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Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

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  • Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

    Hi Guys

    Espressomattic (Matt) here from TMC in the UK. I have recently moved across the ditch to NZ and, yeah things are good.
    Look, I need some help with my Gene as it is ruining my roasts. The Element is rarely getting to temp since moving here and the roasts are crap. Never gets above 220 Deg C and this is at 25 mins. I suspect the voltage is really low at the mains here in Hamilton NZ. Tried lower batches (200g) larger batches (300g) you name it. So do I consign it to the cupboard, sell it or just suck it and see....mind you I am tempted by a new steel WP...back to where it all began.

    When I work this site out I will post a bett Get to know me type post...failing that, have a look on TMC and have a good laugh at my expense!!!!!!!!

    Good to be here and all help greatfully recieved.

    Cheers

    Matt

  • #2
    Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

    Forgive my ignorance but what is "TMC"?

    As for the Gene, I havent got one (yet) so not much help there. However if the unit is a 240VAC version, you mauy need to check that the local supply is actually 240V and not 220V. That may make a difference.

    BTW Welcome to coffee snobs, the best coffee forum on the net.... ;D

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

      Originally posted by Boldor link=1182397367/0#1 date=1182400082
      Forgive my ignorance but what is "TMC"?
      A like minded site for coffee snobs in Europe and the UK 8-). Link here..... http://www.toomuchcoffee.com/index.php

      Welcome aboard Matt [smiley=thumbsup.gif]. Hope you enjoy the CS Community as much as the TMC Community. Our aims are identical in that were all into great coffee and what ever it takes to extract the best from the bean. Catch you on the boards mate .

      Regarding your GC, one of our Site Sponsors on the L/H top corner of the page, "Go Barista" is a very experienced roaster and sells not only this machine but big commercial jobs as well, so he may be able to help you out. All the best,

      Mal.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

        Hello Matt, welcome!

        You might be interested in this thread where some Gene owners have
        compared times to reach 250C:

        http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1180502413

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

          Thanks...

          Had a read of that and it was quite interesting. I used to hit 250 in about 10-12 mins in the UK and i am hitting 220 Deg on a good day after about 20 mins. I am not able to measure the voltage at source here, I suspect it is a voltage problem, although everything else works just fine. I have a Simonelli Oscar that heats up nicely with no adverse effects at all. I have used three eements in the past year so I am growing a little weary of the Gene, especially since it produced an awful PNG Roast oday

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

            Originally posted by Mal link=1182397367/0#2 date=1182403862
            Originally posted by Boldor link=1182397367/0#1 date=1182400082
            Forgive my ignorance but what is "TMC"?
            A like minded site for coffee snobs in Europe and the UK 8-). Link here..... http://www.toomuchcoffee.com/index.php

            Thanks Mal [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

              Originally posted by espressomattic link=1182397367/0#4 date=1182417545
              Thanks...

               I have used three eements in the past year so I am growing a little weary of the Gene, especially since it produced an awful PNG Roast oday
              3 elements for the Gene?? could you enlighten us a bit furhter? what happened??

              welcome donw-under, Matt!!

              L

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                The first element blew mid roast last summer - Gutted
                The second element Blew in January - Gutted again
                This element is behaving itself - Frustrated

                There was no obvious cause for the first two to blow at all. No power surges, no back to back roasting - nada! I have a couple of friends in the UK who have experienced similar too.

                On an upside, Alturacoffee kindly contacted the Manufacturers and they replied that I need a transformer...toto keep the voltage. (Any ideas) Also suggested cleaning it out, but this has already ben tried.

                I have decided to shelve it for now and go back to a Whirley Pop, when Sweet Marias get more in stock that is....

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                  Hey there Matt,

                  Might be worth ringing your local power supply authority and ask them what voltage they guarantee to supply at the switchboard and then ask them or a sparky to record what the actual is over a few days. At least that way, youll know what youre entitled to have and what you actually have. After that and depending on the results, what ever corrective action is needed will be obvious. All the best mate,

                  Mal.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                    Looks like NZs supply is 230V, the UK nominal supply even with the new standards is 240V. This could have something to do with the elements going belly up and why the Gene isnt getting to the required temp.

                    Maybe Alturacoffee could request the Transformer information (ie: input V, output V, power rating). Then you could take the info to a local small appliances service centre and ask them to replace the transformer with the correct one.

                    The difference in dropping 10 volts doesnt sound much but on a 10amp supply it equates to 100Watts. The element might have been trying to draw too much current and burnt itself out trying to get to its nominal operating power.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                      No mate,

                      If it came to that, it would be a much more economical job to just have new elements wound to suit the mains voltage and the power output youre looking for. For a transformer, youd probably be looking at an Auto-Transformer rated at around the 1.5KVA area and that would be a very expensive proposition. There are usually artisan Heating Element manufacturers to be found in the Yellow Pages of most cities, sometimes Motor Rewind shops do it as a sideline so I would try that option first. It wouldnt be that costly to do and probably worth having a backup spare made at the same time for future needs.

                      All the best,

                      Mal.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                        The Gene Cafe has 4 Different supply transformers available for differing Supply Voltages. Which are mounted on the PCB Power Assembly.
                        • CR57-013, 100V
                        • CR57-014, 120V
                        • CR57-015. 220V
                        • CR57-016, 230V


                        The PCB Power Assembly supplys the voltage to the heating element.

                        The Manufacturer is probably saying that the unit needs the CR57-016 replaced with the CR57-015. These are PCB mounted transformers and are not very expensive at all.

                        Any electronics hobbyist could do it. Once you have the correct Transformer.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                          Gday Boldor,

                          You sure that Txfr is for the element load as well? It must be a pretty decent sized unit to be able to do that......

                          Mal.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                            Couldnt find an actual schematic but the power supply PCB is where the element connects and has the transformer. The element doesnt look like your regular element. This also has the connections for the drum motor.

                            the pdf is on www.genecafe.com

                            however, all i am saying is that the transformer the manufactor mentioned is the one on the power pcb and has 4 varients. It could be as simple as the cpu (which there are 2 variants of 1. for 220-240v and 2. for 110-130v) uses the voltage from the transformer to determine the amount of drive the element gets. Without a true schematic it is all just specultion.

                            I probably worded the first post wrong. What I mean to say is it could be as simple as having the correct transformer on the power PCB as without the schematic or logic diagram no one can say what effect a incorrectly rated transformer (for the country) would have on the behaviour of the whole unit. Considering there are 2 cpus to cater for differnet power supplies, it could be within the logic of the cpu that requires the correct transformer.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes

                              Had a look at that "Wiring Diagram" in the PDF document and it is very basic and unrevealing unfortunately but even gauging the physical size of the Txfr with respect to the size of the whole unit, I dont believe it is carrying any heating element load, its just too small.

                              The most likely scenario is that the control board utilises Zero Switching Technology to control a set of Thyristors that drive the heating element(s). It would make more sense this way as well since the control electronics will be much more sensitive to a voltage supply that is either too high or too low and therefore essential that the correctly specd Txfr is used, and it is this reason I believe that GC note the availability of variously specd Txfrs.

                              Anyway, will wait to hear what Matt comes back with in regard to the nominal supply voltage he is entitled to expect at his new premises. Until then,

                              Cheers,
                              Mal.

                              Comment

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