While dialing in the grind, I discovered that the 2 cup timer maxes out at 25 seconds, which at my current grind setting gives me 17.2 grams (was trying for 18g as a starting point). I went ahead and tried this dose, which is giving me the target amount of 36 grams of espresso in 30 seconds at 9 bar. So far, so good. While the time required to grind is a lot more than I anticipated, the grinder is surprisingly quiet and is certainly not a big deal. Especially since I can leave the portafilter in the holder unattended without spillage as it slowly fills. The espressos have been quite excellent, at least to this novice.

Compared to Peter's lovely single-dose setup, I've been making do with my decidedly low-tech version. It took 2 minutes with some 60 grit sandpaper I had laying around to slightly reduce the diameter of the included plastic tamper to make it fit, and works well to sit on top of the beans to prevent popcorning:



The manual implies that it is possible to turn off the scrolling stats on the screen by holding down the 1-cup button but nothing happens; I can't get it to work. It would be nice to have the time displayed without the stats if it's possible. Here's a screenshot of the relevent instructions from the website:



Am I missing something obvious? If so, it's probably due to an overdose of espresso!

Dave, Touch C1 and C2 simultaneously. You will hear 4 beeps and STAT will be displayed. Press the C1 button. If it says "on" press C2 to turn it off. Then keep pressing C1 until the time is displayed again.
I found this out by trial and error. The manual is very confusing and obviously wrong.

Thanks! Finally got rid of the stats.

DaveB wrote:While dialing in the grind, I discovered that the 2 cup timer maxes out at 25 seconds, which at my current grind setting gives me 17.2 grams (was trying for 18g as a starting point). I went ahead and tried this dose, which is giving me the target amount of 36 grams of espresso in 30 seconds at 9 bar. So far, so good. While the time required to grind is a lot more than I anticipated, the grinder is surprisingly quiet and is certainly not a big deal. Especially since I can leave the portafilter in the holder unattended without spillage as it slowly fills. The espressos have been quite excellent, at least to this novice.

Compared to Peter's lovely single-dose setup, I've been making do with my decidedly low-tech version. It took 2 minutes with some 60 grit sandpaper I had laying around to slightly reduce the diameter of the included plastic tamper to make it fit, and works well to sit on top of the beans to prevent popcorning:

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The manual implies that it is possible to turn off the scrolling stats on the screen by holding down the 1-cup button but nothing happens; I can't get it to work. It would be nice to have the time displayed without the stats if it's possible. Here's a screenshot of the relevent instructions from the website:

<image>

Am I missing something obvious? If so, it's probably due to an overdose of espresso!

Strange that you have to spend so long time for 17 grams ... I go very very fine and pull 17 grams in 15.4 seconds
My home roast beans at the moment is Brazil Yellow Bourbon City++

Grinding time depends on level of coffee roasting (coffee hardness), grind setting and hopper filling. Dave, if you want to shorter the time, fill the hopper with the beans and do not use single dosing. That allows to set coarser grind for the same extraction time.

Peter_SVK wrote:There are few ways how to shorten the hopper:
1/ To purchase the shorter one (the easiest way )

2/ To cut the original one, useful tips:
Bean Hopper shortening (Rocket Fausto) - **PICS & VIDS**
Hopper chopper - making the commercial grinder fit in the kitchen

3/ To buy suitable one from different grinder (e.g. Compak) and make an adapter.

Very nice work! Do you work at a machining shop or have your own tools at home? I really like your portafilter holders and funnel collar. Will you be selling upgrade parts for the F4 nano?

Cheers!

Peter_SVK wrote:Grinding time depends on level of coffee roasting (coffee hardness), grind setting and hopper filling. Dave, if you want to shorter the time, fill the hopper with the beans and do not use single dosing. That allows to set coarser grind for the same extraction time.

I should have mentioned that the 17.2 gram output in 25 seconds was with just under 1 lb of beans in the hopper. When I tried single-dosing, I put 18g of beans in the collar with the weight of the tamper on top, which took approx. 26 seconds (effectively no difference in grind rate). Either way it's surprisingly slow and makes no sense. If 17.2g is all I'm going to get with the timing maxed out, I guess I can live with it - as I would probably grow tired of holding down the Manual button for almost half a minute every time. Another option would be to program the time for 13 seconds and press twice.

The beans I'm using are dark roasted (Peet's Major Dickason's blend), which I would think should grind *faster* than lighter roasted, harder beans.

I grind ca. 15 grams in 18 seconds (that means 20.8g in 25s) of light roasted coffee (Gardelli Mzungu, Uganda). Would you consider to use different basket? It looks like the basket/filling you use requires too fine grinding. Or the burrs are dull ...

3cordcreations wrote:Very nice work! Do you work at a machining shop or have your own tools at home? I really like your portafilter holders and funnel collar. Will you be selling upgrade parts for the F4 nano?
Cheers!

No, I do not work at machining shop. I have many tools at home, but not the milling machine nor the lathe, so the parts which require precise machining I have to do in co-operation, which limits me. I sell only those parts which I made for myself and they became redundant after some time, so there are some options from time to time . PM sent.

Peter_SVK wrote:I grind ca. 15 grams in 18 seconds (that means 20.8g in 25s) of light roasted coffee (Gardelli Mzungu, Uganda). Would you consider to use different basket? It looks like the basket/filling you use requires too fine grinding. Or the burrs are dull ...

In multiple threads of this forum I saw an 18g dose recommended with the stock BDB basket, so I went with that - at least as a starting point. Someone mentioned using 14-15g in a VST basket for ristretto-type shots, but that's not what I'm after.

The Fiorenzato was almost certainly brand-new when it arrived, and I didn't do anything dumb like mashing the burrs together with the motor running. I recall reading somewhere that grinding gets faster as the burrs are broken-in. Is this true?

In any event, if you ever decide to tool-up for a production run of modified 64 mm burr carriers, please add me to the waiting list. That would probably speed up the grinding a bit!