# Pharos 2.0



## dtapio (Jan 1, 2015)

Pharos 2.0 seems to be for preorder!

Any experiences from ordering from OE? Shipping seems to be quite expensive. Wonder when coffeehit will start stocking these.

http://www.oehandgrinders.com/OE-Pharos-20-Manual-Coffee-Grinder_p_108.html


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## jimwalsh (Sep 3, 2017)

just emailed them to see. will post any response


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## jimwalsh (Sep 3, 2017)

email back suggests they wont be stocking it.


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## dtapio (Jan 1, 2015)

What a pitty. Ordering straight from OE seems pretty expensive.


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## jimwalsh (Sep 3, 2017)

yeah real shame. will wait for some reviews to see if its worth importing.


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## malling (Dec 8, 2014)

The original that I had where a FAFF to use, and a bloody nightmare to align.

If you somehow succes in aligning it, it is just unbelievable hard to turn with lighter roasted beans, they do seem to have come up with a solution that make it allot easier to empty but I sincerely believe there are better alternatives out there today, that has gear reduction and an overall better design.


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## dtapio (Jan 1, 2015)

Duismann will stock it! There is a pre order period at the moment. They said that shipping will start 2nd half of january.

In youtube OE has published quite many videos regarding the pharos 2.0

https://www.duismanncoffee.com/product/oe-pharos-2-0-manual-coffee-grinder/


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## viveur (Oct 22, 2017)

I noticed that OE have upgrade kits available not only for 1.1 to 2.0 (i.e. to upgprade the more recent Taiwan built Pharos), but also for the older 1.0 (american-built) Pharos.

I got the 1.1 quite recently: it's much better than my Vario, but light roasts are still hard work - the force required makes me hesitant about getting the upgrade kit since it results in a shorter shaft etc. Does anyone have opinions on this topic?


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## lucasd (Feb 24, 2015)

Shaft has nothing to to with force, the length of handle/ lever arm does.

Shorter shaft should make better alignment...


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## viveur (Oct 22, 2017)

Anyhow, I've upgraded my 1.1 to a 2.0 and it doesn't seem to taste any different. I can no longer wedge the grinder between my knees when grinding, because of the sprung plate (which ends up moving around, so coffee grounds go everywhere), which makes grinding a lot harder - but getting the coffee out is at least a much more pleasant experience. I'm testing with wedging a used roll of kitchen paper underneath the sprung plate, and I don't seem to have too many grounds escaping, which is promising - but I'm still being a lot gentler than when the grinder was a 1.1.

I can't see how a shorter shaft would lead to better alignment - the bearings have the same tolerances, but are closer together, so the shaft and burr can effectively move more. But if I can't taste it, there's no issue. I guess I'll have to wait a long time to see if wear is worse.


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## Asgross (Jun 14, 2015)

viveur said:


> Anyhow, I've upgraded my 1.1 to a 2.0 and it doesn't seem to taste any different. I can no longer wedge the grinder between my knees when grinding, because of the sprung plate (which ends up moving around, so coffee grounds go everywhere), which makes grinding a lot harder - but getting the coffee out is at least a much more pleasant experience. I'm testing with wedging a used roll of kitchen paper underneath the sprung plate, and I don't seem to have too many grounds escaping, which is promising - but I'm still being a lot gentler than when the grinder was a 1.1.
> 
> I can't see how a shorter shaft would lead to better alignment - the bearings have the same tolerances, but are closer together, so the shaft and burr can effectively move more. But if I can't taste it, there's no issue. I guess I'll have to wait a long time to see if wear is worse.


I was also thinking of getting the upgrade

Together with the bench dogs for added "grip" whilst grinding,

Did you find the upgrade straight forward?

How much extra tax did you have to pay

By customs?


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## viveur (Oct 22, 2017)

Asgross said:


> I was also thinking of getting the upgrade
> 
> Together with the bench dogs for added "grip" whilst grinding,
> 
> ...


After watching the upgrade videos (total of about 30 minutes), the upgrade was mostly easy. The hardest part was removing the burr from the old shaft - in the video Doug uses a piece of pipe, I improvised and eventually found a wooden box with an appropriately sized hole to do a similar job - but it took some time to find that solution. I also didn't have a metal ball for calibration, which made holding and hiting the grinder quite fiddly.

I happened to have a visitor from the US recently, and they were able to bring the upgrade kit over, I've got no concrete numbers for what shipping/customs to anywhere in Europe would be like. (Based on my distant memories of dealing with Royal Mail, it would probably be about GBP 10 for customs processing, and based on the kit price you'd probably another GBP 10 in taxes - but don't quote me on it, I haven't been in the UK for a few years now).


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

I've heard you can't grind coarse because the inner burr can't drop down enough.


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## viveur (Oct 22, 2017)

That sound very probable, because there's a bracket (with bearing) attached just below the burrs which would stop the inner burr going lower. You can probably work around that by getting longer burr bolts, and adding washers between the middle-plate and bracket, i.e. lowering the bearing bracket, but I'm not sure how much you'd need for that to work.

(I've seen reports that the bolts on the 1.0 are longer than the 1.1, so if you upgrade from the 1.0 you'd only need to buy more washers, and not bother with buying longer bolts.)


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## Stevebee (Jul 21, 2015)

Just did the upgrade from 1.1 to 2.0. I've never found it too difficult to turn, even with lighter roasts, once I sorted out my 'arm wrap' technique.

Did buy two bench dogs but found I don't need them.

The issue I had was getting the grinds out. Just keep banging, then some more. Just when you think you've got the lot - more comes out!

It made me want to use the grinder less and less. However, now I've just got a new Vesuvius, I wanted to see the difference between 68mm conical and 83mm flats so hence trying to make the Pharos more friendly.

I must say that it is a lot lot easier to get the grind out. Without RDT there is static which make the grinds stick to the cup but quick bang and thats fine.

I havent tried to grind coarse as I only use it for espresso - I use the Hausgrind or Feldgrind for pourover but I can see that the position of the new plate might interfere with coarser settings. FYI I think the Custom / Handling was £17.88 .


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

You can't get around it by adding washers, at least not without causing another problem. The washers would have to have a larger internal diameter as the width of the opening doesn't allow large grinds to fall out. With a larger internal diameter they would clear the burr but would then collect underneath the bracket and you'd have to sweep them out every time. The convenience of not having to sweep out grinds that have landed on the bracket is the main reason I'm interested in this mod for a VDD Pharos along with the smaller 58mm catch cup that can be removed without lifting the grinder (which would allow modification for easier grinding or motorisation). It might still be worth it for me if I do go the motorised route as I can just use the Lido for brewed which would be more suitable anyway.


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