CoffeeToolsCA Etsy Rotating Distribution Tool - Page 9

September 26th, 2023, 11:43 pm

I read something similar, perhaps the same paper... But IIRC it was a theoretical model, not empirical evidence.

September 26th, 2023, 11:44 pm

Interesting and great discussion!

I'm going 'Brazilian' nuts here in the Twilight Zone of quicksand, weeds and minutia. Just attended a seminar on the Chemistry of Drilling Fluids for different ground conditions and borehole depths, "to keep the annulus open" and to have the cuttings 'float' out of the hole with a minimum amount of fluid, pumping power and energy 'down hole'.

If this sounds disgusting - it is. Drilling is a filthy business!

Can't wait to read on...

YMMV (You're not kidding!)

#83: Post by **PIXIllate** » September 27th, 2023, 3:57 am

RapidCoffee wrote:In general, better distribution increases shot times because it reduces channeling. Where is the evidence that "too much fiddling" increases shot times beyond this?

In all of my experience this has been my assumption and it has generally been coupled with better tasting shots. The longer the shot takes (all else equal) the greater the puck uniformity and integrity.

In regards to spinning WDT tools, the Etsy one I have was not able to match manual WDT with a Levercraft tool for me in taste and the shots always ran faster. Additionally, I saw the first visible spritzing and spraying in recent memory. I simply never get that with manual WDT.

#84: Post by **LVD** » September 29th, 2023, 9:15 am

baldheadracing wrote:Some early impressions of v4 ... I have had the tool right from release but had other espresso experiments to take care of first. I am using the tool with the recommended number of needles:
- extraction takes longer than my usual Levercraft tool spirograph distribution technique: currently a 27 second extraction with Levercraft takes 33 seconds with 20 rotations of v4:
- rotations need to be fairly slow to get an even-appearing bed; I'm down to 40 rpm at the moment; and
- shots using the Levercraft tool definitely taste better to me with two medium-to-light espresso roasts (Prodigal and Tim Wendelboe) but I want to get extraction times to match on a couple machines before getting out the refractometer and drawing conclusions.
Next up is to experiment with number of rotations.

Just wondering if you've had a chance to use v4 some more and if there was anything new to add?

September 29th, 2023, 2:41 pm

Not really. I realized that the grounds coming from the grinder weren't consistently 'bad' enough, i.e., I would have to pull many, many shots to be able to estimate/separate out the impact from inconsistency from the grinder in the need for WDT from the tool's quality of WDT.

I do have a grinder that consistently clumps, but I don't have that one setup for use.

So I am at the point of "I've already bought the tool, just keep using it." I don't know about previous versions, but the v4 with the bearings does feel nice to use.

#86: Post by **e-chappy** » October 2nd, 2023, 1:33 pm

Could someone who has the Etsy Rotating Distribution Tool comment on whether the path swept by the needles are random, or are they merely semi-random?

Also, one post mentioned about ripple patterns. Does the latest iteration still have this issue?

I guess ideally, the needles would be able to sweep a sizeable portion of the coffee ground bed.

#87: Post by **pizzaman383** » October 2nd, 2023, 2:27 pm

The needles move in spirographic motion. The current version 4 has two gears - one small and one large.

#88: Post by **luvmy40** » October 3rd, 2023, 6:46 am

e-chappy wrote:Could someone who has the Etsy Rotating Distribution Tool comment on whether the path swept by the needles are random, or are they merely semi-random?

Also, one post mentioned about ripple patterns. Does the latest iteration still have this issue?

I guess ideally, the needles would be able to sweep a sizeable portion of the coffee ground bed.

A random pattern is impossible in this type of device. And, an oxymoron. The best one can achieve is a sufficiently complex pattern with the highest number of gears and needles possible in the space available that are not in concentric orbits to get a good distribution without voids.

#89: Post by **cmin** » October 3rd, 2023, 8:44 am

baldheadracing wrote:When you pull beans directly out of the freezer like they did, the beans will get enough surface moisture on them to dissipate static charge, so no need for more moisture via RDT. They didn't RDT for the coffee Jay brought, but his coffee was darker than the typical levels of roast that benefit the most from RDT in the weather conditions that the videos appear to be shot in.

I always see people say this, but I've been grinding frozen for years, and I'm in South FL aka humidity and I have to RDT everything and every grinder or static like a mofo. Even on the HG1 Prime, have coffee from Rogue Wave right now I grind frozen and no RDT is a static mess.

Worse was DF64, that thing was awful, worse than all my grinders combined for static mess with no rdt

#90: Post by **e-chappy** » October 3rd, 2023, 10:22 am

luvmy40 wrote:A random pattern is impossible in this type of device. And, an oxymoron. The best one can achieve is a sufficiently complex pattern with the highest number of gears and needles possible in the space available that are not in concentric orbits to get a good distribution without voids.

Thank you for the explanation.

I used the word "random" because that is the wording on Weber's Moonraker webpage (under section title "What does it do?"), https://weberworkshops.com/products/moonraker

I guess what I actually meant is the lack of concentric orbits, and from your post, I infer that the Etsy tool isn't concentric?