Acaia Lunar worth the cost?? - Page 3
- lancealot
- Posts: 1141
- Joined: 7 years ago
The silver looks real good with your machine.
If you are interested, you can buy little rubber USB port covers on Amazon. Someone posted a link to them within one of the other Lunar threads.
If you are interested, you can buy little rubber USB port covers on Amazon. Someone posted a link to them within one of the other Lunar threads.
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- Posts: 276
- Joined: 6 years ago
Apparently there's a lunar base that protects the scale. (Found out via the buy/sell forum). I can't find anyone other than Acai that sells it, but $15 shipping for a $40 item doesn't sit well.
- DJL (original poster)
- Posts: 183
- Joined: 14 years ago
Yes, I saw a reference to this in a previous post. But thinking Acaia should include this cover for the USB port with their expensive scale. Probably only pennies to manufacture...lancealot wrote:The silver looks real good with your machine.
If you are interested, you can buy little rubber USB port covers on Amazon. Someone posted a link to them within one of the other Lunar threads.
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- Posts: 85
- Joined: 5 years ago
I think it's worth it but it is a bit on the pricey side. That being said, it's a quality product and most high end quality built products are rather costly.
I used to gauge output by volume but was told by several veterans on here that using weight based measurements would be better. They were right! My drinks are very, very consistent now.
I thought about getting a cheaper scale but then just figured why not get one that will work great and last. Only gripe I have is to be honest I kinda wish it had a physical, tactile on/off button. To turn off you have to tap quickly twice but sometimes it doesn't register as such. Not often, and it improves as I get used to it but if I had to be nitpicky that's what I would do it about. That being said, I would buy it again in a heartbeat now that I've been using it for a while. Here is the video I just did making my new favorite latte and i'm using the Lunar Scale in the video:
I used to gauge output by volume but was told by several veterans on here that using weight based measurements would be better. They were right! My drinks are very, very consistent now.
I thought about getting a cheaper scale but then just figured why not get one that will work great and last. Only gripe I have is to be honest I kinda wish it had a physical, tactile on/off button. To turn off you have to tap quickly twice but sometimes it doesn't register as such. Not often, and it improves as I get used to it but if I had to be nitpicky that's what I would do it about. That being said, I would buy it again in a heartbeat now that I've been using it for a while. Here is the video I just did making my new favorite latte and i'm using the Lunar Scale in the video:
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- Posts: 458
- Joined: 17 years ago
Yes, the Lunar is quite expensive. However if it's like mine the initial price has been a fading memory. The Lunar is one of my coveted items after using it daily for several years with no problems whatsoever. The only thing I have done is place a small piece of tape over the cover of the charging connection. It's in a place where water could enter if not protected. May not even be an issue but the tape, in my mind, has done its job. My wife inadvertently dropped mine when cleaning around the machine. She came into my office with a sad look on her face and said she had dropped it and would replace it if it was broken. It wasn't and I'm still using it. The drop was about 5 feet onto the tiled floor. Looking back over the years I have bought many cheap and less expensive digital scales. Always kept a spare on hand to use when they died and all of them did after awhile. I would suggest that you keep it.
Good luck!
Good luck!
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- Posts: 79
- Joined: 5 years ago
I also would want to say that the Lunar is worth keeping. I made a gigantic error in pour and then with an unsteady hand managed to spill a good portion of a cappuccino all over my workspace, which included my Acaia. It was so bad it actually stopped being able to turn on or off. Opening it up (which took only a few seconds), I managed to clean up the board using some 90%+ alcohol and a few Q tips, and got it back up and working normally within about 5 minutes.
While I'll never make that mistake again, I realized that a cheaper scale may have shorted out or become totally nonfunctional with the amount of milk and coffee that made it's way into the innards of the Acaia. Plus, it looks better aesthetically than nearly any other scale I can think of with my LM. I don't use any apps, just the timer and weigh functions which I toggle manually. A hefty price tag, but I subscribe to the "buy once, cry once" mentality and I know that quality can cost a lot up front.
