I will be out of the office starting 11/26/2002 and will not return until 12/02/2002. I will respond to your message when I return. homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
I will be out of the office starting 11/26/2002 and will not return until 12/02/2002. I will respond to your message when I return. homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
I will be out of the office starting 11/26/2002 and will not return until 12/02/2002. I will respond to your message when I return. homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
My Alpenrost suddenly shut down - no lights or power - about 13 minutes into a roast tonight and it looks like it overheated. Lotsa smoke when I opened the lid. Does it have an over-heat shut-off "breaker" or something? Is it dead? It's only ten years old and has given me very reliable roasts up until tonight. I have a spare Alp that has never had a roast put thru it, so at least I'm still able to roast... Be well, Mike -- Zone 8, Texashttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/organichomesteading/http://www.naturalbeefarm.com/ Natural Beekeeping">http://www.taroandti.com/Exotic Plant Info and More...http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organichomesteading/http://www.naturalbeefarm.com/ Natural Beekeeping Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
I need to do an ohm test to be sure - but it may be the thermal fuse. I took the cover off - ten years of accumulated crud was pretty thick. Vacuuming helped a lot. They should have made things a little tighter in there. Anyway, no obvious damage. There's a thermal cut-off that's supposed to come back on after fifteen minutes, and a thermal fuse that outright fails. I'll have to replace that sucker. Craig, a then Swissmar tech, from another forum (found thru Google) recommended a SF152E1 fuse as a replacement - slightly higher temperature to failure. Anyone know where I can find one - Google wasn't much help. Everything else works so good - I could get another ten years out of this roaster and still have a fresh unused backup to carry me for another 20 years. That's an Alp for you - either they fail in the first year (my first one did), or keep chugging away after that. Be well, Mike -- Zone 8, Texashttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/organichomesteading/http://www.naturalbeefarm.com/ Natural Beekeeping">http://www.taroandti.com/Exotic Plant Info and More...http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organichomesteading/http://www.naturalbeefarm.com/ Natural Beekeeping On 11/06/2010 11:53 PM, Michael Vanecek wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Has anyone replaced this fuse before? It looks like it comes as a diode-looking thing so I'll need to preserve the cladding and solder and insert the new diode-fuse back into it. Has anyone just shorted that out and bypassed the fuse altogether? I know it's a fire-hazard if it decided to overheat - but roasts shouldn't be left unattended anyway. Be well, Mike -- Zone 8, Texashttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/organichomesteading/http://www.naturalbeefarm.com/ Natural Beekeeping">http://www.taroandti.com/Exotic Plant Info and More...http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organichomesteading/http://www.naturalbeefarm.com/ Natural Beekeeping On 11/07/2010 09:00 AM, Michael Vanecek wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
I hate to suggest that a machine that works well for 10 years is a toy- so I won't. Instead I ask- "How much more do you want from it?" Amortize the purchase price over the ten years and that's some inexpensive roasting isn't it? The USRC would be less expensive over it's lifetime but it roasts commercial quantities compared to the Alp's home use-thermal fuse design. I have the fix for thermal fuses that disable your machine at the Murphy Moment. Look at the ampacity charts for Copper AWG wire. Properly sized wire will limit current flow and it will melt, so it forms a re-calibrated thermal fuse. If you are serious about limiting the temperature below ~2000° F, use a piece of plumber's 50:50 wire solder for the link. Most solder has similar properties, but the 63:37 ratio, known as Eutectic solder has no plastic range, and melts almost instantly at 180°C or 360°F. Even a fat link will melt the same, and Big Brother will approve your ingenious Dummkopf protection. It would melt on every second contiguous roast. They'll love it. Cheers, Mabuhay -RayO, aka Opa! Got Grinder? Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmar=iascoffee.com Homeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee=.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=7820 |
Michael, Any of the electronics parts houses should be able to provide the replacement fuse you are looking for. The Digikey link from Paul should work for you. Several years ago I found the thermal fuse (probably a little different #) at a local Radio Shack. A thorough cleaning of the air flow path around the thermal fuse on a regular basis (Semi-Annually maybe?) is a good idea - - dis-assembling the machine to that level isn't all that difficult, now that you've done it once. This fuse is the classic cause of defunct Alps. It's a good move, finding some of Craig's info., he is the Guru for these machines. There is quite a bit of info on Alp's in the Coffee Geek archives and several other places, most of the good stuff came from Craig. IIRC there are a couple of circuit board mods from his info that work out well. The other question: Yes you can just wire around this fuse to check out the machine .... definitely not recommended for other than diagnostic testing, ideally with power from a short extension including a GFI breaker. Mike (just plain) Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |