Niche Zero grinder - Page 198

February 13th, 2020, 6:46 am

As far as the slight retention, I've been clearing it with bellows while the grinder runs for a second, prior to each grind (into a separate container), as a cleaning practice rather than at the end of the grind. This is because I've gotten poor results from including these in my pour over grinds. It is also so little grinds that it isn't changing the weight on the scale, it's more of a dust than usable grinds.

#1972: Post by **tohenk2** » February 13th, 2020, 9:54 am

splashalot wrote:Hi. New here - first post.

I'm considering a Niche Zero to replace my trusty Macap M4 with doser. I love the degree I can make untra-fine grind adjustments with the Macap's worm drive gear adjustment method. Would I be able to achieve similarly fine grind adjustments on the Niche Zero? I ask because photos of the adjustment ring on the Niche shows a fairly narrow number of settings in the range marked for espresso. Unfortunately I can't demo a Niche, so need to cover off this question before buying.

Apologies if this question has been asked already. I've read quite a bit of this thread but haven't encountered an answer yet. So I gave in to laziness and posted

Many thanks

I went from a M4D to a Niche. If I try new beans I get dialed in mostly within 3 tries, if I switch between brew-methods or beans I already dialed in, I get the right setting every time in one go. (I also use an Acaia scale and get very consistent results in time and weight.)

February 13th, 2020, 10:08 am

MPantani wrote:I bought a Niche Zero a couple of weeks ago and really like it so far. I've noticed something that I wanted to ask about. The grinder seems to retain grounds in the chute. Likely due to static. I have started to use a soldering flux/acid brush to clean it out, then I tap the grinder on the edge of the sink. It seems to be about a half-gram of coffee although I haven't weighed it. Anyone have the same problem?

I don't call it a problem, but a factor of static. I live in the Phoenix, AZ area where the humidity is usually pretty low, so I expected some retention. I do spritz the beans with a small atomizer before grinding usually, when I actually measure, retain less than .3g Seriously, no worries.

#1974: Post by **MPantani** » February 13th, 2020, 1:18 pm

Folks, don't misunderstand me. I'm not criticizing the Niche for retention. Even with the chute retention, the total retention is very low. I wanted to suggest an easy method of cleaning the chute. Flux/acid brushes are cheap and readily available.

February 13th, 2020, 1:45 pm

bellows is way to go

February 14th, 2020, 2:27 pm

So, let me get this straight. Does the niche actually have some exchange going on if not cleared out every time? Or does it just have retention after being cleaned, and then no retention or exchange once the inside gets "coated up".

Basically, why are you all going through the trouble to blow and clean it out at the end of each grind? Seems like a waste of time and beans unless you're actually getting old grounds exchanged out.

February 14th, 2020, 3:08 pm

I, for one, don't do that.

By the way, this is what I got the list time I did a deep cleaning of the grinder.

#1978: Post by **Haskens** » February 14th, 2020, 3:19 pm

cgibsong002 wrote:So, let me get this straight. Does the niche actually have some exchange going on if not cleared out every time? Or does it just have retention after being cleaned, and then no retention or exchange once the inside gets "coated up".

Basically, why are you all going through the trouble to blow and clean it out at the end of each grind? Seems like a waste of time and beans unless you're actually getting old grounds exchanged out.

I live in a very dry northern climate. I consistently get what I put in minus up to 0.1 g if I don't bop. If I bop I pretty much get exactly what I put in. So i assume the 0.1 g would have otherwise come out with the next grind. This is without RDT, as I do not feel the need to use RDT with the Niche.

February 14th, 2020, 4:07 pm

cgibsong002 wrote:So, let me get this straight. Does the niche actually have some exchange going on if not cleared out every time? Or does it just have retention after being cleaned, and then no retention or exchange once the inside gets "coated up".

Basically, why are you all going through the trouble to blow and clean it out at the end of each grind? Seems like a waste of time and beans unless you're actually getting old grounds exchanged out.

Yes and yes. There is retention and there is some exchange but both are pretty minimal. Exchange, for example, is less than 0.2 grams.

#1980: Post by **achosid** » February 14th, 2020, 5:54 pm

mkane wrote:Looks to me like anyone with a slight skill set could reproduce this NFC thing. With wood, plastic or even the right size washer. A 3D printer would be nice and these would ship in the states for less than $5 in a padded envelope.

I have been using a 3D printed NFC disc for months. There's an STL file floating somewhere on this forum. It's a few cents worth of material.