Here is a topic I would like to chat about! Now Dan-Dan-The-Grinder-Man has made all sorts of mods to his grinder. I'm sure some of you other folks have as well.

Any mods you think were really great mods and some not so great? How about the ultimate mod of going doserless? What has been your experience in mod'ing your grinder?

I'm actually working on a doserless attachment.

With any luck I'll have a prototype next week.

The final intent will be to have it available for sale in kit form for any Mazzer (which means different versions for mini - SJ - major)

Anyway, I don't want to blab too much more because there are still many obstacles between a prototype and production...


ciao

lino

I'm definitely a potential customer. what do you suppose the time frame is, Lino?

Heh,

That's the million dollar question, isn't it?

The short answer is not very soon.
From the hip, I'd say after June and before the end of the year...

I do hope to distribute a few protptypes for evaluation before then however.

One of the issues I'm dealing with is what to offer, and how.
For example. I could make it have a switch near the spout so the PF would turn on the grinder. That adds cost. Do I make it optional? That's more difficult on my end...

Anyway, we're testing the first prototype on Friday, and there'll be some comments and pics posted from that.

ciao

lino

I'd love to evaluate one!

I made my own chute with a martini shaker and a dremel tool, styled after twomartinis' idea (he's from coffeegeek). I guess from that perspective, I'm not in that much of a hurry to get a new hopper, though I would love to see what kind of functionality yours will offer over Noll's (twomartinis').

Well, I gave the first prototype to Dan today for evaluation....

Let me note, this is not a "pre-production" part, it is more of a "test-of-concept" . This also means production units (if this gets there) will look very different. (the hole exposing the windings will be covered then too)

I want to find out things like:

• how evenly do the grounds come out?
• is it hard to clean? Where?
• how big a mess does it make? (how far around the grinder gets dirty)
• is it easier than a doser?
• do you want to have a PF "fork" to hold the PF in place?
• do you use this, or are you going back to your other girnder? Why?

etc.

Here's the pics...







Lemme know what you think.

I'm sure Dan will have plenty of "constructive" criticism soon...
... like "Gimme back my doser!"


ciao

lino

Perhaps a straight rather than curved dosing tube would be better?
It would be easier to clean ie poke something up, and grounds would meet very little resistance.

Just a thought.

Hey Lino,

Gotta laud your willingness to tackle these espresso issues.

I've had both doser and doserless grinders and, for those of us who only pour for ourselves, doserless is the way to go. I bought a Macap M4 to replace my Innova doserless mainly to have a better grinder. While I can live with either, the doserless is less work. As framey pointed out, cleaning out the chute is the main issue. If you only use the grinder for a shot a day you'll always want to clean the chute out after each use, regardless of which type you have.

With that in mind, it looks like your prototype would be difficult to clean. Visibility is important, as well. The ideal chute would be clear. Do you work with plastic? IMHO, regardless of the chute material or its shape, a snap in, snap on, or slide over design would facilitate the most user friendly cleaning of the orifice. A shorter upper portion of the doser (roof), with a longer lower one (floor) would also make access with a brush easier, as well as viewing the remaining grinds. On a semi-permanently attached chute a hinged roof would be perfect. That would allow the easiest access to the port with something like a blower bulb with a brush on the end (what I use), and it wouldn't much matter whether the material was opaque or not. Plus the roof could be longer if a short one meant flying grinds. I have an idea for a steel chute I can draw up and send you when I send your check (got your package), if you like. I'll email you tomorrow evening.

A momentary-on switch would be a real plus, either portafilter activated or finger activated. On my Macap it's virtually a necessity, as the power switch is hard to activate with one hand so that the grinder doesn't move to the side. Having a doserless attachment would be a 3 hand job.

Dolce Vita,

Cliff

I agree with most of what's been said. I think the curvature of this tube will contribute to severe problems of stale grinds building up both in the "orifice" or chute between the burr housing and the outside of the machine and the actual main chute itself, and to problems of making it difficult/impossible to clean out with a brush.

In my opinion, a doserless chute needs 2 holes in it. here's why:

One hole has to be rather small. it needs to point downwards, flat. This hole, of course, is to hold the portafilter up to, so it also needs to be close to the fork, where users will place their portafilters. This hole must be the size of the portafilter (58 mm), or preferably a little bit smaller so that users can move the portafilter around under the chute as grinds fall into it to distribute them more evenly. Your design facilitates this hole inasmuch as it points downward and appears to be a little bit smaller than the diameter of a portafilter.

It's very important that there be another hole to access, though. This one is for user access. For users who grind per shot, it's key that all or nearly all of the grinds come out of the entire chute from the burr housing on. The only way to facilitate this, short of using a vacuum cleaner, is to allow users to brush out the inner chute. To that end, there needs to be this second hole that faces upwards (so users can see what they are doing and access the inner chute with a brush). To facilitate this, it's preferable that this hole be considerably larger.

I have seen two excellent solutions to this so far that might help you design a more workable prototype. This thread details how to make one from a cup. it's ultimately a slightly too open design on the top with a bottom hole that's a little too small, but notice how easy it is to access the inner chute:


Another doserless design that's probably near-perfect is the Mazzer Mini E chute:



This design is perhaps ideal. it's only flaw is that mazzer stupidly added a useless electronic dual setting timer that somehow justifies them charging another $250 for the machine. The chute, however, is very well designed. It has the small hole on the bottom, and has a big hole on the top (with a lid) to allow users to easily access the chute and inner chute for cleaning purposes. One problem that might arise with the design is that the cylinder section is a bit short, making the hole in the bottom open far over the fork. Also, I've heard criticisms from Mini E users that the hole is a little too small as well.

I think it would be a simple matter (speaking from my ignorance, though) to design a similar chute and correct for some of mazzer's flaws. If you could find or fashion such a funnel with the same diameter as the doser, people would be able to use the doser lids they currently own to cover it (or perhaps chris could just buy some of those mazzer lids for those who want to buy an extra or don't already own one. once the funnel is made, you would just need an opening for the inner chute and screw holes for mounting, and then of course a backplate, which is where you may run into problems from the different housing sizes....

finally, regarding clear plastic, I do not think that's a good way to go. Plastic inherently lends a cheapy feel to any appliance; It is less reliable and more prone to "aesthetic damages" like scratches, etc. Your best bet will definitely be stainless steel/aluminum/some other non-corroding metal. It just wouldnt do to put a clear plastic dongle on a Mazzer!

good luck!