germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,040 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012, 9:57am Subject: Quick test on Vario timer
So lately I got very anal about weighting my espresso doses post grind. My weighting is showing me that I can't on the timer to deliver the most accurate results so I thought I would test it out.
This is how I set the test up. Timer at 11.5sec for each grind. Single origin Brazil for beans and hopper kept 2/3rd to completely full for entire test. Grinding in and around what I am usually grinding at. 20sec rest in between each grind, I would like to try this again with more time between each grind.
It really isn't all that bad when only needing to be in the ball park but a gram difference in some of the results with out changing a setting means I am always using a scale now. I can not say my grinder was any more accurate when new (this one is 2+ years old), I was fine with just weighting the first few shots and then trusted the timer when making grind adjustments just staying in the ballpark, I started weighting like this when I began to taste wide changes shot to shot in the same day or even session.
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,040 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Fri Feb 24, 2012, 5:49pm Subject: Re: Quick test on Vario timer
Is anybody else weighing their doses using the Vario?
I can't say that the Vario ever behaved any different before I started weighing every dose but from posts I assumed people where getting more consistency then I am experiencing. I know longer feel like this has anything to do with any mechanical problem with the grinder, if I want finer I get it and if I want coarser I get it. Since I grind into the bin this has become a non issue, I grind more then I need then spoon out the extra to achieve the desired weight.
I have not sent anything to Baratza in hopes that owners would confirm I had an issue or share that the timer is actually just not as precise as I had assumed. A year ago I didn't care nor could tell much difference from a 17g shot to an 18g shot, curse you CG for helping me taste this difference.
BigStormGirl Senior Member Joined: 15 Jan 2011 Posts: 122 Location: Indiana Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Olympia Cremina Grinder: Baratza Vario/Peugeot Bresil Drip: CCD
Posted Fri Feb 24, 2012, 10:22pm Subject: Re: Quick test on Vario timer
I had the same issue with the timer. I ended up just weighing my beans, and throw it in the hopper so I could have consistency with my dose. I would love to have the timer to be more consistent. It would save me a step in my routine.
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,040 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Sat Mar 3, 2012, 4:19pm Subject: Re: Quick test on Vario timer
BigStormGirl Said:
I had the same issue with the timer. I ended up just weighing my beans, and throw it in the hopper so I could have consistency with my dose. I would love to have the timer to be more consistent. It would save me a step in my routine.
I got around to emailing Baratza about my times and Kyle got back to me, the Vario should be dosing around +/- 0.25g. He is sending me a new face plate just to rule out electronics then we will investigate further to try and sort out the issue.
I am due for a deep clean again but will wait until the face plate swap to see if some of the more drastic weight differences will show up then do a deep clean with more tests after that. As the fines build up I feel like the unpredictable timed amounts increases. I have not ever opened up the Vario body and wonder if fines have worked there way in and may be effecting the micro adjustment enough to give the results I have been getting.
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,040 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Sun Mar 4, 2012, 9:02am Subject: Re: Quick test on Vario timer
This morning is a good example of things being way off, triple pulled for my wife was a 22.3g dose, 2min later with no grind adjustments or timer adjustments 25.8g is what I received.
Craig if you are checking this thread out do you have any ideas? Kyle admits he is scratching his head a bit about these results especially since it behaves normal in some of the tests, but I am confident this will be resolved, Baratza has never let me down in 5+ years of using their products.
Posted Sun Mar 4, 2012, 1:31pm Subject: Re: Quick test on Vario timer
Hi Rob,
The only thing that comes to mind may be coffee sticking in the small horizontal coffee discharge pathway & the small rubber flap holding some of it back also.
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,040 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Sun Mar 4, 2012, 2:56pm Subject: Re: Quick test on Vario timer
CraigA Said:
Hi Rob,
The only thing that comes to mind may be coffee sticking in the small horizontal coffee discharge pathway & the small rubber flap holding some of it back also.
I had some time so I did a clean, did not unscrew the lower burr which makes cleaning the shoot much easier but used a bent paper clip, not to much build up. I decided to have a look under the hood, my belt has about 3mm movement, 1mm more then suggested. I could not find my offset screw driver so will adjust after picking up another one.
I reassembled and recalibrated to back off the finer calibration I have been using. If I go past the mid way point where the motor labors by a click or two I used to hear a high pitched chirp of the burrs, the sound this time was not that, more of a scream. I wish I had left the cover off while recalibrating to see if the sound had anything to do with the belt or was the burrs. not sure to chalk it up to 2.5 year old burrs that have seen 4lbs a week on average or something else?
GDK Senior Member Joined: 17 Feb 2011 Posts: 92 Location: Ontario, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: MiniVivaldi II, preinfusion,... Grinder: Baratza Vario W
Posted Mon Mar 5, 2012, 1:21pm Subject: Re: Quick test on Vario timer
Rob, Craig may be right. Take a mirror and place it under the grind dispensing hole to look up and see if grinds are stuck around the flap. If you see ground coffee in the pathway, get a toothpick (but break the sharp end) and gently remove the coffee. If the pathway is obstructed, then the flow coming out will be very irregular (bursts as opposed to a more steady flow) and quantity will vary quite a bit for the same time setting.
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