# Please help choosing a grinder!



## zid (Nov 22, 2012)

I'm having a hard time choosing a decent grinder within my budget. The minute I think I decided on one, I find a bunch of negative reviews about it and it's all back to square one.

I need a grinder for espresso only and my machine is a Gaggia Classic. I don't really want to pay for my grinder more than I paid for the espresso machine, therefore my budget is about £220-£240. I have an option to buy in the US but ideally there should be an international warranty included for me to risk bringing it to the UK.

So far I looked into:

Rancilio Rocky - overall impression is that it's not great for espresso and there's no micro adjustments, therefore only 2-3 steps suitable for espresso.

Baratza Vario - seems like a great little grinder, however loads of negative reviews on amazon.com re reliability.

Mazzer Mini - sounds great but way too expensive, even a used one is out of my budget.

Ascaso I1 - no opinion yet, still reading about it.

Any opinions or suggestions? Thanks!


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Eureka mignon.

Grinder is more important than the machine so don't feel the machine has to cost more than the grinder.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Plus 99 on the Migon. There is nothing to touch bit!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Is it you who's buying here then moving to the US later in the year?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Jeebsy makes the point as the voltages are different


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## Mouse (Feb 28, 2014)

A used Mazzer Mini will come up within your budget if you're patient.


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

Mignon is only just over your budget - I can do one for 265 delivered

Andy


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Don't buy in the US and bring here. The 110v grinder will burn out a standard ~230v to 110v inverter. They're designed for low wattage devices. A high end inverter will cost you £££

The Ascaso i1 is similar to the old iMini, there are loads of reviews here if you search. I had one for a while and you can do better.

Baratza Vario = Mahlkonig Vario in UK, and UK price is £350.

Really that Mignon for £265 for coffeebean is a bargain, spending more on your grinder than the machine will produce much better espresso than skimping out.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Vario is no way worth a premium of £85.00 over the Mignon. Coffeebean deal is very sweet.


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## taxiboy (Jul 15, 2011)

One way of converting voltages is the yellow transformer builders use, friend moved home from the states with kitchen equipment that needs 110v husband is engineer and he wired in transformer with plugs to sort her out. Working well for them.

Saying that I'd go with Coffeebean deal. Cheaper in long run and less messing.


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## CFo (Aug 25, 2013)

+1 for Mignon, not much of a stretch to your budget to get new from coffee bean. Should get decent one 2nd hand around £190 but may have to wait a bit for one to turn up. My Ascaso (see signature) was good value almost new at £125; grind not up to Mignon standards and a bit messy, but less clumpy than Mignon.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

taxiboy said:


> One way of converting voltages is the yellow transformer builders use, friend moved home from the states with kitchen equipment that needs 110v husband is engineer and he wired in transformer with plugs to sort her out. Working well for them.
> 
> Saying that I'd go with Coffeebean deal. Cheaper in long run and less messing.


Those site transformers aren't actually up to coping with much of a load, I used to see them a lot with bands that had brought all their gear with them from the USA and we'd only run 1 guitar amp per transformer never multiples so the heat is kept down to a minimum and the strain on the transformer.

It would depend on the appliance I guess but even in the USA they have a weird way of wiring a 110v supply to give 220.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

New the Mignon is just about your only sensible option.

However S/H you can get a Mazzer Mini for £250, which is a big step up from the Mignon. If it was my money, I would source out a S/H Mazzer Mini.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Should get an SJ for 250 if you're patient


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Charliej said:


> Those site transformers aren't actually up to coping with much of a load, I used to see them a lot with bands that had brought all their gear with them from the USA and we'd only run 1 guitar amp per transformer never multiples so the heat is kept down to a minimum and the strain on the transformer.
> 
> It would depend on the appliance I guess but even in the USA they have a weird way of wiring a 110v supply to give 220.


110volt isolation transformers come in various sizes (load) , it is just a matter of selecting the right size transformer , however there are few implications of using a 110v transformer the biggest one being losses.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

jeebsy said:


> Should get an SJ for 250 if you're patient


I got my SJ for less than that, and theres SJ's for sale on this forum for less than that









I partner mine with a machine thats all but the same as a classic, and it works well.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Thecatlinux said:


> 110volt isolation transformers come in various sizes (load) , it is just a matter of selecting the right size transformer , however there are few implications of using a 110v transformer the biggest one being losses.


