Green Coffee Buying Club
Coffee Discussion boards => Hardware & Equipment => Topic started by: Pyment on August 02, 2010, 03:40:30 AM
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I think I am having an electric problem with my roaster. A little over a month ago, roasts started taking longer. I went from 12-15 min roasts to 25-30 minute roasts. I am only getting past 180C with restricting air flow.
The heating element has 2 coils and I can turn on 1 or both. It appears that neither comes on when I turn on one, but both come on when I switch on both. Even then I don't get the heat I used to.
I am thinking that either the switch has a problem or the element does.
I am running it through its paces this AM to make sure I have this right.
Suggestions?
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If they both come on in a switch position then your heating coils are ok.
So either there is an issue with your switch or there is a thermo overload switch (thermo fuse) that you let the smoke out of.... Should be a simple fix either way.
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I am not sure if one of the coils seems less red than the other. So, since I have the replacement on hand, I was going to replace the other and see if that fixed my problem.
Where would I look for the thermo fuse?
The good news is there is a new Toper distributor for North America. The prior guy wouldn't help me because he said my machine wasn't purchased from him. Hopefully a new guy will see the potential in being nicer. Word gets around.
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I am not sure if one of the coils seems less red than the other. So, since I have the replacement on hand, I was going to replace the other and see if that fixed my problem.
Where would I look for the thermo fuse?
The good news is there is a new Toper distributor for North America. The prior guy wouldn't help me because he said my machine wasn't purchased from him. Hopefully a new guy will see the potential in being nicer. Word gets around.
The thermo fuse (If there is one will be in series with the switch circuit.
should look something like this:
but might be covered in a sheath.
(http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00RBwEbnGyLLkZ/Thermal-Fuse-Micro-Fuse-KLS5-104-.jpg)
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If you can check resistance, turn everything on with the electric unpluged. The resistance "ohms" should be close to the same on both heaters. I would check at the switch in case there is some fuse or conection bad somewhere. If one is lower go to the coils and see if they read good. If there are mechanical relays, and the heat coil resistance is close to the same I would suspect the relays are getting bad. If power goes through a temp controler with a thermocouple I would look at that. Should get a very low resistance through that.
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Al,
I just noticed your roaster in the pic icon under your name! Neat! Your reduction of the electric current makes sence. Too bad I don't have any sence!
Good luck Py, Jim
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I need to get a better picture, hard to take a good picture with it being mostly black.
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When I was at Press Coffee, they use a 1 kilo Toper (Cafemino) for their sample roaster (100 grams and up). Nanda, the roaster, loves it. They grabbed it off the floor at an SCAA convention. Nice eye candy. Plumbed for natural gas.
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When I was at Press Coffee, they use a 1 kilo Toper (Cafemino) for their sample roaster (100 grams and up). Nanda, the roaster, loves it. They grabbed it off the floor at an SCAA convention. Nice eye candy. Plumbed for natural gas.
Mounted sideways like that don't the beans fall out?
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While here in Phoenix, Press Coffee introduced me via phone to the SW rep who sells Topers. He was over in Tempe, near Ariz State University, so that was my next stop. He had this 1 kilo step up that he will use for traveling shows and classes. He is a Q-grader and is about to leave for Honduras and Guatemala to teach cupping and greens grading down there.
I watched him roast 3 roasts and I am ambivalent about the machine. It seemed noisy for a 1 kilo. The sales rep is very cryptic so I couldn't understand his response when I asked him how he heard the cracks (the Guat he was roasting was silent). I repeated the question and he suggested it was the bean. The next roast was an Ethiopian and I couldn't hear them crack either. I was tired of terse responses so I didn't bring it up again.
These run about $7000 shipped to your NAmer door, propane or natural jets set up. I liked the eye candy model at Press Coffee but this lime green one did nothing for me.
I will call Nanda when I get home and ask her more about her experience on one, particularly around the noise level and cracks. I think Cammie roasts on one so she may be able to fill in some gaps for us.
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What kind of noises was it making that you couldn't hear the cracks?
Not being a smartass, but perhaps your hearing problems had something to do w/ it?
I think a 1K machine might serve you just as well or better than a 1lb.
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No, it wasn't my hearing (no offense taken -- too may jet engines during Nam). Had the hearing aids in. None of us (3 of us were at the machine) could hear them. Decibels were just too loud in my opinion.
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I roast with an electric manual 1 kilo Torrefattore and a Quest M3. Compared to a Behmor, Hottop, Gene Cafe or Quest (really quiet), the TF is noticeably louder particularly when I adjust air flow and the blowers ramp up. Nevertheless, I can hear first and second crack with no problems even when I'm outside the roasting shed about 5-6 feet away. I'm really surprised about the loudness of the Toper. I wonder if there was something wrong with the sale rep's demo model.
After I preheat the roaster about 15 minutes I can continually roast for hours at a time. I can see how a large scale roaster could use something like a Toper or TF as their sample roaster. I've never used a 1 kilo Toper, but I assume that it can easily roast 1/2 -2 pound batches similar to the TF. With the TF, I can roast approximately three 1.5 pound batches each hour (I think a 1.5 pound batch size works best with the TF). I need about 6-8 minutes between roasts to cool down the roaster to my desired bean drop temperature for the next roast.
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What kind of noises was it making that you couldn't hear the cracks?
RRRMMMRRRMmmrrrMMMuurRRUmmm...... (at least that's how mine sounds) does that help?
Not being a smartass
Has peter changed that much? wow!
Sounds like B/roasterenvy is looking for a real machine...
Has anyone looked at the Forex (Chinese) roasters being sold in Minneapolis?
I'm thinking about making the trip to look at one and switching over to LP.
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By the way, I am considering selling it.
I have to come up with a fair price.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk 2
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I have a half formed and hazy suspicion that you may have a problem with either your switches or your relays. It sounds like you are only getting half of the circuit energized.
It is remotely possible that you are really only passing about half the current you need through the heaters. It's the whole double throw, double pole relay thing. They could be cross wired to share a common connection so that they can't pass current separately but can together.
I'd love to sell you a roaster (Forex is the Hong Kong distributor for the machines we sell from Minneapolis) but I think it's likely we can help you troubleshoot your Toper. If you don't already have my phone number from the website, email me tomorrow and we can take a crack at it.
Steve@Millcityroasters.com
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This thread began in 2010. In the intervening years, I have figured out it was/is the switch. There are 2 lights below the switch each lights for one of the circuits. The left one (the circuit that comes on when the switch is turned to one) doesn't always light when it is turned to 2. I am betting it is due to dust on contacts. If I flip it back and forth a few times, it works again. It's more of a problem if I don't roast for a while. So, I figure it is dust.
I still have problems intermittently and have to pay attention to the lights. All in all I like my Toper, but may be ready to move on to an LP unit.
I may be able to get to Minneapolis but it would be a Saturday thing if that can be worked out.
I did send you an email recently with lots of questions.
I'll post some more in the other thread for questions about your roasters.
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Well the newest item on the Toper is that I am looking at converting it to a gas roaster and putting in a touch screen profile control. Preliminary costs would be ~ $1600.
I am guessing that blows any safety certifications out the window.
It conjures up some interesting coffee images
(http://goo.gl/R99LBP)
or maybe
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJ7ZtCUtZEHTxiTATRPW6mQlLM2stPNekLwpYW_oj7RyfvFcNNhA)