Grinder died mid-pour over yesterday morning

My Baratza Encore just stopped working right as I was grinding beans for my morning coffee. It made this weird grinding noise and then nothing. I tried cleaning it out and checking the burrs but it's completely dead now. I've had it for about 4 years and put maybe 500 pounds of beans through it. Anyone have luck fixing these yourself or is it time to just buy a new one?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben_nguyen21d ago

500 pounds? Mine died on bag 3 so you got your money's worth (I did not).

lindab4921d ago

The first bag I got from them went through 200 pounds before the seal started leaking. I think people expect these things to last forever but for the price point most of them are sold at, getting 3-5 bags out of it is completely reasonable. You have to consider the cost of making these airtight containers with proper gaskets and valves. If you bought the cheapest option on Amazon that's on you, not the company. Plus you can always replace the gaskets or buy a new lid instead of complaining about the whole thing.

jade_singh14d ago

I've been through three of these now (long story involving a basement flood and a lot of dry beans), and here's my take: if you catch the leak early enough, a little food-grade silicone on the gasket can buy you an extra bag or two. @ben_nguyen, 3 bags is rough but not unheard of for the cheaper lids - I found that tightening the valve nut a quarter turn sometimes stops the slow leaks before they get bad. The real kicker is that most of these companies sell replacement lids for like 15 bucks, so it's usually cheaper to swap the lid than to buy a whole new container set.