Bunnzilla for Dummies - Bunn LPG upgrade to Ditting 804 burrs

#1: Post by **Marshall_S** » March 4th, 2014, 12:08 am

I've owned a Bunn LPG for some time and I've always been interested in upgrading the burrs with the Ditting 804s.

Not being a handy/mechanical person, I held off because of the spacer. I simply was not confident in being able to find a machinist and have him make something for me I couldn't visualize and didn't quite understand.

As many of you know, Steve, from Mill City Roasters, recently made up the spacer and has now offered them through his website for a very reasonable price:

http://millcityroasters.com/shop/coffee ... -aluminum/

I jumped on his offer and, at his suggestion, ordered the burrs from Ditting and had them sent to Steve for the final step.

Within just a few days, the burrs arrived with the spacer in place on the top burr.

I can tell you it is an absolutely perfect fit. The spacer is snug and fits perfectly in the Bunn. The swap out itself was relatively easy and I could't be happier with my new Bunnzilla.

#2: Post by **happycat** » March 4th, 2014, 7:17 pm

Thanks for sharing this.

Some other data points for people who might be considering this...

Ditting quoted me CDN$360 for a set of burrs (excl tax and shipping) before our dollar took a hit

Ditting sells reconditioned grinders... The KF804 is half price reconditioned right now ($1200) So it's worth crunching all the numbers (bunn price, burr price, machined part price, shipping all ways, etc.) to see if it works in a particular case.... Probably mostly depending on what you pay for your bunn

#3: Post by **redpig** » March 4th, 2014, 11:23 pm

The decision may be different in Canada than the US just because of availability too. Stateside, a viable Bunn should be <$200 USD with shipping on ebay (based on my recent trolling). With the burrs and Steve's spacer, it comes out to +$400USD, bringing a reasonable upper bound around $600 USD if you're willing to chance it used.

That said, what interests me in the Bunzilla is the vertical drop from the burrs which is harder to get from the Dittings (only the KS from what I can tell). As bonus points, a cheaper Bunn leaves me less afraid to mess up the frame/"attack with a dremel"/etc. I'd be nervous to chop down a Ditting since it'd be costly to replace :/

(Edit: Also, thanks for sharing!

)

#4: Post by **redpig** » March 8th, 2014, 11:52 pm

Fits perfectly. Thanks, Steve!

#5: Post by **bostonbuzz** » March 10th, 2014, 6:52 pm

Is there enough metal in the burr carrier to machine it out to accept a certain set of 98mm burrs, or would a new one have to be created? I'm thinking of picking up a used one if I can get an amazing price, dumping the casing, building a stand and tossing in some Malhkonigs.

March 10th, 2014, 8:43 pm

I will check in a little bit. If you only machined the moving carrier, it maxes at 90mm if you cut off the sweeper pieces. I bet there is 4 mm more radius in the casing, but I can't promise.

#7: Post by **redpig** » March 10th, 2014, 11:04 pm

It looks like the thinnest edge is 6mm. I spaced and didn't measure the full inner diameter, but I'll try to remember when I pull it apart next (tomorrow likely).

#8: Post by **bostonbuzz** » March 11th, 2014, 10:37 am

Sounds possible, albeit a bit tight. There is a slight horsepower issue as well, but I'm guessing that wouldn't be a big issue in practice (only guessing).

#9: Post by **drgary** » March 18th, 2014, 8:01 pm

I'm now on board for this. Picked up a Bunn LPG locally in pretty good condition for under $100.

I've ordered a replacement hopper. Then I took a deep breath and ordered the Ditting 804 burrs ($320 plus shipping from Ditting USA) and had them shipped to Steve. Within half a week they were sitting on my keyboard with his adaptor attached to one of them.

Now I need some time to take apart the Bunn, clean it and install these. Next I'd like to figure out a better feed mechanism and popcorn stopper. I may get a PVC pipe slightly larger than the motor housing and find a way to hold it down in there. This could happen after my move next month, though.

March 18th, 2014, 9:10 pm

drgary wrote:I'm now on board for this. Picked up a Bunn LPG locally in pretty good condition for under $100.

I've ordered a replacement hopper. Then I took a deep breath and ordered the Ditting 804 burrs ($320 plus shipping from Ditting USA) ...

Sweet! Can I ask you do a taste test vs the Lido 2 -- whenever you finish your Bunnzilla that is