We Have Moved!

Antiqua Boden Burr Grinder

2009-02-19T17:34:00.005-05:00

There will be no further posts to this blog. I've moved on to better pastures within the Internet.

I originally posted this Antigua modification over a year ago, giving credit to the original site, which will remain forever forgotten. After numerous emails from people who used his method it became apparent that the mod sucked, as does his own website. His "about us" link wasn't even working and he had no contact information. He put up some ignorant comment, rather than emailing me about his copyright, so I'm only too happy to remove the mod and any attachment to his site. Like twoloonytoons has something to protect...

Update: Even after I removed his credited article his whining continued on a post in another forum, in which he changed some facts, used snippets of our conversation out of context and created some new ones for himself. He even compliments himself when he's done crying.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.coffee/msg/ee099cf47802e7b1?pli=1

He apparently fixed his links after I pointed his website problems out to him.

So, Mr. Steve "The Whining Biatch" Ackman, it's gone and it's been gone. Give it a rest already. Next time try a more civil approach. You're likely to be successful some day using it.

Thanks to the above and I can only imagine how many other places he cried on pointing out this eBlog, the visitors have increased to a point that I've decided to concentrate on CoffeeTweek.com, making changes as requested and to improve the postings. If you found your way here looking for something, please go directly to our website.

Now, please be aware that other sites have also requested changes on this blog. Some didn't mind my using their articles as they received visitors. Others did. However, they were far more gracious and courteous when the contacted me directly. I also like their sites and recommend you visit them.

They are:
home-barista.com and coffeegeek.com.

Prediction Market Trading An Information Site

2009-01-07T17:09:00.004-05:00

There's a fun site that explains prediction market trading and Intrade. PredictionMarketTrader.com is a place to go with your cup of coffee and play some fun markets like "Celebrity Death Watch." OK, so it's a little bizarre but they have information on other prediction trading markets like politics, the economy, the weather and more. Only for fun. You can't actually place wagers through them, as they only give predictions about how Intrade results will come out. Good place for learning about prediction market trading before you join Intrade

McCain and Obama Twins Are Centered

2008-08-09T15:29:00.000-04:00

McCain and Obama Twins Are Centered

Michael Phelps Means Excitement in Olympics

2008-08-08T15:41:00.000-04:00

Michael Phelps Means Excitement in Beijing Summer Olympics
Phelps has been dominating swimming events for several years now, and he looks to be stronger than ever heading into these Olympics. 28 World Records broken in swimming and he is attempting to become the athlete with the most Gold Medals in history. I remember...

The Importance Of A 44 Pound Cat

2008-08-02T19:55:00.000-04:00

The Importance Of A 44 Pound Cat
I don't think most people can grasp the situation Stephen Colbert amusingly pointed out, by presenting the viewer with an issue of The New York Post and letting us know the value of news items reported in one of the 2 major players of print media in New York City. One was of a cat who was fed to obesity. The other was about a United States Senator, who was indicted...

Get Your Court Ordered Refund!

2008-07-29T14:41:00.000-04:00

Get Your Court Ordered Refund!: "Their commercials are stupid, but they made a fortune from their name. Submissions for refunds are still being accepted for those who were ripped off by freecreditreport.com. A court decision has forced them and consumerinfo.com to refund many who were charged for a service, in order to get a NOT FREE credit report. Use our link to get your refund."

Nostalgia and Memorabilia

2008-07-25T16:51:00.000-04:00

Nostalgia and Memorabilia

La Cimbali Junior Grinder Mod - Hopper Throat Extension

2008-01-20T15:26:00.008-05:00

Visitors to this blog have increased to a point that I've decided to move everything to the main website, CoffeeTweek.com, making changes when requested and to improve the postings where needed. If you found your way here looking for something, please go directly to our website.

