# eBay Macap MXD / M7D ?



## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

Okay, for your entertainment I have taken a punt on what looks to be some iteration of the Macap M7 grinder. I appreciate that there is a risk of it not working, but I have fancied one of these doserless commercial machines as an upgrade from my trusty MC2, rather than a Mignon or a Mazzer requiring a load of mods, and I kept strictly to my budget. It's described as fully working but with some cosmetic marks (I can see it's missing the fork pins for the Portafilter to sit in, and the tamper), and is from a reseller of catering equipment.

Worst case scenario: it might not even grind. Best case scenario: it's either a 75mm flat burr or 68mm conical burr grinder. If it's legit I plan to run it single-dose with no hopper, or with a lens hood.

I will update this thread as I find out!


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

The grinder arrived yesterday...


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

And after a tense "unboxing", as they call it, I was impressed and mightily relieved by its impeccable manners:


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

"Could it live in the garage?" my better half wondered?

I set about inspecting the burrs, which had a Macap stamp and, to my untrained eye, a bit of wear.


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

After several minutes with my specialist tools (old toothbrush, pointy stick, baby shark hoover) it was pretty clean, and ready to dial in.

A quick survey revealed the following:

Worm drive axle slightly bent, but on the left hand side and not affecting function.

Multiple paint chips from Portafilter use.

Fork pins and Portafilter 'hands free' bracket absent, but mounts undamaged.

Large plastic sticker on the side, from a catering equipment company.

A fairly high sounding shot count: 23000 on P1 and 25000 on P2, which if averaged at 18g would be 864kg, if my decimal point is in the right place(?)

The date came on at 2014 - maybe this is when it was last used, maybe not.

I proceeded to dial it in, with some old beans initially, then some newer ones, until I got 18g in / 30g out in 30 secs, on the Gaggia Cubika, which was now feeling fairly inadequate and self conscious.


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

I won't comment on "in the cup" results until I have some good beans to put through it (got some Coffee Compass Sweet Bourbon and Brighton Lanes on their way!), but I guess the ultimate goal was to improve in that area, as an upgrade from my long-serving Iberital MC2. Incidentally, the MC2 will now move to V60 duty, and I will report back on how that goes, and whether I need to flip it for a Wilfa!

One thing that is immediately obvious is the convenience of a digital timed doser - it's very quick, clean, fairly quiet and just nice to work with.

I am running it with no hopper now, but will get a lens hood on there soon. Not sure yet about single dosing and retention. If anybody's interested, I have the original hopper, which i'd be happy to give away for the cost of postage.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Glad it work out for you!

A set of new burrs and a paint job and it will like new.

Im pretty sure Neros use the MXD for what it's worth.


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

Yes, I'm relieved that it works and is in ok used condition. I'd love to do a new paint job (maybe raw aluminium with a lacquer), and have followed the threads by Hasi and by Jimbojohn55 on their incredible Macap refurbs, but I have no experience (or equipment) for electrical engineering, and am worried that I'd knacker it by removing the housing to repaint.

https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/42240-macap-mxd-strip-down-and-rebuild/?do=embedhttps://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/34413-pimp-my-macap-la-scala/?do=embed


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

CoolingFlush said:


> Yes, I'm relieved that it works and is in ok used condition. I'd love to do a new paint job (maybe raw aluminium with a lacquer), and have followed the threads by Hasi and by Jimbojohn55 on their incredible Macap refurbs, but I have no experience (or equipment) for electrical engineering, and am worried that I'd knacker it by removing the housing to repaint.https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/42240-macap-mxd-strip-down-and-rebuild/?do=embed


Take loads of photos as you go so you'll have something to reference on reassembly & you shouldn't have a problem. You might be able to get away refinishing the case with everything in situe if you take care to mask off everywhere you don't want the spray to reach.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Awesome grinder, featured in my home setup as well - congrats mate!


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## Kahweol (Apr 26, 2016)

neat! Removing the hopper reduces to footprint to a reasonable level.

Any update on grind retention would be appreciated. I would like a similarly sized beast but haven't been any to pick one at a decent price point yet.


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## Obidi (Feb 23, 2019)

I'm looking at one on ebay too, an MXD . Just wondering if it would be an upgrade from my mazzer major? Can anyone advise?


