Posted Thu Dec 8, 2011, 10:27am Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
Hey Matt,
I have the same failure on a 2nd Hario Mini Mill Slim that I've been working on.
What happens is this:
The "ears" of the center shaft slipped out of the notches on the center burr while I was cranking it. Then, the center burr stays in place, but the center shaft can continue to turn. Because the tri-wing nut is connected to center burr, it is also held stationary, and cranking essentially tightens the burr adjustment until it won't crank anymore (about 1 turn of the crank).
I'm not sure why it is doing this, but the "ears" are about 0.5mm smaller span than my original Hario Mini Mill slim. Before I took all the slop out, it was essentially a brand new unit.
I can take the nut off, and the center burr is still stuck - I have to put gentle pressure on the center shaft to work the center burr off. Not sure how I'll fix it - yet.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Fri Dec 9, 2011, 10:29am Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
Seems to be fixed.
The fix is not what most people will want to do, but confirms one of the downsides of the Hario MMS. The swedge method of making the locking ears on the center shaft is REALLY sensitive to manufacturing variation.
To do this fix, you need:
-Mad TIG welding skillz -a TIG welder -stainless wire -a mill, or mad dremel or filing and belt sanding skillz
The shaft seems to be made of stainless steel, low cost. Non-magnetic. I suppose brazing is another possibility.
Use the TIG welder to build up the ears (initial is 7.2mm, my one at home is 8.15mm, I built it up to >9mm).
Use a mill or file and sander to bring the ear span to about 1.6mm proud of the shaft, touch up the ear "thickness" and work it and the plastic notches in the center burr (with a teeny square needle file). The center burr needs to smoothly move on the shaft.
Then, reassemble, and you're back in b'ness. over 100g so far and working well.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Fri Dec 9, 2011, 10:36am Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
Pic of the ears:
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Fri Dec 9, 2011, 10:36am Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
a reference picture of the whole shaft
(Click for larger image)
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
jrw18833 Senior Member Joined: 11 Jan 2012 Posts: 1 Location: Memphis, TN Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Wed Jan 11, 2012, 4:49pm Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
I just received my mini mill today and literally on the first grind a bean got stuck in the burr and it looks like it's pretty much toast--I've tried most of the suggestions posted here to no avail. The beans were fairly lightly roasted so they are a bit harder and I was doing a fine grind for my Aeropress, but I just can't think this is normal. I just ordered a Kyocera to replace it (it looks very similar to the Hario Skerton) since Amazon could get it to me by tomorrow so hopefully I'll have better luck with it.
Posted Thu Jan 12, 2012, 5:34am Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
jrw18833 Said:
I just received my mini mill today and literally on the first grind a bean got stuck in the burr and it looks like it's pretty much toast--I've tried most of the suggestions posted here to no avail. The beans were fairly lightly roasted so they are a bit harder and I was doing a fine grind for my Aeropress, but I just can't think this is normal. I just ordered a Kyocera to replace it (it looks very similar to the Hario Skerton) since Amazon could get it to me by tomorrow so hopefully I'll have better luck with it.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
ivanbuto Senior Member Joined: 12 Feb 2012 Posts: 1 Location: Bratislava, Slovakia Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sun Feb 12, 2012, 8:12pm Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
Hi all, slightly different problem from the original poster, but also falling into the category of a broken Hario Mini Mill: While cleaning the mill today, the top ceramic burr fell on the floor and, unfortunately, broke into pieces. Is there any way to get replacement parts, or will I have to order the whole mill again? Or, alternatively, would anyone from this community have a spare part available that they don't use? Thanks!
VictorSM Senior Member Joined: 11 Sep 2011 Posts: 11 Location: Princeton, NJ Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Jun 3, 2012, 9:37am Subject: Re: Broken Hario Mini Mill?
I have a slightly different problem: I own two hario mini-mills. I got the first one almost 2 years ago. It had been working ok, but after a few months the bottle (the lower part that catches the grounds) developed a huge crack. It didn't seem to affect the performance but I was concerned about it deteriorating. I attributed it to the fact that, since I couldn't read the Japanese instructions, I had washed it in the top rack of my dishwasher. I got in touch with Hario (who were very responsive) and ordered two replacement bottles (I had bought a second minimill for use at work, and it was starting to display cracks in the bottle too). I haven't used my minimill at home for a few weeks -- it's just been sitting on the counter -- since I decided to buy an OE Lido (which I really love -- but it's certainly not as portable as the minimill), and just noticed that its bottle has a huge crack in it! Has anybody else experienced this? It doesn't speak well for Hario's quality control.
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