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Helor 106 (first impressions July 2022)

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  • Helor 106 (first impressions July 2022)

    I bought this hand grinder second hand in early July 2022. The previous owner said it was only a few month old and had around 5kg of beans through it. A new Helor is hard to come by and their website had “SOLD OUT” every time I visited which what prompted me to go hunting for a near new one.

    A new Helor sells for an eye-watering US$789 plus shipping and local import taxes. I guess that landed on your doorstep, this is going to set you back over AU$1,400 or GBP£750.


    I shot an amateur video exclusively for the Coffee Snobs (AUS) and Coffee Time (UK) communities which shows the snap on/off nature of the grinder lid and the grind chamber. The second video is a short demo of using the grinder with a cordless power drill.

    https://youtu.be/W9ZOtxxLPa4

    https://youtu.be/nxf3LeN69fE

    The Helor 106 was designed and is made in China to seriously impressive quality standards.

    A couple of points to clear up any potential confusion. Firstly, Australian manufacturer Option-O previously distributed this grinder, but that arrangement has ceased. Also, at some point in the past this grinder was referred to as the Helor Flux.

    You can reference the Helor website for a list of seriously impressive specs. Those features as well as the physical experience of handling it both scream “quality” at the top of their respective lungs, including the large 71mm Mazzer conical burrs. By way of comparison, the fabulous electric benchtop Niche Zero grinder features 63mm Mazzer conical burrs which are plenty large enough.

    The Helor features a remarkable five gears which means two things.

    Firstly, it’s astonishingly easy to turn the crank. I mean really, really easy. Almost effortless with medium/dark beans. And it handles light beans with only a slight increase in resistance.

    Secondly, because of the 5:1 crank to RPM ratio, it takes a long time to grind 18 grams; around 55 seconds. By contrast a Kinu M47 Classic took me 35 seconds for the same 18 grams and the benchtop Malwani Livi hand grinder with 83mm Mazzer conical burrs takes me only 15 seconds.

    The Helor 106 is a travel grinder upgrade from a Kinu M47 Classic (47mm Italmill conical burrs) which I also thought was a superb grinder. I upgraded because I was curious, not due to any deficiency with the Kinu which was James Hoffman’s pick in his premium hand grinder showdown (the Helor 106 was not featured, possibly due to it's high cost).

    In terms of being low retention, the Helor is very good indeed. Better than some premium bench top grinders e.g. lower retention than a Niche Zero or EG-1 which is maybe what you might expect from a simpler, more straight-through internal grind to cup design of most hand grinders. To be clear, I have no idea why the Helor has such low retention and the Kinu was the same. So the above is only a guess. Others may care to offer their theories.

    The lid and magnetic grinds chamber are a snap (pardon the pun) to use although I have had the lid fall off a couple of times when holding the grinder upside down, which is what you tend to do from time to time with a hand grinder. By comparison, a bump to the base does not dislodge it due to the heavy duty magnets.

    I have ground light beans and medium/dark (Full City) and both were super easy to grind. I poured two espressos with the latter beans and used the Decent DE1XL to pour the espresso. It only took one adjustment to dial it in with 18g in and 35.9 out (applause at this point will be tolerated) and the espresso was the nice thick chocolate style espresso I prefer which is what I expected from the large Mazzer conical burrs. But what surprised me was that the espresso also featured a very pleasant nutty flavor (more on this below).

    The burr adjustment is done by removing the grind chamber which accesses the burr dial. You hold the burr carrier while turning the burr itself. It’s very easy to do but there are only dots as reference points, no numbers.

    What I liked:

    1. The quality is awesome. This is as good as it gets. I feel reassured by weight and don’t mind the extra kilo in my travel bag.

    2. The espresso was the thick chocolate style that I like but I was surprised that the nutty “flavour” of the beans was retained and that was not only unexpected but was also very distinctive. One explanation is the that low RPM creates less fines and so lowers the viscosity a bit but also retains more of the beans original flavour. That’s not my theory so don’t shoot the messenger if you disagree; I’m simply offering it as a potential explanation as to why the Helor produced an espresso with a nuttier flavor than the similarly sized Niche Zero burrs. And that’s not taking anything away from the Niche which IMHO is easily the best sub AU$1,000 grinder on the market for my preferred espresso style.

    3. Retention is low.

    4. The grinder is manufactured to such a quality that it can be used with a cordless drill without risk of damage to the bearings or shaft or whatever else is inside it (I have no idea). The manufacturer's website specifies a low torque Bosch cordless drill as having the right balance of toque and power. I take it by that, that one could use a cordless drill that is too powerful but I guess that maintaining a modest 200RPM or so, should be safe. I had a friend who took a cordless drill to his hand grinder (can't recall the brand) and destroyed it and that should not happen with the Helor.


