Author Topic: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks  (Read 122207 times)

yankeeNH

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #45 on: December 01, 2009, 06:21:39 AM »
Holy smokes...the most I've had to do is soaking things in a JoeGlo solution and using a Scotchbrite pad. The gunk comes right off.

When I got my roaster I started on 4 and was surprised how dark that was and wondered what 5-9 could possibly look like. As it turns out, they are incrementally darker. I've been roasting a Burundi on 6 and still not getting to second crack. I've also been using 2.4 lbs of green rather than the can. What is everyone else using?

Offline Joe

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #46 on: December 01, 2009, 07:14:17 AM »
Holy smokes...the most I've had to do is soaking things in a JoeGlo solution and using a Scotchbrite pad. The gunk comes right off.

When I got my roaster I started on 4 and was surprised how dark that was and wondered what 5-9 could possibly look like. As it turns out, they are incrementally darker. I've been roasting a Burundi on 6 and still not getting to second crack. I've also been using 2.4 lbs of green rather than the can. What is everyone else using?


here are the main cleaning ingredients of Joeglo. msds


Its an acid based cleaner as well.

I use this product, although it comes in a different bottle at my local Smart and Final store
Coffee Break phosphoric acid based cleaner


2.4lbs!!??? do you have the bigger capacity roaster?
« Last Edit: December 01, 2009, 07:24:15 AM by Joe »
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yankeeNH

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #47 on: December 13, 2009, 01:56:57 PM »
Quote
2.4lbs!!??? do you have the bigger capacity roaster?

Yup, I have the 2 pounder. I've been roasting about 2.4 lbs. per roast, but just looked at the Sonofresco site today and it said 2.8 lbs. per roast. Yikes. It seems at 2.4 lbs. there's a small amount of time before all the beans start to agitate, I can only imagine how long it would take at 2.8 lbs.

Somewhere I read (Sweet Maria's maybe?) that if anything, erring on the low side of the weight is preferable to too much weight. Anyone care to back that up or refute it?

I'm also going to experiment with a stainless insert for the roast chamber to be able to do 3 smaller batches during the same roast, much like the Sonofresco sample roaster. Has anyone else played with this idea?

yorel23

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #48 on: January 01, 2010, 07:54:38 PM »
I've been thinking lately that without the "MiloWidget", I am going to have to come up with a non-techie way of profile roasting on the Sono.  I am wondering what you guys think about a damper/blower system on the exhaust.  The damper would be to retain heat at certain parts of the roast, thus accelerating the roast.  The blower would be to remove heat more quickly at certain points of the roast in order to slow the roast.  It would be manually controlled (could be automated later).  I would be using a thermocouple thermometer to monitor temps throughout the roast.  I think I would be pretty comfortable with the blower part of it.  It could even help get the beans moving at the beginning of the roast.  The damper idea is a little more questionable as I don't know how the Sono would react with the back pressure.  Any thoughts?

Offline coffeefanaddict

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #49 on: January 03, 2010, 11:21:01 AM »
I dont think you will have any success with that. Even if i put my hand over the top or if I roll it outside to roast and there is a fair bit of wind it will stop and give an error message. It just seems to be very sensitive to unplanned temperature variations.
It really would be cool if it were easy to adjust the profile.

grohrich

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #50 on: January 17, 2010, 10:57:57 AM »
I use the Sono 2 pounder.  My experience with the recommended load, 2 cans, is like posted here.  Some varieties are slow to agitate resulting in 10% charred beans.  Worked with Sono to try to resolve the problem, their concern was my elevation was 6500' (we look down on Denver!).  First we removed the metal collar around the fan intake with no improvement.  Next we turned down the gas mixture, quarter turn on the valve (accessed on bottom front) until the unit was continuously heating, with no imporvement.  I was trying to get a prefect roast at maximum capcity, I could always load less and achieve this.  In the end, when I quit trying to find the solution, I found comfort with a 1 1/2 can load for the problematic varieties.  I have started to use weigth rather than volume, but not enough data yet.

