Welcome My New "PrimBex" YM-2

[ronburleson]

I have been looking a roaster for quite some time. I recently found an Ambex YM-2.  The guy bought it and had it sitting in his garage for about five years without ever hooking it up. I had it shipped to me, cleaned it up, and hooked everything. Everything seemed to work well so I thought I would fire up the burners and give it a test run. We'll, after the small explosion, I had to scramble to put out the fire (I found out later there was a cracked fitting in the gas system). When all was said and done the temp control, switches, and wiring were all melted.

In a moment of desperation I called Dion at Primo Roasters. He explained that he was absolutely slammed and could not help. After some more conversation he told me to bring it by. When all was said and done, he took pity on me and agreed to fix it in his spare time. I now have a 2004 Ambex YM-2 with a two stage gas valve and a Primo control panel with the Primo temperature control. It is working great. All I have to do now is learn how to roast!

I want to give a big thumbs up to Dion at Primo. I spoke with him a couple of times when I was on the roaster hunt. He always made time for me and was helpful. He went above and beyond fixing my machine when he didn't have the time or any obligation at all. He is a great guy. 

Ron

[peter]

Ron,  I'm glad you didn't blow yourself to kingdom come!

You're going to love that roaster; it's such a great machine, you don't even have to know how to roast - it'll make you look like a pro.  I should know!   

That's good news about Don at Primo.  I always wonder what I would do if/when I need a motor or something, and this puts me at ease.

[Cammie]

Congratulations Ron!  It's a beautiful roaster.  I echo Ron's statements about Dion....such a nice guy.  I went with Ron when he picked up his essentially new roaster from Primo.  Dion took the time to fire her up and demo all the features of the roaster.  He was a wealth of knowledge about roasters, roasting techniques and roasting safety. 

[jspain]

Nice Ron!

There are some beautiful/wonderful people in this world! Glad he could help a customer!

[kaotep]

Glad you didn't hurt yourself during the blowout Ron! beautiful piece of equipment you got there

[shep]

Sweet! Glad you didn't get hurt. I'm sure you will love the machine. I roasted on one for some time. I even took it into a new grocery once and roasted on site at their grand opening. I vented it out a door with a dryer hose! Glad Dion helped you out...now you are the owner of a "one of a kind!"

Shep

[ronburleson]

Thanks everyone. It's not the path I planned and burned a little more hair than I expected, but it ended up even better. I'm looking forward to some great roasts.

Ron

[ScareYourPassenger]

Yikes, glad it worked out in the end! Where did you find the roaster? It looks a lot like one I saw on craigslist but missed it by a matter of a day or two.

Any advice when looking over the fittings? I have a ym-2 in transit that was used and I want to give a good cleaning and assessment.

[sgreen]

It's usually a pretty good idea to do a leak test before hooking up gas. I use a bicycle pump with a guage and hold at about 10 psi. Then I do an ignition test to check for spark only where I want spark. Last, I hook up gas and do the smell test. You may get a whiff, but it should be temporary.  Definitely not lasting.

As always, a fire extinguisher is a great idea.

[Cammie]

Ron did detect a leak at the regulator and, in an abundance of caution, bought and installed a new regulator.  Turns out the cracked fitting was in the same area as the regulator and the new regulator seemed to resolve/mask the gas leak issue.  I don't think there was a gas leak smell after the new regulator was installed.  I've never had the need to do it, but I was taught to look for gas leaks using soapy water as well.

[sgreen]

I do use soapy water to isolate a leak, but I like to pressure test, with air, to see if I have one.

Stuff like this obviously happens. A couple of months ago, I had a leak making me crazy. Eventually I found a cracked over pressure plug in the magnehelic guage I was using to pressure test the system.

I'm glad you're posting this stuff. We can all use a reminder to think twice and ignite once.

[ronburleson]

I smelled some gas and heard something when I first hooked up the roaster. I felt some gas and it appeared to be the gas valve so I replaced it. When I turned on the roaster after that, it took a minute to fire. I figured it was going to take a minute for the gas to get to the burners. Much to my surprise there was a leak I did not detect. I got complacent after replacing the gas valve. I should have checked for leaks and I know better. I just took too much for granted. Lesson learned. The fitting was just bad luck. Nothing you would expect to happen but a leak test would have found it.

All in all I was lucky. It could have been much worse. Live and learn.

Ron

[BoldJava]

...I figured it was going to take a minute for the gas to get to the burners. Much to my surprise there was a leak I did not detect. I got complacent after replacing the gas valve. I should have checked for leaks and I know better...

Ron

My brother engineered propane valves.  He was insistent that I paint the hose value regulator with soapy water to detect leaks when I replaced it on the grill.  Now I know why.