Swissmar Alpenröast

[mp]

Does anyone have or know anything about a Swissmar Alpenröast?

I have an opportunity to buy one that someone has that is still in the original box and has never been used.  I can get it for $100.00.  I don't even know if they produce them any more.

What do you say ... what do you know?

 

[milowebailey]

Does anyone have or know anything about a Swissmar Alpenröast?

I have an opportunity to buy one that someone has that is still in the original box and has never been used.  I can get it for $100.00.  I don't even know if they produce them any more.

What do you say ... what do you know?

 

I have one.  It's what I started with.  Not a bad roaster.  Similar to a hottop, except you cannot see the beans.  The control circuit is mediocre and I modified mine.   But I roasted lots of coffee in it.

[mp]

Does anyone have or know anything about a Swissmar Alpenröast?

I have an opportunity to buy one that someone has that is still in the original box and has never been used.  I can get it for $100.00.  I don't even know if they produce them any more.

What do you say ... what do you know?

 

I have one.  It's what I started with.  Not a bad roaster.  Similar to a hottop, except you cannot see the beans.  The control circuit is mediocre and I modified mine.   But I roasted lots of coffee in it.

Thank you for the feedback Larry.

I don't think they make it anymore ... at least I cannot find any evidence that it is supported.

Were you able to do roasts that hit the beans' sweet spot?

Is this thing worth $100 to acquire?

How did you modify the control circuit?

 

[milowebailey]

I think it's worth $100 if it's new.  I built a new control board for it.  An yes I could hit the sweet spot.  Like the sonofresco I put a termocouple in the roast chamber and measured bean temp.  Easy to hear the cracks, and you can dump the beans when the get to the roast level you want.

Not a bad roaster.  Not good it you want to do back to back roasts because the housing is plastic and if you don't let the roaster cool off quite a while it will eventually melt the plastic.  I used it 2 years though.

[mp]

I think it's worth $100 if it's new.  I built a new control board for it.  An yes I could hit the sweet spot.  Like the sonofresco I put a termocouple in the roast chamber and measured bean temp.  Easy to hear the cracks, and you can dump the beans when the get to the roast level you want.

Not a bad roaster.  Not good it you want to do back to back roasts because the housing is plastic and if you don't let the roaster cool off quite a while it will eventually melt the plastic.  I used it 2 years though.

So if I was to use it would it still be good without a thermocouple on it to measure the bean temperature ... to reach the sweet spot I mean?

Yeah $100 and he said it is still untouched in the original package.

Thanks again Larry.

 

[MGLloyd]

Just FYI, it is no longer being made, so there is no manufacturer support or parts.

[mp]

Just FYI, it is no longer being made, so there is no manufacturer support or parts.

I suspected that ... but thank you for confirming that.

 

[milowebailey]

So if I was to use it would it still be good without a thermocouple on it to measure the bean temperature ... to reach the sweet spot I mean?

Yeah $100 and he said it is still untouched in the original package.

As good as you could on any other roaster without thermocouple.  I does have a thermister that the controller uses, but the profiles are not adjustable.  I used to use the longest time and listen for the first snaps of second crack..... or 1st crack + so many seconds.

What I did for temp reading was to drill a small hole in the end of the lid and insert a thermocouple that I could read on a meter.   Then eventually added a thermocouple and new controller board with programable profiles... only problem was I had to pull a chip (EPROM) and reprogram it to change the 5 profiles which was a PITA.

Overall it's not a bad home roaster for a 1/2 lb every few days.  In the end I was roasting 10 lb a week on it and that wore it out.  It still works but it's beat.

[mp]

Thank you again for this Larry.

Since this thing is no longer in production or support, and since I have read some horror stories where people have operated it and needed to immediately replace parts from Swissmar I am a little nervous at the prospect of acquiring it ... even though it is new and unused in its original package and even though it is only $100.

Am I being over cautious here?

 

[peter]

I forget what you're roasting with now, mp.  That would the determining factor in my mind.

[milowebailey]

Thank you again for this Larry.

Since this thing is no longer in production or support, and since I have read some horror stories where people have operated it and needed to immediately replace parts from Swissmar I am a little nervous at the prospect of acquiring it ... even though it is new and unused in its original package and even though it is only $100.

Am I being over cautious here?

 

Buy it, and if it breaks.... send it to me.

[mp]

Thank you again for this Larry.

Since this thing is no longer in production or support, and since I have read some horror stories where people have operated it and needed to immediately replace parts from Swissmar I am a little nervous at the prospect of acquiring it ... even though it is new and unused in its original package and even though it is only $100.

Am I being over cautious here?

 

Buy it, and if it breaks.... send it to me.

Must be nice to know that Larry can fix anything.

 

[donn]

Am I being over cautious here?

Yes.  The Alpenröst (note spelling) was a piece of junk for what it cost in its day - prone to failure, maintenance problems, bad luck with small beans, but lots of owners managed to like it anyway, and $100 is not much today.  I never had one, thank heavens.

Or, No.  If you're hoping this is the path to better roasts ... can't be too cautious!  I wouldn't touch it with a stick.

[mp]

Am I being over cautious here?

Yes.  The Alpenröst (note spelling) was a piece of junk for what it cost in its day - prone to failure, maintenance problems, bad luck with small beans, but lots of owners managed to like it anyway, and $100 is not much today.  I never had one, thank heavens.

Or, No.  If you're hoping this is the path to better roasts ... can't be too cautious!  I wouldn't touch it with a stick.

Ok donn ... tell me your real opinion.

 

[MGLloyd]

Having known some people who had the Alpenrost fail on them, the relatively small bean capacity, and that they sold new for $ 300, I myself would pass on it. 

I am no stranger to keeping orphan roasters alive, having kept a couple of Caffe Rostos going for a few years after Brightway stopped making them.  But after the parts to repair them (heating element) could no longer be found, I had to junk them.  This was after having to replace the thermal cutout (fuse) after about every ten roasts.  I would routinely buy out my local Radio Shack of the thermal fuse whenever they had them in stock.  But the heating element was a proprietary part specific to the unit.  For a while, the Green Beanery up in Canada carried them, but I think they are long gone, or at least were gone the last time I contacted them to repair my units.