PROLINE GETS MAZZER BURRS

2007-12-27T09:07:00.005-05:00

ROCKY "CONTINUOUS" GRIND SWITCH MOD

2007-12-07T18:43:00.005-05:00

ROCKY GRINDER SPOUT WITH HINGE

2007-12-07T18:35:00.005-05:00

CUISINART GRINDER BURR MODIFICATION

2007-12-07T18:08:00.007-05:00

MAZZER DOSERLESS MOD

2007-12-07T17:47:00.004-05:00

KITCHEN AID PROLINE MODIFICATION

2007-12-07T12:52:00.004-05:00

MAZZER DOSERLESS WITH SODA BOTTLE

2007-12-04T20:33:00.005-05:00

CANNING FUNNEL HOPPER FOR MAZZER GRINDER

2007-12-04T20:12:00.003-05:00

SOLIS 166 BURR ADJUSTMENT VIDEO

2007-12-04T19:48:00.004-05:00

Racing Stripes

2007-12-04T19:37:00.003-05:00

BEZERRA P-STAT AND PRESSURE GUAGE MOD

2007-12-04T19:07:00.004-05:00

SILVIA PRESSURE MODIFICATION

2007-12-04T18:03:00.003-05:00

MAKE YOUR OWN BOTTOMLESS PORTAFILTER

2007-12-04T16:41:00.003-05:00

Mazzer made Doserless

2007-12-04T15:23:00.003-05:00

RELOCATING THE MAZZER POWER CORD

2007-12-02T00:44:00.002-05:00

One of the first questions a newbie to coffee forums will ask about a Mazzer coffee grinder is, "Why did they put the power cord in the front of the grinder?" C'mon, you know when you first arrived to the espresso scene and didn't know the difference between a cappuccino and latte, you had a whole latte questions about a whole latte stuff (o.k., I'll stop with the "latte"). You may not have asked and eventually waited for someone else to do it, but you know you wanted to.

RANCILIO SILVIA PID PIC NES MOD

2007-12-01T16:28:00.003-05:00

GAGGIA PID TEMP CONTROL AND COMPUTER INTERFACE

2007-12-01T16:19:00.003-05:00

ECM GIOTTO PUMP MOD

2007-12-01T15:40:00.003-05:00

READY INDICATOR LIGHT FOR RANCILIO RIALTO

2007-12-01T14:18:00.003-05:00

Soup Can Roaster

2007-12-01T13:49:00.003-05:00

ROCKY RANCILIO MADE STEPLESS

2007-12-01T13:36:00.004-05:00

Mazzer Grinder Mod Modification Outrageous!

2007-12-01T07:32:00.002-05:00

Contributed by: BeanBaby (with permission to post correspondence).

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A forced air system to keep the grind chute, burr chamber, and coffee area clean. FOR MAJOR AND SUPER JOLLY ONLY! (Mini too small)

"Steve, Due to an issue of liability, possibly being assumed by doing so, we cannot allow our instructions for wiring components to be published openly. Suggest to individuals they should consult with a qualified electrician, repairman, or other who is competent in electrical work, if they are uncomfortable performing this part of the modification."

We've been told it looks good and serves a function. We've seen it pop up on the net occasionally, with some claiming its' creation. The net is a tough place to trace things back to. You can trace this one back to Family Line (before we were in business). This was a special order from a customer who saw the prototype we made (below, right) posted on a coffeegeek forum. Notice the original had a lever for air release, as the motor ran.
We named the final version "Frankenmazzer," as a joke, amongst ourselves. The first one didn't seem as bad as the final version. Perhaps because the first one was for the joy of tinkering and the last one was required to be perfect, because someone was paying for it - and paying a lot. In any event, we vowed to never do another one again as a "special order" project. Though we have sold a couple more since "Frank," they were done at our leisure without the deadline. If you would like to make one for your personal use, we provide basic directions. We never thought to take huge amounts of pictures, but perhaps we can muddle through with what we have and some text. We should warn you, take your time, draw your plan on paper, measure twice, and be careful! You will be working with electrical wiring and power tools. It is highly suggested that before making any cuts, or permanently altering your Mazzer, you arrange the major components in the base, to ensure they will fit. This "check before doing" procedure should be followed throughout the mod. Also, you do not have to wire the switches as we describe. Simpler wiring can be performed, giving less power switching options.

