I'm can't believe that I'm doing this...but I think that I have to sell my Nino. I have easily 4 times the amount of coffee equipment than can reasonably fit in my house, and the Nino is so large and heavy that I can't move it out of the way to test other gear, which I need to do all the time. It's immobile girth has put several grinder mod projects on hold.
I got this used from a roaster's lab. It's in excellent condition. UPS bent the front foot when I got it, it went back to the seller and he replaced the base for me with a new one from Elektra, so the base is new and shiny and ding free. The only not-perfect parts are some grounds that have snuck their way under the LCD display window, a somewhat beat up floor on the catch tray, and a variety of nicks on the tamper base part of the swinging tamper (I actually discovered that Espressoparts tamper bases fit, but I'm using it with a Maximatic at the moment so the tamper thing isn't attached). Apart from the fact it is an immovable giant, it is too loud and makes my new born son cry when he is in direct earshot of the sudden burst of noise. The actual grinder and the resulting grind is great.
My plan is to go back to using my Super Caimano and Pharos.
The Good: This is an epic grinder, made almost entirely of polished cast aluminum. The continuous worm gear adjustment is excellent. The grind is consistent and fluffy (I didn't buy the whole "big conicals are more forgiving" bit until I started using this). The retention is tiny (my other grinder is an Anfim SC with about 14g of chute retention, so I know first hand how nice ultra low rentension is when dialing in with a new coffee or machine). The "doserless-ing" is fast, smooth, clump free, and the distribution in the PF is easy to manipulate. It comes with a 1500w step up/down transformer so that it can be run on a 110v circuit.
The Bad: This is an epic grinder, weighing just under 60lbs, about 26" high, 18" deep, and 11" wide. It demands that a large amount of beans be kept in the hopper to ensure accurate timer performance. It is really loud and sort of rings like a big bell when the motor stops. As of yesterday it has ground 26300 doubles and 2500 singles, which is about 1000lbs on the burrs, so they just about done. New ones are $150 from 1st-line (I might be able to get them cheaper, but I can't promise that).
The Deal: I'm asking $1400 $1300 for this. I am willing to ship this...but it needs to be shipped well instead of cheap. This means two packages with professional packaging for the at least the grinder body. Shipping costs will be at least $100. I changed my mind about shipping it when my wife casually mentioned that I would be making the whole family happier by selling it (it is loud! Fast, but loud). I'm selling it mostly because of the noise, the size, and the fact that I have other more space efficient options that perform equally as well (but with different sets of draw backs/compromises).
Listing Details Asking / Suggested Price: 1300 Seller Name: Russel Philip Seller Location: Los Angeles, CA Sale Type: For Sale
OK, I think I forgot to explain what an Elektra Nino is, and I guess shouldn't expect everyone to research everything. The Nino is a 68mm conical grind-on-demand grinder specifically designed to eliminate grind retention. Unlike most of the other 68mm conicals, the space under the burrs is very short and swept by a 6 pointed sweeper instead of a 3 pointed sweep. There is no chute. Instead there is a long metal "blade" that sits at a 45 degree angle and dumps the grounds directly into the PF. As a result, there is very little retention and no clumping.
The closest grinder that this would compare to is a Compak K10 Fresh. Retention is inevitable when using a big commercial grinder in the home, but the Nino does a very good job of reducing it to a minimum, maybe 3g to 5g - just what is retained by the burr chamber. Retention is hardly the end of the world, my other grinder retains 10g - 15g at least, it is just the current reality of using commercial gear. However, it's a pretty major convenience not to have to think too much about it, or conversely it can be a major annoyance to always have to account for it.
OK, so I will ship it (I know I get a little disappointed when people aren't willing to ship things). However, the buyer will have to cover both the shipping, insurance, and some serious packaging. The big Mahlkoenig hopper will ship separately along with all of the little bits and the transformer (if you want it).
Bump...ESL decided against buying this...and I don't blame him. This is a noisy grinder. It's big, it's glorious, the results are fantastic, but it makes a sound equal to its physical presence. I have to say that the "bell" sound is one of the few subtle things about this grinder. At the end of a grind (about 4s) there is a faint ringing, like the ring of an old rotary phone, hiding in there. It's something only the person standing in front of the grinder can here, but it's a really nice bit of drama tacked on to the end of the grind, which is already pretty dramatic.
So it's still for sale, I'm willing to ship it for $100 (less if it cost less, more and I'll cover it within reason). If you are in the LA area you are welcome to stop by and give it a once over.
For a while there I was thinking that I could get away with keeping this, but today it woke up the baby and he was really cranky all night long, and I was glared at angrily by both his mother and his big brother. A few days ago I put this head to head with a Major E on a GB/5 using some Equator Panama La Gloria. Shots that were identical by the numbers where quite different. This certainly had more body, so if thats your thing (and it is around my house), this is a nice way to go.
This is perfect for you if you do the following:
Covet a big conical burr set and its various strengths
Change coffees sparingly and like to really get into the espresso you're using
Want very easy grind on demand grinding
Really hate retention and the hassle+waste of purging (great for those who like to fiddle with the grind a lot)
Want something that is huge and dramatic
Don't mind 4 seconds of rather loud grinding
I reduced the price to $1300 so that it will cost less than $1500 after the addition of new burrs.
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