IMAWriter wrote:I had mentioned SUB $500. I don't believe, unless those Titan grinders are having a collective SALE, they qualify.
Besides, those are ESPRESSO grinders. For drip/vac, better off with a Baratza vario/Forte, or even a preciso...which has been used in brewing competitions.

LOL yeah I wasn't referring to your post, but the behaviour of grinding in general.

Ha...my bad. As to grind fineness, I think some consideration has to be given to WHICH apparatus is being used. Traditional "syphons"..those used OFF the stove with some sort of alcohol, etc burner often have differing filter systems, which ALSO must be considered from a grind fineness standpoint.
Vac Pots...those generally used on a stove top also have varying types of filters...cloth, nylon..or in the case of the older ones like Cory/Silex, glass filters were usually employed. The Yama I own (among others) LOVES both my Cory and Silex glass filters...NEVER a stalled pot...and Likes a medium grind. Due to the 2-3 minutes up north, I see ZERO reason to grind any finer than an electric drip style (Brazen/Bonavita/etc).
Her's a very nice read by someone who obviously loves this brewing style:
https://baharris.org/coffee/VintagePots.htm

I've been going through my coffee toys, and pulled down the Cona D that's been in the cupboard. Read through this thread in it's entirely, and have a question for more veteran users:

If you have gone to a butane or radiant burner, which one are you using?

This is a great fit with the Cona models A-D:

B302 Micro Burner Professional Grade Micro Torch Tool Butane Welding https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027ZGX6G/re ... jBbPSVG4DH

But this one plays better with Japanese-style siphons (if you ever envision adding to you siphon collection):

https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/yama/bn-1

As far as I know, the halogen heaters don't work with with the Cona.

Thanx much!!!

sosha wrote:I've been going through my coffee toys, and pulled down the Cona D that's been in the cupboard. Read through this thread in it's entirely, and have a question for more veteran users:

If you have gone to a butane or radiant burner, which one are you using?

I haven't found any butane heater that will fit under modern Conas without raising the stand on an additional plinth (which I think you can probably still buy from eastsideloco ?)

The original proper Cona electric radiant coil type heaters - which fit exactly in the stand recess in place of the spirit burner - work well though, provided you take into account the residual heat and turn off the power at the right point (or remove the heater altogether). Cona recommends to switch off when half the water has risen to the top globe.

I used to keep an inventory of glass rods to sell at cost for members of a forum. Now I have whittled them down.
I have a couple that even Harris doesn't have.

I will take a shot of them and get them posted. I don't have any Conas because they are unique and fit only their rigs.

I ONLY use my glass rods, and have never been disappointed.

keepitsimple wrote:I haven't found any butane heater that will fit under modern Conas without raising the stand on an additional plinth (which I think you can probably still buy from eastsideloco?)

Right. The simple hack is to get an affordable new or used cutting board and use a hole saw to punch an opening for the butane burner. As long as the cutting board is roughly 3/4" to 1" thick, you'll have room to add the butane burner.

I've been prioritizing some house projects and finding a long-term workshop space over building brew boards for the CoffeeBOS shop on Etsy. So I don't have anything there for Cona vacuum coffee makers right now. If someone is interested in buying a brew board, send me a DM. I'm working with my buddy Aldo on a bedroom storage surround (built in wardrobes, drawers, storage bed platform, side tables, headboard, etc.) We might be able to knock out a quick batch of brew boards at Aldo's shop.

Binary temperature control with the Cona spirit lamp or electric heating element is the brewer's Achilles heel. The build quality and aesthetics of these brewers are top notch. (You won't hear any stories about these brewers imploding during draw down.) But baristas need better controls than heat on/off.

I normally use either a size "B" or a Rex. The Rex has an inbuilt electric heater anyway (apart from the 4 French spirit versions I seem to have accumulated as well....)

I generally use the electric heaters with all sizes of Conas. They aren't really binary on/off as they have significant latency. You need to figure when to switch them off so that the brew "coasts" properly with the residual heat, which can be a bit tricky especially with the "A" size.

A further neat heating option for A/B/C/D models is that the alcohol gel type chafing burners fit perfectly in the base.

I could fit a butane heater under an A or a B without modification or anything extra by using a C/D stand, but haven't ever bothered.

Checking his/her location, an issue for Sosha anyway would be voltage, as almost all Cona heaters are 230v apart from very few 100/110v French manufactured brewers (I've only ever seen one - almost all French manufactured Conas have spirit lamps and, for some reason, cloth filters).

Agree they are high build quality and great retro aesthetics, the Rex models in particular. Sadly only the D size now available new.