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advice on gene cafe heating failure
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yantacaw |
Posted on 04/21/2013 3:23 PM
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Newbie Posts: 36 Joined: March 30, 2011 |
hey everyone, my beloved gene cafe is in trouble. my guess is that the heating element needs to be replaced. during a normal 10 oz roast the other day, i noticed the heaton the digital display wasn't going above 130 degrees. i pulled the roast, cooled down the basically cool machine and unplugged it. i went back to it today (as if time magically heals ALL wounds) , powered it on and the gc just plain wasn't giving me any heat and the temp on the screen stayed at 77 degrees. i let it run for a few minutes but knew that i needed to take some measures to get this back into form again. i'm aware of the parts sold by fresh beans (http://www.freshbeansinc.com/Store-Parts.html) but i thought i should check in here first to see how others have tackled the matter in the past. thanks very much and glad to be back. |
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yantacaw |
Posted on 04/21/2013 4:01 PM
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Newbie Posts: 36 Joined: March 30, 2011 |
incidentally, the two seemingly relevant parts that fresh beans offers : Gene Cafe replacement Heater w/ Thermostat. Fits all roasters from 2005 to current models (instruction included) cost $55.00 and the Gene Cafe Heater Core which comes without the aluminum housing and, presumably, without the thermostat for $44 can anybody enlighten me on whether the $55 option is the better way to go vs. the heater core alone or if their are better value non-oem options i should look into? thanks again. |
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John Despres |
Posted on 04/21/2013 8:29 PM
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Administrator Posts: 2221 Joined: January 09, 2008 |
I've replaced a couple heaters. 600 pounds will wear them out, I think. At the time I did not have the option of buying an element separately from the housing. However, I have taken one housing apart. While it's not to terribly difficult, I think just rerplacing the wole thing is easier and a 7 minute job. Go with the full housing, I say. But - How long have you had your roaster? Call Tim and chat with him. He may replace it at no cost. Have fun! John Respect the bean.
John Despres Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers. |
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yantacaw |
Posted on 04/22/2013 1:44 PM
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Newbie Posts: 36 Joined: March 30, 2011 |
Quote John Despres wrote: I've replaced a couple heaters. 600 pounds will wear them out, I think. At the time I did not have the option of buying an element separately from the housing. However, I have taken one housing apart. While it's not to terribly difficult, I think just rerplacing the wole thing is easier and a 7 minute job. Go with the full housing, I say. But - How long have you had your roaster? Call Tim and chat with him. He may replace it at no cost. Have fun! John hey john- nice to be back here and to see you again. i've had my gene since spring 2011 so i'm not sure this would be covered at this point. needless to say, i'll drop tim a line today and see what he recommends. you pointed me his way for extra rubber bumpers when i first joined the boards and he was a total breeze to work with. it's nice to know in this day and age that there are still appliances that one can get support and parts for without hassle. i'll report back after i've hopefully resolved the issue. btw, i know behmor has its admirers but it has been truly difficult for me to return to that machine as a back up after such flexibility and ease of roasting with the gene...enough so that i'm starting to look at using all of my thumbs to try to home build a roaster. y |
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John Despres |
Posted on 04/22/2013 6:54 PM
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Administrator Posts: 2221 Joined: January 09, 2008 |
Well, if you start building, we need to hear all about it and we need pictures. In addition, we'll help wherever you need it. Good luck. John Respect the bean.
John Despres Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers. |
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yantacaw |
Posted on 05/01/2013 8:13 PM
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Newbie Posts: 36 Joined: March 30, 2011 |
hey john et.al, got the replacement heater assembly in a matter of days. my roaster is 2 years old so it wasn't covered by any warranty. i also grabbed a 3 pack of rubber bumpers. there weren't any instructions (i'm not sure if there usually are or not) but installation was pretty inuitive. i would say that everything went off without a hitch but, alas, human error managed to find its way into the mix. during the final phase of reassembly, when i was screwing the screws of the outer case back into place, one of the display cables must have been out of place. i seem to have screwed a hole straight through it. before i realized what had happened, i plugged the gene in and was momentarily rather nervous. it turned on but i couldn't dial the time or temp and the display was flickering. after i took it apart and cut back the wire, i made one other notable mistake. i didn't properly align the two sides of the gene so when i went to put the roast chamber back in place it didn't fit properly. my recommendation here, just to be sure, is to test the alignment by putting the chamber in place before closing the gene up again and tightening up all of the screws. |
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John Despres |
Posted on 05/02/2013 5:31 PM
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Administrator Posts: 2221 Joined: January 09, 2008 |
Aligning one drum carrier to the other is not very easy. I hope everything is back to normal now. J Respect the bean.
John Despres Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers. |
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