Cleaning your roaster

[Primate]

Hi all
i have just started playing with my new roaster and I noticed the residue on the drum (oils ect ) and I was wondering what you guys use to clean things and at what intervals you do so

[coffeeboy83]

Simple green from bunnings.

[chokkidog]

Google.........'coffee roaster drum seasoning' before going ahead with cleaning.
Cast iron drums, like Probats, are usually seasoned before going into regular production.
Carbon steel drums, such as Has Garantis, don't require seasoning as such but get a few initial roasts to clean the drum of manufacturing residue prior
to regular use.
I'm not sue what material your drum is made of but it may be detrimental to your coffee quality if you keep cleaning it.
Commercial coffee roaster drums are rarely, if ever, 'cleaned'.

[Primate]

Google.........'coffee roaster drum seasoning' before going ahead with cleaning.
Cast iron drums, like Probats, are usually seasoned before going into regular production.
Carbon steel drums, such as Has Garantis, don't require seasoning as such but get a few initial roasts to clean the drum of manufacturing residue prior
to regular use.
I'm not sue what material your drum is made of but it may be detrimental to your coffee quality if you keep cleaning it.
Commercial coffee roaster drums are rarely, if ever, 'cleaned'.

Hey thanks for that I'll look into it

[coffeechris]

I dont know how true this is but i was talking to a guy in my area who has a roaster shop and he said in the conversation that he used popcorn to clean the drum? apparently it is meant to soak up the oils in the drum?? I put question marks only because i don't know how true this is but did hear it from someone who has roasted for some time.

Cheers,

Chris

[Primate]

[QUOTE=coffeechris;488385]I dont know how true this is but i was talking to a guy in my area who has a roaster shop and he said in the conversation that he used popcorn to clean the drum? apparently it is meant to soak up the oils in the drum?? I put question marks only because i don't know how true this is but did hear it from someone who has roasted for some time.

Cheers,

Thanks Chris that sounds like a very feasible option and coffee flavored pop corn would be pretty good as well I reckon

[coffeechris]

I know it does sound pretty feasible, however i will say again i only heard that.... If it does work thats fantastic you get a clean roaster and coffee popcorn

[robusto]

On the Behmor, soapy water with a sponge on glass areas, and internal metal surfaces.

But every second roast or so, I get serious with cafetto and hot water. The drum and chaff collector are soaked in the mixture until they emerge their bright metal best again.

The mixture is also wiped over stubborn areas inside the roaster.

Of course, all chaff is first vacuumed out after every roast.

[Vinitasse]

I dont know how true this is but i was talking to a guy in my area who has a roaster shop and he said in the conversation that he used popcorn to clean the drum? apparently it is meant to soak up the oils in the drum?? I put question marks only because i don't know how true this is but did hear it from someone who has roasted for some time.

Cheers,

Chris

I'm still trying to figure out why there was that much oil in the drum in the first place??? Just how dark are they taking their roasts? I have been roasting 50+ batches per week for the past 2+ years and there isn't any oil in my roaster's drum to speak of. Very curious.

[coffeechris]

Seems like some people take there roasts way past SC... I have tried a few roast past SC however have never liked the characteristics of beans well past SC.

[Fresh_Coffee]

I'm still trying to figure out why there was that much oil in the drum in the first place??? ... Very curious.

Yes, and FWIW I've had 7 roasting plants in 27 years with 3 currently in operation for various things, and I have never cleaned a drum internally, for my quality of roasting.....

HTH

[chokkidog]

Some people do odd things! Oil as a residue problem in coffee roasters is something I've never seen and hadn't actually heard of until
'skydragondave' posted his thread about the gunk in his flue. I wonder it it's coffee oil at all. It sounds more like condensed tar and other
precipitates such as levoglucosan (from the pyrolytic breakdown of cellulose and carbohydrate) from the 2nd crack smoke of really dark roasts.
Info from my book 'How to Fix a Smoky Fireplace' !!

These guys with this sort of gunk in their roasters might be pretty vulnerable to flash fires!
The best solution I can offer is to roast lighter! Goodness knows what their coffee tastes like
and the popcorn could well be poisonous!