Sonofresco / Q&A / Tip & Tricks

[Ascholten]

Less than useful....  sounds like you bought a politician 
The PID for a smoker, if it was absolutely still outside may work but if the wind is blowing, unless the thing is very tightly sealed up which they tend to not be, would be all over the place im thinking.  Maybe don't need all 3 vectors controlling but interesting for sure.

Post pictures of your frankenstein when you get it built, you know we love stuff like that!

Aaron

[Archiballz]

Hi everyone, I'm really not super handy so bear with me please. Does anyone have any instructions on how to properly clean the squirrel cage? I opened the side panel and removed the blower plate and tried to clean it as best as I can that way and while it did improve airflow dramatically, the blower still wasn't cleaned thoroughly and I feel my roasts are on borrowed time.

[Ascholten]

Hello Archiballz:

Welcome to the GCBC !

What specifically are you looking to clean, is it gunked up with goop or mostly chaff and coffee bean parts?  If it's the latter, blowing it out with air will help a lot as well but don't get too carried away.  15 psi or so will be plenty, don't want to tear stuff up in there.

Hopefully one of our other members can pipe up with more details as well.

Aaron

Edit:  A bit of buildup on the squirrel cage is not going to kill it significantly, the main thing with that would be chaff collecting on it.  If you have access to it, you can gently brush it clean while rotating by hand.  Make sure the power is UNPLUGGED to the thing first and gas is turned off before playing around in it.

[Archiballz]

Hello Archiballz:

Welcome to the GCBC !

What specifically are you looking to clean, is it gunked up with goop or mostly chaff and coffee bean parts?  If it's the latter, blowing it out with air will help a lot as well but don't get too carried away.  15 psi or so will be plenty, don't want to tear stuff up in there.

Hopefully one of our other members can pipe up with more details as well.

Aaron

Edit:  A bit of buildup on the squirrel cage is not going to kill it significantly, the main thing with that would be chaff collecting on it.  If you have access to it, you can gently brush it clean while rotating by hand.  Make sure the power is UNPLUGGED to the thing first and gas is turned off before playing around in it.

It's the goop! There basically wasn't any visible space between the fins in the squirrel cage til I scraped and vacuumed it off. But the fins definitely aren't completely clean yet.

[Ascholten]

Oh lord that's a mess !
if you look on their web page, they have an 800 number you can call and talk to them directly with questions about how to take care of the unit.

I do not have one of these so can't speak from any kind of experience but if it is glopped up that much.  Possibly remove the blower if it's easily mounted and you are a handy person?   Other than that, some degreaser sprayed on would probably work.

Just if you use any chemicals or even the potential of having loose stuff that can possibly burn off.  Run a 'cleaning batch' through it.  ie a load of crap coffee, that way if there are any off flavors due to goop burning off on a heating surface etc, it won't taint the taste of your otherwise good coffee.

If you got crap glued on the squirrel cage fins then removal and degreasing is about the only viable method I can think of off hand.

If you decide not to go the removal route, a hand blower / hair dryer or tile heater set at a very low setting might help too, give it a gentle heating to soften that stuff up then use a brush to get it off the fins.


Can you possibly post some pictures so we can see exactly what you are talking about with it?

Thanks
Aaron

Edit:  Here is a link to one of their pages that has some contact info for them in case you decide to call them for further guidance.  When it comes to any type of disassembly they are probably your best source of 'how to'.

https://sonofresco.com/tips-for-better-roasting-using-your-sonofresco-coffee-roaster/