I do have a question for other users:  I get dust and chaff that somehow blows out over the machine and immediate area.  I've checked all joints and sealed well I believe.  Is anyone else experiencing this?  Is it normal?  Thanks.

yankeeNH

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #51 on: January 17, 2010, 04:10:56 PM »
I, too have dust all over the place but I think that's just par for the course since it's not burned in the drum with the chaff. Roasting, I've decided, is just a messy business.

I'm actually surprised the folks @ Sonofresco don't just say to roast based on weight and not on volume. There's simply too much variation between bean weights to have any accuracy by saying "2 cans".

Offline Joe

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #52 on: January 19, 2010, 03:18:56 PM »
I get Dust from when I am weighing my coffee into the roasting chamber. The dust falls through the holes at the bottom, especially with Dry processed coffee, as I am locking it into the chamber, sometimes it will blow past the chaff screen as well.

I don't get Chaff, unless my vacuum blows it out. So you might be experiencing a problem.
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yorel23

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #53 on: February 06, 2010, 06:33:05 PM »
I am having some issues with my Sonofresco.  The airflow from the blower is quite a bit weaker than it used to be.  Where the beans used to really hop, they now just move around.  It is causing some real inconsistencies in my roasts.  Do the blowers on these things slowly wear out?  Or is there something else that controls airflow?  I should add that I am using beans that I am very familiar with and the same weight of beans that I have always used.  Any input?

Tex

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #54 on: February 06, 2010, 07:37:51 PM »
I am having some issues with my Sonofresco.  The airflow from the blower is quite a bit weaker than it used to be.  Where the beans used to really hop, they now just move around.  It is causing some real inconsistencies in my roasts.  Do the blowers on these things slowly wear out?  Or is there something else that controls airflow?  I should add that I am using beans that I am very familiar with and the same weight of beans that I have always used.  Any input?

Check the voltage at the outlet & the end of your extension cord? Any motor will wear out, but from what I've seen of the fan on my Sonofresco it SHOULD last a lot of years.

milowebailey

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #55 on: February 07, 2010, 08:59:05 AM »
1st I assume you are using the same qty (weight) of beans each time??

2nd is your chaff screen clean (soak it overnight in oxiclean) it will affect total airflow.

3rd It's an AC motor.... If it wears out it will:

a) get noisy (bushngs)
b) not start once in a while (dead spot on the brushes)
c) let the smoke out

I can't think of a scenario where it would slow down airflow due to the motor.  AC motors don't just slow down as they age.

I suspect your fan blades are dirty.  It's PITA, but take it apart and clean the squirrel cage.  You might be able to get to it by removing the back panel... otherwise you have to take it all apart.

One other thing you may want to do is call Sono and ask them their recommendation.

yorel23

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #56 on: February 08, 2010, 10:43:22 AM »
Check the voltage at the outlet & the end of your extension cord? Any motor will wear out, but from what I've seen of the fan on my Sonofresco it SHOULD last a lot of years.

Checked the voltage.  All good.

1st I assume you are using the same qty (weight) of beans each time??

2nd is your chaff screen clean (soak it overnight in oxiclean) it will affect total airflow.

3rd It's an AC motor.... If it wears out it will:

a) get noisy (bushngs)
b) not start once in a while (dead spot on the brushes)
c) let the smoke out

I can't think of a scenario where it would slow down airflow due to the motor.  AC motors don't just slow down as they age.

I suspect your fan blades are dirty.  It's PITA, but take it apart and clean the squirrel cage.  You might be able to get to it by removing the back panel... otherwise you have to take it all apart.

One other thing you may want to do is call Sono and ask them their recommendation.

