I'd like to mention a few things about my experiences w/ my Baratza Vario.
First: When I received the machine the basket had a small crack in it. My wife is picky. Need I say anything more? I called and talked to Kyle asking if I could get another basket. In passing I asked about calibrating the grinder and referred to info found online. He said the new one is adjusted by moving the adjusting piece in the opposite direction from what's indicated online, but that was only on serial numbers after XXX (don't recall). I checked my serial number. It was Version 1. He said he'd just send a new machine. They didn't even ask for my CC to make sure they'd get my unit back. Nice people there at Baratza! Great service!

Today I decided to clean things up rather thoroughly. One can bypass the safety switch on the Vario by simply holding it down when the hopper is removed. I'm not suggesting this is a safe thing to do, so be careful if you try this at home. Anyway, I had removed the upper burr, turned the machine upside down to shake out any additional grounds and decided to hit the safety switch and run the machine to really shake it out. Yes, I get a little anal retentive sometimes when cleaning things. Proceeding...the lower burr came flying out! Problem? Well, there's this little plastic plate with a hexagonal hole in it under the bottom burr retainer that has a bit of a spring action to it. I couldn't manage to keep it aligned while replacing the burr. After more careful examination of the hex shaft on the burr unit I noticed that it had rounded shoulders. Nice assembly-design feature. Perhaps that would help push the plate back into alignment. I jiggled it a bit while pressing pretty hard and the lower burr assembly suddenly dropped into place. Yea! I broke a finger nail while doing that but that's no biggie.

I re-zeroed the burrs because I'd loosened the allen screw (stupid thing to do maybe). Now that I have it re-zeroed and new grinding settings discovered, my Silvia is very happy to produce a wonderfully creamy shot again.

Thanks to all the helpful info found on HB and the kind folks at Baratza I'm making what all my friends say is the best espresso and the best caps in town -- all from my own kitchen. Thank you all.
Joe

Has anyone found a way to use the Vario without the hopper in place, like I do with my Mazzer? I use a small stainless funnel and a tamper for weight, finding this easier for grinding by the dose.

There is almost no popcorning on the Vario if you spoon a preweighed dose of beans into the hopper.

sweaner wrote:Has anyone found a way to use the Vario without the hopper in place, like I do with my Mazzer? I use a small stainless funnel and a tamper for weight, finding this easier for grinding by the dose.

I've just left the hopper in place, measured with a shot glass by weight and "tossed" the beans in. All the beans have ground w/o a problem.

hperry wrote:1. Some reviews have described it as "light commercial." I see it more as "heavy duty home."

2.(Chris view). I'd call Chris directly They are very reponsive and would be better than a second hand response

3. Discounts? (See 2 above).

4. Replacement burrs. (See 2 above).

Thanks for the Answer(s)

Caferetro

sweaner wrote:Has anyone found a way to use the Vario without the hopper in place, like I do with my Mazzer? I use a small stainless funnel and a tamper for weight, finding this easier for grinding by the dose.

WHY, with a timer would you want to do this?

This question reminds me of folks who have been analog music engineers and such, when entering the digital recording realm try applying the same techniques. Uh uh.

There is NO need to work in that manner (by the dose. This grinder works MUCH better when the hopper is 1/2 filled.
It's a matter of getting used to the fineness setting/timer ratio, which will determine how much you get. You can also just pulse the grinder to add additional grind.
Of course, as you change coffees and roast degrees, things will change, but usually a shot or 2 and you're good to go.

A 1 second purge, if you haven't ground for a while is always good.
This grinder wastes little, when used properly.

To the OP fiddle farting with the safety switch, why?

Just use compressed air to dislodge any grind.

IMAWriter wrote:WHY, with a timer would you want to do this?

Primarily because for some of us coffee weight is the reference point. Of course that can be translated into a time factor for different coffees if you want to do so. But then it is a two step process, weight, then grind to see how long it takes. I don't find that filling the hopper appreciably improves the grind. And I don't have coffee sitting in an enclosure that is not air tight for a day or two when I add it by the dose.

On not using a hopper.

IMAWriter wrote:WHY, with a timer would you want to do this?

Several different coffees

What Jim said. Great to know that grinding by the dose is easy with the Vario.

Now, if I could find out if the rumor of a memory function after unplugging is true.

It's true on my European model.