coffee grinder "kitchen aid"

[muzoon]

Hi

I have a plan to buy a Kitchen Aid Coffee grinder for home use.
Before doing that I want to get some answers or thoughts to my few questions.

1. Is the grinder reliable? (long lasting, strong, etc.)
2. grind particle size settings: what is the finest setting and what is coarsest (comparing to)?
3. Can I change the factory settings to more coarser or more finer? (by removing grind setting knob and adjusting it differently [fasten it in different position])
4. Grind setting increments: How big are the grind size increments between two neighboirng settings at any point? Are they good or too big?
5. Has there occurred any problems with grind setting knob? (moves away from set point during grinding, others)
6. If I get the grinder I definitely want to change its burs to professional sharp burrs. Can You give me measurements of Kitchen Aid Grinders original burrs? (outer diameter, inner diameter, thickness of a burr and screw hole positions and size)So I could search if there exist any professional burr that fits the grinder.

Thanks in advance guys

 

[JohnB]

Are you planning on using the KA Pro for Espresso or just brew coffee?

 

[muzoon]

Not so much espresso (traditional espressomachine). Mostly: syphon, pour-over filter coffee, french press, mocka pot.
It is important for me to be able to adjust it as precise as possible.

 

[shadow745]

I've owned a KA Pro Line grinder for about 3 years now. It is good out of the box, but can be made with some fairly simple mods.

1. The grinder is very reliable. Very rugged gearbox, motor, pretty much all metal and glass.
2. With the factory burrs it will grind fairly coarse, such as for press. The finest will be suitable for most espresso machines.
3. Yes you can calibrate it in either direction.
4. The factory settings are large 1/2 clicks, but you can very easily make it stepless to have infinite settings, thus allowing very tiny adjustments. For awhile I used mine with my Cremina lever machine and the results were quite good. IMO nothing is harder to dial in than a manual lever machine....
5. The grind setting stays put, especially after a layer or two of teflon tape is wrapped around the burr carrier threads. AND this is done on many brands of grinders to tighten things up.
6. I have very successfully changed the burrs. I did the burr transplant in which the grinder is modified to hold Mazzer Mini burrs, which are the only real pro type of burrs this grinder will support. To do this correct does require a bit of work, but it can be done.

If you know anybody that needs one of these let me know. I intend to sell my highly modified Pro Line for a decent price. Later!

 

[muzoon]

Thanks Shadow for Your in-depth answer. Do not know anybody except me. But I would like to get a new one and modify it myself. And I am located in Northern Europe.