    What I didn’t like

    1. Fifty five seconds to grind 18 grams is too long for me to accept the Helor as a daily grinder unless I was using a cordless drill to do the donkey work. But I’m quite OK with it as a travel grinder. Still, I would personally prefer one or two less gears in exchange for a faster grind time, accepting that the crank it going to require more effort to turn.

    2. I really don’t like the fact that when held upside down, the lid and handle will simply fall off. For a hand grinder, that is seriously annoying and if dropped onto a tile floor could damage the lid/handle. Magnets next time please Mrs Helor.

    3. As mentioned, the grind adjustment ring has only dots and no numbers to reference the gap that the burrs are set to. This, to me, needs to be remedied. It’s really hard to reference a previous grind dial setting without numbers.

    4. The price of a new unit. No need to say more.


    Conclusion.

    Y
    ou don't need a Helor 106. If you want a hand grinder, a Comandante or Kinu or 1zpresso will do you just fine. But you may still decide that you want one. Badly. Because while the "in the cup" experience may be similar to other quality grinders, the experience of using it is pure joy.


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  • #2
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this grinder tompoland great review. And even a video to show the cordless drill being used on the grinder!

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by tompoland View Post
      4. The grinder is manufactured to such a quality that it can be used with a cordless drill without risk of damage to the bearings or shaft or whatever else is inside it (I have no idea). The manufacturer's website specifies a low torque Bosch cordless drill as having the right balance of toque and power. I take it by that, that one could use a cordless drill that is too powerful but I guess that maintaining a modest 200RPM or so, should be safe. I had a friend who took a cordless drill to his hand grinder (can't recall the brand) and destroyed it and that should not happen with the Helor.
      Tom your video with the cordless "drill" scares me, especially when combined with this statement. Yes technically it is a drill, like a pair of scissors is technically pliers. But an impact driver is only bested by a hammer drill for killing hand grinders. The problem is not only speed but torque (and with impact drivers the application thereof). A normal cordless drill with have an adjustable clutch that can limit the torque to below gear munching amounts. 200rpm is good unless a bean gets stuck and your impact decides to give it the old one-two to get things moving again. It's such a beautiful piece of engineering I'd hate to see it put out of action.

      Comment


      • 338
        338 commented
        Editing a comment
        Well picked up Ninja! I watched the video and didn't realise it is an impact driver

      • tompoland
        tompoland commented
        Editing a comment
        Good to know L3N. I have zero understanding of these things and more than happy to defer to the advice of those more learned. I intend to use it sans drill because it's a travel grinder and if I were to add the weight of a cordless drill to the case I may as just throw a Niche in instead.

        Also, at that price point, if someone wanted to use an external driver for grinding, they would be better off buying a Niche or similar.

    • #4
      Nice to see you on TV Tom!

      Comment


      • tompoland
        tompoland commented
        Editing a comment
        Ah yes CF, you can finally confirm that the rumours of me looking so much like Hugh Jackman are true.

    • #5
      This is the drill recommend by Helor: BOSCH GSR120-LI

      Do you think that would that be suitable level3ninja and if so, what is it about its specifications which would make it ok? Thanks.

      Not that I intend to use the Helor with a drill, but others may like to know.

      Comment


      • roosterben
        roosterben commented
        Editing a comment
        I reckon that would work well Tompoland, what didn't work for me with a 1ZPresso JX Pro was a BOSCH 3.6V ¼” SCREWDRIVER this is a small lithium powered screwdriver but with only 5nm of torque it just can't turn the JX Pro with filter/espresso beans. 

        BTW great review and what a beast of a grinder, 71mm conical burrs. Also at 1.8kg that is only really portable if you are travelling in a vehicle or camping from a vehicle.

    • #6
      Tom, the Bosch you mentioned is a cordless driver, ie a direct replacement for a screwdriver. It provides low torque in one plane, just like a hand turning a screwdriver. (torque is turning force)

      An impact driver uses a percussive element when it hits a hard section, like you using a spanner on a stuck bolt, so then hitting the end with a hammer, repeatedly.

      The suggested driver offers 14 and 30nm, it is not uncommon to see an impact driver at 200nm. It is the percussive element which is so damaging, they often damage bolts and screws while removing. To quote google how an impact driver works:

      "How does an impact driver mechanism work?
      An impact driver senses when you need additional torque and creates rotational impact force with a spring, hammer, and anvil. As the motor turns the shaft, the spring compresses and then releases forcefully, driving the hammer rotationally against the anvil. This action happens rapidly."


