My Brand New FreshRoast is Dead!

[keithcutter]

...and silly me, I did a modification which I'm sure has voided my warranty (replaced timer wheel w/ separate fan/heat controls).

My machine is only a month old!

It gets to first crack, as before, and then stops -- no further roast progress. It's as though it doesn't have enough heat. I've tried increasing batch size w/ no success.

This really puts a damper on things. I've got 20lbs of Monkey Blend and the thought of going back to buying preroasted beans is killing me!

[Niko]

Don't feel bad...I bought an iRoast 2 a few months back for someone and it died within a week! No mods on it, it just plain died.


Also, my iRoar2 almost burned down my kitchen last night!
I plugged it in without the top part of the unit and walked away for about 15-20 seconds. I found it almost on fire, the heat element was glowing red and it started to melt the plastic!
I quickly disconnected it and blasted the fan on it for about 20 minutes until it was cool to the touch. I was desperate to finish my roasting so fire or no fire I was going to plug it in and try it.
It worked fine.
I guess the the safety switch when the top of the unit is missing didn't do its job....

[keithcutter]

Went by the dump today to drop off some trash. On the way out I spotted this little gem on the recycle table.



What the heck! It works!

[Niko]

I see those poppers selling in my area all the time on craigslist. They usually fetch $15-20 and they're great from what I hear. I've never used one myself but I got a whirly pop as a backup incase we lose power or the iRoar just simply dies before I upgrade it.

[chas]

I... but I got a whirly pop as a backup in case we lose power...

Huh? You find a battery powered roaster???

:happy1:

[Niko]

No....it's one of those hand crank-thing-a-mabobs

[chas]

Yeah, I have a large propane camp stove, a BBQ roaster, a hand grinder, and an assortment of press pots and manual drop systems. I will alway have coffee so long as I don't run out of propane before the power comes back on!

[Niko]

Which BBQ roaster do you have?
Is it Ron Kyle's (RK Drum)?

[chas]

Yes, RK. One of his original designs. I understand he's make a few design tweaks. My only real issue is being able to get the cottering pin out fast enough without either burning myself or flinging the pin half way across the yard.

[Niko]

Can you get those little design improvements made on yours? I once looked into his BBQ drums but I'm so lousy (and embarrassed to say) at BBQ'ing that I'd probably burn down my yard or incinerate myself in the process. Let's just say I wouldn't manage to roast coffee...I'm all thumbs with any sort of fire.

Back to what Keith was saying about his month-old roaster, I think it had nothing to do with his mod - seemed simple and safe enough, the heat element met its maker too soon.

[keithcutter]

I had a chat w/ a very nice gentleman at FreshRoast. I told him I was sure I had given-up any right to warranty work with my modifications, but did he maybe have an idea what was happening.

He was very polite and helpful. Nice fellow.

Bottom line is I think I nuked the internal thermostat by doing back-to-back roasting sessions. Sooooooooo, off came the screws. Took me like 5 minutes to bypass the thermostat and ...



...my FreshRoast is working beautifully once again! Obviously the rep didn't 'suggest' that I bypass the thermostat; and I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone else do it (disclaimer, disclaimer, yada, yada, yada).

I like this home roasting stuff!

[Niko]

I do back to back to back to back roasting all the time on my iRoar2. In fact, the thing refuses to just die so I can get a new (larger) roaster. So everyday, I try really hard to kill it.
Lately I've been resting it on a Vornado fan after each roast for about a minute and then it's off to war again, sometimes more than 6 batches in a row.
Well, your roaster certainly has no troubles anymore when you can attain well into 2nd crack like your pic shows.
Glad to hear you're back in business! :D