US Roaster Corp 3kg roaster

[Ascholten]

That's just sleazy shit if you ask me.  They can't spend 10 minutes helping you troubleshoot basic stuff, a little manual /troubleshooting guide of 'common' problems.   Nope slimy assholes looking to geek every single penny they can out of people.  When I find business like this, I don't do business with them anymore.  I get it, time is money and all but when you sell a product, you should offer at least some basic help.  So you pay them 100 dollars on the phone,  nope, sorry, don't know what's wrong, can't help you,  thanks for the hundred dollars though.

I dunno man.

Aaron

So it has a pilot light?   does the pilot stay lit but it won't light off the main burner when you turn it on?  That sounds like a TC issue.

[Alaroast]

So it has a pilot light?   does the pilot stay lit but it won't light off the main burner when you turn it on?  That sounds like a TC issue.

Yes, pilot lights but burner doesn't. Its a combination igniter/flame sensor assembly. I cleaned it up and made sure it has a good ground and ceramic wasn't cracked so it could be failure internal to the assembly. Part isn't that expensive so I ordered a new one and should have it in a few days.

[Ascholten]

Most likely the thermocouple is bad,  they go out, it happens with pilot light apps.  See, the pilot light heats an element up, that 'hot' element tells it, YES there is a pilot light, so it's OK to turn the main gas on.  You turn the gas on, if the temp detector says it's ok to do so, the valve opens up, the pilot light ignites the main burner gas and viola you have heat for your beans.  When that little sensing element goes bad that gets hot, then it won't send the signal to the main assembly saying it's ok to turn on the gas, therefore when you say gas on, it says, umm NOPE.

Replace that as you said you are and it should hopefully fix the problem.

Again, this is just an armchair troubleshooting, I can't actually TELL you what's wrong without actually looking at it, but from past experiences with burners and stuff, that sounds like the issue.  A  new assembly is what 30 dollars or so?

Aaron

[Alaroast]

Yes but I got the assembly along with new ignition cable for about $50, still reasonable. The thing I like about this roaster is that it’s made in the U S of A and all parts will likely be easy to get at a reasonable price unlike some of those foreign made roasters. Once I get it rolling, those utility beans I just ordered from you will go in for the first try. Can’t wait

[brianmch]

You're absolutely right. Reliability and longevity are under-rated concepts until something breaks and a fix is required.

Sounds hokey, but both my Pasquini Livia espresso machine and Super Jolly grinders are absolute beasts.  4+ shots a day for over 15 years without one single day down on the Livia. I bought the grinder used when Starbux was switching out from manual to automatic machines about the same time.  It had a hard life before me.  Neither are the most refined or advanced products on the market but they have withstood the tests of time. 

Rant mode off. 

[Ascholten]

I have a super jolly that I had been using to grind beans until I finally put down the $1k for a bunn commercial grinder and it ran flawlessly.  I still use it for my espresso's and man can that thing go thru some beans, almost as fast as the commercial one does.

But yes, the concept of Made in the USA is a good one, and the theory behind the repair parts is sound, however sadly US companies can be just as sleazy as foreign ones, however in your case, lets hope parts for them stick around a while.

With that in mind, you might want to spend some time on forums, find out what are 'common items' that need to be replaced on the thing, and stock up on them, have them in  hand so when part 3 breaks, you got it, 10 minute swap out and you are back in business, and can then re order that part at leisure, so if a week or two lead time is there it won't kill you for that long.

Aaron

[Alaroast]

Bummer, put the new igniter/ flame sensor in today and still no burner ignition.

[peter]

Might be time to take the gas valve out, take it apart and clean it.  I wonder if there's a way to bench test it.

[Alaroast]

Might be time to take the gas valve out, take it apart and clean it.  I wonder if there's a way to bench test it.

