this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2024
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Coffee

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I just retrofitted my basic hand crank mill with a 10mm nut, and drove it with a drill. It's so much faster now, but I do wonder if there's actual properly motorized versions of what I just did.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Like this. I'm running it through a variable frequency drive to limit the revs

[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago

Shit i gotta try this with weed

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago

Dave smash coffee big rock

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I could not tell the difference between pre-ground and home ground coffee. I am happy with not having a discriminating palate, since pre-ground is easier.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

So you motorized a burr grinder?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Idk with just a cheapo electric grinder thing

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Wnh not just buy an electric grinder at this point? People use hand grinders because they enjoy the process.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Good electric burr grinders are very expensive.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So are good burr hand grinders. My friend paid as much for his hand grinder as I did for my Breville electric burr grinder.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

The Hario burr grinder in the OP is not on the same level. The one I had was about $40, and was so slow to grind that the drill was a gigantic upgrade. It cost me $.50 in parts to use with a drill I already had, which was great for college me. Cost was the deciding factor.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

That's cool then. I'm all for cost saving measures, especially for niche stuff like this which seems to always be overpriced.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

And yet the Skerton is still a terrible grinder. Not much better than a blade grinder. Too much boulders and dust. Grind uniformity is just plain bad.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I agree. Glad I got rid of it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Not really. A Baratza Encore can be had for just over $100 and is perfectly fine for 99% of the coffee population that isn't doing espresso.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, my partner bought me one for my birthday and it works great for my different coffee needs. My only gripe is that it's loud as hell.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

And you can upgrade the burr in the Encore to the M2 found in their higher end grinders very easily. That's what I did and it's quality is top-notch

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Because i wanted an all metal burr grinder with no plastic in it at all

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Hey! You're not OP! Everybody, this guy is a big phoney!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

I used to grind beans at home. But I just don’t care anymore. I just run them through the grinder at Costco.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

I have a pair of Breville/Sage SmartGrinders (which I didn't pay anywhere near list price for).

One for caff, one for decaff.

I love them, as once I've dialed in the grind size for a bean, and set the timer per shot to hit the correct weigh, I can just bonk the button with a portafilter, and get a correctly sized dose.

While I love experimenting with coffee, once the conclusion is reached, I like to nail down the process so I don't need to think about it until the next bean change.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

I tried this with exactly this bur grinder and it melted the plastic washer in the assembly

Granted, I was using it for flax seed instead of coffee (it was my spouse's idea), but be careful with that drill my friend

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

I do this with my 1zpresso Q2 except I just chuck it directly into the grinder which I find helps keep the beans from jumping out of the grinder.

I do the same thing (with a different grinder) when I need a large quantity of ground pepper.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yes

I have a special drill at work that is just for grinding coffee

At home I my grinder was half the price of my espresso machine.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

Seems like I might be a bit bougie. I have a Breville Dose Control conical burr grinder...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Did the same thing for a while lol, just had to keep the drill going as slow as possible.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

I had that Harrio as my first grinder, it was alright but the adjustment of grind size was annoying and a single espresso shot took like 10 mins to hand-crank. Within a week I ordered a Eureka Mignon Chrono. Best decision.

Ive since retired my budget espresso machine because having no time to dedicate to upkeep ment it was constantly getting nasty and was just too much hassle, now I have found my happy medium with a chemex.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I did that with mine. But I found that I had to feather the drill a lot to keep the grind consistent.

Eventually I just went back to buying pre ground.

Edit: actually I think I have the pro version of yours. Ended up buying a steel ring to go between the mill to stabilize the central steel pin. Got a more consistent grind after it. But felt I needed to keep the drill at a lower speed.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

Eventually I just went back to buying pre ground.

This sound!! I recognise this sound! Do you hear it? It‘s the doppler effect of pitchforks being dragged over the pavement.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I have a breville smart grinder pro. It's fine, but I'd love to upgrade

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I have one of these too. I concur it does a fine job.

Jokes aside the only negativity I've heard about these is they are not fine turnable enough at the lowest end of the scale.

I find I can get an excellent shot with good crema from most beans, but there are still a lot I feel I could go finer on to get a better result. Or just the beans suck.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

The 10-15 dollar grinder at Walmart or Target, I forgot which. Can't tell any real difference between that and my wife's burr grinder that is much larger.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I use a varia vs3 at home, and a hario skerton hand grinder at work

I chose the varia for its excellent reviews at its price point, and the hario for being good enough

I haven't tried driving the hario like yours, but also I don't have a drill at work

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I used to do exactly what you're doing in the photo until my wife got tired of me abusing the poor little Hario mill and bought me an electric burr mill. You can probably just use a socket on the Hario but I was lazy and clamped the chuck directly to it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I'm not sure I prefer the "actual properly motorized versions" over yours - this is absolutely awesome!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Larger amounts of coffee go in a Baratza Virtuoso, single cups go in my 1zpresso hand mill.

I can't recommend a nice hand mill enough - a hario is fine as a starter grinder but a better mill will be immensely more consistent and much quicker.

I like Baratza for electric grinders, they're a wonderful company. If anything breaks or you need support or parts they're there for you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I'll add the obligatory note for anybody new to hand grinders — skip Hario and anything with ceramic burrs and go directly to steel burrs. Yes you're jumping from $40 to $80 but they'll last for many years instead of 6 months and you get consistent grind size. 1Zpresso and Timemore are the most recommended brands.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

+1, my hario grinders were terrible for pour over, it was impossible to get a consistent grind out of either a skerton or a skerton pro. I wish I'd stepped up to a 1zpresso sooner. I tried aligning the burrs but never managed to eliminate fines and boulders in either of them, Hario seemed to have issues with the burr shaft being slightly out of true in both.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

At the as you exit filthy public grinder at Costco

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

To be fair those are nice freaking grinders. They look like niche zeros on fucking roids

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I mostly drink pre-ground but when I grind it myself I use Baratza Virtuoso grinder.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Hand ground with a Zassenhaus mill.

Got another in the cellar im 3D printing some gears to fit a stepper motor to it. Just got to get the ratio high enough for enough torque. Don't want the large gear too big, so need some more reduction.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I’m using a Breville Smart Grinder Pro that I modified to be single dose. I just ordered a DF64 Gen 2, but it hasn’t arrived yet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (6 children)
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I've got a cheap blender. It does the job pretty well, surprisingly. Though I never make a lot of coffee at once

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Timemore C3 Pro. Fits perfectly with a 2 cup Bialetti for a ~250 mL americano.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Capresso Infinity. It is an inexpensive conical burr grinder. I bought mine in 2012.

Mine lasted about 4 years before the thermister died. I replaced it with a 1Ω resistor and it works no problem. I've had to replace that resistor about every 4 years, three times so far, most recently a couple months ago. I would guess it is there to limit heat in the motor but the motor has not yet failed so 🤷.

I grind 60g of medium fine or 40g of coarse just about daily and it has otherwise held up fine. In the summer for the last few years I grind 120g of coarse every few days for cold brew, that is a longer grind and probably the most risk of overheating but hasn't really affected the life AFAICT.

You may be able to spend more on a grinder that lasts more than 4 years, but this is a cheap and easy fix if you're handy with a soldering iron.

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