mikebrx Senior Member Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Deutschland Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia CC pid Grinder: Vario
Posted Tue Feb 1, 2011, 11:47am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
That was it! Opened it up today, and found a loose belt. Little or no black on the gear. Tightened the belt, we'll see what the next few days brings. Thanks!
Posted Tue Feb 1, 2011, 12:04pm Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
Excellent Michael,
Glad I could help!
Don't tighten the belt too much though as that'll put too much stress on all the associated drive geartrain. It's kinda like tightening a chain on a motorcycle to spec, there's a loose spot & a tighter spot/area (due to uneven chain link bushing wear) not applicable to this glass reinforced ContiTech Contential drive belt though, but you have to leave a little "give" in the belt.
ge7243 Senior Member Joined: 6 Mar 2010 Posts: 52 Location: Virginia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europiccola;... Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: Bodum 3-cup press
Posted Wed Feb 2, 2011, 5:39am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
Figured I'd give an update on the issues I was having: every time I changed the grind to a finer setting, it would have to grind for a few extra seconds after dialing in to actually achieve the desired fineness. And even then, the grind size would become gradually more inconsistent with each successive dosing.
Well I'm happy to report that the problem appears to have fixed itself. There is no trouble at all with grind consistency now, and the fineness gets dialed in almost immediately. I have no idea why it's okay now-I haven't attempted any repairs since I first brought this up pages back-but you won't see me complaining!
As an aside, I'm also happy to say that it's getting more use from the rest of my family now. My parents recently switched from a Delonghi super automatic to a Cuisinart K-cup maker. After realizing that K-cups cost an awful lot for old vacuum sealed pre-grinds, they have taken to grinding about a day's worth of coffee at a time with my Vario and using miniature disposable paper filters to brew their coffee with. Not the classiest solution, but I'm proud of them nevertheless!
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 Wed Feb 2, 2011, 7:01am Subject: Re: UPDATE
Grenfell Said:
Perfect! Thank you very much for posting the pic, appreciated. That's exactly the part I am missing and I'm sure it's floating around inside the grinder somewhere. Baratza has already mailed the parts, will post an update once I've repaired it.
So the parts arrived yesterday from Baratza. Spoke with Pierce at Baratza who was incredibly helpful. They sent me a new outer housing, switch, shims AND the updated faceboard (mine was the original, no sleep or memory). No cost.
I took the grinder apart and was able to re-secure the hopper switch - thanks for that pic Craig, it was instrumental to re-fitting the metal tab to hold the switch into place. It had fallen off and was stuck to the side of the motor (magnetic force). I installed the new faceboard and the shims. Baratza sent a PDF to me with instructions how to install the shims, it was detailed and the process was easy. I put everything back together and the first thing I noticed was how much the slider arms had 'firmed up'. They really click into place now and hold that position. The shims make a BIG difference. If anyone needs the instructions, just ask.
Tested the grinder dry, all good, added some beans and voilà - back in action. Grinder is working perfectly. No more sliding macro arm.
So all in all I am EXCEPTIONALLY pleased with Baratza's customer service. Even if this wasn't such an amazing grinder (it is), I would recommend them based on this aspect alone. Too many companies in the past few years have put customer service waaaay on the back burner. Not Baratza. Even though breaking the tabs on the outer case was my fault, they sent me a new one. So thanks to all there.
Big thanks to everyone here who helped me as well, especially Craig!
Rideoften Senior Member Joined: 29 May 2010 Posts: 68 Location: Orlando Fl. Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Brewtus Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Thu Feb 3, 2011, 1:16am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
On a similar note. I recently got a stone in my Vario and ruined the drive gear and damaged the drive belt. I emailed Baratza and told them I was mechanically inclined and requested info. Pierce Jens responded and said he'd send me a belt and gear and write a tutorial on the repair. With his tutorial, I was able to remove the damaged parts and upon arrival replace with the new parts. The Vario is running good as new. I really appreiciate Pierce taking the time to help me through this and I really enjoyed seeing how a Vario works. 1st class service in my opnion. Thanks Pierce Jens.
alnica Senior Member Joined: 28 Feb 2010 Posts: 76 Location: Nicaragua Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vivaldi II Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Sat Feb 5, 2011, 10:09am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
Strange thing happening to my (8 month old) Vario today. While grinding the sliders are slipping. During my 13 sec espresso dose, the micro slider is slipping down 2-3 grinds and the macro one one notch. This is the first time this has happened. Any ideas what is happening here and how to fix?
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 Mon Feb 7, 2011, 7:07am Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
alnica Said:
Strange thing happening to my (8 month old) Vario today. While grinding the sliders are slipping. During my 13 sec espresso dose, the micro slider is slipping down 2-3 grinds and the macro one one notch. This is the first time this has happened. Any ideas what is happening here and how to fix?
Al - it's well covered in this thread. Read my post (about 4 posts up). You can get small silicone shims for the levers that increase the tension of the arms, so they stay in place better. Fixed mine. C.
alnica Senior Member Joined: 28 Feb 2010 Posts: 76 Location: Nicaragua Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vivaldi II Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Mon Feb 7, 2011, 3:55pm Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
Hi Chris, I had trawled through the first 200 posts on this thread but didn't look at the most recent ones. Oops! Have now emailed Baratza so hopefully they will send me out the mysterious "shims". Al
Posted Mon Feb 7, 2011, 4:22pm Subject: Re: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread
Grenfell Said:
Al - it's well covered in this thread. Read my post (about 4 posts up). You can get small silicone shims for the levers that increase the tension of the arms, so they stay in place better. Fixed mine. C.
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