Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Discussion of coffee grinder hardware. How to get the most out of specific grinders. Cleaning and maintenance issues with grinders. Comparison of different grinders.
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DDA

Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by DDA »

Hello,

After much thought, I have come to a decision that it will be a mazzer major. However, I've noticed that there are two kinds being sold out there, timer model and automatic model. There is no more on/off switch model I could find. Given the timer and automatic, which one will be best for a grind-per-pull operation?

Thanks in advance.
Dave
SwingT

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by SwingT »

Timer - is what you want.

The timer basically rotates off, and you manually push it to off.

Auto is autofill. Not desireable for our purposes because it autofills the doser.

If you buy a used Major that is autofill, you have to bypass the auto, straightwire to a manual switch
DDA

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by DDA »

I guess that works out really well for me. The automatic model is more expensive.

Thank you for the quick response.
Dave
JohnB

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by JohnB »

Are you buying new or used? Lots & lots of Majors for sale cheap on the used market in the $300 range. Both of mine were Autos which is no big deal. Just remove the doser switches & put a jumper across where you pulled off each set of wires. Set up like this the switch works as a simple on/off switch. Most used Majors will be autos as they would have been originally sold to cafes.
DDA

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by DDA »

JohnB wrote:Are you buying new or used? Lots & lots of Majors for sale cheap on the used market in the $300 range. Both of mine were Autos which is no big deal. Just remove the doser switches & put a jumper across where you pulled off each set of wires. Set up like this the switch works as a simple on/off switch. Most used Majors will be autos as they would have been originally sold to cafes.
Good point, John. I actually planned to buy a new one then I thought of checking out an auction site and found a decent one really cheap (lost the bid, though) and it ended at less than half the price of a brand new one. I think with patience I'd find myself a used decent one at a really wallet-friendly price. Now the question is, are these used grinders pretty easy to take apart for a refinishing/repainting if necessary? I'm pretty handy when it comes to electrical/electronics and mechanical.
JmanEspresso

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by JmanEspresso »

Yeah, taking them apart is pretty straightforward.

Depending on the condition. . .

Remove the adjustment collar, and upper burr carrier. Remove the top burr. Remove the lower burr. Clean everything. You might need to remove the lower burr carrier, but unless there is a rancid aroma coming from it, you should be fine.

The doser LOOKS complicated, but it's actually pretty easy. I DID have an amazing link to a complete walkthrough someone did, but my computer crashed and Ive been using a laptop, which has none of my links. But, like I said, it's pretty easy.

Remove the doser: To allen key bolts/flat screws on either side of the exit chute. On the dosers "floor", there is another two flathead screws. Remove these four bolts/screws, and the dosers lifts off. There is a gasket between the doser and grinder body surrounding the exit chute, try not to let it drop into the body of the grinder.

Now that the doser is off the grinder, you can begin to take it apart. Unscrew the doser adjustment nut holding the sweeping stars in the doser. It holds a spring down, so after a few turns, it will pop up. Once the nut is off, you can remove the upper dosing stars and the dose cutter. You should be left with a lower star.

Flip the doser over.

On the bottom plate of the doser, you should see to hex head bolts. Remove them. Take off the bottom plate. The "thwacker" is attached to this.

Inside, under the doser, you will see the mechanism which moves the stars, and returns the "thwacker. IIRC, there is a couple springs, a star gear, and a gold "star nut" with teeth, in the middle. Take off each piece one by one. Now, to remove the lower dosing star, you'll need to remove the golden nut. This can be tricky, because you need to keep the lower star from moving to remove the nut. BUT, the lower star is fragile, and it is very easy to snap off the fins without knowing it. I snapped off three before I gave up. I never took off the golden nut. you should definitely attempt too, but, if it isn't coming off, don't go crazy with it.

Now that youve got the doser and burr chamber apart... CLEAN IT ALL. I used a cleaner called Simple Green, at ful strength, to soak everthing. Soak, scrub, rinse, do whatever, just get everything nice and clean.

Once everything is cleaned up, including the doser itself, put everything back together. Find your zero point, mark it on the collar. If you choose to leave the dose cutter in the doser, adjust the nut inside the doser so its nice and tight, but not so tight you can thwack the doser handle nicely. you shouljd be ready to grind.


