Wilfa Uniform as a long term investment?

Mystik_Wizard

I bought a Wilfa Uniform new in June ‘22. I brew in a Chemex two or three times daily, 30g beans. Not heavy duty use IMHO. Recently I found it increasingly difficult to achieve a setting where the fines content didn’t interfere with extraction. This being my first flat burr grinder I (wrongly as it turns out) concluded it was wear and tear, and that burr replacement was needed. Burrs though were widely out of stock so I checked in with Wilfa UK for availability. Long one short, their CS were excellent, inviting a warranty claim that was quickly honoured and a brand new replacement shipped out.

A comparison of new and old machines running empty was informative. The old one sounded like a bag of spanners while the new one chirruped quietly.

Wilfa UK declined return of the faulty unit so I took a look inside. Neither belt nor gears showed any wear, nor was there slack in the belt. The motor, a sealed unit had no detectable play. The grinder cup spindle runs in two plain bronze bearings that were dry of any lube applied at assembly. It’s up for grabs where the noise/rumble emanates from but my guess is these bronze bearings. I was unable to adjust the motor mounts to take out any negligible slack from the belt, nevertheless I doubt this offers any long term fix.

Assuming no mods have been made by Wilfa to address this, I can expect to replace the Uniform next when the warranty has expired. I love it and it grinds perfectly for my needs. Buying another is out of the question now after this experience. I’d be interested to hear from any Uniform owners who have problem free units since the 2019 product launch.

Although around twice the price of a Uniform, I expect my next grinder will be a Niche Duo. I’ll start saving now.

MWJB

I bought mine pre-Covid. Whilst it cost more than entry level, conical, steel burr grinders, it’s important to remember that it is still a budget grinder. It’s always nice when things outlive their warranty (and a reasonable expectation due to the function of the mode, with respect to product life) but it’s probably not the kind of thing that will be handed down through the generations.

I bought mine as my Niche Zero was being used in the office & I wanted to use that at home (instead of manual grinders), so the Wilfa flat became the office grinder. It is an acceptable grinder in terms of performance and I had some great cups from it. Allusions made to a leap in grind performance, compared to conical grinders (up to & including the same price range - at time of introduction) appear to have been optimistic hyperbole.

But then the Wilfa ‘Acceptable’, or ‘Normal’ wouldn’t have shifted many units would it?

I had no issues with mine over the (approx) 5 years I had it, semi-regular use. The only thing that got on my nerves was the way the grinds cup lid would fall into the grinds cup if you weren’t super careful when putting it in place. You don’t actually need the lid in day-to-day use, but the improved fit with the lid seems to prevent the grinds cup migrating out of it’s niche without it.

It’s good to see their customer service is excellent.

Mystik_Wizard

MWJB Thanks for responding to my question. The title to my post leaves room for interpretation, but I’m glad to hear yours beat the warranty period without issue. That’s really what I’m asking about and I’ve no expectation that I’ll be handing the Uniform down the generations!😁 The Wilfa was my first and so far only step into electric grinders, so represented a step up in spend which I feel was rewarded with a commensurate improvement in coffee experience. I respect Wilfa for both offering and honouring a five year warranty. That said, little over two and a half years lifespan is disappointing given the very reasonable demands I place on the machine. Posts I’ve read elsewhere on the ‘Wilfa rumble’ imply a bad batch so hopefully the replacement unit supersedes this issue.

As you rightly point out, the Wilfa Uniform is an entry level flat burr grinder and to an extent built down to a price point rather than up to a standard. I continue to enjoy using it and look forward to stepping up a level with my next purchase, whenever that time comes.

Zephyp

Not sure how old ours is, but I’d say it’s not too far off five years now. I used it a while, but switched back to my Comandante for pour over. My wife uses the Wilfa for her Moka brews and I use it if I want to grind larger amounts of coffee for some gathering.

It’s an alright grinder. I had some trouble dialling it in, but I had that with my other grinders as well. My main issue with it was the escape chute and retention. It gathered quite a bit of grounds in the chute and burrs. And it’s loud! I wear ear protection whenever we turn it on.

I had a couple of the cheaper Wilfa grinders some years ago and both of them had issues with the knob, wouldn’t start after a few years. That made me a bit hesitant to try the Uniform, but I wanted a better electric at the time, the Uniform got good reviews and I thought I might as well buy from a Norwegian company (I’m from Norway). I think they replaced one of the cheaper grinders and the second one I don’t know if I bothered asking for a new one. My impression from forums is that their customer service is good.

You’ll see diminishing returns buying anything more expensive for pour over, so if you’re happy and it works, I’d say keep it as long as you can. If you still got the faulty one you can use that for spare parts, should anything happen with the new one.

Mystik_Wizard

Zephyp

A lot of the noise is caused by the ill fitting lid.

Mystik_Wizard

Good to hear of another Uniform beating the warranty period. On noise, I’d definitely concur with the ‘leave the room’ decibel level. This was exactly my experience with the old faulty unit, but the change was so incremental over time that I’d not noticed the deterioration until compared to the new replacement. I have tinnitus, the result of my motorcycling years so am very careful in avoiding high noise levels. I can happily stay in the kitchen while the new Uniform grinds. Also agree re grounds/fines retention. The baffle at the top of the chute is prime culprit. Despite thorough cleaning, there was nearly a teaspoon of very fine grounds dislodged disassembling the old unit.

After dismantling the old unit I’d say any idea of using it for parts is pretty redundant. I can only make a best guess at the source of the fault but wouldn’t want to spend much time swapping parts in and out. The law of diminishing returns is a consideration as and when I replace the Wilfa. I will keep it for as long as it continues to work well. While presently the Niche Duo would likely be my other option, it is twice the price. Twice as good? Perhaps not. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Zephyp

Mystik_Wizard Thanks for the tip. I tried, but it’s not the lid causing it for me. When the beans are gone, the noise isn’t too bad. During grinding, it’s the actual grinding sound combined with motor whirr that is loud. A piercing sound.