My electric burr coffee grinder cut out on me today

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Consul

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
1,653
Location
Port Huron, Michigan, USA
It was barely about a year old. It's like we're renting things instead of buying them. My next one's going to be a hand-crank model. One of those Turkish ones looks good, but I don't think one can adjust the grind on those. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

In the meantime, I'm using my porcelain mortar and pestle. It's slow and laborious, but it does a decent job if I really work at it.
 
[quote author="Consul"]It was barely about a year old. It's like we're renting things instead of buying them. My next one's going to be a hand-crank model. One of those Turkish ones looks good, but I don't think one can adjust the grind on those. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

In the meantime, I'm using my porcelain mortar and pestle. It's slow and laborious, but it does a decent job if I really work at it.[/quote]

Ironically I'm packing up my hand crank burr grinder (Zassenhaus) today to send back for repair. It's Swiss made I believe, and a small metal vane that nudges beans into the burrs is loose so it takes 3 to 4x the number of cranks it should to grind a pot's worth of coffee. It worked fine for a year or two. I just don't have the time and patience to crank longer than necessary.

My old electric burr grinder (dust monster) still works. The good hand grinders make a nice pot of coffee, but are not immune from failure.

JR
 
I've had the same experience with Vaccuum cleaners since moving to the US.

My fiance and I have burned through 3 in the last year. I finally decided to go out, and spend WAY more than I normally would, and get a Dyson.

Man... that thing is built like a brick sh*thouse, and can be completely disassembled to clear any blockages etc. (and has full docuementation for doing it!)


a 5 year warranty... that's confidence in your product.
 
sheesh, what are you vacuuming? wooly mammoth hair?

ive had the same plain old hoover for twenty years. only needed to change bags and occasional belt.
 
Naw, it was a Mr. Coffee. Nothing fancy, but I expected it to last more than a year. I should've spent the extra on the Cuisinart. My Cuisinart food processor is a top-notch piece of gear.

There's a part of me wondering how hard it would be to make a grinder of my own...
 
zass.151.pre.jpg


http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.zas.shtml

I notice they no longer sell the wall mount hand crank grinder, I have a feed problem with, but the grinder itself is solid and have no qualms about recommending the gravity feed models.

JR
 
So an equipment upgrade from a Krupps "rotating knifes" grinder to a burr grinder will improve the house java? I think I can make that a write-off! And I can grind without waking-up the missus.

And agreed with the Hoover. I use a "porta-power" attachment vac that Mom gave me when I went off to college- in 1982. Our rug vac is also a Hoover, commercial hevi duty in use for over 30 years. Inherited from Mom.
Mike
and PS: did you check to see if the grinder is just seized? That happens occasionally to a cheapie motor in a mini shop vac of mine. I spin the plastic "flywheel" and it comes back to life.
 
Really serious coffee drinkers swear by the hand crank burr grinders as actually tasting better. I have some experience with both hand and motorized burr grinders and in my specific comparison the (Zassenhaus) hand grinder is a little more consistent for grind output quality than (Capresso) motor grinder, but I don't personally perceive any taste difference.

FWIW my motor grinder is still truckin and hand grinder not, but I don't consider that typical.

JR

EDIT Yes burr grinders are universally considered better than blade grinders. With burr grinders you can adjust how coarse or fine the output is, which affects the brew extraction. With blade grinders, you can only crudely manage how coarse or fine, by how long you grind.
 
[quote author="sodderboy"]did you check to see if the grinder is just seized? That happens occasionally to a cheapie motor in a mini shop vac of mine. I spin the plastic "flywheel" and it comes back to life.[/quote]

Yeah, I spent a great deal of time cleaning it out and inspecting the works, and I couldn't find anything wrong.

It's not too big a deal, really. I'll just spring for a nice hand-cranker when I have the cash. In the meantime, the mortar and pestle is hard and messy work, but it does work, and it does so with a minimum of fussy technologies. :grin:
 
> Vaccuum cleaners ... have burned through 3 in the last year.

Yow.

We bought a $28 Panasonic in 1982(?) and it needs a new hoze already.

Yes, I HAVE opened it up a few times, mostly a reluctant cord-winder. I don't think I've ever had to expose the motor or switch.

I have 1950s Electroluxes, in fair working order, fully rebuildable. You can buy like-new rebuilts of Lux and Hoovers.

The $89 ShopVac plus the super-fine filter is an excellent sucker, though not stylish enough for upstairs. Yes, there is an adapter to household-size wands and heads.

> sheesh, what are you vacuuming? wooly mammoth hair?

Almost. 13 of the P-Sonic's years were with a Great Pyrenees. So I doubt a Wooly Mammoth would be a problem. I think it is bad luck with dirt and cheap moldings that has plagued Rochey.
lg_artwork.jpg
 
Gads, we've had the most awful luck with vacuum cleaners here at the house as well. My mom wants to get another old cannister Electrolux, having had two and them lasting for a long time and being good vacuums. I have no idea where I might go about finding one these days, though, especially in good working order.
 
o man, just do a google search on electrolux canister and youll get lots of results. but shipping is expensive so it makes sense to buy local if you can

dont be afraid to pick up an old $10 electrolux at the goodwill or whatever, as long as its not too beat up. you can restore to good working order with basic mechanical skills. parts are available for many models.
 
[quote author="sodderboy"]So an equipment upgrade from a Krupps "rotating knifes" grinder to a burr grinder will improve the house java? [/quote]

Really, Mike... What would Bobby say???

  • 1. Burr grinders grind about 600 times more evenly than their blade counterparts. The more accurate the grind, the more evenly you can control the amount of bean surface area you are exposing to water.

    2. Burr grinders generate way less heat than their blade counterparts. Heat damages coffee. Hand crank models produce even less heat.

I prefer a conical grinder. Let Newton do some of the work. I use this to prepare my coffee: Capresso Coffee TEAM Therm

PS. Is that the Hoover that put you in the hospital? I know you have very special feelings about that vac....
 
I got my hand crank burr grinder repaired and back in service. Instead of sending it to Switzerland I had my local machine shop fix-it guy, work on it. I couldn't get it apart without stripping out the screws and I think he was little embarrassed by how hard it was to get apart since he took a couple weeks and didn't charge me to fix it. I roasted him up a fresh batch of coffee beans as payment.

The difference in grind quality between the hand cranked and motorized burr grinder is modest but I do perceive a slight improvement in the hand cranked. There is also less fine coffee dust and general mess.

It does take 300-400 cranks to grind a pots worth of coffee but I can generally grind the beans while I'm waiting for the water to boil in my kettle.

JR

Life is too short to drink inferior beverages.
 
I'd like to see a mandatory 5 or even 10 year guarantee on everything. It would overhaul our disposable society.

Make sure you clean the filters on the Dyson. They have a reputation...

I like Henrys. We have them at home, studio and workshop. You see them in chemistry labs and building sites, you can suck up broken bricks and they don't break.

OK!
 
[quote author="JohnRoberts"]

Life is too short to drink inferior beverages.[/quote]

then you should drink TEA :wink:
 
[quote author="lofi"][quote author="JohnRoberts"]

Life is too short to drink inferior beverages.[/quote]

then you should drink TEA :wink:[/quote]

I drink Japanese Sencha between my morning regular and afternoon decaf (water process only). I find the Japanese tea somewhat higher quality than Chinese green, but sometimes I'll have some Chinese Oolong.

In the evening I drink American stout :guinness: of my own brew. I'll occasionally use some British hops (Kent or Golding) , but lately there's been a hop shortage, so I use domestic hops.

JR
 

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