Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

[Andy]

This is an independent hardware review by Tim a Victorian (Australia)
CoffeeSnob member (Tim) and long-term home roaster who was not paid for the review by CoffeeRoasters Australia, Hearthware or by CoffeeSnobs and has attempted to be as honest, impartial and non-bias as possible to provide an accurate review.    
-- Andy Freeman.


... and I should add, another great review too!  ;D

Hearthware iRoast  REVIEW HERE


The evaluation iRoast was supplied by a site sponsor, Les at  www.coffeeroasters.com.au
Les has stock of these in Australia and available now.

[nunu]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Very good review! If the neighbours dont mind you vaccuuming all the time, you could get over the noise. I can see some mods would be introducing some sort of sound deadening materials. For those who like to play it by ear, it looks to be a bit difficult as well.

Kinda ironic how the two presets produced a similar roast with the same type of beans. Youd expect at least some sort of subtle difference.

The smokeless comment is a bit ambiguous, maybe try with beans that are notorious for producing lots of smoke and check the result.

I wouldnt mind giving it a go, but of course Im still shopping around.

About waiting between roasts, cant you just do some cooling cycles to help cool the thing down?

[stratford]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Good review Tim...

But are you sure there is not a smoke catcher somewhere in there that you are supposed to empty every now and then....Id take it outside before you open it! :

Cheers...

[flatwhite]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Maybe I missed it - but one crucial piece of information appears to be missing: the price!

[nunu]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

I got a quote from Les...$400 including freight to Sydney.

[tim]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

The smokeless comment is a bit ambiguous, maybe try with beans that are notorious for producing lots of smoke and check the result.


About waiting between roasts, cant you just do some cooling cycles to help cool the thing down?

Trust me Nunu, the beans I tested with are all plenty smokey with my Stircrazy and a Hottop.
It wasnt completely smokeless, but I think the very strong fan helps to dissipate it quickly.

As far as waiting is concerned, as I said in the review.... I didnt , but the book says that you should. The roaster didnt appear to come to any harm, but I guess you may void any warranty.
You also have to wait about 15-20 minutes before a hottop will roast again and in the case of the hottop, this is enforced by the electronics.
The point I was making was that if you want to roast a few batches quickly, this is a drawback in my opinion.

Tim

[nunu]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

If it dissipates the smoke so well, then I guess its an added feature.
I reckon a small tubeaxial fan would be more than adequate to force any excess smoke away.

[Andy]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

(I removed some off-topic posts in this thread)

If any Hearthware i-Roast owners have some roast profiles that worked really well please post them to this thread for others to use too.

[imschris]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Guys,
I need some help here. I just took delivery of an iRoast last week, and the following are my experiences:
Using the presets, produced burnt coffee in about 4 minutes, at which point I switched it to "Cool".
Changing the programme to
Stage1 160C 2 minutes
Stage2 170C 2 minutes
Stage3 190C 3 minutes
Returned caramel coloured coffee, ie very dark roast, and again I was forced to switch the machine to “cool” at 6 minutes.
The temperatures indicated during Stage 1 were from182C after the first minute to 201 by the end of the second minute.
Stage 2 sat on about 205-206 C,
Stage3 5th minute at 211C and 6th minute at 215C, at which time, I switched to "cool".
From overseas tests, the indicated temperature is found to be 40 degrees F lower than the set temperature. Here we seem to have the reverse.
The bottom line though is that I can not produce a decent roast at even the lowest temperatures.
I can barely use any lower temperature settings, or a shorter time, as it seems rediculously short. I mean burnt coffee in less than 4 minutes!
Can anybody help!