While I'll never make that mistake again, I realized that a cheaper scale may have shorted out or become totally nonfunctional with the amount of milk and coffee that made it's way into the innards of the Acaia. Plus, it looks better aesthetically than nearly any other scale I can think of with my LM. I don't use any apps, just the timer and weigh functions which I toggle manually. A hefty price tag, but I subscribe to the "buy once, cry once" mentality and I know that quality can cost a lot up front.
- DJL (original poster)
- Posts: 183
- Joined: 14 years ago
I've had the Lunar for a few days now and see the appeal. I also installed the Coffee Sensor thermostat on my QM Andreja which is helping me home in on ideal brew temp. Even with cooling flush I was extracting a few degrees too hot prior to getting the sensor. With current beans even a slight change in temp I notice improved flavour (sweeter, less bitter) brewing at 93c down from first pulls which were around 97c. So the sensor device coupled with the Lunar my shots are way better.
I'm also using a cheap digital food scale (on right of machine in pic below) that is wider for weighing my portafilter and dose.
The profile feature on the Acaia Brewmaster app is interesting, but find the app a little buggy, E.g., unstable bluetooth connection. Dont see any way to sync the app on my iPhone to my iPad
I'm also using a cheap digital food scale (on right of machine in pic below) that is wider for weighing my portafilter and dose.
The profile feature on the Acaia Brewmaster app is interesting, but find the app a little buggy, E.g., unstable bluetooth connection. Dont see any way to sync the app on my iPhone to my iPad
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- Posts: 4030
- Joined: 15 years ago
My scale (not an AL) also has a conformal coated board that allows me to rinse it under the sink. It came with a plug for the USB port, but I lost it years ago and I don't even bother with a piece of tape. It's lasted for years, only needs charging once a year (I do it about every six months anyway). It's a scale. It's durable. It does its job. That's all I ask of it. Since we are talking about price, it is about a third the price of the AL.Nik wrote:Yes, the Lunar is quite expensive. However if it's like mine the initial price has been a fading memory. The Lunar is one of my coveted items after using it daily for several years with no problems whatsoever. The only thing I have done is place a small piece of tape over the cover of the charging connection.
There are other espresso scales with conformal coated boards for about a third the price. Maybe less, but I haven't dug around enough to find out.txxt wrote:While I'll never make that mistake again, I realized that a cheaper scale may have shorted out or become totally nonfunctional with the amount of milk and coffee that made it's way into the innards of the Acaia.
This is it in a nutshell. Subjective though it may be, if this is the case, then there really is no other option, and THAT makes it worth the cost.txxt wrote:Plus, it looks better aesthetically than nearly any other scale I can think of with my LM.
Great advice when possible. But a very slippery slope. It does not account for technological advancement, changing fashion sense and exclusivity, (thrift stores and the homes of wealthy seniors are littered with the best furniture money can buy... that is hopelessly out of fashion and can't be given away), changing priorities, (What if someone with a machine with little or no pre infusion and no flow control decides later on in his espresso journey that he wants those things?)txxt wrote:A hefty price tag, but I subscribe to the "buy once, cry once" mentality and I know that quality can cost a lot up front.
Your (or anybody's) best justification for the price of the AL is that you like the way it looks with your setup and it brings pride and joy in ownership. There's a reason people list them in their HB bio's under equipment owned.
-Peter
LMWDP #553
- DJL (original poster)
- Posts: 183
- Joined: 14 years ago
- pizzaman383
- Supporter ❤
- Posts: 1733
- Joined: 13 years ago
I have tried a handful of scales and the two most important things to me are speed of response and fit in the drip tray. I have the brewista 2 and it is just too slow. I have a hario that is very fast that is my current favorite. The Lunar is calling to me but I have to wait until the brewista is a little older before I replace it. I am kind of waiting for a v2 Lunar to be released.
Curtis
LMWDP #551
“Taste every shot before adding milk!”
LMWDP #551
“Taste every shot before adding milk!”