Major components required:

(1) 12vdc Blower Motor. We purchased ours retail at Target Stores. It is an air mattress inflator that runs off a car cigarette lighter (it included opening adapters that come in handy later).
(1) 115vac - 12vdc Power Converter (sold at Radio Shack) that matches output requirements for above
(2) 115v rated Rocker Switch (lighted)
(1) 12vdc rated Rocker Switch
18" of 5/8" O.D. x 3/8" I.D. Reinforced Plastic Tubing
30" of 3/8" I.D. Flexible Plastic Tubing
12" of 3/8" O.D. Brass Tubing
(2) Brass 'L' Coupler for with 3/8" connections
(1) 3/8" Rubber Grommet
(1) 5/8" Plastic Leg Cap

Other Parts/Components:

Wire Twist Connectors
Plumbers tape
Electrical Tape
Epoxy Glue

Tool Requirements:

Power Drill (Drill Press preferable)
Asst. Drill Bits up to 5/8"
Dremel Style Drill
Dremel Bit Asst. (sanding wheel, metal cutter)
Grinding Wheel
Pliers
Screwdriver
Volt/Ohm Meter
Plumbers 3/8" Pipe Bending Spring

UNPLUG YOUR GRINDER!
The first thing is to strip down your Mazzer as much as possible. The less you have to deal with, the less likely it gets damaged. Place the Mazzer on its' back (we know, technically it is the front), with the portafilter fork up. Remove the base plate by removing the 4 feet.

Now, at this point you can choose to relocate your Power cord (LINK) from its present location or leave it. In any event it needs to be disconnected where it is tied together inside the base.

Before proceding, try to place your major components of the Blower motor and power converter inside the base. You may have to loosen the start motor capacitor from its mounting (we did). Does everything fit? Good. Remove the components.

A picture of the base with the blower motor in place (Note that we moved the power cord to the rear, on this unit):

Look up the inside the grinder, looking up toward what would be the rear, top left corner, if the grinder were upright and facing you. That corner is where you want to drill a 5/8" hole. From the outside, in. There is no way for me to give a precise measurement of where to place this hole. Look, imagine wall thicknesses, and go for it. You do have some room for error. Once drilled, sand or grind off burrs, check for fit of the 5/8" tubing. If satisfactory, feed the tubing into the hole, working past the motor, with the end arriving at the base. Leave yourself a couple of inches extra on each end, for now.

Location of upper tube hole:
Next, you will need 2 holes in the face of the unit, below the porta filter. The size of the holes depends on the type of Toggle Switches you purchased (there are many different sizes that require different sized holes). Your 115v will be on the right and a 12v will be on the left. Try to space and position them uniformly. Check your drill emergence location to make sure you have room and the switches, when assembled, will not interfere with other components.

The last hole, for the last 12v switch can be placed in a location in which there is room. On our grinders we used the existing power cord hole because we moved the cord to the rear. I suppose the last switch could be placed above the cord or in the front above the left switch hole (this last switch will turn on the blower motor).

Our switch locations (note: customer requested a push button switch, as seen here, to activate blower - we recommend another toggle switch):
Now that the holes are drilled in the body, it is time to prepare the hopper. The hopper/body connector (the Brass 'L' Connector sitting on the body top) is connected on one end to the 5/8" tubing (this should have a 3/8" I.D.). The other end connects to the 3/8" flexible tubing. Depending on the brass connector you purchased the threads on one or both sides may need to be ground down do that it will accept the tubing (thus, the need for a grinding wheel). See the picture above. In that picture, we used a leg cap for aesthetics to hide the lower connection.

Prepare the Hopper. You will need to drill a hole slightly larger than 3/8" at the rear of the hopper. The reason it is slightly larger is so that it will accept the grommet. Position the hole so that your metal tubing, when bent with the plumbers tool will allow the tip of the metal tubing to end up just above the burrs and before the grind chute of the burr chamber.

