I am still on the fence about this grinder. I really like the Elektra Nino but I it is too much $$. It seems to be the best doserless grinder out there so far from what I can see. I think the clumping issue is overblown though. I get clumping in my max pro but I can still tamp with out WDT and it seems fine at the cup as well as the flow at the PF. Am I sinning here some how?

Jeff, when the clumping "issue" arose earlier in this thread, I started paying more attention. Bottom line: sometimes the K30 Vario clumps; sometimes it doesn't. I've ground-and-pulled successive shots, one with WDT and the other without -- I honestly can't taste a significant difference between them . . . certainly not to the extent that I can with my Quick Mill doserless (used occasionally for decaf; that, too, may affect the results).

Cool,

Thanks Jason,

Thats what I figured, yet, it seems there is this demon called "clumps" out there.

Wow, I did a fresh roast today for the first time in awhile, OMG! What a difference!
I had been polishing some fair trade stuff I had in the fridge.

THIS IS LIGHT YEARS BETTER

Now I am voting for fresh roasted and ground coffee as the greatest improvement in the cup of all.
I had almost 100% crema (mostly of one color) by the time the double was finished.
Sure wish I could drink more!

Thank you SM!

the K30 claim another happy costumer..


from Mazzer mini, Elektra MX to K30... excellent grinder.

FWIMC

Mahlkonig dealer in Cali have a short hopper available for the K30

the hopper is for 1lbs of coffee, about 5"1/2 tall, 27"1/2 high overall.

I was so ready to ordered till I have the dumb idea of asking "HOW MUCH?"
-$126 .. OUCHHHH

I paid like 95 for mine from Ditting.

I wonder if it's the same one.

Well, I am buying Mark's since he is another lucky Nino owner. I think this grinder will take care of me for awhile to come.

Ditting KE 640 update (and K 30 too?)
I finally sent mine back for clumping issues and was told that an update was in process. So here it is, the update, and changes, but I'll have to wait till end of August before getting my grinder back and making any 1st hand comments.

That would be GREAT! As much as I like this grinder, I don't even grind into the PF anymore. I grind into a cocktail shaker for clump breakage and better control. Otherwise I get coffee all over the counter. Sure comes out fast! The grind time adjust is a breeze though. If these improvements work, I will be glad I passed Nino by (she soo sexy though ).
My dosage varies a bit as well (I didn't expect that). I use a scale and it can change by as much as a couple of grams. I have the single side set up as a quick pulse to make up for lack (to Mark's credit).

I will have to check with "local" Mahlkonig and see if they can do the update as well. Thank you Oltimer for this timely post. I still have my Max so I can be grinding away while it is in the shop.

Juanjo wrote:FWIMC

Mahlkonig dealer in Cali have a short hopper available for the K30

the hopper is for 1lbs of coffee, about 5"1/2 tall, 27"1/2 high overall.

I was so ready to ordered till I have the dumb idea of asking "HOW MUCH?"
-$126 .. OUCHHHH

I dropped a pound into mine and had room to spare. I think it would hold at least a pound and a half. Fits under the cabinets .

oltimer wrote:So here it is, the update, and changes, but I'll have to wait till end of August before getting my grinder back and making any 1st hand comments.

After spending a small fortune to completely refurbish and update my K30 to be a Vario with the latest firmware I am probably NOT going to attempt this update.

I looks like the entire burr assembly is shaped differently; the mountings where the brass ring attaches have been cast in the new assembly housing and the same seems true of the mounting for the new spout.

So to do a modification to add these new features the entire burr assembly must be replaced. I'll venture to guess that it's cost-prohibitive based on my experience with buying Mahlkoenig parts.

list: CHF 260 ($240)
Not cheap but still less than the loss incurred from reselling the grinder.
I did get a decent discount and free shipping (but then I only got 5% off list for the grinder in the 1st place, instead of the going 20% in the US).

Here's from MAHLKÖNIG USA:

Hi Jeff,

Yes, there will be an update probably sometime in October that will be available. I do not have pricing on this conversion yet. Please check back later on for any updates. Thank you.