Yeah I did that last week and everything mechanically "looked" okay, no sticking valves or blockages. But yes, that is my next suspect. I can hear it click when pilot lights but for some reason,  it's not opening to let gas flow to main burner. Beyond that, there is the gas valve controller that could have flaked out.

[peter]

Might be time to take the gas valve out, take it apart and clean it.  I wonder if there's a way to bench test it.

Yeah I did that last week and everything mechanically "looked" okay, no sticking valves or blockages. But yes, that is my next suspect. I can hear it click when pilot lights but for some reason,  it's not opening to let gas flow to main burner. Beyond that, there is the gas valve controller that could have flaked out.

Are you sure it's the gas valve you're hearing making the click?

This may be a dumb idea but what about the lines before the gas valve, and the shut-off valve?

What is that gas valve controller you mention?  My Ambex has a digital Watlow that is used to set the temp and tells the valve when to close or open.  I guess that goes back to my question if you're sure where the 'click' is coming from.

[Alaroast]

Yes, there is a definite click coming from the gas control valve which is in a separate location at the back of the roaster from the rest of the electrical/ electronic components housed in a separate enclosure. The Honeywell controller essentially tells the Honeywell gas valve what to do and provides the proper voltage to the valve. It also sends/receives the same to the igniter/flame sensor. All gas lines are free and clear and are equipped with a shutoff valve, gauge, and regulator prior to entering the gas control valve. I've rung out the wires from controller to gas valve (PV and MV/PV) terminals) and are good along with ground. I have 24 VAC at pilot valve (PV) on gas valve like it should be but it is not getting 24 VAC at the main valve (MV) I also do not have continuity from the MV terminal on the controller to MV terminal on gas valve but that wire is routed through the PID so it wouldn't have direct continuity.

I'm guessing your digital Watlow is essentially the same thing as my Solo 4848 Temp controller which I'm calling the PID

I know that's a lot of info. Still scratching my head

[Alaroast]

***Houston, we have ignition***

Went ahead and called USRC tech support rather than throwing more new parts at roaster. In less than 30 minutes on the phone, they had me up and running. Apparently the person I bought it from had been monkeying around with the temp controller PID and got it out of whack which is easy to do if you get deep in the menu functions. Aaron, can't wait to try out those utility beans I just got from you to play around a bit before I get down to business. Probably do that tomorrow

[peter]

Outstanding!  That is such great news.

Now (unless I'm assuming when I shouldn't be) the fun will be in learning the roaster, how it reacts and responds to inputs.  You'll do well.

[Alaroast]

Yes, gonna burn (not literally) through a lot of beans trying to figure it out. Just did a 2.5 lb roast for a trial run. Good temp control but temp did stall out a bit so I had to step on the gas and adjust damper to finish it out. Dropped beans at 15 minutes and 425 at bean temp thermocouple. Turned out darker than I'd like but not too bad. Thanks for all the help troubleshooting guys!

[Ascholten]

Glad it's up and running.  Yep if you set the polarity or output to the wrong level on the PID, or depending on what kind it is, the overtemp cutout or whatever you want to call it wrong, it will kill you every time.  Im surprised that was not obvious though, it should have shown you the temp it is set at, and what temp it is currently at.  But again, changing output polarity's will screw you over unless you know exactly what's going on with it....   This is a GOOD learning experience for you though, not trying to be a smart ass, but getting into the guts of the thing, you have a much better understanding of the process now and any future issues should be easy to figure out.

Learn YOUR machine,  your 425 degrees may be a world of difference than MY 425, even though both of us theoretically are measuring at the same point, or think we are  .    Burn a few lbs of beans, learn what temp is the 'general where I like it temp' for your roast style and then have at it.   The utility beans I have sent to you, are NOT bad to drink, rather one dimensional, so you get coffee, with a nice chocolaty flavor, but that's really it, out of them... oh and a nice caff kick too, so don't be too quick to compost them.  They might make good christmas presents for people if you don't burn em too badly

Aaron