I have an almost two year old Vario that has developed a quirky problem. It seems the little safety switch that prevents the grinder from running without the hopper in place isn't working properly anymore. If I remove the hopper and press the switch the grinder runs.

Anyone else had this issue and if so any resolution?

I understand that something is broken, but why exactly is this a problem? Do you have children who may remove the hopper and stick things into the grinder?

There is no way that I have found yet to make the grinder run without removing the hopper and with no hopper there is no way to feed beans into the grinder.

kevlar wrote:If I remove the hopper and press the switch the grinder runs.

Just to be sure, you are not talking about pressing the safety switch but pressing a front panel grinder button. In any case, before you do anything else, make sure the grinder is clean and there are no stray grinds, bean fragments, or even whole beans anyplace around the edges of the collar and burrs. You may have to disassemble a bit of the grinder to be sure it is clean.

Baratza has probably the best customer service in the biz.
Give them a call with your problem and Im sure they will guide you towards a solution.

The grinder has been cleaned and the issue still persisted. It almost looks like the switch has possibly moved, I may have to disassemble the casing off the grinder and have a look. Anyone ever taken the case off the Vario before? Any tricks?

Baratza does have great service, but I have to wait until Monday to call them and damn it I need my coffee, lol. I messaged Kyra on Twitter and just haven't heard anything back yet, but again it's the weekend and everyone is entitled to a break. Hand grinder and no espresso for now it is I guess.

I've had the switch come off the pins when brushing it clean.

To remove the cover, pull the back two rubber/plastic feet out of their holes. You'll find Phillips head screws in the holes. Remove the screws and slide the black plastic cover gently off. If the grinder were to be on its feet and you were in "operating position," the cover comes off away from you.

ah, here's a video.

Crisis averted, lol, taking the unit apart solved the problem. The metal clip that holds the switch in place had slid down the pins causing the switch to slide down and not contact the hopper.

Thanks for the help.