NOW.. If you want to paint the grinder, you're not going to be getting the motor out. To get the motor out, Im told the whole grinder goes in a 200F over, so you can stretch the body to get the motor out. But, IDK of one home barista who did this, and almost everyone paints their grinders. If you get a Major, there will be three vents on the body, on each side. Tape over em best you can. Tape over the burr chamber, and the doser-hole.

Now, removing the paint on the mazzers is a bitch. I suggest getting the strongest epoxy remover you can find. . . i used "Klean Strip" Epoxy and Paint Remover. Its like a gel, and sticks really well. Use a foam brush, and apply it liberally. Only one stroke per area. Dont "re-stroke" an area, just put it on,and let it sit. I suggest 30mins. Then, scrape it off. Most likely, not everything will come off the first try. You may need a second, and even a third application, but as long as your patient in letting the stuff sit on the grinder, you can get it all off. Now, you CAN also sand the paint off, using a finishing sanded and the proper sandpaper, but it takes a llllloooooooonnnnnnngggggggg time. I suggest getting off as much as you can with the epoxy remover, and using the sander only if you have too. The more you scrape off with the epoxy remover, the better.

For the actual painting, you can get as easy or as serious as you want. I suggest, at least using a couple coats of primer, 2 should be enough. 2-3coats of paint, and then some clear. You can skip the clear coat if you want, but, I suggest making it look nice, if your gonna paint. Now, past that, you could wet sand between each coat, put a few more coats of paint and clear coat, with wet sanding between the end paint coats and the clear coats, and get a real nice gloss on the grinder. There is also a couple different textured spray paints, which, much to my surprise, work pretty great. I bought a hammered texture gun metal color which looked great on a little project I did. Another idea I had, is you can machine the body panels to give it a brushed look, or something similar. If you have seen the body panels on the speedster, you'll notice that, I forget the name of the design, but, you can see some pictures of it on the First Look Mark Prince did on CoffeeGeek. It will be more work then simply painting it, but since the mazzers body under the million coats of paint and primer they used, is bare aluminum. Point is, once you get all the paint off, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Ive seen people simply take a can of Krylon paint and throw one coat of black on it, and Ive seen a superjolly that had a custom powdercoat job. My Father was a painter for 27yrs, and he taught me how to paint, so Im partial to painting things. With a little patience, you can make it look gourgues, simply wih a few cans of paint, a hose, and some ultra fine sandpaper.

You might end up with a grinder that doesnt need paint at all. If there is only a couple nicks here and there, I would seriously, seriously think about trying to find an Auto Paint Touch up Stick to match the grinders color, and do some quick touch up. Because remember, the bigger the project you take on, the longer you wont have the grinder in use. that is why my grinder is only prepped. I only got halfway done with the prep when my burrs showed up, and i got impatient.


Some things to keep in mind for buying a used mazzer:
1)always buy a new burr set. 99% of the time, you'll need the burrs. . .and if you don't, youll have a spare set on hand when you do.
2)you should buy a few parts right off the bat, in case something breaks during the cleaning process, and to replace anything that is crappy looking
-Plastic Doser Window
-Doser Lever Return Spring(2 or 3 would be good, they;re cheap, and break now and then sometimes)
-Doser Bolt Spring(2 or 3 would be good, again, sometimes they break)
-Dose Cutter(if you decide to use this, they're usually bent, meaning the doser stars wont sweep it 100% clean)
-Doser-to-Body Gasket-Not 100% needed, but the one on the grinder might be old and hardened up
--And of course--
-BURRS

Now.. aside from the burrs, you probably wont NEED any of this stuff. BUT, on my Major, the Doser Lever Return Spring and Doser Bolt Spring both broke after a few months use, so I replaced em. My plastic doser window was all cracked(and still is), and a new one makes the doser looks good. you do need a gasket between the doser and grinder, otherwise grinds will fall into the grinders body, which, I learned the hard way. Of course, you can make your own gasket as well.

