samuellaw178 wrote:Theoretically, the outer burr is immobilized by the clamp ring. However it does move in some cases especially with light roasts.

Hi Sam!

Curious question, based on the excerpt above from your previous answer. So theoretically it is also possible for the Helor to get misaligned when grinding light roasts? I am just trying to understand how frequent (or not) are the instances of this new wave of hand grinders to get misaligned if the user is someone who likes light roasts?

Hi Javier!

In my opinion, yes, the Helor will never be perfectly aligned due to the above reason (I know it goes against the prevailing idea here..). It works really well though (I am happy about its performance) and the alignment is pretty good compared to many other similar grinders. It's an excellent grinder in a compact package. It may be under what-I-called the 'good enough alignment'.

If the outer burr moves, the concentricity will be offset slightly, but it's likely much less detrimental than a wobble. I don't observe any visible wobble from the shaft, which is arguably the more important alignment parameter for a conical burrs. The bearings in Helor are 'pre-aligned' due to the unibody design, so that's a plus. The only less-than-perfect part that can go wrong are the burrs & their alignment. Again, just my 2 cent.

I recall Helor quoted a tolerance of about 0.04mm on their Chinese sales site, which is probably about right...I have no way to verify that though.

osel wrote: Should I run some sort of an alignment procedure anyways? Like when I first get the grinder, be it Helor or something else, or after some time using a grinder, is that something that is an optimal thing to do?

You don't need to worry about the alignment at all unless it's set up incorrectly from the factory (or due to shipping), or after you've removed the outer burr for cleaning. Check your burr rub point from zero (burrs lightly touching/locking). As long as it's under 6-7 dots then you're fine (that was what I was told).

For other grinders (and in general), it's best not to mess with the alignment as it's way easier to screw up than to put it back to its original state. Helor is one of the few grinders that it's not that hard to realign so it's okay to do so.

Got mine yesterday. Here are my notes so far:

- Still just using the conventional burr set as I'm AP and V60 only for now.

- I read Helor's suggestions on zeroing out the burrs then turning counter-clockwise x number of dots/full turns. I tightened my adjustment knob down all the way and couldn't get it to point to "12 o'clock", but counting from that point seemed fine in terms of grind adjustment.

- I read some concern about alignment, and, wanting to ensure mine was aligned *and* also remedy the "issue" with dot indexing above(I just thought It would be easier to adjust if the zero point was actually directly at 12 o'clock) I took it apart and tightened it - free from the outer burr - so that the adjustment knob and solid dot aligned with each other. I then re-assembled with the burrs completely zeroed flat to one another (and I was not able to turn the adjustment knob any further in the clockwise direction - at least not by hand - with it all back together like this).

- At this point I could obviously not grind without presumably seriously damaging the burrs. I think It took between 5-6 dots to stop burr rubbing here.

- I don't get any play or wobble with the shaft at all.

- I find that I am unable to spin the whole unit, even at a 3 full turn pour-over setting, freely as I would expect a bearing unit to spin. It's not catching on anything, but I find it slows to a stop pretty quickly when I spin the handle/body. Is it possible I *over* tightened the securing cap? I read that a loose cap would account for wobble and grind inconsistency, so I snugged it up pretty good.

- I find that my crank does not slot on the hex head as easily as I have seen in videos. depending which way I put it on, the tolerances are pretty tight and I have to slightly wiggle and pull hard to get it to come off. I'd imagine a bit of wax/food safe grease on that would probably remedy the issue.

The results, on the whole, have been really positive. I'm terrible at eyeing grind consistency/uniformity, but the cup seem to speak for itself. I have far less "mud" in my v60 after draw-down (all those fines collecting together). In the aeropress, I used the able disk (which I love, but often have issues with due to fines) and the cup had far less silt than any grind setting I've ever used with my previous "inconsistent burr appliance", and the puck was nice and uniform; virtually no stratification that you tend to get with an inconsistent grind.

So far, so good.

instantkamera wrote:Got mine yesterday. Here are my notes so far:

- I read Helor's suggestions on zeroing out the burrs then turning counter-clockwise x number of dots/full turns. I tightened my adjustment knob down all the way and couldn't get it to point to "12 o'clock", but counting from that point seemed fine in terms of grind adjustment.

- I read some concern about alignment, and, wanting to ensure mine was aligned *and* also remedy the "issue" with dot indexing above(I just thought It would be easier to adjust if the zero point was actually directly at 12 o'clock) I took it apart and tightened it - free from the outer burr - so that the adjustment knob and solid dot aligned with each other. I then re-assembled with the burrs completely zeroed flat to one another (and I was not able to turn the adjustment knob any further in the clockwise direction - at least not by hand - with it all back together like this).

- I find that I am unable to spin the whole unit, even at a 3 full turn pour-over setting, freely as I would expect a bearing unit to spin. It's not catching on anything, but I find it slows to a stop pretty quickly when I spin the handle/body. Is it possible I *over* tightened the securing cap? I read that a loose cap would account for wobble and grind inconsistency, so I snugged it up pretty good.

