Whale Senior Member Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 114 Location: Montreal Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vivaldi II, MCal,... Grinder: MXKR, Major, Mythos, Baratza... Vac Pot: Vintage Silex Drip: Press only, I don't do drip!... Roaster: Cafemino E and Poppery 1
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 5:53am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
orphanespresso Said:
You can purchase the Vario update board separately from many places, including us - it's pretty easy to install, and we have a photo/how to for doing it on our website. The memory function is GREAT if you're power goes out, or you accidently unplug the grinder!
While, we are at it, I must say that the Orphan espresso photo-instruction page is just "fantastic". It covers the replacement from all angles and makes it easy for anyone. Great job!
doox00 Said:
some beans are better than others, I have tried 6-8 different espresso blends so far. I have the yogurt cup thinger I use in my portafilter to keep the spraying to a minimum.
It also has been my experience that the B-Vario is bean sensitive on that aspect. The dry air surely doesn't help and just aggravates the problem.
I am spending a lot of my thinking time into trying to find an elegant solution for the static issue that I have because I love the grinder and love the beans that are so "staticky".
The best idea that I have found so far is to use a conductive metal funnel (instead of the proverbial yogurt cup) in the P/F that is wired to the ground pin of the grinder. I am posting this tentatively because my B-Vario is temporarly disabled and I cannot experiment on this further. but it might be helpful to someone right now.
Grenfell Senior Member Joined: 3 Aug 2006 Posts: 74 Location: Ontario, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia V3 Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: Ubiquitous Cuisinart
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 6:51am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
orphanespresso Said:
You can purchase the Vario update board separately from many places, including us - it's pretty easy to install, and we have a photo/how to for doing it on our website. The memory function is GREAT if you're power goes out, or you accidently unplug the grinder!
Thank you, and an excellent write-up for the installation. If my vendor in Canada does not have it, I will order from you (you do mention you ship internationally - i.e. to Canada?).
SpeedStar Senior Member Joined: 6 Dec 2008 Posts: 227 Location: Chula Vista, Ca Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Alex Duetto II Grinder: Baratza Vario, Mazzer Mini Drip: Aeropress, Cuisinart
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 8:22am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
I had some issues with static when I first got mine. I use a bottomless with yogurt cup.
My fix was to ground the PF fork. The hook at the back is grounded to the thin metal strip at the back of the plastic bin by way of the screw that holds the hook in place. The fork is not grounded though. I used some guitar string to connect the hook and the fork so it is all grounded, and adjusted the height of my fork so I am in contact with the fork, wire and hook with my yogurt cup filling the entire void so no grounds can get out.
I had to flip the fork to get the needed space for my setup and also bent the hook inward to allow the entire cup to fit under the spout.
I also made a stainless funnel out of a measuring scoop. Put a lot of work into it and the fit is perfect but the yogurt cup work just as good once the parts were all grounded. YMMV.
Whale Senior Member Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 114 Location: Montreal Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vivaldi II, MCal,... Grinder: MXKR, Major, Mythos, Baratza... Vac Pot: Vintage Silex Drip: Press only, I don't do drip!... Roaster: Cafemino E and Poppery 1
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 10:07am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
Clad it works for you.
I remove the fork as it was not holding the P/F to my liking and does not allow enough freedom of movement. This is not a B-Vario thing. I always removed the P/F fork from all grinders that I have owned. I find them more annoying than useful.
I still use the upper hook for gross positioning and for the grounding although it is not achieving the full benefit I am sure that it helps a bit.
johnnyboy5 Senior Member Joined: 20 Jul 2009 Posts: 61 Location: Toronto, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Mini Vivaldi II Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 11:57am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
That's the one thing I dislike about my Vario. The fork was so useless that I have taken to grinding into the supplied basket, and then pouring the grinds into my PF. Much neater that way, although I really wish I could grind directly into the PF. The yogurt cup thing doesn't do it for me either. Waiting for Espressoparts to make a 53mm funnel collar for Vivaldi II PF.
IMAWriter Senior Member Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 5,475 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Nothing at the moment Grinder: Vario-W,Preciso-Esatto/KyM... Vac Pot: Adcraft SS, Yama 8 cup Drip: Brazen.Chemex, Hario, Clever... Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 2:27pm Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
johnnyboy5 Said:
That's the one thing I dislike about my Vario. The fork was so useless that I have taken to grinding into the supplied basket, and then pouring the grinds into my PF. Much neater that way, although I really wish I could grind directly into the PF. The yogurt cup thing doesn't do it for me either. Waiting for Espressoparts to make a 53mm funnel collar for Vivaldi II PF.
espressoaddict Senior Member Joined: 18 Mar 2009 Posts: 346 Location: Seattle Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia V3 (Primary)... Grinder: Baratza Vario 2009 and... Vac Pot: None Drip: Melitta Single Cup, Bodum...
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 4:53pm Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
Thought about using the yogurt cup to help minimize the grounds spilling into the coffee container and counter. However, I wanted to eliminate the yogurt cup completely as an additional step in my routine. Plus it looks second rate on the counter, although does wonders for WDT.
Even if I were to use the yogurt cup, it would require adjusting the fork position to accommodate the extra height. I'm not going to do this anyway, but should note that if I did this adjustment, it wouldn't provide enough clearance for my single spout. It would just hit the bottom container.
For what the Vario offers in performance and convenience, I'm willing to not worry about those extra grinds spilling.
Here is what I did and how I use my Vario.
Purchased a 9 in x 6 in x 2 in square plastic container named Made Smart from Target which can be found in their housewares section. This container is not only inexpensive, but provides many benefits. (See the photo below where my Vario rests)
Helps protect the grinder from sliding objects at the base from nicking the body. The under carriage is protected on the counter from moisture and unexpected spills.
The front of the container helps collect spent grounds that may wind up on the counter. Container can easily be removed and rinsed at the end of the day or easily vacuumed using a ShopVac. Personally, just vacuum it daily, when the stains get really problematic, I just wash the container with soap and water.
Less stress is placed on the Vario's soft rubber feet -- prolonging the life of those feet because the Vario can now easily be moved sideways with forward and back motion. Typically, would lift the entire body when either cleaning the grinder or etc. Now it moves forward and back with ease.
Lastly serves as a convenient way to store your barista tools (like featured in the photo). No complaints from me on the mess. Keep in mind, the picture below was taken today after pulling about 6 double shots of Espresso. Still that mess you see in the photo is very minimal to my expectations.
Providing a video of my Vario in action for those curious to see how easy it is to dose and eliminate the WDT. Note I will hit the preset time for Espresso prior to dosing. The timed feature helps save extra coffee. I timed it to provide extra just in case. Although optional, if I'm in a hurry I'll level using a chopstick, but most of the times just level as shown and tamp.
Whale Senior Member Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 114 Location: Montreal Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vivaldi II, MCal,... Grinder: MXKR, Major, Mythos, Baratza... Vac Pot: Vintage Silex Drip: Press only, I don't do drip!... Roaster: Cafemino E and Poppery 1
Posted Thu Jan 7, 2010, 9:02pm Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
To be honest I have searched there site and couldn't find the tall aluminium funnels anymore... When you mentionned it, that is what I went for to no avail...
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