I was in the right place at the right time last summer and bought an OE Pharos. I had reserved a Lido 2, but delivery wouldn't happen until September so I bought the Pharos to have a grinder during the interim, thinking that I'd sell it once the Lido 2 arrived.

Now I'm not so sure. I cannot afford both grinders, but I don't know which one to keep. I use the grinder at my office using either CCD or AeroPress. I don't make espresso, and in no way does my wife want an espresso machine on her kitchen counter, and I'm not about to make espresso at work. Given this, the Lido 2 seems to be the better choice to keep. I've been using both grinders at work for the past few weeks and it's becoming a toss up as to which grinder I like better. Supposedly the Lido 2 grinds better for drip than the Pharos, and this may be. However, I can't tell a difference in the taste of the coffee between the two grinders.

Pharos Likes:

Fast and great grinding feel
Less static cling - perhaps grinds just stay inside the grinder and I don't see them.
faster to fill, grind, and empty than the Lido 2
No glass to break in my office drawer

Pharos Dislikes:

Filling - so much easier with the Lido 2
Bumping the grinder to empty grinds - hand hurts with daily use
Probably more difficult to clean than the Lido 2 (haven't cleaned it yet)

Lido 2 Likes:

Filling - super nice
Easier to clean and access parts than with Pharos

Lido 2 Dislikes:

Longer to grind than Pharos, but this is minor
Static cling - need to use brush to clean underside of grinder and to sweep grinds from glass jar; this is substantial

Both grinders are heavy and bulky; neither is better or worse than the other for my use and storage. I have not made any modifications to either grinder.

Please help me in deciding which grinder to keep, and which one to sell.

Thanks.

Michael

Since espresso is out of the question, sell the Pharos

OK. But why? In many ways (static mostly), the Lido 2 is more of a bother than the Pharos.

We're kind of in the same predicament. Except I'm looking to buy one for the first time. My reasoning would be if you're not going to use the grinder for espresso, then sell the pharos and keep the Lido for obvious reasons; more portable, smaller footprint, you can get more money for the pharos.

So you found that the Pharos and the Lido preform exactly the same at pour-over/drip coarseness? I only brew pour-over at home, but may buy the pharos if it works just as well as the Lido at coarser settings, since there will be no wait and the capability of solid espresso grinds

For me, the portability (I don't) and footprint (both fit equally well in a drawer) favor neither the Lido or the Pharos. And while I highly doubt I'll start making espresso (favoring the Pharos), I don't see any advantage of the Lido 2 for drip quality. Thus, it seems to come down to ease of use. And for that I may be leaning toward the Pharos than the Lido 2. The Pharos is more substantial and has a nicer grinding feel. And, though perhaps more of the grind remains are hidden within the Pharos while exposed to view with the Lido 2, it seems that the Lido 2 has a lot more static cling. Perhaps mods for either device will solve some of my dislikes with them, but I don't know. It's a conundrum.

There will be a new special semi conducting plastic catch cup for the Lido-2 available shortly from OE which will solve most of the glass and static problem. The grounds on top of the jar is solved by inserting a square o-ring for it to seat against.

This is the o-ring I used and it solved the problem, http://www.mcmaster.com/#4061t252/=u4ifms If you only want just 1 then you will have to settle for a round one. You will need a 3/16 thickness round o-ring to fit properly though.

My suggestion would be to sell the Pharos.

Wow. Thanks for this information! I need to follow this forum more often. The new plastic catch jar would be most useful. Does the square o-ring work better than a round o-ring? Will OE include an o-ring with the sale of the plastic catch jar?

Is there any solution for reducing static grounds from the underside of the Lido 2, other than using the brush? Perhaps static is a bigger concern in Colorado than in more humid climates.

You report that you only use filter methods. I would think that for french press, and other coarse grind settings the Lido and Lido 2 differentiate themselves more from the Pharos than at filter settings. If you ever do french press, you might compare them and use that to help decide. If a (hypothetical ?) future Pharos model resolves the retention issues, stability while grinding challenges and adjusting grind settings difficulties and keeps an economical price point, then the original Pharos might depreciate more.

So I suggest you try it for FP (if that applies at all) and if they're still equal, sell the Pharos and watch for the static problem solution forthcoming from OE.

Happy choosing.

Flint

wacomme wrote:OK. But why? In many ways (static mostly), the Lido 2 is more of a bother than the Pharos.

Because with the Lido 2, you're also open to more of the other types of brewing methods that require a coarser grind, like Press, Chemex, Kalita, etc. Since you're not planning on brewing espresso, this makes the Lido 2 a bit more future proof.

Another red flag was when you said bumping the grinds out of the Pharos hurt your hand. If it truly is hurting gyour hand, then I would avoid using that grinder. For the static cling, you can try letting the grounds sit in the jar for around 30-45 seconds before brewing them. But for me, it isn't too much of an issue and I haven't really had a problem with grounds laying in the glass catch jar.

Also, the Lido 2 is a bit more portable than the Pharos. And with daily use, the ease of filling the hopper will be a godsend.

You have to supply the o-ring and the new plastic jar will be an add-on item most likely. The o-ring does cut down on the cling problem