- I find that my crank does not slot on the hex head as easily as I have seen in videos. depending which way I put it on, the tolerances are pretty tight and I have to slightly wiggle and pull hard to get it to come off. I'd imagine a bit of wax/food safe grease on that would probably remedy the issue.

Hi Aaron,

Just some confirmation to your concerns. It sounds like your Helor is working properly and nothing out of ordinary.

i) The dot index thing is not an issue, or at least not an issue that you can change meaningfully. The burr lock point will & should always go back to the same position, even after disassembly. Unless you put some shim under the burr(not recommended), or change the burr engraving yourself. Just gotta work with it - mine locks slightly pass the solid dot.

ii) About the handle/bearing turning - it won't move freely like a frictionless wheel, but there should not be excessive resistance either. If it does spin frictionlessly, it means the top bearing cap is not tightened properly and you will likely observe some minimal wobble. A good test to check - if you mount the crank handle and turn the grinder body with it sitting sideway, the weight/gravity of the crank handle should be enough to turn the spindle. If the crank handle is moving together with the grinder body in that test, then it's a sign of excessive resistance. There's a video on Youtube by Bakafish that shows something similar (search for Helor 101).

ii) The crank/hex slot will wear in a bit better after some use. Grease will help in the meanwhile as you mentioned.

instantkamera wrote:- I read Helor's suggestions on zeroing out the burrs then turning counter-clockwise x number of dots/full turns. I tightened my adjustment knob down all the way and couldn't get it to point to "12 o'clock", but counting from that point seemed fine in terms of grind adjustment.

I wouldn't worry about getting it to "12 o'clock" but just remember the dot it is at when tightened all the way down. That is your 0 point.

Thanks for the reply guys.

samuellaw178 wrote:Hi Aaron,
i) The dot index thing is not an issue, or at least not an issue that you can change meaningfully. The burr lock point will & should always go back to the same position, even after disassembly. Unless you put some shim under the burr(not recommended), or change the burr engraving yourself. Just gotta work with it - mine locks slightly pass the solid dot.

MikFlores300 wrote:I wouldn't worry about getting it to "12 o'clock" but just remember the dot it is at when tightened all the way down. That is your 0 point.

Yeah I thought if you bottomed out then dropped the burr out and tightened past that point that you could shift the zero point, but now I see that is not the case. That said, my zero point drifts when I take it apart and play with it. Could be heat/cool expansion/contraction, and I don't think is a big deal.

ii) About the handle/bearing turning - it won't move freely like a frictionless wheel, but there should not be excessive resistance either. If it does spin frictionlessly, it means the top bearing cap is not tightened properly and you will likely observe some minimal wobble. A good test to check - if you mount the crank handle and turn the grinder body with it sitting sideway, the weight/gravity of the crank handle should be enough to turn the spindle. If the crank handle is moving together with the grinder body in that test, then it's a sign of excessive resistance. There's a video on Youtube by Bakafish that shows something similar (search for Helor 101).

This is more or less the way mine behaves, if the top cap is too loose, the thing feels pretty frictionless. I have found a happy medium with the securing cap where Im not reefing on it, but it's more than finger tight (I use the spanner tool to turn maybe a hair past finger tight). That said, one of my bearings is definitely slower than the other. It's not straight-up grinding and making noise, but it's not as smooth as I would expect. Reading back in this thread, it's clear these are fragile.

ii) The crank/hex slot will wear in a bit better after some use. Grease will help in the meanwhile as you mentioned.

Yeah I found the one direction it likes to go in, and I try to line it up that way each time. It's getting easier.

One last question:

I haven't put them in yet, but does anyone else notice "burrs" (in the general sense of the word) on the outer burr of the contemporary set? If you look at the tips of the "shark fins" on mine, there are a few that appear to have an extra lip along the sharp edge, almost like they weren't finished/filed.

I looked at their pictures of the burr, and it actually appears to have the same rough finishing on it as well, was wondering if anyone had thoughts on that (I was under the impression that poorly finished burrs leads to inconsistent grind).

I'm getting a lot of clogged paper filters when grinding for pourovers these days. Today, I made 28 g of coffee in a Kalita Wave 185 with the grind setting at 46 and it took 5:35 for the water to get through it. There's a little muddiness on top of the bed whether I grind at 36 or 46, more than I'd expect. If I sieve out the fines, the flow is too fast. The solution is probably to sieve out some of the fines. Still, I didn't tend to have this sort of issue with my Encore, even if, other than fines, its grind wasn't as evenly dispersed as the 101's is. When I make immersions, I sieve out the fines. I don't have a Kruve, I just use a tea strainer. That usually filters out 10-15% of the coffee as fines, which seems appropriate enough. Even then, if I pour the immersion brew through a paper filter, it'll clog before the coffee has fully dripped.

Anyone else having this problem?

What burrs you using?

I am using espresso burrs and have a similar issue. A lot of fines causing the paper to clog (V60). Was thinking of buying the brew burrs to try?

I'm using the brew burrs.