• Grinders

  • The Unknown Hand/Electric grinder

The grinder performed just fine, it seems like a great option for those who want something easily stowable (many people who like coffee don’t like leaving paraphernalia out in view all the time), better than a typical whirly blade grinder/Hario/Porlex & possibly in place of bulkier grinders like Baratza Encore, Wilfa etc. (as long as making smaller brews).

I wasn’t bowled over by the ergonomics of grinding by hand with it (short body & squared off crank arm), it’s doable in a ‘get you home’ when out of charge, kind of way.

The anti-clockwise motor locking bayonet lugs are just a function of the burr rotation direction, it doesn’t seem practical to try and ‘fix’/change this.

OK, been testing the revised production one with espresso…will it do it…yes. Is it really an espresso grinder NO, my reasons are as follows. I took a bean roasted back in June or July, it needed a really find grind, the grind time was 7.5 minutes, to give a decent espresso pour which it did and I’m drinking it now. I would imagine there might be some very light roast beans that could possibly take over 7 minutes, which makes the time too long. As the burrs are closed up for espresso the bean feed is insufficient to really drive the beans in.

Could you grind for espresso in an emergency, sure, regularly NO, you really wouldn’t want to. So far on a fully charged motor I have had 5 or 6 (16g) espresso grinds out of it and could possibly get the same again? Is it good for filter…YES, that’s what it should be for.

Fit finish and tolerances are now superb and up there with the best.

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    DavecUK hi Dave that sounds better, I followed the arrows but there was never any comforting lock in. I hope that the new one can stand up to daily use. Thank you.

      a year later

      Teaboy Mine did the same yesterday after 15months of use. I reckon it had about 2-3kg of coffee through it before the lugs sheared.

      I can still ‘use’ it by holding the 2 parts together and I am astounded at how much torque is experienced - no wonder the lugs failed! Grinding with the handle seems far easier and less jerky presumably because of higher rpm when hand grinding.

          james65477564 I’m surprised the lugs lasted that long, mine disintegrated in no time at all.
          So with BB deciding the V2 wasn’t going to happen I set about losing myself in CAD for a couple of days to design and print a more robust grinder insert & motor housing, which I’ve been using for the last 6-months.
          I can make the STL files available if you have the means to get them printed & want to give them a whirl

            6 days later

            The insert printed perfectly and I have only lost 1 lug on the motor housing so it is actually working again.

            How did you remove the motor housing?

              james65477564 Excellent 😊 Glad it worked for you.
              The motor housing is held with 2 pozi screws, which screw through the housing into the top cap. Remove the sticker on the base of the housing & you’ll see the holes where the screws are fitted (The two conical towers on the pic) . Remove those & you can pull the housing & internals out.
              The motor casing is actually two parts; The main cylinder, which slots into the keyways on the replacement housing & the top cap with the button press on.
              The internals aren’t fixed & just sit in the recesses on the housing, you just have to make sure everything is orientated so the button & charging port line up with the top cap
              Careful when you reassemble as the top cap is plastic & over tightening the screws could damage the fixings

                19 days later

                I use it almost daily and it is still working perfectly. I have the motor housing ready to go when additional lugs fail.

                Thanks again for taking the time to design the replacement parts.