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Fresh Roast 500 intenals / cleaning
8675309
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Posted on 12/22/2019 5:00 PM
So I've finally got my SR500 to perform for me over the past several months by drilling a hole in the chaff collector and inserting a temp probe and that gave me very good information -

For instance on the low heat setting I could leave it there all the way into FC ( around 400-410 ) and move to medium setting way into 2C ( 450-455 )...

Now I'm finding that the low setting barely gets me to the 350 mark and medium setting may get me to the 400 mark but I gotta pump to the high setting to get to 425-440-455 etc... slower too.

The machine makes a whir noise like it's losing power when I adjust the fan speed ( nothing else is drawing power ) and I wonder if the lifespan (18 months??) is all it has. Can some internal part be cleaned or am I looking at buying another machine? I basically leave the fan speed on high and drop it to low fan speed if I need a quick kick-up in temp.

I live in Arizona so it's dry as heck out here, machine is outside it's not a moisture issue.
It's bad luck to be superstitious
 
renatoa
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Posted on 12/23/2019 1:58 AM
Could be the motor brushes wear.
If the motor is the same Johnson/Mabuki RS-385 24v, as in most poppers, you can find easily an replacement.
 
Mcaffeinated
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Posted on 01/21/2021 8:50 AM
I've read somewhere a warning about manually stirring the beans through browning. This led to the fans picking up chaff when the lid was off.
I only acknowledge the temp drop on my second-hand FR500 whenever using the Timer buttons.

Despite owning second-hand for 2 years and roasting 3x 150g batches a week, I have not had any significant drop in performance. After the third batch in a row, I do recognize the heating element struggling to maintain same ROR. Once and a while I will vacuum out the fan inlets.

I'd advise lowering the fan speed as the roast progresses. And tipping the roaster instead of stirring.

Just learned this about the SR800/540:
Recommend a dedicated 20 Amp breaker with nothing else running on the circuit: 5:30 min mark on video https://thecaptainscoffee.com/pages/sr-300-and-sr-500-tip-sheets

I definitely see a lag in fan power if I am running the vacuum for my bean-cooler.
 
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