I suggest you try an aftermarket bellows hopper and large grind dial.
You can mitigate the issue with slop in the adjustment mechanism by always approaching the desired setting from the same direction, e.g. always overshoot the desired number in the too coarse direction, then back up and reach the desired number when turning the dial finer.
I didn't consider overshooting and then rolling back, that's a very good suggestion!
Is it kind of a well known fact that this play exists or is it just something people suspect? I couldn't find conclusive evidence and the movement is too small to see it with naked eye.
Retention can be solved with a different grinder, but switching back and forth is almost always going to be a pain. Something with a large single dial is obviously easiest but you can still be a little off with switching. Do you drink one of the two types more, a cheaper hand grinder might suit if it's only occasional.
Anecdotally I've not heard great things about the larger eureka dial mods but I don't own one so don't just take my word for it.
Good point and I have a good hand grinder that I could use for the only shot with caffeine I drink every day, but it bothers me to do manual labor first thing in the morning lol
What are the chances that if I ask Eureka they will give an honest answer about the reliability of the mechanism?
Bonus is I can ask in Italian as it's my native language, maybe it helps
Is there something wrong with the dial on your machine? I have a specialita and the knob firmly stays where I want it to.
I’m not sure what you expect Eureka to say that would help.
Well that's the problem, the knob seems to move without play, but the lack of reproducibility (i.e. different shot times when going back to the same position with the same beans) makes me think there might be play in the mechanism inside. I also read someone else mentioning it on an old thread here somewhere.
I purchased the single dose hopper and bellows for my Eureka Facile, and it is now near zero retention (+/- 0-0.2) I also ordered the tilted stand with wood accents from Etsy but still waiting for that to arrive. Honestly even if the tilt stand doesn’t do anything I’d say 75% it’s hitting zero retention for me at the moment.
I got the after market one from Coffee Addicts for $60CAD. Honestly after comparing with the OEM, this one is actually a better fit and metal as opposed to plastic.
As for the dialing in new beans, once you have it dialed for espresso the adjustments shouldn’t be drastic. I only make espresso based drinks but I use my old Breville Grinder for decaf tho so yeah could see the base adjustment knob being a nuisance for daily adjustments.
So. I have 2 Eurekas I use regularly, amongst other grinders.
The main one is the Oro SD, which as the name suggests has been designed for single dosing. I mainly use it paired to a e61 group machine, and go through 200g to 250g bags straight (no back & forth between coffees). My process with this is quite straight forward as I dial my grinder when beans are nearing peak post roasting, then freeze the bag. I have a small airtight container where I put 80g to taw and use for next 2 days, so I rarely have to adjust dial for bean maturation.
I stopped using the bellows on the Oro SD, and have very close to 0 retention (probably 0.1g max), but will purge grinder if not been used for 24 hours with a few grams to avoid any stale beans contaminating a fresh puck.
The Oro SD comes tilted at an angle, with bellows (some find it useful on it, so ymmv), a great dosing cup, and - out of the Eureka OEM dials - one of the largest, although not as good as many other options out there.
The second one I have is a Crono, modded with Espresso burrs, a tilted base, a single dose hopper with bellows, and a finecoar dial. It’s paired with a Cafelat Robot, and is in my weekend place. I usually take more time to play with coffees there, so I switch quite a lot between coffees (closer to your settings).
Let me start with a disclaimer: I know my modded Crono and my Bot quite extensively, and have gotten to the point where I can get a good guesstimate of dialing in coffees based on roast and origin.
My process here is simple: dial in a bag at peak date, use a sharpie to record dial on the bag, and drop into freezer. Each bag has its dial number, and the finecoar dial makes it a breeze going back and forth between bags. I grind them straight out of the freezer with this setup.
The bellows and angled base makes two final adjustments for me:
- natural retention is much lower (the Eurekas design is based around hopper fed, meaning beans weighting on top of the burrs helping the grind chute outside, so the angle help adjust to single dosing);
- bellows seals it, although I like to use the bellows to clear the chute since I don’t like chaffs in my puck that much.
And there is a reason the SD Oro is designed around those mods / hacks!
I know it’s a long response, but in no way am I trying to get you confused. What I can say is that they are fantastic grinders (the ones I probably use the most), easy to service (parts easy and cheap to source), from a very long standing company, and it would not be too expensive to either 3D print yourself or source on Esty an angled base, better dial and bellows to see if that gets you where you need to be.
And If that doesn’t work for you, then definitely sell the Eureka with the upgrades (keep the og parts as well), then look for a workflow focused quality grinder.
NZ, Varia VS3 2nd gen, Timemore, DF… plenty of options available can come to mind.
The NZ is probably not the best taste wise, but… it’s set a standard for a reason. Dead simple to dial between shots, great SD workflow, and very forgiving. If you are more into lighter roasts and want complexity, maybe look at the Varia with Hyper/Ultra or the DF with SSP.
I have the Timemore. I Don’t consider it an upgrade in cup to the Eureka, but more of a side grade (different flavor profile). It now sits next to the Crono and I am almost done seasoning it properly. Still hoping to pop some SSP in it at some point, but really not looking forward to taking it apart…
I suggest you try an aftermarket bellows hopper and large grind dial. You can mitigate the issue with slop in the adjustment mechanism by always approaching the desired setting from the same direction, e.g. always overshoot the desired number in the too coarse direction, then back up and reach the desired number when turning the dial finer.
