I broke my FreshRoast

[KcHighLife]

Hey everyone! First time posting in The Cafe.
So, I haven't pulled out the roaster in nearly a month and was feeling the need. All you roasters know what I am talking about, you just can't beat the entire experience. From the smell of the green beans to the end result in the press (my favorite anyway).
I have already broken two chambers in the past so, I now load it up with desired amount in the kitchen. Everything was ready to go. I get outside put the chamber in place then drop the chaf catcher for the top of the chamber. It's metal so a big chunk broke off into several parts. Yeah, I was ticked!
I then decided that I can not do this anymore on the patio because of my apparent clumsiness. I am ticked but I want fresh coffee at all cost at this point so I head to the deck.
I initially thought I should fit it with heavy duty foil and did so but the fan motor was sounding a little labored. I suppose I'll be contacting the repairman again. I bet he loves me by now.
I am usually around more on the shaving side of B&B and one thing I have learned is if there are no pictures it didn't happen so...

[StillShaving]

I am not that familiar with the Freshroast. Did you break the glass roasting chamber or the chaff collector? I hope you are able to replace the part at a reasonable cost.

[KcHighLife]

I have broken the glass chamber in the past but if you look at the pictures it is the top piece of the chafe collector. You can see the brass screen under it. It's not to much. But still!

[KcHighLife]

It appears my pictures didn't attach on the initial post, my apologies. This is the best I can do on my phone.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...e/13d3f697.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...e/6ab525a5.jpg

[StillShaving]

I see now. My first reaction is to smile and make a joke about using a little duct-tape to fix that. But even without any repair, won't the roaster still function properly or is the airflow too strong without something to hold down the screen where the plastic is broken?

[KcHighLife]

I see now. My first reaction is to smile and make a joke about using a little duct-tape to fix that. But even without any repair, won't the roaster still function properly or is the airflow too strong without something to hold down the screen where the plastic is broken?

I had put some foil over it but the fan sounded somewhat labored. I took the foil off and it did just fine. The brass screen stayed in place just fine. I was losing more heat than usual. I generally start real low and build it up pretty good anyway so, it all came out just fine. I certainly wasn't going to let it stop me!

[SiBurning]

You might want to patch it up and run it into the ground, but it's time to start thinking about upgrading.

Can you get replacement parts?

[KcHighLife]

You might want to patch it up and run it into the ground, but it's time to start thinking about upgrading.

Can you get replacement parts?

Hey, I never thought of that. Me - Honey, I'm sorry it just stopped working. SWMBO - Well, if you "need" one.
I can get the part pretty easy and I do like my trusty FreshRoast so, I'll buy a new lid.

[gearchow]

how does that break? It looks like the kind of thing that would bounce around and maybe bend, but not break.

-jim

[KcHighLife]

how does that break? It looks like the kind of thing that would bounce around and maybe bend, but not break.

-jim

It's a cast metal of some sort. It was a lot more brittle than I would have thought. I believe that would make the entire chaf basket the same thing.

[SliceOfLife]

So what am I looking at here? Does it just blow heated air into the cylinder from the bottom and out the top or what?

If so, yeah I'd vote you take the opportunity to upgrade, that's a laughably inefficient way to roast.

[SiBurning]

Hey! Stuff happens!

I broke a fan blade on my Nesco. That put the motor off balance and it started making scary loud noises. Must've forgot to put the the chaff catcher and the cover with the grill on top of the glass container. That's the only way a small bean fragment can get blown through the lid and onto the fan. It was still under warranty so they fixed it free. I only had to pay to ship it to them, and they paid return shipping. I was concerned about mailing the glass container, and they told me not to bother sending it in, but they shipped it back complete, so I have a spare (obviously used, though clean). Guess they just don't keep track. And they probably have lots of them around the shop.

Definitely call when something like this happens. Most of these things (the ones us cafe heads like) are made by small companies that still want to do a good job of customer service. Baratza even sells parts and posts HOWTO videos to show people how to fix stuff themselves.

[Rughi]

Here's the manufacturer's page for replacement parts:
http://www.freshbeansinc.com/Store-Parts.html

It looks like you have the 500 model.

It seems to me that if you have the 500, you can turn the fan speed down and it should function pretty well. Sweetmaria's has videos where they roast with the whole lid assembly taken off, so your slightly reduced back pressure shouldn't be a fatal flaw.

Roger

[KcHighLife]

Here's the manufacturer's page for replacement parts:
http://www.freshbeansinc.com/Store-Parts.html

It looks like you have the 500 model.

It seems to me that if you have the 500, you can turn the fan speed down and it should function pretty well. Sweetmaria's has videos where they roast with the whole lid assembly taken off, so your slightly reduced back pressure shouldn't be a fatal flaw.

Roger

Thank you. That is exactly where I have had my chambers replaced from. Super guy BTW!
Thanks also for letting me know about the videos at Sweetmaria's.
I didn't have a single issue with the roast and I am constantly adjusting the fan during the roast. It worked great. Just ticked me off is all.