That's what I figured about the motor.  Usually they work or not.  That, or you can hear the bearings going.  They don't just typically slow down.  So, I decided to tear into and give it a good cleaning.  I have two Sonos, a red one and a silver one, so I decided to open both of them up for cleaning.  They both were quite dirty.  With a vacuum and a small brush, I gave them the once over.  But, what I found inside was most interesting.  The silver one has always had less airflow than the red ever since I got it.  Lately it has seemed to get less and less.  I think cleaning it would have helped that.  However, when I opened them up, I noticed that the blower housings were different.  The housing in the silver roaster had the normal opening, about 5-6" diameter.  The red roaster's housing had a plate with a 2-1/2" opening covering the normal opening.  This must be why they always had a different airflow!  To test the theory I removed the plate from the red roaster and placed it on the silver roaster, put everything back together again and tried a batch on each.  The silver one now had great airflow (like the red used to have) and the red one had very little airflow (probably less than the silver used to have).  It is amazing the difference!  So, this week I will be building a new plate for the red roaster.  I think that the roasters should be very similar now.  So, if you ever think that your Sono could use a little more airflow, check and see if the blower housing has a plate attached to it.  The interesting thing is the silver one had holes to attach the plate, but no plate had ever been installed. 

Thanks for the input guys!

Tex

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #57 on: February 08, 2010, 02:03:04 PM »
Check the voltage at the outlet & the end of your extension cord? Any motor will wear out, but from what I've seen of the fan on my Sonofresco it SHOULD last a lot of years.

Checked the voltage.  All good.

1st I assume you are using the same qty (weight) of beans each time??

2nd is your chaff screen clean (soak it overnight in oxiclean) it will affect total airflow.

3rd It's an AC motor.... If it wears out it will:

a) get noisy (bushngs)
b) not start once in a while (dead spot on the brushes)
c) let the smoke out

I can't think of a scenario where it would slow down airflow due to the motor.  AC motors don't just slow down as they age.

I suspect your fan blades are dirty.  It's PITA, but take it apart and clean the squirrel cage.  You might be able to get to it by removing the back panel... otherwise you have to take it all apart.

One other thing you may want to do is call Sono and ask them their recommendation.

That's what I figured about the motor.  Usually they work or not.  That, or you can hear the bearings going.  They don't just typically slow down.  So, I decided to tear into and give it a good cleaning.  I have two Sonos, a red one and a silver one, so I decided to open both of them up for cleaning.  They both were quite dirty.  With a vacuum and a small brush, I gave them the once over.  But, what I found inside was most interesting.  The silver one has always had less airflow than the red ever since I got it.  Lately it has seemed to get less and less.  I think cleaning it would have helped that.  However, when I opened them up, I noticed that the blower housings were different.  The housing in the silver roaster had the normal opening, about 5-6" diameter.  The red roaster's housing had a plate with a 2-1/2" opening covering the normal opening.  This must be why they always had a different airflow!  To test the theory I removed the plate from the red roaster and placed it on the silver roaster, put everything back together again and tried a batch on each.  The silver one now had great airflow (like the red used to have) and the red one had very little airflow (probably less than the silver used to have).  It is amazing the difference!  So, this week I will be building a new plate for the red roaster.  I think that the roasters should be very similar now.  So, if you ever think that your Sono could use a little more airflow, check and see if the blower housing has a plate attached to it.  The interesting thing is the silver one had holes to attach the plate, but no plate had ever been installed. 

Thanks for the input guys!

I hope you took some pics as you went along?

yorel23

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #58 on: February 08, 2010, 02:06:03 PM »
I hope you took some pics as you went along?

I didn't get any this weekend, but I will be sure to get some when I put the new plate on next weekend.

draagoth

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Re: Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks
« Reply #59 on: February 13, 2010, 11:34:43 PM »
I'm considering picking up the 2# version. I've read this entire thread and it seems like everyone is happy with this roaster. I'm a little concerned about the E-2 errors. Has anyone figured out what that's all about? I sure would like the extra capacity and I have heard that these put out a quality roast.

I guess what I'm looking for is some people who own these to say if they had it to do all over again that they would still buy this roaster.

Any info, suggestions or advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Rob :D