jasonmolinari wrote:I've had my Vario for about a month or 2 now, and i've put about 4 or so lbs through it.
I've already had to recalibrate it 3 times. IS that normal?

It is not normal, I have not touched mine since I calibrated it whenever this thread started (over a year now I think). I have probably put 20 pounds through. I would give support a call.

Peppersass wrote:Marshall, I'm afraid your comments don't apply to the Baratza Vario, which has a unique calibration system that sometimes requires adjustment. In this case, calibration does not mean aligning the grind setting numbers with a particular degree of fineness. Rather, it means adjusting the range of the grinder so that it's capable of grinding fine enough for espresso.

That would be my reason "1" above. Years ago I used one of the earlier Baratza grinders for espresso, and alt.coffee had very useful instructions for changing the grind range toward the finer side.

I don't think of that as calibrating, though. I was addressing people who can't sleep at night because their dial doesn't read "0" when the burrs touch.

ddr wrote:It is not normal, I have not touched mine since I calibrated it whenever this thread started (over a year now I think). I have probably put 20 pounds through. I would give support a call.

thanks...i'll shoot kyle an email

I'm about to recalibrate for the second time. The grinds look finer than from my Zassenhaus, but the shots flow too quickly and blond with resultant sub-par flavors even at the top of macro and micro settings. Even significantly updosing as compared to the Zassenhaus. I theorize that the Zassie produces more fines and therefore slows the flow more whereas the BV has a tighter grind distribution. I have yet to choke either the Pavoni or the Cafethema with this grinder. I will switch from fresh roasted Zoka Paladino to Doma Primo after today. The darker roast of the Doma may choke at this fineness.

I have a Vario without the secondary 2mm screw, just the 2.5mm one. I noodled with it a couple days ago without properly reading the step by step so I think I will give it another go. I was actually hoping it might have some effect on a secondary issue where the micro arm likes to fall down a few click once the grinder is turned on. This only happens when the macro arm is quite high (tight). Anyone else have this problem?

nixter, contact baratza. they will send a small insert to address the arms moving while grinding.

A few days ago I needed to make a press pot for some guests, so I set my vario to press pot position and made the coffee like usual. When changing back to espresso however, coffee was spraying everywhere and the grind was way too coarse. No amount of adjustment to the macro or micro levers helped. Time to get familiar with the calibration screws.

I guess after over a year of daily use the screw had loosened somehow. I could move the screw and the metal component it's attached to around with my finger. This didn't seem right, and I was worried something might have broken. I had no idea which position it was supposed to be in, so I just moved the screw inward towards the machine, until everything felt like it was firmly in place again and tightened the screw. Then I used the secondary calibration screw to fine tune. This was actually really easy, and it didn't take me long to get my machine back to the exact same settings I'm used to.

I'm really glad I found this thread, otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do.