$2.50 solution for the mazzer mini conversion to doserless

[seacliff dweller]

Just bought the Mazzer Mini. did not like the dosing mechanism for home use and did not want to pay the hundreds of dollars for the conversion. Bought a spray bottle and converted it to doserless. Works pretty well

[CoffeeOwl]

Hi!
Can you give a bit more of explanation? I have a Mazzer Mini myself and maybe I'd try it, but I don't get it at the moment.

[HB]

It looks similar to Tim's Mazzer Super Jolly (2-liter bottle) doserless modification.

[seacliff dweller]

Hi Povell

Can you give a bit more of explanation? I have a Mazzer Mini myself and maybe I'd try it, but I don't get it at the moment.

It looks similar to Tim's Mazzer Super Jolly (2-liter bottle) doserless modification.

Hi Povell,
Dan is correct about the similarity of the 2-litre bottle conversion for the mazzer super jolly. I don't know what the diameter of the 2-litre bottle but from the picture it looks to me the bottle tapers to the bottom and quite a bit less than 4 3/4 inches in diameter.
I think the problem is trying to find something that is closer to the 4 3/4" diameter and less tall and I had a hard time finding something that fit those parameters.
The spray bottle I found had a diameter of 4 1/2" and 6 inches tall to the cutout. all you need to do is cut the screw on part off and cut the opening for the grind to come out. You can either glue the bottle uncut on the top to the mazzer or open the top and attach the bottle to the mazzer using the 2 screws provided by mazzer for the dosing unit. for the bottom of the mazzer which is open, I used plasticized black paper and attach it to the mazzer using 2 sided tapes. Since i have the black unit, it looks pretty good, but i don't know how it will look if you have the silver unit.
hope this explains it. I bought the bottle from a store in chinatown here in san francisco.

[Marshall]

Just bought the Mazzer Mini. did not like the dosing mechanism for home use and did not want to pay the hundreds of dollars for the conversion. Bought a spray bottle and converted it to doserless. Works pretty well.

As an owner of the legendary Armellin Mini-combi, you are obviously not a person to be trifled with. So, I will just ask you straight out: With all the "clumping" problems that the owners of doserless machines complain about, what induced you to consign yourself to a lifetime of stirring coffee grounds with a needle in a yogurt cup?

[seacliff dweller]

As an owner of the legendary Armellin Mini-combi, you are obviously not a person to be trifled with. So, I will just ask you straight out: With all the "clumping" problems that the owners of doserless machines complain about, what induced you to consign yourself to a lifetime of stirring coffee grounds with a needle in a yogurt cup?

Hi Marshall,
Good point! I actually noticed only a slight increase in clumping after the conversion and did not even have to use my home made stirrer. Was it because my grinder burr is still relatively new or better electrically grounded???? If the clumping problem appears later, I might have to re-install the doser unit back on. The Armellin had more problem with clumping and I had to use the stirrer every time.
FYI - I added a PID with thermocouple to my Amrellin which had a capillary tube thermostat before and the temperature control has improved.

[kahvedelisi]

Well actually this got me thinking an alternative mod, something similar to this, instead of a plastic bottle you could use a metal flour sifter ( like this ) and dremel a square on it, bend excess part inwards for chute exit (or cut out altogether). Covering sifter's bottom with a (metal) funnel may yield easier distribution right into portafilter.

Here's a sample drawing




To see if it will work or not, I did some manual sifting (used turkish fine grind since it clumps more than espresso grind), I sifted first into an empty plate (bottom pic)

[TimEggers]

Well actually this got me thinking an alternative mod, something similar to this, instead of a plastic bottle you could use a metal flour sifter ( like this ) and dremel a square on it, bend excess part inwards for chute exit (or cut out altogether).

Wow. That's a fantastic idea. If you do fabricate it as planned please include pics of the process and the final result. Again very clever idea!

[kahvedelisi]

Continued from above

Then I used my Aeropress funnel and sifted right into it (to demonstrate the metal funnel for sifter above drawing)



Tried to remove Aero funnel carefully but as you see I had semi success Anyway, in this picture you can see how sifted grinds layered and distributed evenly (using this method, that's how it's supposed to look in your portafilter)



Then using a knife I cut the coffee cake to see how it's inside (bottom picture)



It's almost impossible for me to apply this mod on my cimbali Jr grinder (unlike Mazzer's curved body, CJr has flat front panel where they installed the doser), but anyone interested can give it a go with Mazzer I guess And those who love "twack twack" sound may still satisfy themselves with sifter's twack twack sound :p

PS. Don't know ho much these sifters cost there but I saw them here at IKEA (or at another place..not sure.. probably IKEA) for $3-$4 a little more expensive mod than bottle mod

[seacliff dweller]

Well actually this got me thinking an alternative mod, something similar to this, instead of a plastic bottle you could use a metal flour sifter ( like this ) and dremel a square on it, bend excess part inwards for chute exit (or cut out altogether).

elif,
the sample drawing and the cutout of the coffee ground looks great!
I thought of using stainless to make the funnel but did not think about using the sifter technique, fabrication will not be as easy as plastic. So far, clumping is not a problem for me, but in the future if I have a clumping problem, I will certainly look at your drawing and try it.
Thanks

[kahvedelisi]

I thought of using stainless to make the funnel but did not think about using the sifter technique, fabrication will not be as easy as plastic.

Hi George,

I didn't think about plastic version but good news, if you ever decide applying this mod there are plastic sifters with smilar design which works exactly same as stainless ones. I'm not sure where you can find them though, but I saw a couple at google images.

Also there are sifters working with batteries ( here you can see an example )

alternative mod --> you'll grind into this vibrating one, then let it vibrate through a funnel into your portafilter.