I was one of the first buyers of the DF83V and was very excited before it arrived. Unfortunately, I haven’t found it to be a reliable grinder. Shot times are inconsistent, and when I tried to investigate the cause, I realized that the zero point is constantly changing.
I would set the zero point, turn on the grinder, adjust the setting, and then return to zero—only to find that it had shifted slightly in most cases. Repeating this process multiple times showed that the zero point jumps around unpredictably.
The upper burr carrier is bulky and heavy, and it rests on six very small springs that don’t seem adequate for the job. When adjusting the grind size, you can feel how unsmooth the mechanism is. The resistance when turning the dial changes from hard to easy throughout the adjustment, which feels strange and suggests that something isn’t working quite right.
Another major drawback is that these same six springs also play a role in burr alignment. If some of them wear differently or lose tension for any reason, it could result in the burrs not sitting at a consistent distance from each other across the entire cutting surface.
It’s possible that the specific unit I received was defective from the factory, but there’s no way for me to know for sure. What I do know is that it behaved this way from day one, and the issues may be related to the design choices outlined above.
I also understand that the grinder has since gone through two rounds of improvements, and those changes may address some of these problems. However, as a customer, I can’t recommend a company that releases a half-baked product with known issues and only addresses them later.
