A while ago Stephen / Photondrv showed me pictures of a transparent pipe replacing his Mazzer hopper and I liked that a lot. I searched for them on the forum but didn't find where he uploaded the pictures if he did, otherwise I'd have posted in reply to his posting.
I went to a local plastics firm and bought a short pipe but it didn't quite fit the metal tube left open when removing the hopper. At a local aluminum workshop they made a fitting for me out of one solid piece of aluminum:
The aluminum fitting is so high that I think I could probably do without the transparent (acryl?) tube on top of it.
Wow, that looks incredible! For single dosing, you won't need the tube but you could simulate a filled hopper by filling the tube with about 2-3" of beans.
This is what I did.
The plunger keeps weight on the bean column, stops bean popping and acts like a pump(almost air tight fit) to clear residue of beans that are dumped in single dose style using RDT. Leaves a pretty clean chamber that way. The plunger is a solid acrylic rod.
That Light at the End of the Tunnel is actually a train
That is pretty slick FotonDRv! Imagine another identical Aluminum collar from Frans's piece put on top of his tube with your plunger idea.....almost "apple-esq" the I-Hopper wish I had your guys talents!
I guess I should put a nice looking wooden knob on top of it, or an aluminum collar/cap? Not sure what to do and that is why it is plain clear polished.
That Light at the End of the Tunnel is actually a train