Fellow Gene Cafe Owners, While taking apart my Gene Cafe today, I noticed something that I don't see covered in the manual. It appears, to me anyway, that there is only one spot from which air is taken into the roaster to be heated and used for the roasting of the beans. It is UNDER the roaster; out of sight, out of mind. I noticed that a high percentage of the intake on my was clogged with dust; there is a very fine, mesh screen that traps the dust. It would probably be worth your while to check yours and clean it with a vacuum cleaner; I used the attachments meant for computers. Place the roaster on a towel so that when you flip it over, you won't scratch or otherwise damage the cover. Flip the roaster over and in the upper, right corner are the ventilation slots. The intake fan is located in the center of those intake slots and that is where mine needed to be cleaned. Also, I have found the the orange pumice hand cleaner is very effective for removing the oil buildup, especially on the glass part of the drum. I smear it on and let it sit and do its thing, then smear it some more ... until it loosens it to the point that it comes right off. It has not scratched the glass on mine. BE SURE TO RINSE THOROUGHLY. Hope this is helpful to someone. Respectfully, Eddie -- Errare humanun est - sed perseverare diabolicum My Home Coffee Roasting Blog and Profiles for the Gene Cafehttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/">http://southcoastcoffeeroaster.blogspot.com/Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ |
Eddie while I can not comment on the success of your endeavors here. I will say this. The glass is probably pyrex or some similar type given the heat it has to withstand.... Pumice is generally a bad idea, you may not see it now but one day the thing could just shatter on you because of the scratches ya put in it with the pumice. You might not see them but they are there and they do weaken the structure of the glass. Pyrex tends to be one of the more hi stress type structures anyways. Granted it's to prevent lawsuits mostly in today's pathetic society where people can sue for anything and win because of worthless judges but... this is one of the reasons coffee pots made of pyrex will have a warning on them, if you scratched it, chipped it, or boiled it dry, do NOT use the pot anymore. It can with no notice shatter because of the stress / weakness introduced by the 'defect' you caused. Might I recommend soaking in lemon juice / vinegar or pretty much any cleaner, hot soapy water and a greenie meanie type plastic scrubby pad will probably take the gunk off just as good as a pumice based cleanser. Yes I have used pots that were boiled dry repeatedly, with no ill effects, but I have also seen pots (which were previously boiled dry) just go *crack* !! half way through being filled with brewing coffee, leaving everyone going, oh !@#$# what the @## was that all about? quick get your cup under the spout.... Not sure what a new roast drum for the gene cafe costs but, im sure it aint cheap... why chance it? Aaron |
I find it is easier to clean the drum by removing the center section and using dish soap with a plastic scrubber as Aaron suggested. Be careful not to loose the little rubber piece! On 1/28/07, Aaron wrote: <Snip> |
Didn't know it was removable ... how? Eddie On 1/28/07, Rusty wrote: <Snip> -- Errare humanun est - sed perseverare diabolicum My Home Coffee Roasting Blog and Profiles for the Gene Cafehttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/">http://southcoastcoffeeroaster.blogspot.com/Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ |
Thanks for the tip, Aaron ... appreciate it. It does work great on the chaff collector though, which is what I was cleaning today. Previously, I have not been able to clean the drum with dish soap, but if I can find out how to remove the center ... Eddie -- Errare humanun est - sed perseverare diabolicum My Home Coffee Roasting Blog and Profiles for the Gene Cafehttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/On 1/28/07, Aaron wrote:">http://southcoastcoffeeroaster.blogspot.com/Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/On 1/28/07, Aaron wrote: <Snip> |
Thanks, Eddie. I'll have to clean out the intake. Hopefully it improves performance a bit. ---Fellow Gene Cafe Owners, While taking apart my Gene Cafe today, I noticed something that I don't see covered in the manual. It appears, to me anyway, that there is only one spot from which air is taken into the roaster to be heated and used for the roasting of the beans. It is UNDER the roaster; out of sight, out of mind. I noticed that a high percentage of the intake on my was clogged with dust; there is a very fine, mesh screen that traps the dust. It would probably be worth your while to check yours and clean it with a vacuum cleaner; I used the attachments meant for computers. Place the roaster on a towel so that when you flip it over, you won't scratch or otherwise damage the cover. Flip the roaster over and in the upper, right corner are the ventilation slots. The intake fan is located in the center of those intake slots and that is where mine needed to be cleaned. Also, I have found the the orange pumice hand cleaner is very effective for removing the oil buildup, especially on the glass part of the drum. I smear it on and let it sit and do its thing, then smear it some more ... until it loosens it to the point that it comes right off. It has not scratched the glass on mine. BE SURE TO RINSE THOROUGHLY. Hope this is helpful to someone. Respectfully, Eddie |
That would help to know how to take that center piece out. I found what works best for scrubbing it, regardless, though is Group Head Brush S/S Bristles. Letting it sit with oxyclean paste works well too, if you don't like scrubbing... |
When I was using an Alpenrost, I found that the Urnex "Clearly Coffee" product did a very nice job or removing the heavy oils that would build. I do love Gojo for cleaning the toughest oily gunk, paint, and lots of other things that soap just won't remove from my hands. Do they have a non-gritty version of it perhaps? Rick |
I did get the center out of mine; it was stuck. At the risk of breaking it (sippin' whiskey), I used a screwdriver to pry it. Once it broke free, it slipped right out. THANK YOU, RUSTY! While I was scrubbing the center piece with a stainless steel brush (looks brand new now), my wife, looking over my shoulder, says, "How much to just have a spare one?" "I'll order one then we'll both know ..." The drum is now soaking in vinegar ... THANK YOU, AARON! This is yet another reason why I love this list! I post something hoping to be helpful to others and I end up getting a tremendous amount of help. Thanks also to Rick, I will note that for future reference. Respectfully, Eddie -- Errare humanun est - sed perseverare diabolicum My Home Coffee Roasting Blog and Profiles for the Gene Cafehttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/On 1/28/07, Jeremy DeFranco wrote:">http://southcoastcoffeeroaster.blogspot.com/Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/On 1/28/07, Jeremy DeFranco wrote: <Snip> |
Simply Green. Mike (just plain) |
Just to add a sidenote, bleach is fairly good at cleaning too but, be careful with plastics and bleach, even though they may be dishwasher safe, bleach can attack them and alter their properties. I remember having a plastic cup that I soaked in bleach water for a few hours because it got nasty on the bottom, ended up turning the plastic into a hardish crayola crayon consistancy that you could crumble off with your fingernail.... Lesson learned bleach and plastics get a check minus in the plays well with others column. Another thing if you wish, a CLEAN ie BRAND NEW toilet brush works wonders for cleaning hard to get into jars and stuff too if you don't have a bottle brush / scrubber... which can be found in any homebrew shop if you are looking for one.... Ill shut up now.. Aaron |