I'm another happy user of the PL53, which I've had for a little over a month. Like many others I noticed a fluctuation in motor speed depending not only on the weight of the beans in the hopper, but also the amount of oil on the beans. My recent reference beans are Dolce and Vita from Vivace, which both have minute traces of surface oil.

I modified a plastic funnel I had in the kitchen to fit snugly into the hopper. The fit worked out perfectly. The hole at the bottom of the funnel is nearly the exact diameter as the top opening of the grind chamber, and the upper diameter of the funnel is a snug fit into the existing hopper, about 1" down from the top of the hopper.

I had high hopes for this mod, but was let down. The funnel improved the consistency of the motor speed a little, but did not completely solve the problem. The motor still 'runs away' once or twice while grinding a shot. Especially with Vivace beans.

I experimented with stirring the beans in the hopper during the grind, and voila, problem solved! I stir with the wood handled teasing needle I use for WDT. I put the tip of the needle very close to the mouth of the grind chamber and stir in small circles, a little smaller than diameter of the grind chamber. Doing so makes the grind (and motor speed) much more consistent.

I have not tried this technique without the funnel in place, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work just as well.



[update]
I've done some additional experimentation and found that stirring during the grind (I've only tried it with the funnel) eliminates the motor speed fluctuation, but the amount of beans in the hopper still has a noticeable affect on the fluffiness of the grind. More beans = less fluffy. Fewer beans = more fluffy. The good news is it is consistent!

Hum, could this 'feature' allow you to fine tune the fluffiness of your grind?

So a few months in, I'm still very happy with this grinder. I've only been adding the beans that I need for each shot and I grind into the PF with a WDT yogurt cup inserted (hold the PF in one hand and press the button with the other). After the beans are done popcorning around I also knock on the spout (same motion as knocking on a door) to get the last of the grounds out.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with this grinder's size, quality, and adjustability. For the occasional Aeropress or French Press cup I still have my travel hand grinder, but I wanted to mention a feature idea that is most likely not feasible at all:

Could there be a way (in future versions) to allow an option to disengage the worm drive and turn the hopper by hand (with the worm gear re-engaged before grinding) so that it would be easy to move from the espresso range to other brewing methods without 100 turns of the knob, or would this take away the stability needed to keep a consistent grind while the motor is running and shaking things around?

This was purely hypothetical. There must be a reason why the stepless grinders that I know of do not have this, and such a feature would probably add to the size of this quite compact machine. To reiterate, I am VERY happy with this grinder as it is EXACTLY what I need. Thanks, 1st-Line!

3mo and still very happy, Rocky just got ebayed.

just spoke with Andrew at 1st-line, these are out of stock for ~2 months.

Anybody know of another source for these?

I've just purchased an entry-level Saeco Aroma machine, and am looking to buy my first burr-type grinder (will be used almost exclusively for espresso). The PL53 sounds like the best combination of price/performance, or?

thanks!
Kurt

Nurburgringer wrote:just spoke with Andrew at 1st-line, these are out of stock for ~2 months.

Anybody know of another source for these?

I've just purchased an entry-level Saeco Aroma machine, and am looking to buy my first burr-type grinder (will be used almost exclusively for espresso). The PL53 sounds like the best combination of price/performance, or?

thanks!
Kurt

Kurt,

Just to make you aware, we are the importer. Unfortunately, no one has them in stock in the USA.

thanks Jim, hopefully you'll let us know here when more are available.

I've got a line on a used PL53, but in the meantime have bought a Starbucks Barista off Ebay to play around with.
cheers
Kurt

Nurburgringer wrote:thanks Jim, hopefully you'll let us know here when more are available.

I've got a line on a used PL53, but in the meantime have bought a Starbucks Barista off Ebay to play around with.
cheers
Kurt

Will post here when more come in. Right now, we are accepting back orders at the current price. Due to Euro exchange rate, there is a high possibility the selling price will increase. Just a heads up!

So it has been a while, do you have any idea when you'll be getting more in?

Also, do I still need to order now to get the current price?

Best ETA right now is July 15. Our container keeps on getting pushed back due to the Vibiemme order being delayed and which is to be a part of the sea container.

Pushed back to August 15-Septemeber 1st for the same reason.

It is a Lelit product designed by 1st-line for the North American marketplace.

Jim - Is it still looking like mid August for best hope for this grinder? I have my first espresso machine coming in about a month, a new Salvatore One Black, and would be interested in pairing the PL53 with it as an espresso only grinder.

Thanks!

I too would like word on when this grinder can be expected to be restocked. Need a new grinder and of those that I've seen this seems like the best fit for me. But of course, they can not be had for any amount of money it seems.

Good news. I just got reply from the 1st-line on my query today, it says they are on the boat and will be arrive the 1st week of September. I ordered it 2.5 months ago and pretty much tired of waiting.

Too late I fear, couldn't deal with store ground beans anymore and ordered an Ascaso i1. Ah well.

Dan, I just found this review you made on the PL53 and noticed that you moved all your equipment from your kitchen to your home office. Do you or have you ever put a photo of your set up on line that I could see?
I am getting a new machine soon and need to remodel kitchen or move to my office and get counters etc. there. Would like to know more about your set up.
Wendell

Noise level - I owned a Solis Maestro and remember it whined loudly. Thankfully the PL53 is nothing like it. The PL53 is louder than the Mazzer Mini, but still within reason. Its sound and noise level reminds me of our food processor, if that helps. I've moved all my equipment out of the kitchen into my home office. The outlets are a foot off the floor instead of the countertop backsplash like the kitchen's, which brings up a minor point: The PL53's cord is approximately two feet long... not enough in my case. The Mazzer grinder's cord is almost twice as long. Oh well, it gives me the excuse to mount an outlet strip/surge protector.

chaelim wrote:Good news. I just got reply from the 1st-line on my query today, it says they are on the boat and will be arrive the 1st week of September. I ordered it 2.5 months ago and pretty much tired of waiting.

Boat is scheduled to port Monday, Sept 8th. We hope to have shortly after that - unless Customs decides to add additional delays on top of their current one. Boat was supposed to arrive this past Labor day.

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

One thing that can help is a vinyl bumper. The 1/2-inch size is flat, self-adhesive, and significantly less slippery than the button.

I wasn't having any problems with the shape of the button but then it dawned on me that that the vinyl bumper was the perfect way to extend the throw for the small 45mm PV lusso portafilter. I had both sizes of bumper out in the shop and viola; no more pushing the button with a ground covered thumb as I rotate the basket with my ground covered fingers. I see on another thread that the PV may have been your inspiration. Thanks for the tip.

Scott