Gene chaff filter maintenance

[muppet_man67]

Hey guys anyone out there using a Gene, If you have never pulled the chaff collector apart or you have not done it in a while this is a friendly reminder.

I was recently starting to have trouble getting even roasts with some beans black and oily and others not much past first crack. Also getting heaps of smoke well before first crack. Profiles were strange with the temperature reading not at all matching what was happening in the roast.

When I pulled the chaff collector apart the filters were completely blocked with fine chaff, both the inner filter and the outer filter needed a good brush.

Gene is working much better now.

P.S. There is also an inlet filter underneath the roaster that should be cleaned with a vacume from time to time. Mine wasnt too bad though.

[ajayro57]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

I must admit that I have been lazy with this. Usually I just empty the chaff, and thats all. :-[ Thanks for the reminder.

[KJM]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

Ive dis-assembled it a couple of times and cleaned it properly. But since lazyness has overtaken my roasting efforts - I now give it a burst of compressed air (reverse flush, as it were).

Keeps it squeaky clean with zero screwdriver effort!

The symptoms of the thing getting blocked also include failure to get to high temperatures. I pre-heat to 250C sometimes and when it is blocked the thermostat will cycle at about 235C. It is very obvious when it needs attention!

/Kevin

[ajayro57]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

I finally cleaned mine tonight after roasting a few batches. Opened it up and removed the inner metal screen. Wow, the amount of crap under there! Probably never been cleaned properly before. I bought it from a CS and Ive had it for 18 months. I reckon next time that I use it, it will perform much better.

Thanks for reminding me, Muppet Man.

[A_M]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

muppet_man67.. Ya saved a couple... But guess what...

*****
*****

Even teh HT manual states that at some stage ya have to pull down clean internally depending on usage.

The KKTO needs extra cleaning / maintenancs and I would suggest EVERY roaster will do at some stage..

So many think just the Filter and or fan and or chaff collector..

I blow out my KKTO every couple of months.. MY HT I did twice in 12 months... Chaff fines get in every where and are flammable..

[KJM]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

Hay AM - rather curiously, the Gene seems pretty good at not getting chaff in the works. I first took mine to bits to give it a darn good clean - thinking the PCB and everything would be encrusted with a fine layer of muck. But it was not so!

Just a few errant bits-o-chaff, nothing really bad at all. Im very suspicious that there has been more clever engineering inside the Gene. I suspect that there is a purposeful air leak out of the filtered air-stream which blows into the roast chamber that positively pressurizes the gubbins. Plus of course, it cools the PCB

Since posting the "I blow the chaff collector clean with compressed air" comment above, I decided this morning to pull it to bits to see how much crud the compressed air leaves. The answer is virtually none. There is some of that fine dust + coffee oil (aka roasting concrete :) on the plastic pillars the screws go into, but basically it is squeaky clean. So air is a pretty good low effort thing!

/Kevin

[A_M]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

Good the hear..

However while yours may be OK... Others that may not pay as much attention as they should.. Could be eliminated at the next check-in  

muppet_man67 for eg may have an extra detour or have a time penalty  ;D

If yours is clean... stick with what works...  

I like my compressed air... Plenty on tap on the 6th..  But it can force stuff where it should not go..

Use High Pressure to clean down a lathe and in the places I worked ya would  wake up in the latrine.    Or as some can be tempted to do... Use it to clean ones self..  Have issues with stuff in the eyes... AND some fine  metal and cast filings being forced into skin /cavities etc it should not go.  

Compressed air - Fit for purpose and  Less is more..  Use it all the time...

[KJM]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

Good the hear..

However while yours may be OK... Others that may not pay as much attention as they should.. Could be eliminated at the next check-in  


Use High Pressure to clean down a lathe and in the places I worked ya would  wake up in the latrine.    Or as some can be tempted to do... Use it to clean ones self..  Have issues with stuff in the eyes... AND some fine  metal and cast filings being forced into skin /cavities etc it should not go.  

Compressed air - Fit for purpose and  Less is more..  Use it all the time...

Hmmmm - when I dropped some big pine trees here (20m+ with 1m dia trunks) I got chips all over me. The compressed air beckoned Worked really well. Except the hair and the beard : Darn. The first time I blew out the chaff box on the Gene I blew into the hole. Gingerly. Aiming it away from hair and beard and eyes. It didnt work :-? Needed to dust myself off afterwards.

Note to self: if you think the compressed air might blow back at you, dont aim it away. Just dont do it at all :-[

/Kevin

PS: Why isnt compressed air a mandatory outlet in the kitchen? Could solve a whole lot of problems really easily 8-)

[A_M]

Re: Gene chaff filter maintenance

Note to self: if you think the compressed air might blow back at you, dont aim it away.  Just dont do it at all  

Is it not great, to be able to look back and laugh and laugh again; when ya still do the same thing..

Why isnt compressed air a mandatory outlet in the kitchen?  Could solve a whole lot of problems really easily  

Compressed air / Kitchen    Not sure I would want to go there..  I did it once to try to clean all the gunk and dust off the back of the old fridge / and the condenser coils..  Worked well on the patrol boats and the cramped spaces..

PS.. Do not do it in a kitchen.. In particular where clean and dust free benches are the norm......

Note to self: if you think the compressed air might blow back at you, dont aim it away.  Just dont do it at all  

So true.

[Freewillow]

I do not really know what you are doing with your gene. I have completed 90 Roast of 227g. I always looked through the screen of the shqft collector in order to make sure that the two grids were clean. Since I read all your posts on this, I unscrewed everything and was pleasantly surprised to see that the grids were very clean. Only slightly tainted from light smoke. What do I do differently? I maily roast at Cit to FC+. Is this the explanation?

[ajayro57]

Gene chaff filter maintenance

Maybe you've been using beans that don't produce a lot of chaff.

[LindaD]

After every roast I use a blow gun with compressed air and clean the chaff collector inside and on both sides of the vents.

Works perfect everytime.

-Linda