# Air tight hopper?



## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Okay, so I have seen lots of debate about the relative pros and cons of doser v doserless machines.

One negative regarding the doserless version is having to store beans in the hopper and the risk of them going stale after a day or so.

as people are more than happy to store beans for days, if not weeks, in airtight containers would it not be possible to modify a low volume hopper to be airtight? Shut off valve at the bottom (a feature already on many machines) a silicone ring at the top and a one way valve in the lid.

You can't do much about the air already in the hopper but would the above help at all. Ditto the idea of using a dark plastic to stop light, maybe with one clear strip to show how many beans remain, as found in kettles for water volume.

Thoughts?


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Is this your 2015 design project.

Ian


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I have often thought this would be a good idea, a 3d printer could easily print out a bung for the exit chute and a hopper with lid, add in a few rubber seals and bobs yer uncle.


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Maybe an even simpler fix would be to use something like this

View attachment 11626


Cut a hole in the bottom and silicon onto the jam funnel that I am already using for single dosing.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

I'd be interested in something along the lines mentioned in first post. I haven't been making coffee everyday (mainly as I didn't have fresh beans until yesterday) and so in the past I've had beans in my hopper for more than a few days. Was advised it's better to have more than a minimum amount of beans in hopper to provide some weight and avoid popcorning. There is a window at 90 degrees to where my grinder lives, whilst there is no direct sunlight, daylight nonetheless is a concern as standard hopper is transparent. Not sure why hopper lids on quality grinders don't already have some type of rubber seal in order to provide some form of air tight fit?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

More coffee bollocks! In theory, as soon as a lettuce is decapitated, it is dying. Buy an amount of beans in an appropriate sized bag for you needs i.e. if you only drink 250 gms a week stop buying kilo bags because they are cheaper and wonder how to sore the rest. If you open a bag of beans, providing you do not leave them totally exposed to the air then they re going to last 5 to 10 days. Same in a hopper.

When was the last time someone walked into a top end cafe and performed a mathematical calculation on how many shots they pull a day compared to time spent in the hopper....I have a 350 gm hopper. I fill it. About 2 days later I top it up ad so on, and no guests I ever have around tell me that my coffee is crap


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

dfk41

I see your point. Once I'm regularly making 2-4 coffees a day, I'm sure I'll be more relaxed about beans being left in the hopper for a few days or more.


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Fair enough.

I was just picking up in some of the comments posted by the 'experts' on here. If 300g of coffee is not going to be a problem in a hopper for a week then I am delighted to hear it.

It it would explain why manufacturers have not incorporated these simple changes into their designs.

As to your guests' feedback: you have to remember that we are British. This basically means that you could be serving coffee made from dehydrated cat turd and the worst reaction that you might get is a request to pass the sugar.

Actually, come to think of it, dehydrated cat turd coffee is already available and sold for £100 a kilo so that might not be the best example.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Topping up a hopper is fine couple days at a time

Im not sure id want the same beans that had been in a hopper from 10 days previous though .

If its taking that ling to get through 100-250g beans though i wouldn't put that much in to start with

Also Depends where your hopper is , if near a window and in direct sunlight then i might wince a bit ...not that there is much sun and heat around in this country ...


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Tucked under a cabinet, no direct sunlight (North facing kitchen).

good to know that there is no problem.

I can see that coffee, as with many other hobbies, runs the risk of verging on @nally retentive, or at least minor OCD.

I am aiming for convenience more than anything. As I have mentioned in previous posts, my choice of espresso machine (Sage DB) fulfilled that goal nicely. Just need to get the grinding side of things to match.

It's all good, and amazing how much practice helps


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

NickdeBug said:


> As to your guests' feedback: you have to remember that we are British. This basically means that you could be serving coffee made from dehydrated cat turd and the worst reaction that you might get is a request to pass the sugar.
> 
> Actually, come to think of it, dehydrated cat turd coffee is already available and sold for £100 a kilo so that might not be the best example.


Brilliant! That made me laugh!

There is a tendency for nerdiness and ocd with a lot of blokey hobbies, and some of the arguments on here rival the stuff you get on audiophile forums. It's all part of the fun but there's no real need to take things to the nth degree if you don't want to. I typically drink 2 doubles before work and maybe 3-4 a day at weekends. Factor in the occasional split double for her indoors (who likes latte with one shot) and that's half a 250g bag in a couple of days. No problem tipping half a bag in on a Monday and the other half on Weds/ Thu.

My zenith has a shutoff thing that allows you to remove the hopper whilst full. Many hoppers have this feature but they're not airtight. I think though that it really doesn't matter for a few days. However I would not get a huge commercial sized hopper and lob a kilo in. I store any beans not in the hopper in their bag, in an 'airtight' (well, soup-tight!) plastic food container in cupboard and as I never have more than a month's worth in stock that seems fine for my tastes.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Bloody autocorrect! Even the reason for editing has done the same mistake. Why can't I write blokey? D'oh!


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

hotmetal said:


> Bloody autocorrect! Even the reason for editing has done the same mistake. Why can't I write blokey? D'oh!


Are you on iOS? I really don't like the stock Apple keyboard and new auto-correct in iOS 8. Shall look into and install at least one third party keyboard and switch very soon!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Funnily enough, although I have 2 Macs (graphic designer) I don't like iOS and have a Samsung galaxy phone and the cheap Tesco hudl tablet that I bought for forum reading, controlling my Squeezebox, browsing and taking on holiday for music/books/navigation. That's what I'm using right now. It's android jelly bean. It's got that swipe keyboard which I prefer to iOS but it's still got some annoying habits.


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