# Isomac Pro (Macinino Professionale Inox)



## LJH (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi,

Does anyone have experience or knowledge of this Isomac grinder?









I bought one used for a good price and I'm expecting delivery this week.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on usage or maintenance, or knows how it compares to the mc2 and similar grinders.

I know it's a stepped grinder with 38mm conical burrs, but not much else.

Thanks


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## simonp (Nov 18, 2014)

I had one of these as my first grinder over 10 years ago!

Mixed views on it really as initially it was rubbish with trrible shots but it turned out the burr carrier was cracked. It worked OK after a new one was fitted.

Generally it was quite poorly made and the plastic burr carriers are a worry after my experience. The grind output chute also quickly broke from its fixings due to tapping it to release trapped grounds.

It uses the same burrset and carrier as the MC2 but that was a much better made grinder in my opinion.

Within a few months I moved on to a borrowed Rocky and then on to a used Mazzer Mini and never regretted that, in fact I only just replaced the Mini recently but only to go up in grind quality.

I kept the Isomac for use with brewed coffee but more things broke and I now use a Vario for that. I still have the Isomac somewhere...

If it was me I would go for something different, as I said for similar money the MC2 is better.


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## LJH (Jan 10, 2015)

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Mine was £45 including delivery from ebay, I figured that price was worth the risk. It was described as "a great coffee grinder... works and grinds perfectly", so I might be luckier with mine than you were with yours. It should be a step up from my Hario Slim at least. So I'll see how I get on with it. As long as it doesn't break on me like yours did I should get my money back if/when I upgrade.


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## simonp (Nov 18, 2014)

I paid about £120 for mine so not so good value by comparison. Just bear in mind that some parts are potentially fragile and that nose screws directly into the motor carrier so if you break that you are in trouble so be careful. It will be fine for your Aeropress but you may find it tricky to dial in well for espresso if you get a Classic as the steps are on the coarse side.

I hope you get on with it well.


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Have you asked Mark from gaggiamanualservice about a refurbed classic.

Ian


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## LJH (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your suggestion. I haven't asked him, but I've seen some of his in the for sale thread at around £150 refurbished. I was hoping for one around £100, or less ideally. Preferably in fair working condition, but I don't expect a refurb or any mods done at that price. I'd be happy to do those myself at some point.

Luke


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## frederickaj (Jul 31, 2014)

Any chance the burr carrier on your old isomac is compatible with the nemox lux ? If you think iis I would like to buy


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## frederickaj (Jul 31, 2014)

I almost bought this but took too long trying to convince the wife to let me . Whatever you do read the link for the nemox lux mod before using the Isomac as you could seize it up as I did with my Nemox .


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## LJH (Jan 10, 2015)

Sorry I haven't a clue if it's compatible. If you find out it is and you want to buy it PM me, but I haven't actually received it yet.

Thanks for the tip about the mod, I'll look into it.


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## LJH (Jan 10, 2015)

Do you mean the stepless mod using the iberital mc2 parts?


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## simonp (Nov 18, 2014)

I did that mod on my old Isomac grinder. It did work but I'm not convinced that it was not applying too much side pressure on the burr carrier though it never caused any issues.


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## frederickaj (Jul 31, 2014)

simonp said:


> I had one of these as my first grinder over 10 years ago!
> 
> Mixed views on it really as initially it was rubbish with trrible shots but it turned out the burr carrier was cracked. It worked OK after a new one was fitted.
> 
> ...


Do you still have the old isomac ? I need some spares for my Nemox Lux which looks very similar . If you can let me know what is still intact and you want to sell I would be interested .


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## simonp (Nov 18, 2014)

frederickaj said:


> Do you still have the old isomac ? I need some spares for my Nemox Lux which looks very similar . If you can let me know what is still intact and you want to sell I would be interested .


Hi, the main plastic carrier for the motor is cracked around the grounds exit chute. The rest is OK I think. I will hook it out tonight and have a look and a think if I wan't to sell it.


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## frederickaj (Jul 31, 2014)

No . Just make sure you try the grinder without any coffee in it first and be prepared to waste some beans getting " Down " to the correct grind . I suggest this because I almost seized my Nemox trying it with beans first . It is a " Bi **ch trying to free them so just try sections 2 and 3 in the attached http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/grinders/393307 . I hope you get on with it as it should be a reasonable grinder for a lot of different grinds


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## frederickaj (Jul 31, 2014)

I have just found out that the isomac and lux do not use the same parts . good luck if you want to sell .


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