      Comment


      • tompoland
        tompoland commented
        Editing a comment
        Got it, a BIG difference between a cordless screwdriver and an impact drill/thingy. That makes sense. I appreciate you clearing up my misinformation. Could have been damaging (literally) misinformation.

    • #7
      This comment from you level3ninja on the Decent thread may explain why the 71mm Mazzer burrs on the Helor exhibit the "nutty" origin flavor I referenced in the review:

      "Burr geometry has 10x the impact that size does. The 83mm Robur Mazzer burrs are known to be higher clarity than the 63mm Kony burrs (which is why Tim Wendelboe used them in his cafe until recently)."

      The light bulb just went off! Up until two minutes ago I was surprised at the flavor that the Helor produced.

      (So much to learn down this rabbit hole)

      Comment


      • #8
        Yep for quite some time about 1.5 yrs ago I searched for a 106/Flux and could find NOTHING new or used. Contacted the guy that makes them and it was finally available, so I snagged one right away. I'm a fan of hand grinding over any electric as I like everything manual has to offer. Yes it's a bit of work, but I'm not a push button nerd afraid to give 1,000% effort. Actually use my 106 95% of the time and average 6-7 19 gram doubles each morning with it, so averaging around 100 lbs yearly. I strip it down every 5-6 months for a deep cleaning (not much there anyway) and I clean and oil the ceramic bearings. Of course you will read that ceramic are self-lubricating, but makes no difference when a bit of coffee dust inevitably makes it down into that area and causes a bit of friction. I soak them in 91% alcohol, then dry and add a few drops of very low viscosity synthetic bearing oil. Then pay close attention to the bearing preload when assembling and it spins incredibly smooth. I did recently buy a few parts for possible long term future replacement, but honestly can't see this thing truly wearing out in my lifetime. The machined fit/finish, parts quality used, etc. just put it in a league of it's own.

        I do agree that lesser hand grinders will be fine for most as I've had several, but wanted the 106 to be the do all/end all manual grinder and it doesn't disappoint. Those huge burrs definitely have more a usable sweet spot than smaller conicals I've used and I can easily dial any coffee in quite quickly. Regarding the planetary gear system/handle not being magnetized I simply hold that in place anytime I invert the grinder, which is only to make a grind change. Yes it's easy to just hold the burr and slightly move the adjustment knob, but I find it a bit more precise to lock the shaft in place by having the gear mechanism in place and adjust accordingly.

        Will also add that mine was quite well aligned from the factory even though I did it myself not long ago during a teardown. Main focus was getting all 3 screws tightened precisely with a quality torque bit driver. Not necessarily a specific torque number to be in 'factory spec', but was careful to apply the same amount of torque to all 3 screws in sequence with what felt snug to my hand.

        Regarding lower RPM, I've done lots of experimentation with counting/timing and find that a lower RPM range gives me more fines as in a slower extraction all variables being as equal as possible. Have also noticed that with the 106 the angle at which it's held during grinding affects the feed rate and fineness as well. Best overall for my use is holding it around a 45 degree angle and cranking at 2 revolutions per second. Having tried all sorts of variations that just works well as far as feeling naturally cranking away.

        Comment


        • #9
          Great review Tom. I use my helor 106 for dark roasts only or decafs. More crema and body than MC4. I use it rarely but I like the end result a lot. I gave it to my brother and he used it with a screwdriver then he decided to get a niche and returned it back to me only to find out that it was misaligned badly 😂. I aligned it to the best I could and now it’s back in duty 🫡

          Comment


          • tompoland
            tompoland commented
            Editing a comment
            Interesting thanks. What was the sign of misalignment? And is your brother quite sure he didn't make my rookie mistake and use an impact driver? (Fortunately level3ninja spotted it before I ran any beans through it.)

            Also, would love to hear your exec summary of where you think the MC4 shines best.

          • MW11
            MW11 commented
            Editing a comment
            I sent him the model suggested by Helor on their site, so it was the right one. The inner rotating burr was off center. Like it was hammered to one side. It’s a brilliant design and built like a tank! I’m keeping it for travel.

            MC4 is my go to grinder for espressos with darker roasts and cortados but I really like it for hot/iced americanos (with dark roasts too). Never tried it with medium roasts tho, for that I have a MAX SLM which shines at 1:1 even with lighter roasts.

        • #10
          Incase anyone here has been waiting for these to come back in stock, there are 3 available on the helor website at the time of writing this. I have never seen them in stock, so jump in quick if youre keen!

          Comment

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