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

I wouldn't have though so. The Major has 83mm flat burrs and built like a tank - you're going to struggle to get better than that without spending a lot of money. Unless the Major is a 'doser' and you want to swap for an 'on demand'.


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## MrOrk (Apr 17, 2018)

Obidi said:


> I'm looking at one on ebay too, an MXD . Just wondering if it would be an upgrade from my mazzer major? Can anyone advise?


 Does anyone know if burr alignment is something that needs tweaking on ether of these?

The worm gear adjustment on the MXD has got to be a real positive.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

MrOrk said:


> Does anyone know if burr alignment is something that needs tweaking on ether of these?
> The worm gear adjustment on the MXD has got to be a real positive.


 worm gear is nice to fine tune things , but a pain to go for greater adjustments. In theory you can unbolt and swing upwards, but screws are not easily accessible so rather nonsensical.
Here's an image of mechanism (small lateral holes in black plastic part fix it to cast aluminum part):

https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/42240-macap-mxd-strip-down-and-rebuild/?tab=comments&do=embed&comment=606964&embedComment=606964&embedDo=findComment#comment-606964

I use my MXD with different coffees, hopping up to 8 notches apart. Takes ages or breaks your fingers if in a hurry 

Still a great great grinder for daily use!


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## Obidi (Feb 23, 2019)

lake_m said:


> I wouldn't have though so. The Major has 83mm flat burrs and built like a tank - you're going to struggle to get better than that without spending a lot of money. Unless the Major is a 'doser' and you want to swap for an 'on demand'.


 it has 83mm titanium burrs. It is a doser, and to be honest, I would prefer to single dose, but it's no big deal really.


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

Kahweol said:


> Any﻿ update ﻿on grind﻿ retention﻿ would be appreciated.


 I haven't tested this rigourously (by weight), but my overall feeling is that it does have noticeable retention.

Firstly, when I initially cleaned it out, it ate up a few grammes of beans before any came out of the chute. Secondly, if I ever try to flush it out, when switching between different beans, the first dose is around 2g short. In summary it's probably not the best grinder for somebody who wants to single dose and use a different bean every day, but I do switch between normal and decaf beans without too much waste or hassle, and you may be able to do some mods to improve things. This is the price we pay for using large commercial equipment in the home environment!


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

In terms of "in the cup" results I am very happy with the MXD. My impressions are complicated slightly by the fact that I've also changed to a new espresso machine recently. When I was still using my familiar Gaggia with the MXD, I had some very dark "traditional" Italian beans which I wasn't too fond of, which gave a fairly burnt, slightly astringent but rich espresso via the MC2 grinder. When put through the MXD, they were noticeably brighter, with red berry type fruitiness, and a little "cleaner" in terms of taste clarity.

The grinds it produces are visibly more uniform in the hand, with an apparently more consistent particle size. I do feel that this improves the "detail" in the taste of the espresso, and allows the beans to express their characteristics a bit more clearly. However, I wonder whether anybody would agree with my observation that the relatively uneven grind I got on my "basic" grinder felt like it was more forgiving? It was like, "there's some dust in here, a few boulders, and a load of various particles around the desired size, you're in the right ballpark so here's an easy but slightly muddled-tasting espresso"! The MXD seems like it has a more narrow range of appropriate grind setting, in between "choke" and "gusher".

Also, FWIW, I absolutely love the sound the MXD makes!!?


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

Father Christmas had been kind enough to fork out for some new burrs for the MXD! In between eating After Eights and being hungover I have managed to fit them - here are some pics:


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)




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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

I have roughly dialled them in just now, but will feed back on whether they have made a difference to the taste, in a few days. One thing that was immediately apparent was that a 5 second grind, which normally gets me 16g, was producing 19-20g, so I'll be able to shorten the grind time with sharp new burrs.??


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

great stuff!
looking so much nicer now 

Every time I take a grinder apart I'm something between amazed and disgusted about the sheer amount of grounds that come forward...


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## CoolingFlush (Aug 4, 2019)

Hasi said:


> Every time I take a grinder apart I'm something between amazed and disgusted


 Yes, broadly speaking I was repulsed. But then another part of me was like "WOAH, COOL!!!"


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