Hi Guys,

I've attached some photos of the burrs from my Macap grinder.

Is anyone here please able to tell me if the burrs are still ok, or whether they need to be replaced? I bought the grinder second hand and am not sure how much use the grinder has had before I bought it - And I'm not sure what to look for regarding burr wear.

Thanks heaps Danny

They do not look dull to me. How well does it grind?

I can't tell the sharpness of burrs from a photo. Signs of dull burrs include finer and finer settings necessary to get a decent pour, uneven grind quality, clogging, etc. You will easily feel the difference in sharpness between new burrs and worn ones. See How to know grinder burrs are worn out? for details.

My thought is that we should simply replace the burrs when we buy a used grinder, unless we really know how much use they have had. Burrs are not expensive enough to cut corners with.

thanks for your help guys. I think the burrs are ok at this stage. When I took the grinder apart to take photos of the burrs, I gave it a good clean - since doing this, I've noticed an improvement in the taste of my coffee

sweaner wrote:My thought is that we should simply replace the burrs when we buy a used grinder, unless we really know how much use they have had. Burrs are not expensive enough to cut corners with.

depends on the grinder robur burrs are what $150? Mahlkonig Guatemala burrs are $370... I have purchased 3 used commercial grinders (a rossi rr-45, mazzer mini, and mazzer super jolly). Maybe I just got lucky, but all three burr sets were sharp and easily able to scrape my fingernail. Taste wise they were all as they should be and consistency wise as well. If burrs are $30-$40, then yeah not a big deal, but I feel like I've heard equal or more complaints about brand new burrs being inconsistent than used burrs being bad. My current grinder (super jolly) has a rock solid grind setting (AND great flavor) on its used burrs. I don't think I'd pay $40 to set me back to unbroken-in burrs. I always try the current equipment (unless something is obviously worn, broken, or in need of replacing) until proven that something needs replacing. This may not be as easy though for people who are new to commercial grinders. Anyways, this is just my honest opinion/experience. Your mileage may vary as they say.

I used to work with a technician who showed me the "paper test." He put a sheet of copier/printer paper on the counter-top and pressed the burrs into it with his hand. Really sharp burrs would make a ring of cuts through the paper. I suspect that by then he didn't really need to do that to know himself, and that it was more for my benefit.