Hi all, I've commented my thoughts on the 270WI on another post but thought i would repeat it here as well.
These grinders should be so good. I love the workflow, offering low retention. very accurate in terms of dosage.
i just really really loved using it.
but i went through 2 grinders in about 2.5yrs!
first one did a loadcell so that was a few hundred to replace but at least still operated as a standard non WI 270. but the second one only last just over 12mths and decided to keep blowing fuses. i believe it was the broken off the PCB or whatever is the common fault it has.
Such a real shame.
I now have a Niche which is great....but i still do prefer the workflow of having a hopper (and low retention) of the 270.
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My feedback on the lovely Baratza Sette 270Wi!
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AH yes circling back here! I finally sent away my grinder (it took me awhile to get around to it haha). They sent me an email when they'd received it, and literally 2 days later I got it back! Was expecting 2-3 weeks! All fixed, I did have an issue of not being able to adjust the grinder finer than number 20, and spent awhile fiddling around with it but it just kept locking at 20... removed the assembly and just gave it all a scrub with brush (not that it needed a clean at all), and SOMEHOW it was now able to go finer haha. Bizarre, no idea how I fixed that! But it actually looks like they replaced the inner burrs as they look brand new and a bit different. Grinder works PERFECTLY now, it is noticeably quieter and actually grinds faster than before. Amazing service from Five Senses
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Yeah definitely will check, cheers for that. Yeah it was a thing with previous models, but I honestly thought that with the 270Wi they had fixed that and wasn't an issue any more. Guess not... but hoping they're working on a better solution.Originally posted by FNQ View PostSimonskr8 Lifetime warranty - Good on Baratza local agents and support network - I gather this is a known thing - is it plastic cogs? I would just check labour costs (included or not) as well - to help you weight up the cost of rebuilding vs buy new.
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Simonskr8
Lifetime warranty - Good on Baratza local agents and support network - I gather this is a known thing - is it plastic cogs? I would just check labour costs (included or not) as well - to help you weight up the cost of rebuilding vs buy new.
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Heard back, and yep, Baratza offer a lifetime warranty on gearboxes! Fantastic. Obviously still not ideal, but I'm super happy with that as it's an amazing grinder. May have to pay postage etc but happy to do that. Will send it away soon, I didn't realise they had a few service centers, one in Melbourne even. Whipped out my ol Compak K3 Touch Advanced for grinding duties in the meantime
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Alright guys, the moment you've all been waiting for (haha!), grinder has kapooped itself
. Was grinding the other day and the noise was getting quite weird and higher pitched, until it was making an atrocious noise and nothing was grinding through. Electronics and motor work fine, so I'm guessing it's the gearbox like many others'. A little more than 3 and a half years of use for me. I opened it all up but couldn't open the motor/gearbox assembly to actually look at the gearbox teeth, one of screws doesn't respond to the supplied allen key haha, may need one of those hex screwdriver things. I've emailed Five Senses the other day but yet to hear back, hoping it's an easy (and hopefully free) fix.
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The replacement gearbox arrived within days of making the warranty claim with five senses at no cost. The invoice has their replacement cost (if outside of a warranty claim) at $80 if anyone is interested.
The installation was very easy (I already had the old gearbox out). The hardest part was cleaning the crusted plastic dust (mixed with the old grease) from the old gearbox teeth (over time the plastic dust had worked deep into the outer teeth that the planetary gears sit in).
I couldn't see any difference between the old and new gearbox so I would assume the design is the same.
Once installed, I found the grinder is about 10 times quieter than before. It could be that over time it gets louder as the gearbox wears and creates the plastic dust, which mixes with the pre installed grease and causes heaps of friction. I can't remember the grinder being this quiet when new though.
My final thoughts... While I'm glad Baratza have extended the warranty on the gearbox (to apparently lifetime), and five senses were extremely easy to deal with, I can't help but be disappointed with the quality of the grinder overall. I'm hoping that they continue to develop the grinder to the point that they can make a gearbox that doesn't fail massively early, if nothing else to prevent a bunch of junk being thrown out.
I've always been happy with the quality of the coffee grinds themselves, and there is otherwise a lot to like about the grinder... I'm not expecting Mazzer longevity but as it stands they are well short of the mark.
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Looks like Robusto was spot on - five senses (on behalf of Baratza) are sending a replacement gearbox. From the emails with them they have said Baratza are providing a lifetime warranty on the gearboxes until the issues are resolved. I'm interested to find out how/if the new gearbox differs to the original one. I'd imagine until they aren't made of plastic they will continue to fail
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I'd be happy to install the gearbox as the grinder is quite simple to pull apart and put back together. Based on the internals I have to agree that the gearbox might be the first component of many to go...Originally posted by Berigora View PostMy understanding is that Baratza's ethos is to repair rather than replace, so even if you have to pay, replacement parts are cheap. My Sette 270 wi has been on three trips to 5 Senses in WA and I only paid the postage. One was for a replacement gearbox. A great company.
$1.15 per week or whatever it works out to be isn't massive, but at the end of the day a grinder shouldn't have ongoing costs. For comparison, my old Breville smart grinder is going strong being used by my mum now, 5-6 years on.
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Thats only the motor, other parts are of similar quality.
So factor in other parts that will very likely need to be replaced:
Scale Adjustment assembly - $100
Probably once in 5 years for light usage
Power Board - $40
Twice in 5 years - the Sette is a high voltage item
Display - $40
Once in 5 years
Scale - $100
Probably once maybe twice in 5 years
Planetary gear - $40
Once in 5 years or pay $60 for gear+planetary gear
Thats $600+$240+$100+$80+$40+$100+$40 = $1,200
I'm not dissing the 270 wi
I used it for almost 3 years very happily
Had a few replacements and then decided over the long term to just get an industrial-grade grinder.
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$120 for a motor is not really cheap if you need to replace it in 1.5 to 2 years.
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My understanding is that Baratza's ethos is to repair rather than replace, so even if you have to pay, replacement parts are cheap. My Sette 270 wi has been on three trips to 5 Senses in WA and I only paid the postage. One was for a replacement gearbox. A great company.
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