I don't think the OP bought it used.

Thanks to everyone for your continued ideas. I really appreciate all the feedback.

Since I sent the burr set back to Lyn Weber for inspection I can't do much more testing at the moment but here are my thoughts to the new comments:

Many of you have asked if the grinder is set way too fine. I regret not systematically testing the grinder at a wide range of settings before sending the burrs back but I have been brewing espresso for about 2 years with my Vario so I have some sense of what the grind consistency should be. I was *not* choking the espresso machine with a Turkish grind, and as far as I can tell there was not any channeling. (I have a bottomless portafilter so it's pretty easy to tell what's going on.) I was able to dial in the shots to a pretty consistent 25 seconds, with only minor adjustments over the few days it takes me to go through a batch of coffee. (I roast my own coffee so there is usually a little bit of adjustment require between day 2 and day 7.) The idea that the grinder could produce an acceptable espresso grind at two very different settings doesn't really make sense to me but I suppose I cannot rule it out since I didn't test.

mivanitsky wrote:Is there any vertical play in the inner burr shaft? If you lift up on the shaft, there should be no movement at all, or at most a very tiny amount. If there is too much, the burrs will not pull the beans in and grind them. When one does get in, the burrs settle in somewhat and grind it. They may not settle all he way, and you may have your grind setting very tight to compensate for that. This makes starting harder.

I just checked and there is a tiny amount of vertical play. I would say something on the order of 0.1mm. Not sure if that is concerning or not. Overall the grinder seems well put together with no noticeable play or runout when grinding.

opother wrote:I don't know how long the warranty is but I would not wait for it to expire or do anything to void it.

I contacted Lyn Weber before the end of the 30-day return period. They have graciously agreed to extend the return period until I am satisfied that the issue is resolved. So I believe they will stand by the product.

leozava wrote:You said you bought it used?? Have you msged the previous owner and asked if he was having the same problem?

Grinder was purchased new, directly from Lyn Weber.

The vertical play is normal, they said it's a "feature" rather than a mistake.

I'm interested to hear the response from HG1 - do keep us up to date.

I just checked my recently purchased HG-1 this morning after reading this thread. When it was new, it would take 80-100 cranks to get 18g ground. I've used 4 boxes of rice over the months and probably have 10-15 pounds of coffee through it since I purchased it new earlier this year.

My grinding is now down significantly for 18g. At 36 revolutions the grinding become much easier, and it takes another 10-15 very easy revolutions to fully clear all beans from the burrs.

roanjohn wrote:I'm in the same boat. Although I just recently got my grinder (1 month) - and still haven't done the rice grind. I'm counting around 100-120 rotations for 18 g of beans. Either the beans are not sliding down fast enough or not being caught between the burrs. Hopefully this will get better with time.

Would RDT help?

I've been experiencing the same, grinder is also about 1 month old. And I haven't done too much of breaking in with minute rice, went through a box only so far. It seems this is common for new HG-1 ?

Wacobipe wrote:I just checked my recently purchased HG-1 this morning after reading this thread. When it was new, it would take 80-100 cranks to get 18g ground. I've used 4 boxes of rice over the months and probably have 10-15 pounds of coffee through it since I purchased it new earlier this year.

My grinding is now down significantly for 18g. At 36 revolutions the grinding become much easier, and it takes another 10-15 very easy revolutions to fully clear all beans from the burrs.

Whew! Glad to hear..............

I haven't gone through 1 box of rice yet - maybe 3/4. Grinding rice is a PITA!!

Yee wrote:I've been experiencing the same, grinder is also about 1 month old. And I haven't done too much of breaking in with minute rice, went through a box only so far. It seems this is common for new HG-1 ?

Yee - did you see minimal improvement after 1 box? I think I'm seeing some on mine after 3/4 in. Could just be subjective though, I'm not really counting (too early in the morning before my coffee).

Roan,
I did see very minimal improvement and it's more noticeable when I dial the grinder a little coarser for different beans.
I think we still got a long way to go before hitting 1g/rotation.

I have the 2016 model. 83mm Mazzer burrs.

60-70 turns for 19g
2 pounds of rice
30-35 turns for 19g

After a couple of months (2 drinks a day), i'm pretty close of the one revolution per gram. I heard about 100 turns for 16/21 grams but 200 sounds abnormal.

Many 2015/2016 users reported mismatched Mazzer burrs set installed in the grinder. Even if you align them properly, it is barely impossible to grind in the 100 revs range. Or there is also the bearing problem, wobbled shaft, alignment etc etc etc... But on a brand new grinder your move about the burrs is a good start and I think it will solve the problem. I doubt alignment or plays in the shaft/gearbox/bearings can be worst at the point to get you to 200 revs...