My CMH is on a digital timer. I set it for 8-9 seconds for a 19-21g double, depending on the fineness of the grind. This assumes the hopper is properly loaded, as it was designed to be used (no less than 3-5 doubles' worth). Occasionally a grind will take 7-1/2 seconds, never 10.

Loading one drink at a time could take a minute or two of pulsing to get all the popcorning beans through their long grinding path and would also deliver a notably inferior shot.

I grind with half a bag of beans in the grinder, but count in my head. Come to think of it, though, I was always feared for having the fastest 5-mississippi rush on the playground.

Bex wrote:Hi rob - I turn my CMH on and count to 11 seconds, turn it off. That tends to fill the PF with grinds (but not overfill it too much, so little waste). Level, tamp, pull.

7.5 seconds would grind enough for a single, but not a double.

I'm coming from an MDF, that took 25-30 seconds to grind enough for a double, so this is like driving on the autobahn for me.

LOL
Ya know, having that bit of "stretch", may make it easier to get close...7.5-8 seconds can get by quickly...truth is, espresso at home is a bit of a wasteful, messy business....but when it's right....well worth it.

I definitely feel that grinding *too* fast is somewhat of a negative. My Major grinds a 15 gram double in about 4 +/- seconds. It's nearly impossible to put that directly into the basket without spraying a bit over the sides. But by contrast, with the stock doser I was grinding 9 seconds for a double and wasting the rest because of the poor doser design (poor design for home use, which it clearly states in the paperwork that it's a capital offense to do so!).

While it's evident that the better grinds come from these relatively large grinders, it's likely that the slower-rotating conicals would be a bit more mannerly for home use in addition to the purported superior grind quality. Anyone know how fast the M7KR will grind 15 grams? That's 68mm X 400 RPM, and I would think it would be very modest output-wise. I'm beginning to think that anything doserless that grinds a double faster than about 8 seconds is going to be fairly messy no matter how you try and harness it.

Cheers,

Brad

Brad...i wasn't interested in a doserless...my SJ has a doser, with the usual modification to the sweeper blades...I used the rubber side of velcro strips as opposed to electrical tape, etc.

Rob... I realized that, and that some people prefer the doser over doserless. I was just expanding on the "wasteful, messy" phrase you used, and I feel it's somewhat proportional to the output of the grinder. More wasteful for a doser model, more messy for a doserless model.

Cheers,

Brad

Marshall wrote:My CMH is on a digital timer. I set it for 8-9 seconds for a 19-21g double, depending on the fineness of the grind.

I agree with the approx 8 seconds for a double. Marshall, Can you post a link to where I can get the digital timer you're using? I love that idea!

PhillySteve wrote:I agree with the approx 8 seconds for a double. Marshall, Can you post a link to where I can get the digital timer you're using? I love that idea!

It's a commercial kitchen model that Waring made for blenders. They seem to have discontinued it since they started making blenders with built-in timers. I hear some people use darkroom timers, although they are pricey and not as simple to wipe off.

Marshall wrote:It's a commercial kitchen model that Waring made for blenders. They seem to have discontinued it since they started making blenders with built-in timers. I hear some people use darkroom timers, although they are pricey and not as simple to wipe off.

Darn! If you have a model numer, I'd like to try and dig something up. What I'd love to do is mod the Max Hybrid and build a timer into it. The case doesn't seem too difficult to cut a window into. I'm just at a loss as to finding the right hardware.

PhillySteve wrote:Darn! If you have a model numer, I'd like to try and dig something up. What I'd love to do is mod the Max Hybrid and build a timer into it. The case doesn't seem too difficult to cut a window into. I'm just at a loss as to finding the right hardware.

FWIW, here's where I originally found it on Schomer's site. I have the single-timer Model 32CA83. http://www.espressovivace.com/archives/lucidcafe/LC25.pdf