This is my first post here. I've been following this thread with interest for many months, I ordered (and paid a 50% deposit) for my M3 grinder July 1 2008. It arrived yesterday:( I ordered a hopper with it but this didn't arrive. It sounds like there have been several refinements of the design over the past year, so hopefully many of the issues raised here have been addressed, 6 month delivery times is not one of them in my experience though. I spent the morning feeding it coffee trying to get the grind right (Sumatra Mandehling) but obviously still have some way to go. The lack of a calibration scale is a problem - at one stage I got 'lost' with my adjustment and had to return to the beginning again. I think that I'll just end up marking grind ranges for particular coffees depending on humidity as my home is not air-conditioned. Introducing coffee into the grinder is an issue that I'm working on at the moment but I've discovered that the blind portafilter basket holds the right amount of beans for a single shot pour and about 1.5 for a double. Even adding the beans after the grinder is spinning results in beans being spat out onto the bench....and the floor..and...... - I'm working on that one:)

I'm looking forward to the challenge of mastering the M3 and improving my coffee quality.

proftournesol wrote:The lack of a calibration scale is a problem. Introducing coffee into the grinder is an issue that I'm working on at the moment but I've discovered that the blind portafilter basket holds the right amount of beans for a single shot pour and about 1.5 for a double. Even adding the beans after the grinder is spinning results in beans being spat out onto the bench....and the floor..and...... - I'm working on that one:)

Yes, installing the scale they send should be one of your first activities. It's in a separate envelope in the box, so make sure you didn't leave it with the packing material. I wound up with a small stainless container from the local cooking store that's shaped like a frustrum of a cone, and I squeezed it in a vise so it went elliptical to make it easier to pour from. You should always feed the beans in while the grinder is running. Doing it a bit slowly will minimize the popcorning but not eliminate it. I keep my hand over the opening while it's grinding. Having gotten used to it, it's a terrific grinder for my needs.

Best,
David

I've been using the grinder for a few years now- I've not bothered with the grind scale. I just have a couple of pencil lines drawn on (one for each of the two roasts I often use.) My house isn't air conditioned either, but I can usually guess where to adjust relative to the mark based on humidity & freshness of beans.

I weigh beans into an empty pf basket & pour slowly from that into the grinder. 2 times out of 3 the belt slips & I have to bump the pulley by hand to finish the shot. Total PITA. Good grind, though, and quieter than my old Mazz Mini.

thanks for the tips David and Ben
no envelope for me:(
Laura has replied to my query about the missing hopper, apparently they are shipped separately but they're out of stock at the moment, it would have been nice to have been given that information without having to ask but perhaps I'm being picky. Coffee quality improving, how do others fill the 'hole in the donut' of ground coffee in the basket?

proftournesol wrote:Coffee quality improving, how do others fill the 'hole in the donut' of ground coffee in the basket?

I weigh my doses, so the level is usually lower than the basket rim. I quickly swipe with a straight-edged piece of plastic in four directions to push what I can into the hole. This may or may not be necessary, but makes things less messy. Then I use a nutating tamp ala Jim Schulman: move the top of the handle in a circle a few times, making the circle smaller until the handle is straight up and down. Spin the tamper a few times and you'll feel the puck level out. Press down (I'm using my fingertips, so it's probably no more than five or ten pounds), then spin with no weight to polish, and you're done. All this takes a lot less time to do than it does to read, maybe twenty seconds or so. Now the bottomless portafilter in my Techno wets evenly almost every time. Hope this helps.

Best,
David

I've suddenly realised that the best way to dose with a Versalab is to use a spare double portafilter basket for a 2 cup pour and a blind portafilter basket for a single pour - these hold the correct amount of beans - 14g for a single and 26g for a double. I must say that this grinder provides the basis for some amazing coffee!

Has anyone thought about a lid with a hole and a funnel to get the beans in the grinding chamber? I'm going to try and engineer something so I don't have to keep my hand over the funnel.

Helllo, I read about someone who used a plastic cover for oatmeal; then cut a hole for the shaft and slit it in order to remove or replace it.

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'm narrowing my choices for a grinder upgrade to the versalab m3 or a la cimbali max hybrid. The versalab costs twice as much, but i like to change coffee per dose and that grind pattern is pretty. The max hybrid likes to have beans in the hopper, but for the price of the versalab, i could get two hybrids and just have one for SOs. (Just kidding - or am I?) Plus, i'd buy the hybrid from chriscoffee - tough to beat their service.

Two big questions i have about the versalab:
1. Anyone else experiencing bearing issues besides Jim?
2. Is delivery still taking 6 months? (the last report was ordered in july/delivered in january. No way i'm waiting that long! I think a month is the max). No pun intended, but once seen, approved of!

The wait is much shorter now. I got mine within two months. I've had the Versalab since January or February 2009. So far, no problems.

Originally I thought I needed two grinders, like you, one for espresso and another for SO. The Macap has been sitting in the garage for past several months. The Versalab is just a more elegant solution for single shot and home use.

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