Originally posted by shortblackman
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Second hand grinder advice
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The ROK grinder is a great design, ergonomically much better than grinders with the handle on top. It is quite well made/built.Originally posted by SuperDavid View PostI'm still undecided. What do you guys think of the ROK Coffee grinder?.
BUT - and it's a very big but - it is let down by a cheap and nasty burr set. I tried three sets of burrs, two steel and one ceramic and none would grind fine enough for espresso.
It seems to be a lottery. On other coffee web sites there are numerous posts from users who also found they could not get an espresso grind, but there are a few who say that they can, and they are quite happy with their grinder out of the box. But for every satisfied user there are several who are trying to find replacement burrs or mods to grind finer.
It's a pity, because for the sake of a few more dollars spent on better burrs, this could have been a winner.
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I'm really only referring to what I saw in one video where the guy was tightening up the locking ring and it looked like the burr adjustment moved with the locking ring. Fiddly might have been the wrong word. Sounds like things might have changed in the lido e anyway.Originally posted by Talk_Coffee View PostI can't see how or why it would be classified as fiddly?
Adjust coarser or finer and use locking ring to ensure grind stays set at what you set it to. No different in concept to a whole heap of commercial grinders in that many have some form locking mechanism.
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thats unfortunate, because I was starting to like the look of it with the handle on the side of it, could really get some cranking done.Originally posted by deegee View PostThe ROK grinder is a great design, ergonomically much better than grinders with the handle on top. It is quite well made/built.
BUT - and it's a very big but - it is let down by a cheap and nasty burr set. I tried three sets of burrs, two steel and one ceramic and none would grind fine enough for espresso.
It seems to be a lottery. On other coffee web sites there are numerous posts from users who also found they could not get an espresso grind, but there are a few who say that they can, and they are quite happy with their grinder out of the box. But for every satisfied user there are several who are trying to find replacement burrs or mods to grind finer.
It's a pity, because for the sake of a few more dollars spent on better burrs, this could have been a winner.
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I ended up buying a rancilio MD50, it popped up for $100 so I grabbed it. I'm impressed! It's a bit of a monster and clearly for commercial use, but man does it grind fine! I'm pretty sure I made brown talcum powder!
Seems to work really well, but I wonder if it's worth getting it serviced?
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Interesting thread.
It seems my bleoved EM 480 is not up to the mark according the the posters above.
I have it set on 10, use a 7 gm VST basket on my EM6910, and if I tamp too hard I can choke my coffee machine.
Seems great to me.
Just saying, and I bought it used, for $80.00, I just bought another used one for my daughter,
paid $70.00 for it.
Here is hoping it is as good as mine is.
And I have had mine for 4-5 years, I forget exactly.
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The EM04xx grinders are great little grinders IMO. I've had 3 now and I reckon they're best in class except maybe for the Breville Smart Grinders (which I haven't used). Having now had a couple of larger flat burr grinders I can say from experience that they are a noticeable step up, however you'd probably only notice marginal gains pairing something with an EM6910 due to the limitations of that particular machine. I used an EM4820 for a few months recently, mostly with an EM0440 grinder, but I also tried it with my Compak K8. There was a definite improvement when used with the Compak, but not to such a degree that I'd suggest anyone using a Sunbeam espresso machine needs to rush out and buy a (semi) commercial grinder.Originally posted by rawill View PostInteresting thread.
It seems my bleoved EM 480 is not up to the mark according the the posters above.
I have it set on 10, use a 7 gm VST basket on my EM6910, and if I tamp too hard I can choke my coffee machine.
Seems great to me.
Just saying, and I bought it used, for $80.00, I just bought another used one for my daughter,
paid $70.00 for it.
Here is hoping it is as good as mine is.
And I have had mine for 4-5 years, I forget exactly.
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I opened up the md50 a bit tonight to see what its like around the burrs. Bit messy! Very hard clumps of grinds/oils around the bottom burr and some very solid clumps around the chute, cleaned that out and inspeced the burrs. I'm no expert but they seem very worn. I read somewhere in here that the edge of the burrs should catch your nail? These dont, they have fairly smooth and rounded edges on the burrs. Amazing how fine it can grind with such worn burrs. I'll order some new ones. I'm confident I can change the burrs. The next thing I would like to do is remove the box in the doser with the auto switch so I can brush out the chute.
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Nice work. I have been running a MD 50 I collected from verge collection for a year. I gave it a full clean, new burrs (about $60) and took out the auto grinding. This thing is a beast.
I am tight on my beans so I grind on demand. Level pf of beans in and I made a small plastic scraper to clean out the chute. I probably waste half a teaspoon of grounds on a single shot.
I have considered cutting down the hopper as its huge but I have a big space for it in my outside coffee bar. (My wife can't stand my coffee addiction in the house). This thing should last you a lifetime.
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Nice! I like that little scraper! I've had another look at taking out the cover and switch around the chute but I can't see how to do it. Got any tips, tricks or photos?Originally posted by Macasaurus View PostNice work. I have been running a MD 50 I collected from verge collection for a year. I gave it a full clean, new burrs (about $60) and took out the auto grinding. This thing is a beast.
I am tight on my beans so I grind on demand. Level pf of beans in and I made a small plastic scraper to clean out the chute. I probably waste half a teaspoon of grounds on a single shot.
I have considered cutting down the hopper as its huge but I have a big space for it in my outside coffee bar. (My wife can't stand my coffee addiction in the house). This thing should last you a lifetime.
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I jumped in and gave it a shot anyway! The end result on the wires isn't exactly pretty, but its solid!
I'm fairly happy now! I didnt like how many grinds were staying in the chute, even though beans aren't really an issue for me because I work at a bakery/cafe with "award winning beans".
Next I might try running with no hopper so I can get even more grinds out.
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Yeah I think I just heat shrunk the terminals and used hot glue to blank the holes off. The chute is big and flat so will hold about 10g in it so unless you are putting high volume through it you may need try brush or scrape it out. I just took my old Rocky grinder away on holidays and was reminded how much faster the MD 50 is at doing its thing.
If you don't need to move it around its great. I did remove the tamper from the front to make it a bit cleaner looking.(and it was redundant).
Good to hear you saved a 6910 from being destroyed too. I have now saved 5 machines that just needed a clean up and maybe a group seal.
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Also love the scraper! Going to figure out how to copy that before you patent it.Originally posted by Macasaurus View PostNice work. I have been running a MD 50 I collected from verge collection for a year. I gave it a full clean, new burrs (about $60) and took out the auto grinding. This thing is a beast.
I am tight on my beans so I grind on demand. Level pf of beans in and I made a small plastic scraper to clean out the chute. I probably waste half a teaspoon of grounds on a single shot.
I have considered cutting down the hopper as its huge but I have a big space for it in my outside coffee bar. (My wife can't stand my coffee addiction in the house). This thing should last you a lifetime.
I'm on Day 1 of a used MD50, and tight on beans myself. How do you sweep off the shelf in the doser? The one that the star sweeps the coffee from? I get quite a bit of coffee in there and it is a slight pain to brush it out between the arms of the star. Is there an adjustment to make it sweep closer to the shelf?
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I received and put in the new burrs in my md50 today! What a difference that makes! Now instead of the grinds slowly getting pushed out of the chute, they come flying out and completely spray the inside of the doser! I have to keep the lid on now. No more clumping!
What a state it was under the burrs! So much gunk. Judging by the screws that hold the burrs on, I can see the burrs have been changed before, so maybe it didn't get cleaned out under there at the change over. All good now.
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