I really hoped to be free of WDT. At the very least I'll be much happier with the pre-weighed single dosing ( and no retention, also the grind quality. Excited for easier adjustment as well as my mazzer mini collar is a nightmare to make super fine adjustments. Also increased portability compared to the heavy mazzer with delicate hopper.

TomC wrote: "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.

It's a surprising design choice that the burr rotation would set the grinder tighter instead of looser. All electric grinders I know of are designed such that in the event the lock mechanism breaks and the burr mount starts turning, the burrs move away from eachother instead of towards eachother to prevent the grinder from seizing.

I wonder what would happen if you hooked it to a router. Spin that sucker at 28,000 RPM. Grinds a shot in 0.003 seconds, and then catches fire from the friction...

83mm version just arrived, super excited. So excited I almost didn't read the instructions, but good thing I did. Some of the set-up steps were probably a good idea.

Tried to make my first shot, 1.25 turns back from zero almost made my Strega give me an uppercut. Luckily I caught the lever and prevented coffee explosion in my kitchen. My suggestion is to grind a bit and look at the grounds. I ignored them happily easily grinding until the beans were empty!

EspressoForge wrote:83mm version just arrived, super excited. So excited I almost didn't read the instructions, but good thing I did. Some of the set-up steps were probably a good idea. My suggestion is to grind a bit and look at the grounds. I ignored them happily easily grinding until the beans were empty!

So what is your impression of the 83mm? Fairly easy to crank? Have you tried/own a Pharos and how does it compare?

What was your order date if you don't mind me asking? I too ordered a 83mm.

My grinder (ser. # HG83 0014) arrived yesterday 2 days after it was shipped. I set it up yesterday and tried it this morning.. As I started to dial it it seized while i was turning the crank..I FOGOT TO TIGHTEN THE BURR LOCK. I don't think i damaged anything but just goes to show..even after reading of a similar scenario and being warned in the directions I did it anyway!! Murphy's law..I'm posting a warning on the grinder just so I don't do it again..Initial impression.. 1) The grinder with 83mm burrs is easy to turn. I am 71 and have average strength and arthritis for someone my age. 2) I took me 55 sec to get 18gm of coffee out of it. 3) it took me 3 tries to get it dialed in 4) The first dialed in shot I pulled was so good I'm taking the burrs out of my K10 to make sure They're not damaged (stone maybe?) 4) I tried Tom C's method of grinding directly into drinking cup and noticed a lot of grounds sticking to the inside of the cup even after initial application of RDT. I'm nursing this shot as i type this. It is so good !!

Yeah I tried using what I had on hand at first, styrofoam, knowing some static would be an issue, but with a simple paper cup, it's negligible. I don't mind if there's a few hundredths of a gram of dust clinging to the cup, it wont affect the shot.

FotonDrv wrote:So what is your impression of the 83mm? Fairly easy to crank? Have you tried/own a Pharos and how does it compare?

What was your order date if you don't mind me asking? I too ordered a 83mm.

My impressions after only having the second drinkable shot, is that it is a pretty amazing grinder. Before this I've owned various vintage hand-mills, a Kyocera, Mazzer Super Jolly, Baratza Vario, and my most recent a Pharos.

There is something to be said about the un-comparables between grinders. If you only compare the best shot of each, then the last 3 grinders before this I've owned were all the same. If you take into account repeatability, usability and avg shot quality...it was definitely the Pharos, but it's looking like the HG one may knock it out in the usability and avg shot quality... it's just way too early for me to judge that right now.

There's so many things I like about this grinder, I'll try to list a few:

• Build quality - like a rock? anyway there's no doubt it's solid and awesome, everything looks like it's been machined perfectly, even the side cover panels that cover up the gear-box are perfectly recessed and made just for this. Nothing came off the shelf.
• Ease of grind - my petite wife couldn't turn the Pharos, only hope was french roasted beans, and me holding the base, even then it was a turn or two and she was done. This morning she ground my whole 15g shot on the HG-One, and even though it took some effort (our counter it's sitting on is very high at the level of a bar counter) she was able to do it all herself.
• Initial quality - After my first exploding sink shot...the next ultra ristretto was amazing (and after adjustment the 3rd shot I'm enjoying now). It's taken off the slight harshness and bitterness I could never get to go away fully with the Pharos. I'm certain my Pharos needs adjusting, and I've fiddled with it before. But once you get it somewhere, it's more of a "set it and forget it" style of grind adjusting or burr adjustment and because it has a narrow espresso range, if you get close you might as well forget trying to change it. The HG-One is very easy to adjust and has a wide espresso range.
• I feel like an 18th century alchemist with the included distributing devices, they are pretty cool and unique...even though they probably aren't needed, I'm enjoying them anyway.

Negatives:

• Static - Although this plagues every grinder, and depends on the coffee type as well as humidity...it's still here with the HG One. We'll see when it gets out of winter in Houston, probably won't be much of an issue
• Grinding straight into a basket as I had planned doesn't seem all that easy or practical, it just means I'll likely have to do the distribution still myself, but I was hoping somehow the grinder would do it for me.

I'm convinced this is one of the best grinders on the market. It's whisper quiet, built to last forever, requires no electricity (or more importantly, no change from 110 to 220v), makes amazing coffee, and looks awesome. I'm not sure what else I would have wanted, probably something impossible.

Last, my order date was as soon as the pre-orders opened up, I was waiting the countdown refreshing the page (I received number 11).

Andre:

Thanks for the info! The bit about your wife and her ability/desire to turn the Pharos as compared to the HG-One is encouraging.

Static seems to be an issue with all grinders and bean types. Once my heat pump turns on in the winter static increases dramatically and that is en environmental issue not a grinder/bean issue. An in house waterfall next to the air intake should cure that issue

Bob:

Forgetting to tighten the locking knob in the excitement of getting the machine in operation is understandable. I hope you did not do any permanent damage On the upside if you did the burrs change easily

Tom:

Thanks for the paper cup tip. I like the fact that you can squish it into whatever shape you wish.

Judging by the order times and the build serial numbers I probably will be getting mine next month since I was late ordering with a date of 3 Jan.

Thanks all!!

Stephen