Hi:

where I can find Compak in USA?

Ale

I stopped by the Compak booth at the SCAA conference. According to the nice sales representative, there are no US importers at this time. She said you can order directly from the factory. Hard to believe they'd sponsor the USBC and have no US presence... corrections welcome.

HB wrote:I stopped by the Compak booth at the SCAA conference. According to the nice sales representative, there are no US importers at this time. She said you can order directly from the factory. Hard to believe they'd sponsor the USBC and have no US presence... corrections welcome.

Compak is looking to set up an office in the US (New York) in the very near future (at least according to this).

Br,
Teme

I sent an email to Compak about the K-10 WBC grinders. They will have a US distributor by September. Until then they sell factory direct at pricing competitive with the Macap and Max, presumably after receiving a wire transfer. A group buy might get some quantity discounts.

BTW, Compak is owned by Ascaso, so service shouldn't be a major problem.

Funny you mention that. I just mentioned to Dan that I was saving for a conical provided they live up the hype. I have to admit I am a little behind the ball and know little about Compak. I know it has been talked about lately but my knowledge stops there.

I will have to look them up and see what the buzz is about. If they live up to the hype, I may be in for one. I have been lusting over a Kony but the latest price increases have pushed it beyond my reach. The wife would kill me if I spent $1500+ on a grinder.

I probably should just chuck 'em all and buy that Compak WBC.... but what do you guys think of this?

http://www.laranzato.com/grinders.html

Jim, have you played on that Compak WBC spec? BTW, what do they do with the SCAA show grinders?

I'd like to know more about the Compak WBC model. It didn't impress me on fit and finish. They wouldn't give me the time of day at the SCAA booth.

From what I can find on the Internet, the only real difference between the K10 and the K10 WBC is the grind speed. They are both 68mm conical burrs, 1700 gram hopper 300 gram doser, 17KG, 210x365x635 (WxDxH) but the K10 spins at 400 rpm while the WBC version spins at 300 rpm. The standard also comes in Champagne while the WBC is black.

Your comment about the fit and finish are a little troublesome, especially since I have not seen one. I have not seen that issue mentioned elsewhere, maybe it was beat up in shipping?. I am still interested. Comments I have seen put the quality over the MACAP with faster grind speed than the Kony in a smaller package. A shorter hopper would be nice. I wonder if the short hopper from my Mini would fit?

When I refer to fit and finish, I mean the adjustment dial, covers, etc. They looked sloppy by Mazzer standards.

I emailed (in English) Compak last week about purchasing a K-10 in the U.S. I received a very polite reply today (in English) that indicated that they are scheduled to open a warehouse in the U.S. in September. It also said that if I wanted to order a grinder before then, I could place the order directly with them.

I am very interested, but have a few questions for those who have seen/used one (Teme, has yours arrived yet?).

- How easy/difficult is it to clean? I understand that it has a stepless worm gear. (My Ascaso I1 has a worm gear that I have to turn until the top burr housing makes four full revolutions--can you say hand cramp?)
- Is there a 'release' on the worm gear that would make it somewhat easier to move the collar for a coarser grind (French Press/Eva Solo)?
- I couldn't tell from the pictures what, if any, kind of incremental markings are on the collar. (Again, the Ascaso doesn't have any, which was the biggest frustration out of the box.)
- The pictures on the Compak site show the doser lever on the left. I read somewhere that this can be switched to the right side. Is this true?

My other considerations at this time are Macap MXKR and Versalab M3 (with recent enhancements)--I think the Kony is just too big.

Thanks for any and all help.