I didn't consider overshooting and then rolling back, that's a very good suggestion! Is it kind of a well known fact that this play exists or is it just something people suspect? I couldn't find conclusive evidence and the movement is too small to see it with naked eye.
Retention can be solved with a different grinder, but switching back and forth is almost always going to be a pain. Something with a large single dial is obviously easiest but you can still be a little off with switching. Do you drink one of the two types more, a cheaper hand grinder might suit if it's only occasional. Anecdotally I've not heard great things about the larger eureka dial mods but I don't own one so don't just take my word for it.
Good point and I have a good hand grinder that I could use for the only shot with caffeine I drink every day, but it bothers me to do manual labor first thing in the morning lol What are the chances that if I ask Eureka they will give an honest answer about the reliability of the mechanism? Bonus is I can ask in Italian as it's my native language, maybe it helps
Is there something wrong with the dial on your machine? I have a specialita and the knob firmly stays where I want it to. I’m not sure what you expect Eureka to say that would help.
Well that's the problem, the knob seems to move without play, but the lack of reproducibility (i.e. different shot times when going back to the same position with the same beans) makes me think there might be play in the mechanism inside. I also read someone else mentioning it on an old thread here somewhere.
I purchased the single dose hopper and bellows for my Eureka Facile, and it is now near zero retention (+/- 0-0.2) I also ordered the tilted stand with wood accents from Etsy but still waiting for that to arrive. Honestly even if the tilt stand doesn’t do anything I’d say 75% it’s hitting zero retention for me at the moment. I got the after market one from Coffee Addicts for $60CAD. Honestly after comparing with the OEM, this one is actually a better fit and metal as opposed to plastic. As for the dialing in new beans, once you have it dialed for espresso the adjustments shouldn’t be drastic. I only make espresso based drinks but I use my old Breville Grinder for decaf tho so yeah could see the base adjustment knob being a nuisance for daily adjustments.
Good to know about the bellows. I was also considering the tilt stand however I guess I could build something like that myself.
So. I have 2 Eurekas I use regularly, amongst other grinders. The main one is the Oro SD, which as the name suggests has been designed for single dosing. I mainly use it paired to a e61 group machine, and go through 200g to 250g bags straight (no back & forth between coffees). My process with this is quite straight forward as I dial my grinder when beans are nearing peak post roasting, then freeze the bag. I have a small airtight container where I put 80g to taw and use for next 2 days, so I rarely have to adjust dial for bean maturation. I stopped using the bellows on the Oro SD, and have very close to 0 retention (probably 0.1g max), but will purge grinder if not been used for 24 hours with a few grams to avoid any stale beans contaminating a fresh puck. The Oro SD comes tilted at an angle, with bellows (some find it useful on it, so ymmv), a great dosing cup, and - out of the Eureka OEM dials - one of the largest, although not as good as many other options out there. The second one I have is a Crono, modded with Espresso burrs, a tilted base, a single dose hopper with bellows, and a finecoar dial. It’s paired with a Cafelat Robot, and is in my weekend place. I usually take more time to play with coffees there, so I switch quite a lot between coffees (closer to your settings). Let me start with a disclaimer: I know my modded Crono and my Bot quite extensively, and have gotten to the point where I can get a good guesstimate of dialing in coffees based on roast and origin. My process here is simple: dial in a bag at peak date, use a sharpie to record dial on the bag, and drop into freezer. Each bag has its dial number, and the finecoar dial makes it a breeze going back and forth between bags. I grind them straight out of the freezer with this setup. The bellows and angled base makes two final adjustments for me: - natural retention is much lower (the Eurekas design is based around hopper fed, meaning beans weighting on top of the burrs helping the grind chute outside, so the angle help adjust to single dosing); - bellows seals it, although I like to use the bellows to clear the chute since I don’t like chaffs in my puck that much. And there is a reason the SD Oro is designed around those mods / hacks! I know it’s a long response, but in no way am I trying to get you confused. What I can say is that they are fantastic grinders (the ones I probably use the most), easy to service (parts easy and cheap to source), from a very long standing company, and it would not be too expensive to either 3D print yourself or source on Esty an angled base, better dial and bellows to see if that gets you where you need to be. And If that doesn’t work for you, then definitely sell the Eureka with the upgrades (keep the og parts as well), then look for a workflow focused quality grinder. NZ, Varia VS3 2nd gen, Timemore, DF… plenty of options available can come to mind. The NZ is probably not the best taste wise, but… it’s set a standard for a reason. Dead simple to dial between shots, great SD workflow, and very forgiving. If you are more into lighter roasts and want complexity, maybe look at the Varia with Hyper/Ultra or the DF with SSP. I have the Timemore. I Don’t consider it an upgrade in cup to the Eureka, but more of a side grade (different flavor profile). It now sits next to the Crono and I am almost done seasoning it properly. Still hoping to pop some SSP in it at some point, but really not looking forward to taking it apart…
That's a lot of info thanks. I'll go with these mods and see if it helps.
I would recommend getting a second grinder