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Compak K8 Silenzio - a question about burrs and speeds

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  • Compak K8 Silenzio - a question about burrs and speeds

    I recently modded a Compak K8 Silenzio for single dosing https://coffeesnobs.com.au/forum/equ...lenzio-grinder

    I have researched the question of what burrs fit this grinder and found very little on the subject. Also this grinder has been sold operating at different speeds.

    The one I have was purchased on evilbay about 10 years ago from a Melbourne roaster and runs at 880 rpm which is relatively slow for this grinder. I understand the roaster directly imported them from Compak and requested the slower speed to try to improve the grind quality. Does anyone know more about this?

    Now on the question of burrs, the Compak K8 Silenzio uses 83 mm burrs rather than 80 mm used on other K8 grinders. I am curious why Compak would produce two different burr sizes on K8 grinders. Seems like a marketing disaster to me.

    I decided it was time to replace the burrs on mine after 10 years in my hands with second hand burrs when I got it even though it still ground great coffee. I discovered that the burrs for this machine have the same dimensions as those for Mazzer Majors and as Coffee Parts do not sell Compak K8 Silenzio 83 mm burrs but do sell those for Mazzer Majors. So I took the brave and possibly foolish step and ordered a pair. They arrived today so I decided to swap them out.

    When I removed the Compak burrs (marked Compak K818) I found their dimensions are precisely the same as the new Mazzer burrs and physically a perfect fit. However on a closer inspection the grinding profiles do differ. Pic 1 is of a Compak burr set and pic 2 is of a Mazzer Major.

    On the back they are identical but on the front the Compak cutting 'teeth' tend to extend to the inside while in the Mazzer they do not. Can anyone advise what the difference does both to the grinder (eg will the Mazzer burrs put more stress on the motor) and to the grind quality?

    Tried making coffee with it night and found the following.

    1. The optimum grind setting is almost the same as before for espresso.

    2. The coffee flavour does not seem to have suffered and I believe it may be better. Need to put more and different beans through it before I can be sure. May be imagining it.

    I am not to worried about stressing the motor as the grinder is used lightly on home duty and its slower than normal speed should reduce any stress. Am I right about that?
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Took some pics of the Silenzio burrs I replaced Just read the HB link MxD posted on the Lagom P64 discussion at https://coffeesnobs.com.au/forum/equ...agom-p64/page8 https://www.home-barista.com/grinder...60117-740.html

    To me the Compak K812 burrs look a bit like the Lagom SSP Unimodal burrs while the Mazzer burrs look more like Lagom SSP high uniformity ones. It is great that Lagom / SSP are offering two different types of burrs. Should give us a better idea of the impact of burr geometry on coffee quality.
    Attached Files

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    • #3
      “The one I have was purchased on evilbay about 10 years ago from a Melbourne roaster and runs at 880 rpm which is relatively slow for this grinder. I understand the roaster directly imported them from Compak and requested the slower speed to try to improve the grind quality. Does anyone know more about this?” Yes, a little. You’re right that the low RPM K8 Silenzios were made for the Aus/NZ market. They’re quite unusual being 220v, 60hz and low RPM. You’re one is a 2nd generation. The one I had was a first generation and from memory it was even slower at 600RPM. It was a slightly different shape with corners that were a bit more square and it also had stepped grind adjustment. The roaster ‘directly imported them’ bit I don’t think is right. I think it’s more that the Australian Compak agent worked with them to bring a grinder to market that they thought suited that market then acted as their distributor. I’m not sure who it was, but I think it was one of the bigger players like Mocopan or maybe even Vittoria. As far as the burrs go I’d say that if they fit they should be ok, but I’m no expert so be cautious. There’s companies making aftermarket burr sets that are quite different to OEM ones so grinders must be able to handle it for the most part.

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      • #4
        Leroy You are probably right that it was the Australian Compak agent who worked it out. The roaster was Amati coffee. The new burrs are a perfect physical fit. The only difference is the cutter geometry.

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