Here's a follow up to the silicone Mythos-style declumper mod.

I've been running with the new declumper for just over two months due to a competing project taking over my workbench (solar generator, and it works!). Just as well, I had the stock declumper for almost the same amount of time so the comparisons should be fairly equal.

Here are the stock and Mythos-style declumpers side-by-side. You can see that the mod is holding up really well with no more wear than stock. Don't worry too much about the big glob of grounds in front of the mod, I'll touch on that soon.


Here's where it gets interesting. Trying to remove the declumpers as carefully as possible, here is the exit chute. You can see that the stock declumper allows significantly more grounds to collect along the edges of the chute, and the Mythos-style mod has less. Again don't focus too much about the mess under both, I'll touch on that soon.


This can be seen from the other side, where the Mythos-style mod remains fairly clean with normal bellows usage.


And that brings us to the mess in front of both declumpers. This is from the dead space between the declumper and chute. While not ideal, it's also not really in the grind path, so once it fills I don't think it participates too much in further retention or transfer. Maybe I'll plug the dead space with silicone, but that's for another project.


That's interesting and anecdotal, you say, but does it impact the cup? Probably. I take notes on most cups I make. For V60 (usually a light and medium roast each month), and for cups that I've labeled as dialed in (mostly to balance brightness and extraction, equating to ~20 dialed-in cups each), drawdown is on average 8.5s less for the Mythos-style mod suggesting fewer fines. Anecdotally I no longer get the bellows sneeze, just a small puff of dust, so I think that less grounds are being trapped behind the declumper to be potentially reground into fines. And because grinds remain clump-free, fluffy, and without significant static (I RDT), I think the Mythos geometry is a good balance between some resistance but not too much resistance. Also anecdotally, my qualitative notes seem to use "sparkling brightness" recently, but I might have heard JH or someone say it and can't stop using it.

Espresso is tougher to say anything definitive as I tend to stick with a single roast for a month, and I started with darker roasts progressing to medium roasts recently. Also since I use a Robot and pressure profile, shot times will be all over the place depending on how it flows.

Verdict? I'd say the mod is a success. It's relatively easy to do if you can get the nut off the power button, and I really do think it improves grind quality.

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Bonus: since I was taking pics anyways, here's the anti-popcorn 3D print. It's been sanded smooth so I don't get any beans or dust stuck on its top surface.


And here's why I use it. It keeps the beans chute very tidy. I don't find it decreases grind time significantly, but I've never had an issue with popcorning prior to using it. Compared with the Encore or the Notte, it's maddening watching a single bean not get ground so I'll stop those grinders, allow the bean to get caught by the burr, and then grind again. I've never done that with the DF64, maybe because the "hopper" is much smaller or because it's opaque and I don't see it.

Seems like there is now a good place to buy in Canada, great! But since this looks like a mod'ers grinder (lol), where can we get stuff 3d printed? I don't think libraries in Ottawa/gatineau give you access to 3d printers so I wonder if everyone here also has a 3d printer

gordinho wrote:.........I don't think libraries in Ottawa/gatineau give you access to 3d printers so I wonder if everyone here also has a 3d printer

I don't have a 3d printer either. There seems to be some one offering the 3d printed stuff for DF64 on local kijiji. But I'm that kind of a person that would always trying to find alternatives that work and are cheap. The Walmart funnel is one that may work as anti-popcorn mod, a few posts ago. Here is another one that works perfectly as a dial pointer if you don't mind DIY a bit. The copper wire was harvested from some very common CAT5e Ethernet cord scrap.

A ziptie and a length of wire.



Dial pointer in action.

mikelipino wrote: And because grinds remain clump-free, fluffy, and without significant static (I RDT), I think the Mythos geometry is a good balance between some resistance but not too much resistance.

Great post!

Question: Why does a grinder need resistance? I would of thought that the ideal declumper would declump with the least resistance possible.

A slightly "refined" iteration if the wife-approval-factor is a concern. The copper wire is 22 AWG single stranded, harvested from a phone cord for house wiring. Two small holes 1/2" apart are punched along the length of the zip tie, and the ends of the wire go through the holes, then the wire ends wrap around the zip tie while tying themselves down.

Excellent update, mikelipino. After 4 weeks with the (official) Mythos declumper, I can confirm many of your findings. I no longer get that big sneeze from bellowing, I see fewer fines, etc.

On the negative side, I'm also noticing a little retention around the declumper. There is more noticeably inside the chute, though. The good thing is that I'm able to easily dislodge both deposits with a wooden coffee stir stick.

I don't do many pour overs, but I can report - with data because I also log every shot I pull - that the Mythos mod has definitely reduced the number of shots that squirt/spurt. The improvement was well worth the $20 and 40 minutes of mod time.

The cut lines



Finished

Wow.. that is even better, so that it can screw the lower part and upper part as well..

Well done.

I've finally had enough of dismantling the whole grinder just to deep clean the chute. I was thinking of 3d printing but then I will have this useless piece of aluminum...