Grinder Popularity and Timing from Release - Page 4

#31: Post by **ira** » December 15th, 2017, 1:09 pm

Everyone after us got the pulse button so maybe one of them will pop up and answer the question.

Ira

#32: Post by **RyanP** » December 15th, 2017, 1:11 pm

spearfish25 wrote:.m
I'm trying to critically evaluate the Monolith Flat. For sure any new owner who waited months after dropping $2500 is going to love it uncondititionally...for a while. A video of grinding with the MF actually seemed like it's a bit of a tedious grinder too. The user dropped the beans in the funnel but had to help them enter the burrs. Then the grinds came out fluffy but a mist of grinds was covering a perimeter around the catch vessel he used. The magnetic chute had grinds adhering to the sides of it. After grinding he had to clean up the grind area, manipulate everything into the PF, tap the magnetic chute...All fine. But then he patted his hand over the top chute 3-4 times and a significant amount of coffee was expelled from the exit chute. This was after even doing RDT.

It's not a terrible ritual but it's certainly not dropping 18g of beans in and getting 18g of grounds out. It may be a phenomenal grinder but I could see people growing tired of what I witnessed in the video.

I wonder if the machine in that video was brand new and not broken in. I would experience what you describe above if I don't use RDT. There certainly would be static.

But with RDT, it really is just 18g in and 18g out without any static, removing of magnetic chute, tapping of unit, or any other fuss. I imagine that's the case for most other monolith users, as well.

#33: Post by ***sigh*** » December 15th, 2017, 1:16 pm

michael wrote:I have the one before as well and do two taps with the palm (a little air pressure) to get out the last bits

do you think a pulse button will do the job as well

Honestly, it kind of depends on the coffee and I generally am actually using both. Most of the time it seems like it's pretty darn close to using the palm tap, though if anything it might be slightly less efficient then the palm tap (this is through pure observation is anything but a scientific conclusion). I'll have to do some more direct comparison, but my feeling at this point is if you're ok with the palm tap I would just stick with it, adding a pulse button won't be a significant improvement for you.

#34: Post by **michael** » December 18th, 2017, 8:34 pm

if I do a little spritz before grinding theres almost nothing to get out with the palm tap, that is particularly true with the current lightly roasted la maz subscription

w/o the spritz, theres often a little (very little) coffee in the spout

#35: Post by **mgrayson** » December 18th, 2017, 9:48 pm

I went to the Monolith Flat from a Versalab (People keep forgetting about it when listing single dose kitchen friendly grinders. It seems grinder non-grata around here). The VL was slightly easier to use - harder to pour in the beans, but no WDT, no grooming. Just tamp and go. Perfect distribution every time. On the other hand, the VL had belt issues, and its exit funnel would become caked with coffee dust. I think the coffee they make is equally good - I was just ready for a change.

--Matt

#36: Post by **AssafL** » December 19th, 2017, 1:26 am

The main problems with the Versalab are the belt, and if you disassemble it, realignment of the burrs.

The belt was especially annoying. An expensive part, that when fails you have no coffee until a new one arrives.

Still it is an engineering compromise. I replaced the belt with a timing belt, added a thermal fuse to protect the motor (instead of the belt) replaced the motor driver with the Bodine controller and realigned the burrs (which silly me I removed to clean).

On the positive side you get a real conveyer belt DC motor with conveyer belt torque and over-torque capabilities and a double burr set. And either too short or too long screws to hold it together. Good enough (arguably) for when they were the only game in town.

All Compromises.

That said I am still looking for the good grinder to replace the VL with. Good in that it would matter in the cup. Keep on waiting...

#37: Post by **desmodici** » December 19th, 2017, 1:41 am

My experience with the Monolith Conical - just RDT and a couple of palm taps on top at the end of the shot to get the last stray grounds out. That's the full process. No need for WDT, removing the chute, pulsing etc. (in my experience)

#38: Post by **nuketopia** » December 19th, 2017, 3:34 am

Static is really rooted in the beans themselves. Some have lots of static, some very little. Any kind of micronizing process will create static, grinding coffee included.

Also - there's not really any "new" technology so much. It's all pretty well established technology. My Monolith Conical has a burr in it that existed in the commercial grinder market, the motor is an industrial gear motor. The rest is designed and put together by its builder with great care. The net effect is a complete package that is unique in that it addressed the niche market of a coffee nut who's willing to pay for this kind of quality and precision for a single-dose grinder with a very large commercial burr.

Even after a year and a half, I'm still quite happy with it. It suits my needs and my workflow very well. I don't think about it much, because it is just part of my daily life now.

#39: Post by **Surge** » February 11th, 2018, 9:41 am

spearfish25 wrote:I think part of the phenomenon I'm initially bringing up (popularity drop with time) is people begin to either 1) learn the true shortcomings of a product they purchased over time or 2) the buyer's intrinsic self-serving need to justify a pricey purchase wanes.

The reality of manual grinding eventually overcomes the sexy look of the $1000 HG-1. Rather than defending the expensive item one decides that manual grinding is too laborious.

I'm trying to critically evaluate the Monolith Flat. For sure any new owner who waited months after dropping $2500 is going to love it uncondititionally...for a while. A video of grinding with the MF actually seemed like it's a bit of a tedious grinder too. The user dropped the beans in the funnel but had to help them enter the burrs. Then the grinds came out fluffy but a mist of grinds was covering a perimeter around the catch vessel he used. The magnetic chute had grinds adhering to the sides of it. After grinding he had to clean up the grind area, manipulate everything into the PF, tap the magnetic chute...All fine. But then he patted his hand over the top chute 3-4 times and a significant amount of coffee was expelled from the exit chute. This was after even doing RDT.

It's not a terrible ritual but it's certainly not dropping 18g of beans in and getting 18g of grounds out. It may be a phenomenal grinder but I could see people growing tired of what I witnessed in the video.

Hmm, I get 100% of the grinds out of my HG-1. I can grind a 17g dose in under 1 min. I honestly find it dead easy to use. And at 1/3 the cost of having the same 83mm grinder in a motorized unit (Mazzer Robur), with a much smaller footprint and gorgeous aesthetics, the HG-1 is a no brainer in my mind.