I bought a Le'Lit PL53 when they were first announced on here a few years back, and then on and off again for the last few years I've been going through espresso phases. I'm back on the wagon again and making it in the morning. My guess is total I have maybe 15-20 pounds through my grinder, it's barely broken in.

Last week I was grinding as usual, into a cup because I don't like the on / off button being con-vexed, it fits weird w/ the 49mm portafilter for my La Pavoni - and it all but came to a stop. I emptied the top of beans and looked inside, all looked normal. After setting it back down on my counter a huge clump of grounds came out of the chute. I realized my chute had clogged! probably a 1/4 cup or more of ground coffee was jammed in there. Took the chute off, cleaned it and around it and put it back together and it seemed fine.

Recently I've been trying to be less tight about making espresso, read that as I am trying to retire my digital scale - and I'm getting great results. I'm also working on dosing right into the portafilter. My problem now is that dosing into the portafilter leaves a huge mess from static all around the machine and rarely does even half of the excess grounds go into the tray below (which I still wish was actually attached, or a slide in / out piece).

In a few days I have an Isomac Tea coming and really am hoping to not have to continue to dose into a cup then scoop into the portafilter, as that machine will be seeing a bit more volume then my current lever.

How are you other PL53 users dealing with static, and are you grinding into a portafilter, a cup, a piece of tupperwear? Am I expecting too much from this grinder?

I think the PL53 is a good grinder, and is great for the price. It doesn't hold on to too many grinds, but with such a small grinding chamber even a few big clumps, or just some gummed-up residue can cause things to get backed up - I cleaned mine out regularly. At the very least, pull off the spout and brush out anything you can get at.

As for dosing I always dosed in to the basket (and weighed the dose), and then slipped it in to the PF to distribute, level and tamp (I removed the spring from the PF). It's not as quick as keeping everything together and dosing right in to the PF, but it's quicker than adding an extra bup to the process.

Ironically, after posting this thread I found this one in the related ones: Ideal catch container for the Le'Lit PL53 doserless grinder - it didn't come up when I searched though... so I might go back to dosing in a cup, it's just an extra step I'd like to avoid.

I'm currently using a La Pavoni which doesn't use a spring in the basket so I'm very used to taking it out of the portafilter, I'm just looking to be as effecient as possible with my time in the morning and not get up any earlier than I have to!

I use a bottomless Gaggia portafilter and dose directly into it. The grounds pitch left, so I tilt portafilter a bit and very little gets on the counter. If I'm using a regular portafilter I can't tilt it so I get more spillage. Once the portafilter is full I distribute with my finger, tamp, and pull the shot. I was obsessive about weighing at first, but now I can tell by feel. The grinder chute has plugged up completely on me twice, and both times it was with very oily beans. I make sure to clean it good whenever I switch beans. The Le'Lit has its quirks, but they have been a minor inconvenience to me compared to the quality of the grind. For the price, I think it's a pretty awesome espresso grinder.

I use my thumb to rapidly spin the basket while grinding (with the basket in the PF and the spring removed). This works very well for me on 45mm, 49mm, and 58mm baskets, allowing a good distribution with no WDT or other fancy moves (just level and tamp). This also prevents the static-grounds-flying-everywhere problem as the pile builds up evenly across the basket. If I need to updose, I pick up and gently drop the basket in the PF to settle the grounds and add a bit more. Because the spinning requires the spring to be out, I have no problem weighing the basket before/during/after grinding.

With the PL53, I found the best thing for me was to grind into a 1/2 cup stainless steel measuring cup, then pour into the filter basket. The measuring cup I have has a tiny pour spout on each side, which helps control the transfer of grinds to the basket. Grinding straight into the basket always made a huge mess and never filled the basket w/o the grinds deflecting over the sides all over the place. The SS cup doesn't have a static effect for me and the 1/2 cup size was big enough to keep the grinds in the cup and off the counter for the most part.
I used the Le'lit for decaf primarily, but always had the easiest time with it using this method whatever coffee I tried.

I also have a PL53, and use a cut-down yogurt cup as a sleeve into a 58mm portafilter. Still some mess, but not too bad. In order to avoid having all the grounds mound up on one side, I start with the portafilter handle at an angle, grind a bit, tap to settle, shift the portafilter handle over to the other side, repeat.

I think Orphan Espresso sells some funnel attachments that fit various basket sizes. Might try that.

There is some static cling of grounds on the chute and yogurt cup. I find a gentle tap dislodges the grounds.

I've never had my PL53 get blocked due to grounds in the chute. Seems unlikely, but it is very easy to take the chute off and sweep out any remaining grounds on a daily basis. The chute fits tightly without the retaining nut. If you do get a jam, stop immediately and check the burrs for bits of the hopper. It's pretty brittle plastic and can chip off easily if you put too much leverage on the hopper or remove/insert it often enough. The plastic bits will look like glass shards stuck in the burrs. Easy enough to fix by taking the top burr off and cleaning everything out.

Overall I'm extremely happy with my PL53.