[luca]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Apparently a faulty chaff collector can be responsible for overly fast roast times. There are instructions on how to fix it here: http://www.sweetmarias.com/hearthware.iRoasttipsheet.html

(copied from the other I-Roast thread)

[imschris]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Yes,, you are right, the chaff filter was loose, and chaff was bypassing the filter and blocking the mesh vent. So I performed the modification shown in sweet marias website, and the filter is a nice tight fit now. Never the less, although it made a big improvement, I still get much higher temperatures read, than those set. The follows is a profile that gives me a reasonable roast:
Stage1 set at 162C 2 mins-reads 178C after 1 min and 193C after 2mins.
Stage2 set 180C 1.5 mins-reads between 202 and 208C
Stage3 set 200C 2.0 mins-reads 216C
Therefore, I get a roast of 150gms in 5.5 mins. It seems wrong that it roasts in 5.5 mins, compared to what I have read here and at sweet marias. Any longer times and I get burnt beans.
In fact, it matters little what my settings are the temperatures read seem to be the same, as shown above!!!
The coffee looks the same in colour as that purchased already roasted from the same source, but the taste is not as good. There is a sour taste to the coffee.
Can anybody offer any suggestions or had similar experiences and found a solution?

[Andy]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Try a batch a little longer... sour can be that the beans are still a little green and Im sure you will loose that with a darker roast.

Also make sure the beans you are using are "known good". Old beans can have a sour taste too.

Third idea is to find a CS member close to you that watch you roast a batch and can offer some pointers.

[imschris]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Thank you for the advise Andy.
The beans are known good, as I purchased them direct from the roaster, along with the same beans roasted by them(the coffee tasted great).
With respect to roasting longer, when I tried that using the built in programme I came with burnt coffee. However, I will try a little longer. I usually stop the roast, when the colour of the beans match those bought from the roaster.
I would be happy to learn from anyone living near me. I live in St Ives, on Sydneys North Shore.

[davwhite]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Yes,, you are right, the chaff filter was loose, and chaff was bypassing the filter and blocking the mesh vent. So I performed the modification shown in sweet marias website, and the filter is a nice tight fit now. Never the less, although it made a big improvement, I still get much higher temperatures read, than those set. The follows is a profile that gives me a reasonable roast:
Stage1 set at 162C 2 mins-reads 178C after 1 min and 193C after 2mins.
Stage2 set 180C 1.5 mins-reads between 202 and 208C
Stage3 set 200C 2.0 mins-reads 216C
Therefore, I get a roast of 150gms in 5.5 mins. It seems wrong that it roasts in 5.5 mins, compared to what I have read here and at sweet marias. Any longer times and I get burnt beans.
In fact, it matters little what my settings are the temperatures read seem to be the same, as shown above!!!
The coffee looks the same in colour as that purchased already roasted from the same source, but the taste is not as good. There is a sour taste to the coffee.
Can anybody offer any suggestions or had similar experiences and found a solution?

Sorry to take so long to see your post but I am very busy in December and then take off for holidays straight after.

I have been using my I-Roast for 8 months and it took a long time to get my perfect roast.
Setting your own times i gave up on. Bean density varied too much and things like voltage difference played havoc.
So I use preset 1 for 90% of my bean roasts.
I watch carefully the colour and now I am detecting the second crack.
The mandheling bean takes preset 2 nearly to the finish and hardly produces any chaff. It also takes a long time to reach 200c
On the reverse side was a Brazil bean that finished preset 1 with just under 2 mins to go.
So go with your own site and sound and you will produce some good roasts.
Also hit the cool button a bit early because the temp keeps up and the beans cook for what i reakon is another 2 mins of the 9 cool period.

I hope that helps.

[redeyegreeneye]

Re: Hearthware i-Roast --- Latest digital model.

Hi Hearthware Roasters,

I have three (3) burnt-out (dead) Hearthware roasters (previous model to the i-Roast).

Can anybody help me with tips on repair?

Each Hearthware Roaster was used about 100 times before dying (about one day after the warranty expired : (

The quality of the roast (when working) was always excellent.

My home built gas fired roaster is getting me by in the meantime but it would be good to know if I could get parts, or get  my Hearthware Roasters fixed ... I have tried previously without luck.

Thanks,
Mick