Baratza Vario Super Alignment owner experience - Page 7

October 9th, 2019, 10:32 pm

mlunsford27 wrote:Just read through this thread and considering getting a Vario. Has anyone spent further time using the steel burrs for espresso with an aligned grinder?

Yes (not me but my buddy). He said that combo does better brew than his Monolith.

-Peter

#62: Post by **Jake_G** » October 9th, 2019, 10:46 pm

I'll be crossing that road soon.

The ceramic burrs are very good, so I've been enjoying them. Steels are next.

Cheers!

- Jake

October 9th, 2019, 10:49 pm

I keep telling people not to be too quick to overlook this grinder...

-Peter

#64: Post by **Jake_G** » October 9th, 2019, 10:55 pm

It would be a mistake to overlook the Vario as a solid workhorse grinder if it is aligned. It's easy to check (if it's good, use it!) and it's easy to correct if it's out of alignment.

The single dosing workflow with the small hopper is very good. I dose into a 14g Faema style ridgeless basket, puff a spurt of wet steam into a blank basket and cap it on the dose so I can shake for RDT, dump the beans in and overturn the basket on the center bullet of the hopper. I always get out what I put in and switching between light and dark shows that there is maybe 0.2g of exchange between doses. It's just a really good grinder...

Cheers!

- Jake

#65: Post by **Quester** » October 9th, 2019, 11:07 pm

mlunsford27 wrote:Just read through this thread and considering getting a Vario. Has anyone spent further time using the steel burrs for espresso with an aligned grinder?

I have the steel burrs in my Forte BG. Almost as good as my EG-1.

#66: Post by **ob3calp** » October 10th, 2019, 2:36 am

Any one with a bone stock (i.e., plastic lower burr carrier) Vario have success this the alignment method?
I've tried twice and not quite getting the ideal alignment with the marker method.

October 10th, 2019, 2:38 pm

What burrs were you using? The underside of the Ditting steel brew burrs has a lip around the outer circumference such that if you tighten the screws too tight, you warp the burrs. I have never used the steels myself because I don't drink much brew, but a friend of mine is a serious brew drinker and he had someone make a spacer (about the thickness of a driver's license or credit card), as added insurance against warpage.

This does not apply to the Mahlkoenig ceramic burrs as they are completely flat on their undersides.

-Peter

#68: Post by **ob3calp** » October 10th, 2019, 11:45 pm

The back of the burr in the picture is mounted towards the back of the grinder. Doesn't look like the burr being bent from the screws depressing.

This is after the second attempt, where I was careful to pre-tension the belt before tightening the lower carrier. When I rotated the burr by hand (before reassembly), the burrs seem to be well aligned. But after reassembly and with the motor driving, the burrs touch as shown in the photo.

I might give it another try, but I'm not too optimistic.

October 11th, 2019, 12:22 am

Out of ideas. You may be a good candidate for the metal conversion like mine has, which we are told is only $30 in parts.

-Peter

#70: Post by **Jake_G** » October 11th, 2019, 12:52 am

If the marker is in the back and its clean in the front, you probably just have a little too much belt tension. It's a relatively fine balance and I take for granted how I'm using feedback from how stuff feels to get it right. It's very similar to how one develops a feel for using feeler gauges, but completely different

Before you pull it all apart, I'd just loosen the belt a tad. Basically I loosen the bolt in the slotted hole and apply just enough tension that the belt isn't sloppy. I also hooked up the motor to a drill battery so I could check the alignment before assembling again.

All this said, I haven't tried this with the plastic chamber, so it's hard to know whether or not that's an issue. It's certainly a concern relative to rigidity, but I'd think you could get a good alignment dry running it.

Good luck!

- Jake