I am grinding every so often, taking the lid off and making sure the grounds "hopper" is full and evenly distributed without getting too packed.

But it seems many times I get half a dose...then if I bump the grinder or move it, a bunch of coffee falls out onto the counter. I am using a non-oily bean roasted for espresso and grinding at 5. I have not owned it since new, however, so I don't have a good feel for what kind of beans or use it saw before.

When I can get the dose right, the coffee is superb. Beats anything from Starburns but I'm wondering if I need to be doing something different to get a more consistent dose and stop wasting precious coffee.

Thanks!

Wonder if your grinder needs a clean if its not from new?

Dont keep grinds in the doser. It sounds like you are filling the doser. Dose into your portafilter while you grind. the MDF is a decent grinder, I had one several years ago. It is a bit slow on the grind and your burrs will need replaced after a couple years of use but it does a pretty good job. The doser will retain some grinds as well the discharge chute. The only thing you can do about that is to use a small brush to sweep them out after each use.

I also had a Gaggia MDF for years and my technique was during active grinding continuously flick the dosing handle and fill the PF as you go. You will need to experiment with the amount you get out, I based mine on a number of seconds once the grinding switch was turned on and got good at guessing when to stop.

Flicking the doser handle also breaks up any clumps while grinding. However an issue with flicking the handle is the dose would load up the left side of the PF requiring a re-distribution (WDT) which quickly remedied that.

A good cleaning is certainly a must. Before I got the Grindz product I took mine apart as its pretty easy to do and there was always old spent beans within the grinder that wouldn't come out without some mechanical means or a good old fashioned vacuuming. Also taking the unit apart allows for a re-calibration procedure which is also very easy to do. You can find instructions on how to maintain it here

http://coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/grinders/305825

I for one found my beans ground best at "2" with a drier bean.

No matter what I always ended up with grinds on the counter when done so I put a dish under the output whilst grinding to catch the particulate that invariably flew out of the grinder. I would use the amount on the dish in my last dose as to not waste it.

A good unit if you keep it clean and don't leave anything in the hopper.

My doser broke after a while. I removed it and cut off that plastic guard over the shoot and use a brush to get all the grinds into the portafilter. I only pour enough beans in the hopper for one shot. This helps with dose consistency and gets rid of waste. I liked my MDF way more this way.

Marfer, help!!! how did you remove the doser on your MDF and the plastic guard. The spring just broke on the doser, still moves to dose out coffee, but probably just a matter of time before the whole flywheel breaks. Anyone have directions for replacing the spring/flywheel? Thanks!