HG one grinding with no WDT? Possible?

October 25th, 2015, 4:23 pm

I've heard people report that grinding with their HG one does not require WDT.
Well, for me it does, definitely. My HG one is well broken in with approx. 80-100 pounds of espresso grinds under its collar. I cannot forgo WDT, though. If I do, I'll end up with a shot that exhibits terrible channeling, each and every time! Whenever I practice WDT, the shots are nice and even, and I feel I have great control over them during the extraction process.

So, those of you who do not do WDT, how do you do it? Is there a secret? Is it burr-dependent?

PS: I do not mind doing the WDT in the least as I enjoy the rich aromas wafting towards my nose. It's a sensuous experience and part of my ritual.

#2: Post by **weebit_nutty** » October 25th, 2015, 6:10 pm

I believe grinder, alone, is rarely the sole contributor for channeling/spritzing. I occasionally get spritzers on my pump machines, but very rarely on my Cremina, using the same grinder.

October 25th, 2015, 10:12 pm

I am not talking about the occasional spritzer or even sink shot.
I observed two radically different outcomes when pulling shots. One is clearly problem-ridden and one is as expected. The problem-ridden shots are clearly those which lacked the WDT during preparation. Hence my question.

October 25th, 2015, 11:41 pm

Not sure what you meant by "problem-ridden" but guess you say it lands somewhere between the occasional spritzer and a sinked shot.

Nevertheless, if WDT solves the problem, that's great. Not too many problems in life can be solved in 5 seconds..

#5: Post by **brianl** » October 26th, 2015, 9:19 am

MY experience was that WDT is essential for this grinder. Even when I grind into an intermediate vessel.

#6: Post by **dsc** » October 26th, 2015, 9:27 am

I'm a firm believer that every single dosed conic produces a grind which is not consistent ie. produces coarser grinds at the end of the grinding operation. This in turn forces one to mix the grinds either in the basket / a cup / whatever else you use to collect the grinds. I'd say that if you grind straight into a PF, tamp and pull a shot in a naked PF you'd end up with a massive mess. This is probably one of the reasons why HG1 got rid of their PF holders and now supplies the grinder with a cup / bowl and suggests to whisk everything straight after grinding.

T.

#7: Post by **brianl** » October 26th, 2015, 9:44 am

dsc wrote:I'm a firm believer that every single dosed conic produces a grind which is not consistent ie. produces coarser grinds at the end of the grinding operation.

+1 with an 83mm flat. Basically whenever I run out of beans in the hopper, its effectively single dosing, I require a finer grind (ie. the shot always run a little faster than usual).

#8: Post by **JohnB.** » October 26th, 2015, 10:03 am

dsc wrote: This is probably one of the reasons why HG1 got rid of their PF holders and now supplies the grinder with a cup / bowl and suggests to whisk everything straight after grinding.T.

The PF holders are still listed on the H-G 1 site & the blind tumbler has come with their grinders since day one. My V1 H-G One required stirring or shaking the grinds until the day I sold it. My K10 WBC does not but maybe the doser solves that issue if it indeed does exist.

#9: Post by **spressomon** » October 26th, 2015, 10:38 am

WDT and RDT required on my well seasoned HG-One 2014 to insure channeling/spritzing is avoided. Ditto for all my hand grinders too.

#10: Post by **dsc** » October 26th, 2015, 11:13 am

Crap should've made it a bit more clear, every conic with a direct vertical grind path (ie. no angled burr chamber / doser) will suffer from unmixed grinds I believe.

Burr chambers and dosers mix grinds, there's no free fall issues (tiny particles cling to everything around and heavier ones drop down faster, so you get separation straight away) which is probably why grinders are designed the way they are. Dosers in my opinion are way understated for what they to do grinds, loads of people take them off thinking it will make things easier, but in fact in makes their grinders worse imho.

As for the PF holders and the HG1, I've seen loads of photos showing just the HG1 and the PF holder in the early stages of HG development. I'm guessing after initial testing those got replaced with tumblers and the grinder has been sold like this since.

T.

EDIT: Btw the above has been mentioned by David Schomer on his blog probably a few years ago:

http://espressovivace.com/index.php/edu ... ws/page/2/

scroll down to "Micro-particle Migration in Conical Grinding Systems".