denniskeating wrote:In regards to dose distribution - do you other owners tap the pf/basket to settle the grinds? And do you tap before or after scraping with a straightedge?
Dennis

I had been tapping, but have given it up as being more likely than not to make the distribution worse, since tapping exactly straight down on the counter is almost impossible. I just scrape into the center, which may or may not be necessary, and then use a nutating tamp.

Best,
David

DavidMLewis wrote:I had been tapping, but have given it up as being more likely than not to make the distribution worse, since tapping exactly straight down on the counter is almost impossible. I just scrape into the center, which may or may not be necessary, and then use a nutating tamp.

I do a NSEW with my finger to fill in the hole, then tamp. I was doing the tap, but always ended up uneven.

Not a single problem with my M3. I ordered and received my unit within 2 months as well.

networkcrasher wrote:I do a NSEW with my finger to fill in the hole, then tamp.

I do exactly the same. Works every time.

My little static wire broke off at some point, but it hasn't made a difference to long term operation or cleaning. /shrug

Great grinder. Robur lust still in remission.

There is something awry with the distribution of my M3, or I am doing something wrong with my prep, because I have the front half of the basket wet first, and stay pouring ahead of the back half of the basket throughout the shot, extracting unevenly.
I took the tamped basket and rotated it 180 deg, locked it in, and it reversed and poured out the back half. If I WDT the grounds or grind into another container & transfer the coffee the problem goes away.
Sometimes the p/f holder spring won't hold my LaMarzocco p/f tight up against the bottom funnel. The handle will droop and show a 1/16" or 1/8" gap along the front edge of the plastic ring. I believe that could throw off the symmetry of how the grinds land in the basket, but I don't think it could make that much difference.
Do other users get a coffee nugget as the last part of the grinds to exit the bottom funnel? Mine are 3/8" to 5/8" size, but not packed too tight.
Dennis

My spring also holds loosely so I just did a little test. I pulled two shots. One with the spring loose and another where I held the portafilter tightly to the funnel. I did not seem to make much of a difference. The loose one was maybe a hair off center but with only two shots it could have been coincidence. In general my shots from the M3 are as centered and perfect as I've ever gotten. I use about 15 gr for my La Spaziale, a bit less than with my old grinder but it seems to work better. I have never had a coffee nugget exit the bottom funnel although they pop out the top a lot. This would suggest a possible problem.

BTW - I got my M3 in April and it arrived in less than 30 days from ordering although I did have to wait another month for the portafilter holder. It has been the best upgrade ever and has made the biggest difference in the cup. I just do a little swipe to collapse the volcano and thats it. The less I do the better the shot. I like to keep several SOs and blends around and alternate and be able to serve friends various blends. This is the only grinder that makes it easy to switch back and forth between multiple blends. And the "fluffy volcanos" consistently produce the best shots i've ever pulled.

Dennis,

I would suspect prep, particularly an off-level tamp, before I'd look at the grinder distribution. The M3's is awfully good and WDT should absolutely be unnecessary. The spring, though, should hold the PF up against the funnel, and since you're so close I'd have Laura and John fix it.

Depending on the coffee, you can get a little bit stuck to the inside of the funnel, and sometimes it drops out later and sometimes it comes into the basket. It seems to be about half a gram at most, and I've never seen it make any difference.

Best,
David

Hello, I dug out Rancilio Audrey, and don't have any problem with the front half of the basket wetting first, useing the M3. Apparantly I need to fine tune my own skills to match the Brewtus. I do have trouble level tamping(my hands are numb) that could be my culprit, although I have been watching that.

My p/f holder keeps the std issue portifilters held up nicely, but the heavy LM droops a little. As long as the symmetry of the sprayed grounds isn't affected, there are none that go outside the basket.So no big deal, I guess.

I find the grounds so fluffy that they are piled high in my basket, and even after screeding NSEW to fill the center, there is a lot of coffee still piled up, so I use a straight down tap to settle the grounds before tamping. I will experiment with a deeper basket, but my headspace could get excessive that way.

In all, it really has a nice grind and I am glad I bought one. - Dennis

Hello,
Versalab provides a knurled pulley solution to solve the belt-slippage
problem. The contact area, between belt and pulley, becomes smaller
than previous one. I think it cannot eliminate the problem completely.

A Taiwanese makes an awesome pulley-belt kit. It seems good
enough to solve the problem:
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/drbean/9255490

denniskeating wrote: I find the grounds so fluffy that they are piled high in my basket, and even after screeding NSEW to fill the center, there is a lot of coffee still piled up, so I use a straight down tap to settle the grounds before tamping. I will experiment with a deeper basket, but my headspace could get excessive that way.

I do a NSEW to fill the hole, and then lower my palm over the mound so that it ends flush with the basket top before tamping. It's too gentle to call it "pressing". I never tap the PF, as it seems to move the grounds around side-to-side. I'm not sure why.

Happy experimenting,

Matt

That is some heavy duty pulley and belt combo, it is so interesting that a company in Taiwan would partake in such a project. There can't be very many Versalabs out there, they build six at a time, and it has been around for four years now. Mine doesn't need it, though. - Dennis