Mazzer Mini adjustment only while running?

[owlbass]

Hello,
I read in Mark Prince's review of the Mazzer Mini that adjustment could only be made with the grinder on and beans running through it. I have always only ground what is needed for a shot and when I adjust I do it with no beans in the grinder while it is off. Is this bad or not an accurate adjustment? I haven't been having problems it is something I rather curious about. Thanks Owen

[HB]

I don't recall Mark's specific recommendations, but the fundamental concern is stalling the motor by binding the burrs together. This can easily happen if you move the grind setting finer with coffee grounds between the burrs' parallel faces:


From Grinder burrs touching is the "kiss of death"?

If the chamber is empty, there's no harm in moving the adjustment finer / coarser with the motor off, though it's still wise to run the motor so you don't inadvertently bring the burrs into hard contact with each other and subsequently stall the motor on startup. If the chamber is full of grounds, move the adjustment while the motor is running to avoid binding. In practice I've found you can get away with small adjustments, e.g., a half-notch finer without the motor complaining. Obviously going from a French press setting to espresso territory without running the motor and grounds in the chamber would assure a motor lockup. The opposite direction isn't a problem whether the motor is running or not.

[k7qz]

Owen:

Just speaking from personal experience but I think it depends on how fine your setting is. IOW, how close to "zero" or burr contact you are as you're trying to prevent jamming at these super fine grind settings.

OK, now the practical part. At least with my grinders if I'm just compensating the grind by a notch one way or the other, I admit, I'll often move the collar with the grinder off. If I'm doing a "several notch" adjustment, I'll often do it with the grinder running, usually without beans. This is largely because like most home users I typically just grind one shot at a time. The other reason is that I'm a cheap-skate and don't like to waste beans by grinding them up while I'm fiddling with the grind setting!

Wow, by the time I typed this Dan already had a better answer punched out for you. OK, since I've already typed this, here ya' go anyway...

[owlbass]

Usually I'm doing a half to full notch adjustment, and in extreme cases a go for a whole three. I've never had the burrs touch and I grind for press pot about once year, which I adjust with the grinder on. Thanks for everyones help