I'm talking about the standard yellow box style one you can see on every site up and down the country, and even then they ain't cheap plus they get hot as well, the other thing I have noticed with them, is that the waveform of the output 110V AC isn't exactly what you could call clean either, which has implications for anything with any form of digital electronics in it, plus at the end of the day those USA mains connectors always look distinctly weak and shoddy to me, give me the 3 big brass pins of a UK plugtop anyday. One band I was working with for years came from Brisbane Australia and we had to rebuild all their mains distro for use in the UK and Europe as the connectors there are also crap, so it was in with Ceeforms, Duraplugs and good quality wiring all round. When we went back to Australia all we did was change the connections on the 4 main distro's to Aussie ones and all the house technical guys and sparky's that saw them loved them and wished they would be adopted over there as they are much more robust than their domestic ones, and their heavy duty 3 phase ones as well. Although I would far rather stand on one of their plugtops barefoot than on a UK 13 amp one lol.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

jeebsy said:


> Should get an SJ for 250 if you're patient


Ahh true, I never think to recommend the SJ as it would would nothing short of ridiculous in my tiny kitchen.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

If you use a mini hopper it's not that much bigger than a mini


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## trebor127 (Apr 19, 2013)

I may have a used mazzer super jolly coming up for sale soon...keep your eyes peeled ?

Rob


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Charliej said:


> I'm talking about the standard yellow box style one you can see on every site up and down the country, and even then they ain't cheap plus they get hot as well, the other thing I have noticed with them, is that the waveform of the output 110V AC isn't exactly what you could call clean either, which has implications for anything with any form of digital electronics in it, plus at the end of the day those USA mains connectors always look distinctly weak and shoddy to me, give me the 3 big brass pins of a UK plugtop anyday. One band I was working with for years came from Brisbane Australia and we had to rebuild all their mains distro for use in the UK and Europe as the connectors there are also crap, so it was in with Ceeforms, Duraplugs and good quality wiring all round. When we went back to Australia all we did was change the connections on the 4 main distro's to Aussie ones and all the house technical guys and sparky's that saw them loved them and wished they would be adopted over there as they are much more robust than their domestic ones, and their heavy duty 3 phase ones as well. Although I would far rather stand on one of their plugtops barefoot than on a UK 13 amp one lol.


RE :Them big yellow building site transformers (isolation transformer) the output sign wave will be the same as the sign wave going in . They are great bits of kit the only thing wrong with them is they are pain in the backside to lug around.

Here is a good story for you , about 10-15 years the HSE decided it would be a good idea to allow construction workers to use 240volt power on construction sites provided they had some form of RCD protection and certification to certify that the equipment being used was safe.PAT (portable appliance test) .

This is all started happening and tool hire shops Around the country shelved the 110v gear and started shipping and hiring out 240v equipment , and as per the English way 110v and 240v equipment started being used on construction sites.

After 10-12 months and a few serious accidents/incidents involving the 240v equipment. (Dont know if there was any fatalities but I think there was) The institute for electrical engineers were consulted.

It was pointed out to the HSE that in the 30-40 years (not sure how many)that 110v isolation transformers had been employed on construction sites to thier knowledge there had been no serious incidents at all and certainly no fatalities.


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## zid (Nov 22, 2012)

Thans everyone for your input. I've read up on mignon and it sounds like a really good option. I might hunt around for a mazzer mini before i commit to mignon but I'm not sure how much longer can i go on without a proper grinder


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## evoman (May 13, 2014)

dfk41 said:


> Plus 99 on the Migon. There is nothing to touch bit!


I see a lot of positives about the Mignon - is the endorsement for it as a general use grinder, or for a particular style? (I really need a grinder that will do a fune grind since I can do enough course for a press pot using my hand grinder).


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

The Mignon is a great espresso grinder for it's price point. It'll go plenty fine for a Classic.


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## evoman (May 13, 2014)

jeebsy said:


> The Mignon is a great espresso grinder for it's price point. It'll go plenty fine for a Classic.


Thanks for the quick reply - looks like a great option - will have to post some questions about it to follow up (but won't hijack this thread any longer!).


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