Here are some helpful links on cleaning and rebuilding a mazzer-
http://www.home-barista.com/post118154. ... es#p118154
http://www.kaffee-netz.de/reparatur-und ... l-1-a.html-A Pictorial breakdown of a mazzer mini doser... same as a major doser, just a tad shorter in size.
http://www.home-barista.com/grinders/im ... nes#p83159-Sweeper Mod and "Easter Egg Mod
http://www.home-barista.com/grinders/ho ... t6499.html-The Schectermatic Schnozzola, a must have for any Mazzer Doser Owner. Save the file, and print it out on Card Stock, or something similiar. Much better then paying EPNW for the same thing. Andy Suggest a Donation to CoffeeKids.

I think thats it. Best of luck to you in the search for a good deal. Of course, you could always buy new and avoid all of this, but when you grind that first shot on a grinder you restored, that spent its former days in a horrid, stale coffee hell, and you restored to it's proper usage. . . Well, there is not much like it my friend!(then again, a brand new mazzer major looks damn nice on the bench!)

Hope I helped you out somewhat,
Jeff
JohnB

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by JohnB »

Jeff obviously drinks much more coffee then I so I'll keep my post simple.

A/ Removing that bottom sweeper on the doser is unnecessary & will probably result in breaking off 1 of the sweepers. If you buy a crusty old Mazzer that needs cleaning then strip the doser down to that point & just drop it in a bucket of Cafizia solution & let it soak. Rinse it off thoroughly & any grounds that were under the sweeper will be gone. Forget the electrical tape mod on those sweepers & go with sticky back velcro. You can cut the pieces & stick them on every other sweeper without removing the lower assy.

B/ Painting: I ran a restoration business with customers all over the U.S./Canada for many years that specialized in show quality paint/body work of antique & vintage motorcycles. I'm pretty fussy about paint work/prep/ect. & my opinion is that stripping the original paint from a Mazzer grinder is a complete waste of your time! That paint is baked on & most strippers won't even touch it so why are you removing it. Its never going to lift or peel off & is an excellent base for the new paint.
Clean the body, remove any damaged decals & mask off the good ones, stuff some paper into the opening where the doser was mounted getting some far enough in to cover the vent openings, scuff the paint with a red 3M pad, wet sand smooth any rough/chipped edges along the bottom/front of tray area, fill any scratches or chips with body filler, sand smooth & spot prime & sand again with 400grt wet/dry. Find the best/most durable silver metallic paint that comes in a spray bomb along with a can of compatible clear coat. Lay on 2-3 nice coats of the metallic which will look like crap as there is very little clear in a spray can so the metallic particles do not get buried. Knock off any dust bunnies, remove the tape from your decals & spray on 2-3-4 or more coats of clear. Try to bury the edges of your decals so they don't stand out. Make sure you are spraying in a warm room with adequate ventilation to avoid runs & an early demise. I like to warm up the metal with a hair dryer before painting so I get a quicker flash off time.
This is how I painted both of my Majors & they look as new. I bought new burrs ($45) for both of my Majors, 1 doser window & replaced 1 power cord. All other parts are still working fine.
DDA

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by DDA »

John, Jeff, the information you guys just shared are very much appreciated.

The hunt for the project grinder is on. I'm so excited to get this started but it's not happening until the day I get the grinder. I always see them turn up in auctions and that's where i'll keep looking. I may get lucky on craigslist, too, so I'll keep looking there as well. I have my Rocky and Silvia up for sale so if I don't get a good deal on a used Major, I might opt for a new one, although it'll be nice to be able to keep some of the proceeds, the level of my excitement on the grinder upgrade is just exponentially rising since the my upgrade from Silvia to Mini V2. Now I can't imagine what more after upgrading from Rocky to Major.

Is there a model or year that I should steer away from or all majors regardless of year, whether a Luigi, Rio, Astoria are all the same?
JohnB

Re: Mazzer Major Timer or Automatic?

Post by JohnB »

DDA wrote:Is there a model or year that I should steer away from or all majors regardless of year, whether a Luigi, Rio, Astoria are all the same?
I'd stay within the last ten years as early Majors had the aluminum doser & flush neck. The stainless doser on the later models is much better looking & I like having the retaining screw for the hopper that is tapped into the raised neck of the upper burr carrier. you also get the running light & I believe the earlier switches were different also. Just look at the first two digits of the serial number for the year.
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