I switched to the Vario W a few weeks back and I really like it. Makes the routine a little quicker and reduces waste. I still purge 3 grams before grinding for my shots though.

Anyhow, I have a pocket digital scale accurate to 0.1g and I've done some testing to see how accurate the Vario W really is. The Vario W claims to be accurate to 0.2g. Now I'm not concerned with the Vario W's ultimate accuracy much at all. I'm more concerned with it's ability to be consistent and this is where I've noticed an issue. Doing a secondary check with my other scale shows that the vario swings by as much as 0.6g. Of course to be really thorough I'd need a 3rd scale here but even the Vario W's own readout shows it stopping well short of my target 18g. I'm not sure if this is caused by a delay in the scale to the readout but I'd love to get some other owners' thoughts.

Cheers.

I'm sure i could but that would involve weighing with a second scale and then adding the extra grind if necessary. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a scale built into your grinder.

I spoke with Kyle Anderson about this, and he said at medium grinds (drip), the accuracy is very close, but at very fine grinds (espresso), the grinder will come up short because the burrs spin down more quickly and so it spits out less coffee.

Joshua is correct. You can hit the start/stop button after the grinder stops and is displaying the weight, and can monitor how much it adds on each "blip." So for example, when you've got it set to 15g, the grinder might stop at 14.8 - now, quickly before the display resets to the target weight, push the start/stop button and it'll pulse the motor, kicking out another .1g or so. do this until you reach the target weight.

I posted some data on accuracy and consistency of the grind weights over at CG. http://coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/grinders/544013#544013

I have noticed my Vario W is almost always 0.2g below with espresso - in line with Kyle's explanation. So, if you want 18g, set the target at 18.2g. Works well.

With the Vario-W auto-weighting and the Vivaldi auto-dosing I am getting lazy... but I like it

Nixter I had erratic results from my essato until I calibrated it...I copied procedure posted on cg and here it is...I think it's same for yours

"Calibration routine looks like this: during power on/boot up, remove the grounds bin so the scale platform is exposed and nothing on it, press and hold buttons 1&2. Display will come up with a value (approx 310-350). Press button 1 again and set the 200 gr weight on the platform. Display will show "pas" and then show 200. All is happy now. This is the same routine for both Esatto and Vario-W"

Pierce also added this "Before going any further, do you have confidence in your second scale? If so, do you happen to have a calibration weight of 200g? If not, please use your digital scale and water to fill the grounds bin so that the unit has a weight of 200g, then follow the instructions below to calibrate the Esatto."

Nixter I had erratic results from my essato until I calibrated it...I copied procedure posted on cg and here it is...I think it's same for yours. Edit I have been using mine for several weeks set 0.1 gm. High and it's been spot on almost always, .2 gm. Low and .1 gm low or high once or twice
Q

"Calibration routine looks like this: during power on/boot up, remove the grounds bin so the scale platform is exposed and nothing on it, press and hold buttons 1&2. Display will come up with a value (approx 310-350). Press button 1 again and set the 200 gr weight on the platform. Display will show "pas" and then show 200. All is happy now. This is the same routine for both Esatto and Vario-W"

Pierce also added this "Before going any further, do you have confidence in your second scale? If so, do you happen to have a calibration weight of 200g? If not, please use your digital scale and water to fill the grounds bin so that the unit has a weight of 200g, then follow the instructions below to calibrate the Esatto."

Thanks for the info guys