The problem took me all of 2 seconds to correct. Paul text me and let me know how to fix it. Here's what he wrote for reference:

"The threads on the burr collar are freshly lubricated and the phenolic rod that presses on the threads to lock the grind setting is new, thus maybe needing a little break-in. It sounds like the burr mount slipped while you were grinding and the burrs met at their zero point.

To undo this, turn the flywheel backward while loosening the burr mount with your other hand."

I only have time usually for one shot before work, and it was an amazingly good one. But I didn't have time to fiddle with the grinder afterwards. I noticed before I left that I could rotate the handle ever so slightly easier in the opposite direction, and it seemed to loosen, but I still couldn't get the collar to budge. This was only my third shot ground thru my new HG-One, so I haven't perfectly dialed in the new burrs yet.

Otherwise,the whole unit just operates so dang smooth. It really is a tactile, gratifying experience to use. And I've noticed, having the second grip handle, the machine really acts like its glued to the counter, it doesn't creep around the counter like the prototype could tend to do if you tried grinding too fast.

I'm going to be mostly eager to read whether anyone else could manage to avoid the WDT on them, using different espresso machines than mine though. That would be a significant topic to contribute to this thread.

TomC wrote: [cut]
"The threads on the burr collar are freshly lubricated and the phenolic rod that presses on the threads to lock the grind setting is new, thus maybe needing a little break-in. It sounds like the burr mount slipped while you were grinding and the burrs met at their zero point.

Hmm can't quite see how freshly lubricating the burr collar has an affect on anything. Are we simply saying that the lock nut got loose whilst grinding? is there anyway of locking the lock nut in place (spring washer, crinkle washer etc) or do you simply tighten it by hand and hope it doesn't get loose with all the vibrations from the grinding? Do you know whether the lock nut simply 'screws' into the side of the burr or does it maybe push some sort of pad, which then presses against the burr to hold it in place?

TomC wrote: [cut]
I'm going to be mostly eager to read whether anyone else could manage to avoid the WDT on them, using different espresso machines than mine though. That would be a significant topic to contribute to this thread.

Imho that's one of the most important things to check, how very low speed grinding straight into the basket, affects the extraction. From the limited tests I did on a custom built machine, it's not as easy as hand cranking on any given speed into a basket and getting a nice even brew.

Regards,
dsc.

I think it mainly happened because I over shot the grind fineness. The first two shots the evening before were pulling way too fast, so I made it much tighter yesterday morning for that one shot and must have just gone too far. I had the lock knob down firm, but I think I had the burrs literally near their zero point.

After backing it off last night, I made two more shots this morning and now seem to have it dialed in. Unfortunately, I need to buy more beans, I only have about 75g of my Konga espresso left.

Shouldn't happen regardless of fineness, you should be able to grind with the burrs pretty much touching and not get lockups like this. Unless of course something moved and got loose.

Looking forward to some videos of extractions, especially without WDT.

Regards,
dsc.

I can see how this happened. The phenolic bit on the end of the lock screw contacts the male threads, if said threads are newly greased there may be a bit excess causing a loss of sufficient friction to lock the adjustment.

I can see how burrs at their zero may ring/sing and keep turning with a motor but may lock up under the human power with a crank. I'm sure it will all settle in nicely, there's probably a bit of getting used to how hard to set the lock knob as well. Thanks for the update, Tom!

The need for the WDT could be potentially solved. And it was rather simple, not really worthy of taking photo's to describe the process.

Skip using the lower aluminum dosing thing and plug. At least on my gear, after hundreds of tries, the grinds still need to be mixed up and lifting and twirling the plug thing makes little noticeable difference. It looks nice, but in my experience, doesn't really help. I'd still have to go back in and either whisk or use my metal WDT wire. Too many steps...

Put an 8oz paper cup under the grinder, grind into it, give it a few simple shakes before you shake it into the portafilter. Tamp and brew... Shots pull clean and even. Paper works better than the numerous small metal steaming pitchers I have and small cocktail shakers, since you can squeeze the top of it for a better funnel action into the portafilter, more cleanly.

So Tom,

Paul and Craig recommended that the grounds still be stirred in the blind funnel before releasing into the portafilter. Are you saying that you still need to WDT a second time after stirring the grounds in the blind funnel?

Going forward-(on my gear) I'm going to sidestep even using the lower funnel. Here's what it does and doesn't do for me (again, on my gear):

Does:
1) It gets the grinds cleanly into the portafilter with no mess at all.
2) It looks like a cool and novel way to do so.

Doesn't:
1) Help at all with evenness of distribution (it still needs to be stirred with a whisk or wire or both)

Again, this is on a E61 and a Cremina. It doesn't cover every machine on the market, but the very consistent theme so far is if you don't get the grounds mixed up evenly some way, you'll end up with very significantly channeled shots. I wouldn't care if it were only minor cosmetic distractions, but there's visible dry closed holes in the bottom of the basket meanwhile at the same time, grossly blonde areas, so I know the shots are junk, and those ones went into the sink.

And, circling back, it's a no brainer for me to say, the shots I've pulled today on my Duetto are matching the finest I've ever pulled on it or better. I picked up a bag of Sweet Tooth Espresso from Ritual today that is right at it's prime. My Duetto pulled a better shot than the shot they served me when I bought it today.

All throughout this, I felt that if there were a way to avoid the WDT, this grinder would be a 10 out of 10. Zero waste, zero stale coffee, titan grind and damn near indestructible, and all this, quicker than the tap and bang and brush needed on it's bigger electric relatives, make it one hell of a fine tool.

And yes, I still do the RDT for the static and the fact that it certainly leaves the grinder cleaner.
I'm hoping someone who gets the HG-One who also has another Titan class grinder will do a youtube video of two people measuring, grinding, dosing (and verifying dose) two simultaneous shots and see who pulls a great shot quicker and easier. It's pretty obvious to me which one would win.

I picked up a bag of Sweet Tooth Espresso from Ritual today that is right at it's prime. My Duetto pulled a better shot than the shot they served me when I bought it today.

I'm not certain that is the mark that you're shooting for. I'm no tasting expert, but I usually pull better shots with my antique hand grinders that I get a the cafes.

But the HG one really does sound like a winner. In terms of both grind quality and efficiency it sounds like it ought to rival the best. It's also good that you got the dosing problem solved. If you tire of the aesthetics of a paper cup you could look for a small wooden container. My experience with the old hand grinders is that the wooden drawers work quite well to eliminate any clumping.

I've been using the RDT ever since I first read about it - now I have zero static under all conditions (I occasionally had a little before that needed to be decharged with a metal spoon). I've noticed that it does leave a little moisture in the hopper though, so it is worth monitoring for rust. I've not seen any on my grinders.

It's a great day for hand grinding!
PC

TomC wrote:[cut]

Again, this is on a E61 and a Cremina. It doesn't cover every machine on the market, but the very consistent theme so far is if you don't get the grounds mixed up evenly some way, you'll end up with very significantly channeled shots. I wouldn't care if it were only minor cosmetic distractions, but there's visible dry closed holes in the bottom of the basket meanwhile at the same time, grossly blonde areas, so I know the shots are junk, and those ones went into the sink.

This confirms something I've noticed on a prototype of a different custom built machine with 71mm conical burrs, grinding straight into a basket caused rather disastrous extractions. Same grind setting was giving good shots when doing WDT and mixing the grinds before putting them in the basket. I think there's a minimum speed below which the fines distribution straight from the burrs is not perfect. This might also explain the construction of most of the grinders on the market, majority of them have some sort of mixing method, being either a doser, a burr chamber, a mesh for slowing down grinds etc.

Regards,
dsc.