Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Article on Static in grinding
Collapse
X
-
I have a Conti grinder here that is both incredibly slow and has the worst static of any doserless grinder I've ever used. It has a plastic flap over the outlet but it is ineffective, I think I'm going to cut out a few silicone gaskets for the chute and see if I can make an improvement. My grinder at home uses this to good effect and only retains 2-3g.
I also have a Brasilia RR55OD which is nearly identical to the Conti in regards to the motor speed, blades, sweeper and outlet chute however it is fast with absolutely no static problems. It uses a plastic flap over the outlet as well, it must have just been set up properly to begin with.
- Flag
-
Possibly becauseOriginally posted by Yelta View PostStatic in a grinder has never been a problem for me, obviously it's a major issue for some.
Have often wondered if it's down to weather/atmospheric conditions.🤔
I've never had much problem with static in the two dosered grinders I've owned,.Old school doser grinders — the ones with levers and dispensers — didn’t really have a static problem. The ground coffee not only compressed against itself in the chamber, but it also had the time to dissipate the static charge.
- Flag
Comment
-
My vario has a bit of static but 4 drops of water using single dosing works wonders. And with ceramic burrs you don't have to worry about rust.
- Flag
Comment
-
G'day Superman
Like all grinders I know (possible exception - the Niche Zero) the weight of the beans is actually required to feed the grinder burrs properly.
The Mahlkoenig Vario is no exception. At least beans a few mm above eye level in the hopper (i.e. circa 50g+) or the particle spread (and therefore texture) goes to custard. The other no-no is to allow the chamber to fill with used grinds - that takes about 750g of "quality beans" or about 150g of "oily mess" beans. When the chamber fills the grinder's note (sound) changes, as does the quality in the cuppa.
TampIt
PS: For the record I have 2 gen2's and 1 gen3 of my own, plus a dozen or so "strays" which i have set up for friends.
- Flag
-
I’m surprised you’re experiencing static with a Vario. Have you checked the static flap in the chute? A couple of times the chute on mine has clogged up with grounds and pushed the silicone flap to the side a bit which has resulted in noticeably more static and even worse grind quality. The chute should be checked and cleaned out regularly and the anti static flap should sit right in the middle.Originally posted by Superman View PostMy vario has a bit of static but 4 drops of water using single dosing works wonders. And with ceramic burrs you don't have to worry about rust.
- Flag
- Likes 1
Comment
-
Thanks noonar that was fascinating!
It explains alot actually with my Sette 270Wi... super fast grinding speed, low retention mixed with little to no compression (I think the slots the grinds pass through is the attempt at compression, but still very rapidly passes through), some beans are just crazy static... And as there is no chute at all to help dissipate static (passes straight through) this probably adds to it.
Funnily it's mainly my own home roasted beans that seem more staticky, most pre-roasted I buy are really clean, so perhaps roasting style matters here...
I noticed they mentioned Teflon being anti static... would placing teflon tape somewhere around the exit chute help alleviate this I wonder.. ? Any thoughts would be great... I don't know how this really works..
- Flag
Comment
-
Seems that once that static is in the grinds its a buggr to remove, loss of charged particles due to tightly compacted dry beans being smashed to powder seems to be the culpret. Grinder designers have obviously done pretty exhaustive testing and come up with a combination of speed, sweep arm design and a grill or flap mechanism to introduce compression/compaction to reduce the static and then, as in mazzers case for example, a delivery funnel to reduce some of the clumping caused by compaction. Not sure Teflon is the correct aspproach SK8R, it's not going to uncharge charged particles?. Drops of water in the pre ground beans seem to help, I suspect that water facilitates the same mechanism of reducing static as compaction. An ionising anti staic gun pointed directly at the exit chute may help?, often pondered never tried. Reducing the use of plastic for storage, transfer etc I also find helps reduce static. Come the hottest drier days of summer and some beans really love their static and water droplets seem to be the greatest aid in these conditions in my experience YMMV.
- Flag
- Likes 1
Comment
-
I have both Rossi RR45 and Compak K8 grinders and have become more aware of the static issue since I modded both by replacing the commercial dosers with SS funnels. The Rossi seems to generate a bit of static which causes the grinds to stick a bit to the funnel whereas the Compak does not. That is with the same beans in both cases. Believe the Compak is a later design and it runs at 880RPM which I guess is slower than the Rossi. It also has larger burrs. I fitted a brass flap in both cases. I can only assume the Compak is better designed from the static perspective.
- Flag
Comment
-
I haven't experienced static issues with any of the grinders I have. The exception is trying to grind some coffee for a friend into a plastic bag. This is always inviting static to the party. I think static prevention is a key feature of grinder design and it was great to read that article.
- Flag
- Likes 1
Comment
-
I haven't used the Sette but I did see one video where it was having a static attack. It made a mess. Of course, weather and humidity can effect it. I remember in the USA in Connecticut in winter, girls in the library going around zapping people. They each had a large iron nail and then rubbed their feet on the carpet then aimed for the cold affected ears of victims to come in range. Impressive six inch spark in some cases. It was probably about 30,000 volts. Memorable.It explains alot actually with my Sette 270Wi... super fast grinding speed, low retention mixed with little to no compression (I think the slots the grinds pass through is the attempt at compression, but still very rapidly passes through), some beans are just crazy static... And as there is no chute at all to help dissipate static (passes straight through) this probably adds to it.
- Flag
- Likes 3
Comment
-
I used to work as a security guard years ago, and one of the buildings we patrolled had carpet that generated a lot of static by scuffing your feet while walking. You could easily generate a 6" spark reaching for doorhandles, which looked impressive in the dark! The lift call buttons on each floor were a touch sensitive style that were affected by static electricity, so you could 'magically' summon a lift by generating a good static charge and pointing at the lift button from over 2' away.Originally posted by wattgn View PostI remember in the USA in Connecticut in winter, girls in the library going around zapping people. They each had a large iron nail and then rubbed their feet on the carpet then aimed for the cold affected ears of victims to come in range. Impressive six inch spark in some cases. It was probably about 30,000 volts. Memorable.
- Flag
- Likes 1
Comment
-
Truly shockingOriginally posted by MorganGT View Post
I used to work as a security guard years ago, and one of the buildings we patrolled had carpet that generated a lot of static by scuffing your feet while walking. You could easily generate a 6" spark reaching for doorhandles, which looked impressive in the dark! The lift call buttons on each floor were a touch sensitive style that were affected by static electricity, so you could 'magically' summon a lift by generating a good static charge and pointing at the lift button from over 2' away.
- Flag
- Likes 2
Comment

Comment