Hario Skerton Upgrade Kit

I bought this upgrade after hearing about it for quite some time now. I have to say that I am very impressed. Not only do I have a more consistent grind size across the entire spectrum (fine espresso to coarse French press) but the usability of my Skerton has improved too.Usability/Experience:I used to get snags where the beans would get stuck in the burrs at an odd angle and need more force to crack them. This would cause me to lose my grip on the base and/or handle, get inconsistent grind size, and possibly tip the mill so the beans would rattle and maybe spill (I don't like using the silicone lid). Now that I've installed the upgrade ring I never experience these snags and the operation of milling my coffee takes much less effort and goes much smoother. I have also noticed that the mill is significantly quieter with this ring installed. I used to feel bad disturbing people near the office kitchenette with the noise of my Skerton (still quieter than a co-worker's Baratza) but not anymore. It's not whisper quiet but it is a noticeable difference and I don't hesitate to use it. The bean fragments also don't jump out nearly as often as they did without this mod. It seems like the bar across the circle helps catch fragments and this makes the silicone lid mostly unnecessary.Installation:If you actually look at the instructions that come with the mod (gasp! read something the part comes with??) then the difficulty experienced by other users is avoided. You do not need to remove the burr on the spindle. You undo the ring, place the mod disk on the plastic housing, replace the fixed burr, and replace the ring. Be careful to center the fixed bur before tightening all the way and don't over-tighten the screws or you could crack the ceramic. Then, you thread the smaller burr shaft like through the metal mod disk like installing a screw. Once you get to the end of the threads, it should slip right over the unthreaded part of the shaft (might need to force it a tiny bit at the very last thread). Then you just install the handle and adjust per usual. Took me 5 minutes and most of that was just trying to center the fixed burr (I'm a bit of a perfectionist with things like that).Overall:Couldn't have been easier to install and now my inexpensive Hario mill is quiet, easy to use, and produces a grind consistent with the Virtuoso mill I have at home. For $10, why wouldn't you do this?

Bottom line, it works. You get a far more even grind. It grinds a little more quickly, too.Now, having said that, I'm not sure that the grind makes all that much difference. I don't really taste a difference (using an electric drip machine). I do find less grounds at the bottom of the carafe. I'm a coffee perfectionist, so to me, it was worth $13. Your mileage may vary.Installation may or may not be easy. The basic instructions are extremely easy. When I was done, however, I noticed that the burr turned with a slight wobble. There's a video on the company website meant to tell you exactly how to fix that wobble. However, it recommends adjusting two parts, the burr cylinder and a nut; my Hario didn't have that particular nut, so I had to do what I could with the burr cylinder. And even then, the directions were basically, "Loosen it up, wiggle it around until it's straighter, then tighten it down again." The guy in the video didn't even get it right on the first couple of tries! The video faded out, then faded back in again, and he announced, "Now it's fixed."To be fair, however, I did manage to fix the wobble based on the video, and as I said, this item does work.

So glad I purchased this to go with my basic Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Mill rather than simply purchasing the Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Mill Plus or Pro models.After doing considerable research into the purchase of a new hand coffee mill, the Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Mill seemed to be a good balance to me of performance and value. The glaring complaint I continued seeing was that the cones loose their concentricity when adjusted for a coarse grind (critical for me as I primarily use a French Press when brewing coffee).Reading the reviews of the Hario Skerton Plus Ceramic Coffee Mill, I became concerned that Hario had not come up with an truly effective fix to this problem as their design still allowed considerable wobble between the cones, one reviewer even noted a space between the shaft and the Hario designed stabilizer. I believe this is due to a short sightedness of the Hario design engineers, cut the opening to a size large enough to fit over the threads of the shaft. Unfortunately, this major diameter of the threads is a bit larger than the diameter of the shaft, resulting in this sloppy fit.After reading some of the reviews for this upgrade kit by Blue Horse Products, a gleam of hope appeared, this just might be the solution to the problem. A few of the reviews noted that the Blue Horse upgrade had to be screwed onto the threads of the Hario Skerton grinder shaft. Might this be the answer to the problem?I ordered the kit and when received, was absolutely delighted - Yes! Yes it is the solution to the problem! By cutting the thread to the bore of the upgrade, Blue Horse came up with the brilliant solution! Turns out the minor diameter of this internal thread on the upgrade is about the same diameter as the shaft, eliminating the clearance between these two critical components.As of this writing, if you decide to purchase a Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Mill, which I highly recommend, by the way, save you money and don't buy the Plus version of the Hario Skerton product. Get the less expensive version of the Hario Skerton product and purchase this upgrade by Blue Horse Products to address the only major shortcoming I have found in the Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Mill.Bravo, Blue Horse Products! Job well done!!

Very easy to install, just be patient and don't lose the tiny screws. Took just a few minutes to install. Grinding is MUCH more stable, yet it's hard to say if it made a huge improvement in the taste. It is suppose to make a big different with a coarse grind, such as for French press. If you have the older grinder, you should probably get this kit, the "wobble" is gone, which is suppose to create a more uniform grind which means a better tasting coffee. Get this, and get rid of the wobble.