I experienced the lock-up today. The problem seems to be in the momentary switch shaft's movement. After checking everything else, I removed the portafilter holder, then tried to cycle the grinder by hand. Nothing. Looking further, I noticed that the momentary switch's shaft was stuck, about three-fourths of the way through its travel. After cleaning the shaft with a paper towel and water, the shaft moved freely. Problem solved. This seems to me to be a design flaw. If coffee falling onto the shaft causes grinder failure, the shaft should be protected; a rubber "bib" would do that.

Marshal

What's a "momentary shaft?"

Not trying to be a wise guy with the following: a momentary switch is one that works only while activated. Usually, one presses, then holds, a button or handle to do this. The Malkoenig Pro-M's momentary switch is pressed on by a button-headed shaft. One sees the button on the front of the grinder, protruding slightly from the portafilter-holder bracket. When one presses against the button-headed shaft with the portafilter, the momentary switch is activated, activating the grinder's relay. The relay activates both the grind motor and the count-down timer.

Marshall: I'd like to get a copy of the Malkoenig Parts list that you offered, if you don't mind. My email address is mhmercer@charter.net.

TIA,
Marshal (one "L") Mercer

Hi - New to these boards but have been following for some time. I'm hoping that someone can provide some assistance. I purchased a Mahlkonig Pro M Espresso and received it today. The grinder had a sticker on it that said to run Grindz through it before using. I set the dial to the coarse setting, put in the Grindz and almost immediately it locked up. I turned it off, waited a few minutes and turned it back on. Tried to grind again and it would only run for a bit and stop. I turned it off, turned it back on and now it shows a service symbol when I attempt to grind. Any suggestions?

I recently purchased a mahlkonig Pro m all around grinder and it locked up after about 3 weeks of normal household use. Before that I had tons of issues with inconsistency of the grinder settings. It seemed the coffee had clogged the burrs and the flashing light would always go on. It worked sporadically for another couple of weeks, then it would no longer reset. There is no easy way to clean it out, and I didn't want to try to take it apart as it would have voided any warranty.
Grinder went back I am happy to say, and Coffeewishes.com were great in authorizing a credit for me.

Hmm - not what I wanted to hear but thanks for sharing your experience Michael. I was going to order the K30 but loved the smaller footprint of the Pro M. I called to order the all around from Chris' Coffee and they suggested the Espresso version. I was hopeful it would be a good performer. Really disappointed to hear that it's prone to locking up. At least you got a few weeks out of it. I never got past the initial setup. Back to the drawing board I guess.

I think it needs a lot of work correcting the design flaws and suggest getting a credit if you can. I have no experience with the k30 but heard good things about it.
I will say that I purchased a ceado and am crazy about it so far. The foot print is a little larger but it is all metal, and so worth it. What a difference!