Resistance when removing the doser of the Mazzer Mini?

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
Frenchman
Posts: 402
Joined: 14 years ago

#1: Post by Frenchman »

I am trying to remove my Mini's doser to measure some distances to see if it's compatible with Daniel Wong's doserless plate. I removed the two two screws inside the doser (per these instructions) but the doser seems stuck at the bottom (which has no screws). Is there something else holding it, or should I just pull and pry? The doser's a good 15 years old, so there may be a lot of stuff caked in there?
LMWDP #712

rpetitho
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#2: Post by rpetitho »

There is usually a piece holding the bottom in place. The top is also likely caked on pretty good. Once the 2 screws are out tilt it down towards you separating it from the chute. It may feel stuck but that is from the adhesive on the seal and the caked coffee. It will lift out after you separate it. Note you **may** need to buy a new seal to put it back in place.

Frenchman (original poster)
Posts: 402
Joined: 14 years ago

#3: Post by Frenchman (original poster) »

I am stuck. Well, the doser is stuck. I feel like I am bending metal now, which can't be good. I even tried tapping with a rubber mallet to convince the doser to move out and it won't. It will move left to right some, showing what I thought would be those tabs under, but it won't budge, and the Mini parts diagram and pictures on the Web don't show any tabs, actually. In all the videos I have seen, people simply slide it out. Us it really glued that hard? Do I need to take a heat gun to it to try to soften the glue (and probably burn myself on the metal)? Could it be that 15+ years old Minis were assembled differently? Seems doubtful, but it really is stuck.



LMWDP #712

Frenchman (original poster)
Posts: 402
Joined: 14 years ago

#4: Post by Frenchman (original poster) »

So I found this, from this video. The finger points to a stopper in the Mini, and the top left of the doser shows the U-shaped hole going over it with something behind to "lock?" it:



But on my Mini, in the pic in the previous post, I see two long screws there. Early design? Looks like my next step is to remove the bottom?
LMWDP #712

Frenchman (original poster)
Posts: 402
Joined: 14 years ago

#5: Post by Frenchman (original poster) »

So... Here's my answer, here for other people troubleshooting this... The screws go through the doser and into the frame. Pulling hard forward as suggested on the doser just bent the screws some... hopefully reversible, or new screws. Lesson learned: clean the doser fully and look first rather than going for what the Internet is doing :).

It's also surprising how much coffee was at the bottom of my grinder :) That probably went through the screw holes, explaining why Mazzer changed the design eventually.
LMWDP #712