Latest Acquisition

[LMichaels]

So, I found this at a resale shop in Madison WI. Crazy good price. Just HAD to grab it. It was very clean, worked well. I ordered a couple things for it from Baratza so I can fully disassemble and give it a thorough reconditioning, maybe do a couple "upgrades" as well (stainless steel burrs, upgraded burr carrier, latest control panel and barista LEDs) IDK, or maybe I'll flip it and parlay it into the latest model (Vario W+) and call it a day.
Love how this works though. I've been checking it for accuracy and every time it grinds to a tenth of a gram accuracy. So I love simply being able to punch in one of my 3 "Programmed" grinds and be able to do other things while it does it's thing. They're expensive products (new) but really do work very well. Have to say, I'm impressed.
I also have the other 2 units I need to finish and flip as well. (The Virtuoso+ that had ground chocolate and an older Encore with the Esatto attachment). Just waiting on a few parts from Baratza on those. I have to say so far. Rebuilding/refurbing these is WAY easier than mixers.
Fewer (and cheaper) parts, easier and lighter to handle as well. And, FAR less messy. No gearboxes full of sometimes REALLY stinky and moldy grease. Lugging some of the larger 35lb units down into the shop is getting harder for this "old guy" But, now once I finish the other 2 I have to see how easy they are to "flip" for profit. Stay tuned.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Interesting

 

[LMichaels]

Interesting (and cool) thing here is these use the same body, motor and drive train as their commercial "Forte" products. Main difference is all the Forte units come with weight OR time based dosing so they can grind directly into a portafilter, a larger bean hopper, a much larger display screen/control panel with touch screen controls and lastly slightly different grind level controls so they have a little more "range" and "depth" of adjustment. But if you look inside they use the same motor, belt drive and burr sets.