This bend will be performed with the plumbers bending tool. It is also easier to bend the full 12" of tubing and cut to length needed, rather than try and bend about 4" of the required length. We show our hopper in the picture, but this procedure will work with any acrylic hopper. Once completed it is a simple matter of gluing the brass connector in place with the cover (leg cap), cutting the required length plastic of tubing to connect the hopper, and letting the glue dry.

Inside the base, the second brass 'L' connector is used to connect the reinforced tubing to the blower motor. Using the blower motor from Target stores, this connection is very easily done with the nozzle adapter, some teflon tape (plumbers tape), and finally electrical tape to ensure no air leakage.

During this mechanical phase of the mod you will be making adjustments to fit using many of the items listed (Dremel, etc.).

Once all connections of lines are complete it is just a matter of wiring in the switches, power converter, blower motor, and power cord. When wired correctly, the switches will operate as follows:

Note: Lighted switches are useful to let you know that power is "Hot" to components.

Right Front (lighted): Main Power to both the grinder motor and the voltage converter.

Grinder Timer: Must have Main Power switch on to operate.

Left Front (lighted): Power Supply Switch to Air Blower Motor (a safety to prevent power from being constantly on to converter when blower is not being used). It is wired in before the power converter.

Left Side: Air Blower Switch On/Off. Though shown in pictures as a push button, we think the use of a rocker style would be better.

As a bonus, once everything is dried and settled in, the top air connector can be used as an interchangable port to use a length of hose with a nozzle to blow out grounds from the doser or cleaning under the coffee equipment without having to move it (blow out any grounds from under equipment).

Ensure that all wiring connections are insulated properly, check all connections with a volt/ohm meter, close, and enjoy. Credit: coffeetweek.com, pics: coffeegrinderupgrades.com

BODUM ANTIGUA BURR ADJUSTMENT

2007-11-30T12:49:00.003-05:00

SOLIS 166 BURR ADJUSTMENT

2007-11-30T12:46:00.004-05:00

GAGGIA MDF BURR ADJUSTMENT

2007-11-30T12:42:00.004-05:00

GAGGIA MM BURR ADJUSTMENT

2007-11-30T12:37:00.003-05:00

Coffee - A Day in the Life

2007-11-29T19:33:00.003-05:00

Coffee Making CPU

2007-11-29T12:23:00.004-05:00

EXPLAINING A PID

2007-11-29T06:34:00.005-05:00

CLEAN SWEEP FOR YOUR MAZZER DOSER

2007-11-27T18:43:00.003-05:00

A CLEAN CENTER AREA IN THE MAZZER DOSER

2007-11-27T18:42:00.003-05:00

CONVERT LARGE MAZZER HOPPER TO SMALL

2007-11-27T05:53:00.004-05:00

MODIFICATION FOR STIR CRAZY ROASTER SHAFT

2007-11-26T13:40:00.003-05:00

Insulating a Boiler

2007-11-25T10:44:00.003-05:00

WATER LINE TO RANCILIO SILVIA

2007-11-25T10:38:00.003-05:00

Build a BBQ Bean Roaster

2007-11-25T09:57:00.004-05:00

BEAN ROASTER OVEN UNDER $100

2007-11-25T09:17:00.003-05:00

ESPRESSO MACHINE HUMOR

2007-11-25T08:48:00.004-05:00

STIR CRAZY COFFEE ROASTER

2007-11-25T08:31:00.003-05:00

Testing Brewhead Temp

2007-11-25T08:25:00.003-05:00

Showerhead Temperature Control

2007-11-25T08:08:00.003-05:00

HX ON 24/7? A Simple Solution

2007-11-25T07:26:00.004-05:00

FRANCIS FRANCIS X-1 BURNOUT

2007-11-25T07:16:00.004-05:00

Removing the Mazzer Doser Auto Switch

2007-11-25T06:32:00.003-05:00