Le'Lit PL53 Stepless Doserless Espresso Grinder - Page 5

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Java Jones
Posts: 5
Joined: 16 years ago

#41: Post by Java Jones »

cannonfodder wrote:My roommate worked at Taco Bell part time and closed, so we had all the bean burritos we could stand. After a month, we had all we could stand.

I could make ramen noodles into a gourmet meal and was even known to catch a fish or two in a pond by campus and cook them over an open fire, but I like that kind of thing.

When I started in the IT field the information super highway was a two lane dirt road.

Fyi, when I started college, ATM was an asynchronous transfer mode and you got cash from the lady behind the counter.
-- I gotcha beat. Lasagna noodles and I managed a tomato sauce from the catsup packets in the student union building. Local gardeners would set out excess produce on the sidewalk, and there were a couple fruit trees in the campus married housing properties that were good for apples and plums. Not an all the time impoverishment, but there was that summer when the VA lost my checks.

ntwkgestapo
Posts: 293
Joined: 18 years ago

#42: Post by ntwkgestapo »

I goofed the other night when I was trying to get the doser spout off and moved the grind adjustment without noticing how many turns I'd moved it! SOOOO, I decided to see just how adjustable this machine was! I cranked the knob with the motor running until I JUST heard the sound of the burrs BARELY touching and then started counting back from there in full turns. I'm now 25 turns from burr contact and have JUST started to get into the Moka pot/Vac pot area of the grind! It'd be a tight Moka pot grind and I'd suspect the Vac pot that these grinds went into would make a VERY strong cuppa. I'm gonna give up on finding WHERE drip would be (as that's NOT what I bought this thing for!) and head back to the 'spresso area! Before I do I'll probably grind some onto a white piece of card stock (actually a piece of Bristol board) and take a picture just for reference!
Steve C.
I'm having an out of coffee experience!
LMWDP # 164

Mike Panic
Posts: 106
Joined: 16 years ago

#43: Post by Mike Panic »

Steve - any idea how many turns out from touching i should start for espresso

machine showed up this morning here at work - 4 more hours till im home trying this thing out

as others have said, very small, but i think its going to look really good next to my europiccola

ntwkgestapo
Posts: 293
Joined: 18 years ago

#44: Post by ntwkgestapo »

Mike, When I got mine ALL I did was tighten the grind from where it SAT about 1 full turn and I was golden! Of course, I've foobar'd that NOW! But, I'm gonna TRY to come up with an "Initial adjustment" type of procedure (just a SWAG, each user will have to tweak to match their machine!) over the weekend... Best I can say, is experiment. AND enjoy! I really, really like this grinder (of course if I had space for it, a Cimbali Max Hybrid would be GREAT! :D)
Steve C.
I'm having an out of coffee experience!
LMWDP # 164

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HB
Admin
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Joined: 19 years ago

#45: Post by HB »

I didn't bother zero'ing the grinder. Grind a teaspoon and then pinch the grounds between your fingers; repeat until it feels about right. Out of the box it was set to near Turkish grind. It took a few spins of the adjustment knob to get it into espresso range. The adjustment range is large; move at least one-half turn each time until you're in the ballpark. IIRC, the adjustment between coffees was anywhere from 1/4 to 1-1/2 turn, depending on the bean hardness/moisture content.
Dan Kehn

Mike Panic
Posts: 106
Joined: 16 years ago

#46: Post by Mike Panic »

ok so im thinking i may have received the runt of the litter.

as instructions said, turned in about 2 full turns, attached hopper, put some beans in, start to grind... it barely spits them out... have to take the hopper off, its soo fine the grinder itself is choking.

ok - clean out, turn counter clockwise about 4 turns, same thing, the machine is nearly choking itself.

2 more turns out and ive got fine grinds coming, it takes about 90 seconds to get 11 grams worth.. really fine, tamped, looked like a polished finish

now ill preface this w/ the fact that i've been using a cuisinart in my europiccola for 2 weeks now and not been happy - its been watery, barely any real crema and barely been able to get 10grams in the machine

what happens - machine chokes... ok - figured that would happen.

heres where it gets good - the adjustment knob falls off! i don't have an allen wrench small enough to tighten it back on... so its the good ol' fingers trying to back this thing out. hopefully i have one in my toolbox at my mothers house

let it cool down, get the portafilter out, 2 more turns c-clockwise... grind, try again, same result, machine chokes

repeat - 2 more turns, grind, choke.

at this point, im really frustrated.. i turned it back 8 full turns - again, i have no knob.... pavoni chokes.

frustrated, 8 more full turns back... put 12 grams in the portafilter, tamp the way i have been - by this point i know how far down my tamper needs to go in order to fit the portafilter into the group head... it goes on.

lever up for 10 seconds, down and finally i see a few drips! back up for about 5 seconds to get more water in there... down - a full 28 seconds and some of the finest looking ribbons of espresso come out of the machine and have the most wonderful look in the shot glasses.

tasted amazing.

