I Roast 2 shuts down

[joechinon]

I've had my I Roast 2 for about a year and a half, and I've roasted many great batches of beans with it. But 3 times now it has for no apparent reason just turned itself off, usually about 5-6 minutes into the roast. Luckily I've been standing there all 3 times when it happened, and I can salvage the batch and not burn the house down, but it really makes me nervous about leaving it alone for even a minute. Has anybody else had a problem with this?

[RyanM]

Joe,

Actually i have heard of this sort of thing happening to some of our customers. Generally it is due to overheating. You only want to roast about 4.5oz at most. You want to have enough room for the beans to "flow" well. If this continues after you adjust the amount of beans you are roasting. You can feel free to send it back to Hearthware, and we will pay the shipping for you.

[joechinon]

Joe,

Actually i have heard of this sort of thing happening to some of our customers. Generally it is due to overheating. You only want to roast about 4.5oz at most. You want to have enough room for the beans to "flow" well. If this continues after you adjust the amount of beans you are roasting. You can feel free to send it back to Hearthware, and we will pay the shipping for you.

Thanks for the reply, and the offer to return it. I've used the same scoop since I've had it so the volume of beans is consistent, but maybe not the weight. I'll weigh a scoop of beans tonight and see how much I've been putting. I know some beans are denser than others, but the last time it happened was near the end of my 3rd 5 pound bag of Guatemalan Antigua.
As for sending it back, that may not be a good idea. If my wife had to drink store bought pre-roasted coffee, even for week, she might kick me out.
Corky

[RyanM]

Wow,
Well in that case i don't know about sending it back............ I much rather have a moody roaster, then an angry wife ANY DAY of the week. Anyway how are you liking that Guatemalan Antigua? Have you tried the Columbian Supremo? It is a bit more fruity then the Antigua, but it has that same great light chocolaty flavor that i am a little to obsessed with.

[joechinon]

I alternate between the Guat and the Colombian, I love them both, but my favorite is Sumatran which I haven't had in a year or 2. The guy I used to buy it from on ebay vanished then the gift certificates from my wife and free shipping from morebeer.com coerced me to buy from moreflavor.

[gfoster]

It sounds counterintuitive but remember that with these air roasters, the MORE beans you put in the higher the temp will get.

You should definitely be roasting by weight, not by volume.

-- Gary F.

[joechinon]

I weighed the volume of beans I've been roasting and it was just a little over 4.5 oz, I think it was 118 grams, at least for the Guatemalan.

[joechinon]

Bumping this thread again.
A year ago I had this problem, Moreflavor sent me a new roaster with no strings attached. Thanks .
However, 1 year later I'm having the same problem with the second one. I've been doing 145 gram batches and now I can't go more than 4.75 minutes before the machine stops.
So I'm done forever with the I-Roast 2.
Without breaking the bank, what's my best alternative? I roast around 500 grams per week, usually 4 batches with the I-Roast 2. I don't want a stovetop model or grill model, so what's the best, longest lasting and most dependable roaster out there? I can also do without tons of bells and whistle.

[theisenm85]

Hey Joe,
FIrst thing... when was the last time you cleaned the i-roast? I've had overheating issues with mine (never gotten to shuttting down early), but it was mostly because the airflow was slightly blocked. If you soak the entire thing (save the power base) in pbw over night, (or oxyclean), you might see a drastic improvement.

Ignoring that, the nesco is the only one in a really similar price range. They're both fine roasters. For an upgrade, and the ability to do 1lb batches, the Behmor can't be beat. Weighs in at $300, but only having to roast a 4th as much can be worth its weight in gold. Hope this helps.

[joechinon]

Hey Joe,
FIrst thing... when was the last time you cleaned the i-roast? I've had overheating issues with mine (never gotten to shuttting down early), but it was mostly because the airflow was slightly blocked. If you soak the entire thing (save the power base) in pbw over night, (or oxyclean), you might see a drastic improvement.

Ignoring that, the nesco is the only one in a really similar price range. They're both fine roasters. For an upgrade, and the ability to do 1lb batches, the Behmor can't be beat. Weighs in at $300, but only having to roast a 4th as much can be worth its weight in gold. Hope this helps.

I actually do keep the lid screen very clean, I scrape it with a fine wire brush after every 3 or 4 batches. I just bought a popcorn popper. Not as handy but for $20 it'll do the job until the economy turns around.

[Boulderbrewer]

If you are still looking, I have put over 100# of coffee through my Gene Cafe (2+years) with out a problem. I know it will break the bank though.