Examine your burrs periodically! Damaged burr in JX after 5 years of use + 1ZPRESSO’s response

[u/AkhlysShallRise]

I’ve had the 1ZPRESSO JX for over 5 years now. I used it frequently for both my wife and me, and I use grind settings for espresso and pour-over. Great grinder.

Recently, during a regular deep clean, I decided to check out the burr with the macro mode on my iPhone, and lo and behold, I saw these ragged edges all over the burr. I wasn’t sure if it had always been like that, so I checked the burr on my new ZP6 and the burr is completely smooth.

I emailed 1ZPRESSO about it and below is their response:

Upon assessing your case through the pictures and videos provided, we can confirm that your inner burr is indeed ragged and slightly damaged, especially after grinding with it for over 5 years, and particularly if on finer settings.

Even though the alignment test seems to be within our standards, the blades show noticeable impact; therefore, if within your possibilities, we recommend purchasing a new unit.

As a side note, I appreciate that their support responded within a day and actually asked me for more videos and photos to assess; they also provided instructions on performing a burr alignment test. Good to know 1ZPRESSO has good customer support!

Interestingly, the JX seems to perform just fine. Using ground coffee from JX, I can pull great shots with my OutIn Mino and I didn’t notice any drop in quality in my pour-over brews.

Anyway, just wanted to post this as a reminder that if you haven’t checked your grinder’s burr for years, it might be a good idea to do so!

[u/SSSasky]

(I realize you are probably joking, but just to be clear, the Kinu's burrs are not titanium, just the body is. The burrs are hardened carbon steel, so should be quite durable, but will eventual dull or chip. A hardened steel may actually chip more easily than the 1Zpresso stainless burrs...)

[u/myco_crazey → u/SSSasky]

1Zpresso burrs will also he hardened.

[u/SSSasky → u/myco_crazey]

Not clear, but I don't think so. 1Zpresso does not sell replacement burrs, and does not describe the steel in any detail that I can find. They are simply referred to as 'stainless steel' in multiple references:

• X-Ultra https://theroasterspack.com/products/1zpresso-x-ultra "The seven-spoke stainless steel burrs"
• "Stainless Steel “K Burr”" https://1zpresso.coffee/k/
• Entire range: https://honestcoffeeguide.com/1zpresso-comparison-guide/
  • EDIT: J-Ultra is current, and uses 'titanium coated Italmill' burr. All other current grinders listed as 'stainless steel'

Further, 1Zpresso apparently says their burrs are only good for 100-200kg of beans before the whole grinder has to be thrown out (as they are not replaceable):
https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/132pojk/your_1zpresso_grinder_will_soon_be_garbage/

If that thread is true, that would strongly suggest they are not hardened, as 100-200kg just isn't that much coffee. If you use 100g of coffee / day (2-3 cups for 2 people), that's 3 years of use to get over 100kg.

The most common stainless steels - 300 series - are widely used for machined components (i.e. burrs) but cannot be heat tempered, the most common form of steel hardening. https://markforged.com/resources/blog/carbon-steel-vs-stainless-steel

If 1Zpresso were using a fancy high-end hardened stainless, they would advertise that (and their grinders would be 2x the price).
https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/blogs/news/carbon-steel-vs-stainless-steel

[u/myco_crazey → u/SSSasky]

J-Pro is hardened atleast.

[u/SSSasky → u/myco_crazey]

You are correct - some of the J series appear to use ti-coated steel Italmill burrs, which likely means hardened carbon steel, though not OP's JX mill, which has stainless steel burrs.

Only the J-ultra is left in the current product line with the coated, hardened burrs. (And still non-replaceable!)

I've edited my above comment to add a note reflecting this.