Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
The voltage has been checked and it runs at 240v as it should, so that covers that. It is something that I am not able to fix, but hey ho.
I have found that bean mass helps stabilse the temp somewhat as well. 250g of malabar roast a lot better than 250 of Santa Terazina. So with the normal beans I will increase the volume and live with it I guess.
Thanks for all your input guys, I have learnt a fair bit
Cheers
Matt
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Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
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Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
hmm I just worked the maths out properly it actually uses 5 amps. 1.2kw/240v
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Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
Hey muppet...
Well it might be cold for you natives but this is quite mild for us Pomms!
I roast indoor with an extractor hood going - The ambient temp is around 20-22 Deg thanks to a Warm Air heat Pump and the humidity sits at 55-60% thaks to a dehumidifier.
Looking forward to roasting in the summer with the higher temps as I too have found it tends to work better in those conditions.
Thnaks for thye input
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Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
The gene cafe chews a pretty healthy 8 amps as it is. In the gene cafe the ramp up is controlled by the balance between Heat output and ambient temp. On most settings that people use ie 230 by the time the thermostat kicks in your pretty near to first crack.
The only way to have a GC that was not sensitive to voltage in this way would be to overpower it to such a degree that roasting temps and ramp would be controlled by digital programs. Ie the machine set on full power would have enough power to burn a roast in 5 min.
It would be nice to have a GC with this kind of control but It would probably require more power then the average domestic power point could give. I doubt they would sell as many roasters to the domestic market if installation by a qualified electrician was necessary.
that said the guys with heat guns and bm get loads of control on the same power doing the same sort of thing. Where I think this comes from is not the power used but rather that the GC is not very energy efficient. The chaff collection is great but there is a lot of hot air that blows out the back of it. The trade off is that we can roast indoors in any wheather.
Just a question espressomatic. whats the ambient temp that your roasting in I would imagine its getting pretty cold in NZ at this time of year if your doing it with a door open or on a porch etc. Ive found that it responds better to an ambient temp of above 22 deg
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Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
Any heating element is very sensitive to voltage. Tis the nature of the beast.Originally posted by espressomattic link=1182397367/15#15 date=1182731511I am still not impressed by Genesis concession that it is very sensitive to voltage though. This is IMHO a major design flaw.
Java "All freqd out" phile
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Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
Well there is some good news....
Firstly I have not as yet been able to find out my nominal supply, but this IS going to happen.
Secondly I follwee the tips from Genesis care of Altura which pointed me in the direction of a dust filter on the underside of the machine. Basically I got the hoover out and hoovered the Gene. I also disconnected the Oscar from the double socket I use and performed a dry run.
The Gene got up to temp more or less and performed a little under what I experienced in the UK. I roasted up some Malabar and it acheived 245 Deg after 22 mins and the result was a very nice roast. I am still not impressed by Genesis concession that it is very sensitive to voltage though. This is IMHO a major design flaw.
The main thing is that I am now up and running again and can get back to roasting!!!
I really appreciate all your input guys and I have learnt a lot from you all.
Matt
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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....
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Re: Hi from a new Antipodean and some woes
3 elements for the Gene?? could you enlighten us a bit furhter? what happened??Originally posted by espressomattic link=1182397367/0#4 date=1182417545Thanks...
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

welcome donw-under, Matt!!
L
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