Brian Gendron
US Operations Manager

MAHLKÖNIG USA, Inc.

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: jeff michel
Gesendet: Freitag, 7. August 2009 22:51
An: info@mahlkoenig.com
Betreff: Update conversion of K30

Hi Brian,

I heard that there may be an up date for the K30. What would be the
cost and availability to convert mine?

Thanks,

Jeff

oltimer wrote:list: CHF 260 ($240)
Not cheap but still less than the loss incurred from reselling the grinder.
I did get a decent discount and free shipping (but then I only got 5% off list for the grinder in the 1st place, instead of the going 20% in the US).

I would do this. At that price, it would be a no brainer for me. The downsides and upsides of this grinder balance each other for what I paid for it. However if I could get less (fluffy) clumping so the coffee stays in the basket and better accuracy I would be as happy as a Pig in, well, coffee grinds!
Then again, mine can use a calibration adjustment to "zero the burrs" that I would like to be done as well.

I hope the mod is not much more than $300 US. If it is then I might have to pass on it .

K, now I opened up the case and pulled the motor and there is quite a bit of damage in there. Here is a PM I sent to Oltimer (Chris).

"Well Chris,

I got an entirely different reason my grind maybe off. My grinder appears to have been damaged during shipping (Shoot me your email and I will send you some pictures).

It is sort of a flaw in the design. The motor is shock mounted and the rubber grommets and skinny bolts allowed the motor to move at least a .275" (bending the bolt ends) and put a big dent in the capacitor.
If I was to ship one (with this new knowledge) I would try to have the buyer allow me to ship with the motor separate. Or I would pack something around the motor. Funny thing is, it still worked and was not visable to the eye!
I wonder how many have damage that people are unaware of? I will follow up in forum as well..."
[end]

This all happened without any damage to the boxes that the grinder was shipped in. Marks packing job looked great (dbl. boxed, packing, etc...) and I still have the boxes. It is almost like UPS dropped the box off the top of the truck and it landed perfectly flat on the ground. The housing looks perfect.

I am going to start a new thread with photos so people can be aware of what can happen.

The bolts that bent are not a part that can be gotten "easily" from Mahlkonig. The motor is made by RPM in Italy (any Italian connections out there?) and requires that the burr assembly be taken off to get the bolts out (bolts approx. m4 x 160 mm). IMHO, these bolt should be at least an M8 or greater since if the grinder IS dropped in shipping, this is what attaches the motor to the housing and having them bend is a real PITA! It also bent the pins on the lid that are used for adjusting the burrs. Even the Mahlkonig tec has not replaced those and I don't see anyway to do it easily. If the they do not line up once I straighten out the bolts, I may have to replace the lid or some home remedy (drill in new pins?).

More to follow:

All fixed. Bolts bend very easily (M4). Once you figure out the lid it is a breeze to work on. I hear from Oltimer the update is great! I really like this grinder and for me it is the best solution in my kitchen.

Pro's
1. Fast
2. Great grind (even the clumps are fluffy)
3. Design
4. Size (with mini hopper)
5. Ease of maintenance
6. Great company (Ditto to Ditting as well)

Con's (pre-update)
1. Clumping
2. Some mess with grinds outside basket
3. More coffee than I expected at top of spout (static?)
3. Better ship on a pallet
4. Looks like R2D2 (hey, I like it!)

oltimer wrote:Ditting KE 640 update (and K 30 too?) <image>

I spoke to Nancy at Ditting this afternoon. She told me that the updated parts are not yet available to Ditting in the States, and that she expects it to be at least 4 weeks (the arrival of their next container, contents not known...). She expects that they'll be retrofitting their existing stock of grinders when the kits come in, and it will be some time until grinders come from the factory with the new modifications already in place. She didn't know pricing for the kit, but thought (without any confirmation) that the retrofit may be a "warranty" item if one were to purchase a grinder now. Overall, she advised me to wait to purchase until the first wave of retrofit kits arrived. 'Jus keeping the thread alive