repeat, 11.5 grams because 12 was a really really hard tamp, prob way more than 30lbs and i turned the 1/2 turn clockwise to help compensate.. results were not as good as the first time, so ive turned it 1/2 turn in again and when my head clears from the 6 or so shots ive had so far tonight, ill try it again, prob going back to 12 grams and tamping hard w/ the now slightly finer grind

all in all it took a little more than 1/4 pound of beans.

my feedback on the grinder:

tighten the adjustment knob!

there needs to be someway that the lil tray attaches to the machine

the button that is depressed by the portafilter needs work - its convexed in shape and rather polished, against chrome it slips all over the place. the metal in front to hold the portafilter is worthless - if i hold my 49mm portafilter down there, i end up with grinds all over my hand, the handle of the portafilter, all over my countertop in front of the grinder, just everywhere. ive started to use a small glass juice cup, grind into that, use a normal coffee scooper to load up my basket while it sits on a digital scale and then load it back into the portafilter to put in the machine.

size is awesome for me. it is within an inch difference in height from my black based europiccola and looks very good sitting next to it - ill be on a photoshoot all day tomorrow and all my gear is packed for it, this weekend i will try to get a photo though. aesthetically speaking, this grinder looks good next to the pavoni and compliments it well. some commercial grinders tower over machines and visa versa, these 2 look like they were meant to be next to each other.

i still think doserless is my preferred grinder, never owning a doser model - especially since im still loading the basket on the scale so i can stay consistent and learn to make the same pull of espresso day in and day out....

all in all - i couldn't be happier i bought a real grinder, beats the crap out of the $50 i was using, and will still use for french press.

im also very happy that i bought new instead of demo or used off ebay, warranties can be a good thing

1st-line is top notch... ordered about 1.25pm EST thursday and by 9am Friday it arrived, that is customer service.

bsalinas
Posts: 29
Joined: 17 years ago

#47: Post by bsalinas »

there needs to be someway that the lil tray attaches to the machine
I actually really like the fact that this isn't attached. I have mine so that the "depression" is facing up (and so it catches grinds in it). It means that in order to clean up the grinder, I can just pick up the tray and toss the grinds into the sink.

1st-line (original poster)
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Posts: 649
Joined: 19 years ago

#48: Post by 1st-line (original poster) »

Mike Panic wrote:ok so im thinking i may have received the runt of the litter....

all in all it took a little more than 1/4 pound of beans.....

my feedback on the grinder:

tighten the adjustment knob!

there needs to be someway that the lil tray attaches to the machine....

1st-line is top notch... ordered about 1.25pm EST thursday and by 9am Friday it arrived, that is customer service.
Thanks for the feedback. Just to set the facts straight.... there are no runts of the litter with Lelit. Depending upon the espresso machine and more importantly, the beans used, the grind could need adjustment of the grind fineness.

We decided that the tray not be attached as an OP stated that it is easier for cleaning.

We do apologize for the knob. Please email me on the email addy on our web site so I can mail you the allen key. We do need you to mail it back as these are hard to find.

We do appreciate the positive feedback on our delivery. However, I personally credit our carriers (the men and women at UPS and FedEx) for their services just as I blame them when they do not deliver on time. In addition, the fast delivery occurred because you were only one day in transit time. West coast customers will take up to 5 business days.

Thank you for your business.

Jim
Jim Piccinich
www.1st-line.com
1st-line Equipment, LLC

Mike Panic
Posts: 106
Joined: 16 years ago

#49: Post by Mike Panic »

Jim

No need to mail one out - I'm fairly certain I have one somewhere.

I have, in the meantime - managed to get the grinder within 1/2 turn depending on beans, exactly where I want it.

Ristretto's out of my europiccola take a good 25-30 seconds w/ 11.5grams in the double filter basket and produce some of the most amazing crema out of any beans I seem to run through it - I am truly happy with it.

Regarding shipping - ups does a fair job - but the fact that it was packaged and ready for them to pickup within 4 hours of the order being placed is a feat unto itself and rare with online vendors anymore, so it is much appreciated

Java Jones
Posts: 5
Joined: 16 years ago

#50: Post by Java Jones »

Mine is slated to arrive Friday, Feb. 1 -- (West Coast).

I'm getting anxious (as contrasted to "eager"). I don't need a portafilter holder under the chute. Am I going to be able to mill beans into a measuring cup?

Coarse grind for press pot? It sounds like about 30 turns from "fine" to something suitable for press pot. Am I going to be able to adjust a half dozen full turns from press pot to moka pot or drip? It sounds like the ultra fine adjustment knob is the weak link in the design. Should be practical to adjust stepless from fine grind to coarse in a turn or two on the knob. A visual setting reference would be nice -- look at the position of the knob and know where the burrs are set.

Still trying to visualize precisely how the portafilter bracket under the chute looks. Between reflections on the stainless and ambiguous references in perspective it's hard to visualize the bracket. It'd be nice if it were removeable. I may just remove mine when the grinder arrives.

How about someone post some simple photos? Nothing fancy, but I'd like to see some views that show what's going on with the portafilter bracket. Photograph it in profile and watch the reflections from the background. Also, you could insert a dark colored card behind the bracket to eliminate reflections.

I'd like to see some more photos.