IMAWriter Senior Member Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 5,480 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 Sun Feb 26, 2012, 11:39am Subject: Re: Virtuoso Preciso Problem
Paulraff Said:
Thanks for your response Craig :-) I've accepted the WLM invitation. I would love to get any advice you have.
I've also got a prompt helpful response from Kyle at Baratza. The problem with the calibration screw breaking through is not unknown to them but it is very rare. He told me "we use 30% glass filling to further strengthen the part [micro-adjustment ring], this should allow the screw to be tightened (even in the middle of the slot) without deforming the slot and allowing the screw to go too deep".
So far, the good things coming out of this episode are:
(1) Baratza and the local suppliers in Ireland (Marco Beverage Systems and Coffee Angel) are proving themselves to be helpful, knowledgeable and customer-focused.
(2) I'm already finding that I can get wisdom, help and support from the Coffeegeek forums.
(3) I'm learning more about my grinder than simply how to plug in it, fill it up and press the grind button. ;-)
Posted Fri Mar 2, 2012, 1:19pm Subject: Re: Virtuoso Preciso Problem
jbviau Said:
This happened to me yesterday, but I chalked it up to past-peak beans. Then this morning I was getting gushers using fresh beans 3 macro settings down from my usual sweet spot. I checked the adjustment ring and found it was much looser at the 11:00 position. Colin at Baratza is sending me out a refurbished replacement Preciso featuring two upgrades: a beefed up adjustment ring (reinforced with fiberglass) and a quieter gearbox. While I wait for the UPS guys to saunter across the country with the "new" grinder, I think I'll be able to use the old Preciso (bought 6/7/11, btw) at coarser settings. The press grind still appears good (just checked).
Update: I got my refurbished replacement a few days ago, and I'm happy with it. I hope any Baratza caped crusaders who might question my motives for posting what follows will take note of that last bit! ;)
After setting up the refurb, the first thing I noticed was that it sounds much different than my old Preciso. Specifically, without beans, it sounds like the old one did when I was grinding for espresso and getting near what I assume was my zero point, i.e. burrs rubbing (or almost). The refurb sounds like this from macro setting #40 on down, but it's significantly quieter when beans are being ground.
NB: the refurb's burrs are *not* touching, and its grind is correct across the range from espresso to press, judging by my eyes and tongue.
Yesterday, I spoke to Kyle on the phone (how's that for accessibility?), and he thought the whirring noise would drop off after a break-in period. I assumed he meant breaking in of the grinder's transmission, for lack of a better word.
About the new gearbox, here's a quote from some promotional material for the soon-to-be-released Baratza Encore that I think applies to the Preciso, too:
"With GB 2.0, Baratza has significantly increased the strength and durability of the drive transmission while decreasing noise. In addition to a new drive shaft, motor mounting plate, and bushings, this change includes a new drive gear made of 15% glass-filled thermo plastic, which is quieter than the prior metal gear, wears better, and is more shock-resistant. We tested it by throwing stainless screws into the burrs, and in every case the motor/gear/burrs stopped dead and the (automatically-resettable) thermal cutout was triggered and the gears were fine. All of Baratza's conical burr grinders manufactured after January 2012 will also have the GB 2.0."
Anyway, I figured I'd post what I know "for the record" in case anyone else receives a refurbished or new Preciso that sounds the same way. And now I'm off to go grind some more of Brown Coffee's Finca Vista Hermosa, Edlina microlot (Guatemala), which is simply awesome!
Posted Fri Mar 2, 2012, 1:40pm Subject: Re: Virtuoso Preciso Problem
jbviau Said:
Yesterday, I spoke to Kyle on the phone (how's that for accessibility?), and he thought the whirring noise would drop off after a break-in period. I assumed he meant breaking in of the grinder's transmission, for lack of a better word.
About the new gearbox, here's a quote from some promotional material for the soon-to-be-released Baratza Encore that I think applies to the Preciso, too:
"With GB 2.0, Baratza has significantly increased the strength and durability of the drive transmission while decreasing noise. In addition to a new drive shaft, motor mounting plate, and bushings, this change includes a new drive gear made of 15% glass-filled thermo plastic, which is quieter than the prior metal gear, wears better, and is more shock-resistant. We tested it by throwing stainless screws into the burrs, and in every case the motor/gear/burrs stopped dead and the (automatically-resettable) thermal cutout was triggered and the gears were fine. All of Baratza's conical burr grinders manufactured after January 2012 will also have the GB 2.0."
Anyway, I figured I'd post what I know "for the record" in case anyone else receives a refurbished or new Preciso that sounds the same way. And now I'm off to go grind some more of Brown Coffee's Finca Vista Hermosa, Edlina microlot (Guatemala), which is simply awesome!
Posted Fri Mar 2, 2012, 2:53pm Subject: Re: Virtuoso Preciso Problem
Sure thing! Here's a shot of the refurb with the case off just for grins. I never bothered to peek under the hood of the old Preciso, so I don't know if anything looks different.
Gig103 Senior Member Joined: 12 Feb 2012 Posts: 204 Location: Arizona Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Crossland CC1 Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: French press!
Posted Sat Mar 3, 2012, 4:32pm Subject: Re: Virtuoso Preciso Problem
Paulraff Said:
We define the "zero point" as that place where (without beans in the machine) the burrs begin to touch. We set up Virtuoso's to begin to touch between 8-10, then we set the screw in place. The purpose of the calibration screw is to make each of our grinders the same (from the production line).
I just got a Preciso and I'm not having any problems, but I was wondering about this zero-point thing. With no beans and running, I hear the sound difference around 9 which is in line with what you said. But what does that mean? If they're touching there, how do beans get ground? Do I need to open up the grinder back to 40 when I put beans in and slowly crank back down to 9 for espresso, or can I just drop beans in and not have any problems?
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
![jbviau: php3A9VbWPM.jpg](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/56783/php3A9VbWPM.jpg", 261, 350, "jbviau: php3A9VbWPM.jpg");)
= No New Posts since last visit 