I'd say from firsthand experience of them that Electronic dosing grinders are the wave of the future for the home market *and* the commercial market. I think that most champion baristas would agree with me, judging by the USBC/WBC trends I have seen/read about.

another_jim wrote:But the simple fact of the matter is that this conversion to doserless is ruining these beautiful grinders, since the grind chamber and chute were designed from the get go to feed into a doser.

Ever used one? Once it settles in I think its going to be brilliant (as I said, only 2 pounds through it now). There is a marked difference since I got the new burrs. I'm not quite sure how you could term it ruining the grinder. Since the grinder is the same as one with a doser, then all we are talking about is the delivery system. I like doserless. Yes, it will keep some stale grounds in the chute, but explain to me how this differs from the doser version? As far as I am aware, the only difference is the anti-static grid not the size of the chute or grind chamber.

shadowfax wrote:I'd say from firsthand experience of them that Electronic dosing grinders are the wave of the future for the home market *and* the commercial market. I think that most champion baristas would agree with me, judging by the USBC/WBC trends I have seen/read about.

I agree. And its not just me convincing myself of it since I've bought one. I upgraded from a Mini-E to the Robur-E because I already knew I liked the doserless option . As I said a few pages ago, each to their own in the doser vs doserless argument.

Not that I've ever been able to visit Intelligentsia, but I believe they have opted for Synesso and Robur-E's in their stores, and from what I hear they are pretty much up there with the best?

And thanks to all that have chipped in with useful suggestions aimed at helping me resolve the problem.

Cheers, Chris

shadowfax wrote:I'd say from firsthand experience of them that Electronic dosing grinders are the wave of the future for the home market *and* the commercial market. I think that most champion baristas would agree with me, judging by the USBC/WBC trends I have seen/read about.

Timed grinding isn't new, Schomer implemented it long ago. And time and doserless are not mutually exclusive. Couple years ago everyone was ga-ga over the 555/pot mod'ed Anfins. Have the same setup in one of my Majors and hate it. Much prefer stepped discreet 0.1sec increments. The pot is too sloppy for a fast grinder and is subject to bumping. I do fully agree to benefits of timed grinding, especially in a commercial environment. One of my cafe grinders is a lowly SJ (with doser tape mod of course), works marvelously plugged into timer currently set at 6.5sec for City+ Ethiopia Sidamo SO double.

As far as doserless ran an SJ with Mini-E funnel and static guard (not grind, oops) and found it messier than doser. Went back to doser. But that's just me.

miKe mcKoffee wrote:Timed grinding isn't new, Schomer implemented it long ago. And time and doserless are not mutually exclusive. Couple years ago everyone was ga-ga over the 555/pot mod'ed Anfins. Have the same setup in one of my Majors and hate it. Much prefer stepped discreet 0.1sec increments. The pot is too sloppy for a fast grinder and is subject to bumping. I do fully agree to benefits of timed grinding, especially in a commercial environment. One of my cafe grinders is a lowly SJ (with doser tape mod of course), works marvelously plugged into timer currently set at 6.5sec for City+ Ethiopia Sidamo SO double.

As far as doserless ran an SJ with Mini-E funnel and static grind and found it messier than doser. Went back to doser. But that's just me.

You're right about the non-mutually exclusive bit. Makes me think of Dave's pic of Michael Elvin's Major E + Elvinator'ed doser. I've also used the Anfim with the stupid little pot mod. So darn sensitive, I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen, so sensitive I found adjustment ridiculously irritating. Infinite grind adjustment and small steps (Mazzer has 0.05s steps) is easily the way to go.

Doserless SJ--I have used it too. I made one. If you haven't used a properly functioning Robur E, I don't think there's much point in trying to compare it to other Mazzers, or any custom modding you may have done. It's way nicer--way less clumps, and really hardly any static. The real problem with the Robur is TONS of waste if you're making < 100 shots a day.

That said, I have my robur set up with an Elvinator and a photo enlargement timer; I really like this setup, and I am honestly glad I didn't spend the extra for the E. I wouldn't mind spending some money on a slick timer on the lid like the E, though. Tom (dsc) really needs to make me one...

Hi guys,

So the Mazzer engineers scratch their heads about lunatic Americans, then paste on a funnel, a silly little propeller, and a grid on the outlet to control static. And guess what? The grinder doesn't work right. Gee, what a surpise!

Well the above is a surprise as it actually works. At least for me and a bunch of baristas across the globe.

Tom (dsc) really needs to make me one...

The parts probably cost around 50$ (or less), it shouldn't take more than a day to put it together and perhaps another day to stick it in a suitable box. You get 0.1s adjustments (it is possible to get smaller steps, the timer is software based) and single/double programable buttons + auto/manual operation. I can make you one if you're interested, heck even throw in a lid for it as well (I have one spare). There's only one small problem, lack of free time:|

Regards,
dsc.

shadowfax wrote:You're right about the non-mutually exclusive bit. Makes me think of Dave's pic of Michael Elvin's Major E + Elvinator'ed doser. I've also used the Anfim with the stupid little pot mod. So darn sensitive, I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen, so sensitive I found adjustment ridiculously irritating. Infinite grind adjustment and small steps (Mazzer has 0.05s steps) is easily the way to go.

Thanks for the Elvinator reminder, plumb forgot about it. Just downloaded the template to add it to the Major I'm refurbing and will be adding it to all the Majors & SJs I use.

Doserless SJ--I have used it too. I made one. If you haven't used a properly functioning Robur E, I don't think there's much point in trying to compare it to other Mazzers, or any custom modding you may have done. It's way nicer--way less clumps, and really hardly any static. The real problem with the Robur is TONS of waste if you're making < 100 shots a day.

No argument. While haven't had the pleasure of using a Robur-E undoubtedly Robor funneled grinds behave much better than SJ funneled grinds.

That said, I have my robur set up with an Elvinator and a photo enlargement timer; I really like this setup, and I am honestly glad I didn't spend the extra for the E. I wouldn't mind spending some money on a slick timer on the lid like the E, though. Tom (dsc) really needs to make me one...

SSSSHHHHH! Don't talk about how great those photo enlargement timers work! They're on the bulky side but love how they work. Just this morning lost an eBay auction at the last moment for another one. (Have 4 so far but need 5 more. Goal is to have one for all my cafe grinders, 4 short. Really now 5 short since they work great on non multi-hundred$$$$ blenders for fraps and smoothies too so will need one for the blender at the 2nd cafe working on opening, and it's 4 espresso grinders of course.)

After reading this entire post I am intrigued on this timed business for grinding. What do I need and how would I set up my Rio(re-branded Mazzer Major)for timed grinding?

Ron

This thread might get you started on that. I'd recommend the darkroom timer switches as the easiest thing for someone who's not technically inclined.