Adding a fluffer to electronic Mazzers?

[Sedi]

Can't, (won't?), try that one myself for now, have only a mini, and it will take a while upgrading if any at all. Anyone tried to add any kind of fluffer to electronic Mazzers?
Looked it up here and didn't come across anything similar.

I think it may be done by suspending a very small and light electric motor in the middle of the chute in front of the anti static filter screen. One can then try many kinds of fluffers on that motor sweeping the grinds coming out the screen this way imitating the doses the versalab is producing. Fluffers to try might be wires in many shapes, sheets of metal or plastic etc. one can try different numbers of "wings" on that fan, motor speeds and other variables. This is actually the action of the doser on the grinds, only at a very high speed acting as soon as the grinds exit the screen. A motor that might fit is a computer fan motor. Since the chute is empty, the only damage caused in case of failure will be in the form of small holes drilled at the top of the chute, or maybe no damage at all if using the already exiting holes of the chute. A future combination of such a fluffer and a commercial electronic Mazzer sounds good, if it works.

[HB]

Flour Sifter for espresso grounds? discusses possibilities and a few quick experiments with screens. I suggested adding a thin star-shaped cutter that turns the opposite direction of the vanes, creating scissor action like some flour sifters, but it's really a hack to correct a problem that could be avoided. Most grinders are creating the problem we're trying to solve by compacting the grounds. Why not prevent it in the first place?

[luca]

Are you saying that a fluffer needs to be added based on actual hands-on experience with the grinder, or is this just an idle musing?

[Sedi]

Are you saying that a fluffer needs to be added based on actual hands-on experience with the grinder, or is this just an idle musing?

No personal experience with the electronic, just with my mini which is a clump producer even when I thwack thwack thwack.........
I don't know if it "needs to be added", but that it might help against clamping, producing grinds form in the basket similar to the one shown in photos from the versalab.

Flour Sifter for espresso grounds? discusses possibilities and a few quick experiments with screens. I suggested adding a thin star-shaped cutter that turns the opposite direction of the vanes, creating scissor action like some flour sifters

Well, I guess that mine is another in a series of ideas that will stay in the drawer.

it's really a hack to correct a problem that could be avoided. Most grinders are creating the problem we're trying to solve by compacting the grounds. Why not prevent it in the first place?

I am for avoiding the problem by a different design of grinders, like making the grinds fall into the basket in a vertical way as soon as departing burrs instead of being pushed out in a horizontal chute and therefore clumping. Nevertheless, the manufacturers still manufacture grinders the way they do, with that problem built in, and it is a rather simple and cheap solution, (if indeed it is), specially for these grinders without a doser and a sweeper.

[HB]

Are you saying that a fluffer needs to be added based on actual hands-on experience with the grinder, or is this just an idle musing?

I've spent a few months with the Mini E, including times of high and low humidity. Overall it suffers from very little clumping, the least of any doserless I've used except the Versalab M3.


Mazzer Mini Electronic coffee grounds


Versalab M3 coffee grounds


Mazzer Mini coffee grounds

The last two photos are from Abe's writeup of the Versalab; the last photo of the Mazzer Mini coffee grounds could be improved upon with a practiced thwack-thwack-thwack of the doser handle to break up clumps. A important indicator of clumping is the evenness of the extraction. When in doubt, I use the WDT with the Mazzer Mini to assure an even extraction. I wouldn't bother with the WDT when using the Mini E unless the basket is updosed (i.e., more than 17 grams) and a previous extraction showed evidence of channeling.

[TintoKing]

Clumping appears a function of low humidity in many (but perhaps not all cases), dry air building a greater static charge on the ground coffee as a result of triboelectric charging. When and if this is shown to be responsible for clumping, it would appear that some method of neutralizing the ground coffee particles by rendering them at the same static potential as the metal chute or portioning assembly could be a worthwhile experiment.

One approach could be to provide a grounded anti-static elimination "comb" or wick of some kind that would bleed off static charge, and could consist of a grid of fine, grounded wires through which the grounds are directed. Another possibility would be to provide a small ionization source (such as Polonium strips) or other passive alpha emitters of sufficient strength that would irradiate the grounds at or near the output spout and thus neutralize their charge. Indeed, the idea of "green" coffee may invoke a whole new meaning to the term.

It would seem that if clumping is due to static charge, then stirring the grounds would tend to aggrevate the problem--on the other hand, an electrically conductive (and grounded) needle circulated through the grounds in the manner suggested in another posting might actually work as a result of static neutralization rather than by "stirring" effect.

Any ideas?

[HB]

One approach could be to provide a grounded anti-static elimination "comb" or wick of some kind that would bleed off static charge, and could consist of a grid of fine, grounded wires through which the grounds are directed.

The Mazzer Mini Electronic has a wire grid that I thought served this purpose, but according to the patent Coffee grinder-dispenser, it actually helps the timer meter out more accurate doses:





While static may contribute to clumping, the main culprit is compaction. Grounds that are ejected into narrow horizontal chutes are compressed; in the worse cases they are slowly "extruded." The Versalab M3 avoids this entirely by grinding vertically and letting gravity handle the rest.

[AndyS]

The Mazzer Mini Electronic has a wire grid that I thought served this purpose, but according to the patent Coffee grinder-dispenser, it actually helps the timer meter out more accurate doses

The two purposes aren't mutually exclusive....

['Q']

I've considered mounting a small high-speed motor to the doser lid with a long shaft that extends down the center of the doser. Attached perpendicular to the shaft would be several strands of monofilament threads (like fishing line) that would be a little longer than the diameter of the doser so that they would contact the sides and flex slightly upward. I think this would be very effective. One of these days...

[Jacob]

[Sedi]

:lol:

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Unless you have another "Capuchino Maker" you will have to compromise and froth with a GS3. You can see an example of what you might miss in the video I've posted in http://www.home-barista.com/forum...r-perry-t5703.html

[AlexV]

Clumping is something I have been working on for a few weeks, with an ionizer to reduce the static produced within the grinds as they are created.
The compacting occurs because if you have an open / small chute the grounds would just fly off. If the grounds can be neutralized they will just slide into the basket with out a problem.
Has anyone used the Elektra Nino grinder, as them seem to have overcome this problem with the open chute.