has a stopper that you can use the same way. You must have a big kitchen because, even without the hopper, this grinder looks massive in my small kitchen. Could another user confirm the presence of the stopper piece at the bottom of the hopper?

I'm glad you reminded me of the size.. It caused me to do some measuring and I discovered my rattleware grinder tray will be of no use. Still, my plan is to put the grinder on a small cart, wheel the cart up right next to the sink. I keep my Mini Vivaldi right next to the sink, so my theory is I'll have a more efficient operation than I do now with the T80 across the kitchen from the sink. I'll keep the cart around the corner in the living room. And voila! well have more room in the kitchen. I just don't know where I'll put the T80. Do you suppose it'll be a useful travel grinder? Isn't my wife tolerant. It's a good thing she likes lattes.

One caution abut putting a K10 on a "small cart:" it's a pretty heavy grinder in the ~35 pound range. If your cart is rickety in any way, it may not sit very stably when you're using the doser to deliver the ground coffee to the basket. I've put big grinders on reasonably sturdy but 'flexible' countertops where the grinder may sway a bit while dosing, and I really found it annoying.

I too have the Wega Conik, and it is indeed a rebadged K-10 Conic. Great grinder, though not as slick as the Pro Barista.

Let me add a couple of differences that I've noted vs the current production Pro Barista, and what they've meant to me using the grinder.

1. As earlier poster indicated, the Wega has an flapper and microswitch housing sticking out over the top of the doser. The flapper is easily removed, but the housing does impact cleaning access to the throat somewhat.
2. The Wega's I've seen all have the black plastic rocker switch, which I like (no reliability info here), and a black plastic fork, which I don't like as much. Will replace with the polished aluminum at my first opportunity.
3. As earlier post indicates, the Wega does have that cast nose sticking out to support a "tamper". The piston part is easily removable, the nose is part of the doser casting and not easily removed. I now only find it a minor annoyance, though initially I found it got in the way of watching the dosing process. Sadly, this part doesn't seem to be sold separately, so changing it would either require careful surgery with an angle grinder or replacing the entire lower doser assembly.
4. The Wega and standard K-10 both feature a one-piece upper shroud and doser lid. It is removed just as easily as a standard hopper lid, but leaves the upper part of the grinder housing looking a bit unfinished. (Note that this is a cosmetic issue only, there are no internals exposed when you remove this piece). This also means that the doser lid is pretty useless as a "purge dish". Fortunately, the Pro Barista version's 2-piece upper shroud and doser lid are available as parts, so you can buy them if it bugs you.

I'd absolutely buy the Wega Conik again, while it is still available. If you notice, this grinder is no longer shown on the Wega website...

For the record, a full parts schematic for both grinders (the stock K-10 and the Pro Barista) are visible at http://www.compakgrinders.com/en/areaclientes/0501.htm. My Wega Conik looks exactly like the Max 8.0 shown here: http://www.wegausa.com/espresso-grinders.php?p=7. To my knowledge, Compak basically uses the same cast housing for the K-10 Conic, K-8, and K-6 grinders, with the differences being internals.

I did a quick check on the cost to change out the doser to get rid of the "tamper" and found that the K01264 assembly is close to $400, so stopped there.

From what I understand from Wega US, the 6.8 Conic will be again available in the next couple months as the Italians seem to enjoy taking a break in (or should that be "for") August and a new container will soon be on its way. ROASTe also intends to be selling the grinder when it is again available. Pricing may not be anywhere near as aggressive as it was when the existing stock was cleared out earlier this year.