First I wanted to thank everyone that tried to help me with my dead Alpenrost last week. As it turned out a list member sold me their beloved used Alpenrost and got me back to roasting again. However, the beloved used Alpenrost has seen its fair share of roasting without a whole lot of cleaning. The shiny metal reflector on this inside has a lovely brown gook that I have nicknamed "Roastium" as I think it's alloyed with the steel! Does anyone know of a secret solution that will help dissolve that baked on roaster crust? I've always used alcohol on my dead roaster to remove it, but it was never this bad. Thanks! Chris |
Chris, I used to use "Simply Green" on my Alp with success. Mike (just plain) |
Chris, PS - I used medium pressure air to blow the chaff out of the Alp every month. blowing between the reflector and the hinged lid assembly and other areas accessible to air. I dis-assembled the main housing and cleaned the inside as much as possible every six months or so. I always found a certain amount of chaff like buildup in the machines cooling air circulation pathways. I'm not sure how much it helped, but it is still working after several years of steady use. Mike (just plain) |
After the first two roasts I knew something was wrong with the new used roaster. After I got the top of it off, it was obvious why. The housing around the motor was completely sealed up by chaff. The roaster would overheat at about 14 minutes and would cut off the heating element. Once I got a vacuum in there and cleaned it all up, it roasts pretty reliably. I just want to get that roast-resin off everything. I'll give the Simple Green a try, but I don't think that's gonna do it. Chris |
You might be surprised how well simple green works. It was originally designed to clean coffee roasters. Check out the historyhttp://corporate.simplegreen.com/corp_hist.phpOn 5/10/06, Chris Archuleta wrote: <Snip> |
Hi Chris - I've never seen a baked-on organic substance that couldn't be removed by acetone. I prefer the hardware-store kind over nail-polish remover because the latter usually contains perfumes. Reed Chris Archuleta wrote: <Snip> |
straight clorox cleanup (not laundry bleach, the cleaner in the spray bottle) takes coffee residue and other similar compound off just about anything. You do have to rinse it off several times after dissolving the gunk, not just to get the residue off, but to make sure no clorox cleanup is left behind as it has a rather strong smell. ---Henry. |
Chris, There is a piece of the temp monitoring set up (I think it is the Over Temp shutdown) that is in the bottom base housing under the roast chamber that is important to keep relatively clean. If I remember correctly - if you don't keep that area clear enough for decent air circulation, the sensor will cook itself and you are shutdown for maintenance/sensor replacement. I imagine you have conversed with Craig A and seen the CoffeeGeek threads about this common problem with the Alp. I've never seen "Roastium" buildup that Simple Green won't deal with....may require a couple of application/soaks if it is real bad. An interesting side note : A friend with an Alp could not get to his desired dark roast, while visiting one evening he commented on how shiney clean mine was and I turned him on to Simple Green. He told me a couple of days later that as soon as he cleaned the shiney stuff (heat reflector in the lid etc.) the Alp started giving him the roast level he wanted. Mike (just plain) |
--Apple-Mail-5--673303042 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset -ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed I clean built-up roasting gunk with a paper towel soaked in a Cafiza solution (same one in which I soak my espresso machine parts), and then use a Dobie pad moistened with just water to scrub off the now- softened gunk. I then use a dry paper towel. On May 10, 2006, at 10:53 AM, Chris Archuleta wrote: <Snip> Sandy www.sandyandina.com --Apple-Mail-5--673303042 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset O-8859-1 I clean built-up roasting gunk = with a paper towel soaked in a Cafiza solution (same one in which I soak = my espresso machine parts), and then use a Dobie pad moistened with just = water to scrub off the now-softened gunk. I then use a dry paper = towel. On May 10, 2006, at 10:53 AM, Chris Archuleta = wrote: |
--Apple-Mail-6--672787560 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset -ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Should also mention that I'm talking about gunk on an i-Roast 1 & 2, not an Alpenrost, but there is no reason why removal techniques for one should not work for the other. On May 10, 2006, at 1:18 PM, Sandy Andina wrote: <Snip> Sandy www.sandyandina.com --Apple-Mail-6--672787560 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset O-8859-1 Should also mention that I'm = talking about gunk on an i-Roast 1 & 2, not an Alpenrost, but there = is no reason why removal techniques for one should not work for the = other. On May 10, 2006, at 1:18 PM, Sandy Andina = wrote: |
Chris, I get those same rostium deposits on the glass part of my SC/TO. There are some cleaning solutions available the I'm sure will be mentioned by others, but I found that Barkeeper's Friend or some other very lightly abrasive cleaner takes the stuff off quickly. BTW, rostium is called "spooge" when it's found on a motorcycle. Best regards, Tom in GA |
<Snip> Fantastik works well. |
Does anyone know where I can buy citric acid? I am not interested in purch= asing online but an earlier poster said that they were able to buy at the g= rocery store. I have looked at WalMart and I have not been able to find. = Do you know where it would be located, is it in hardware, etc? I cannot find it with the coffee stuff! Thanks! Barb <Snip> E: +Cleaning off "Roastium"> Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 09:22:54 -0400> > > > D= oes anyone know of a secret solution that will help dissolve > > that baked= on roaster crust? I've always used alcohol on my > > dead roaster to remo= ve it, but it was never this bad.> > > Fantastik works well.> >=> homeroast mailing list>http://lists.=sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast> To change your personal list se= ttings (digest options, vacations, unsvbscribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.c=om/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings= |
On 5/11/06, Barbara Leazier wrote: <Snip> t <Snip> I don't know about straight citric acid but I buy this stuff called Better Brew that is simply citric acid mixed with something to keep it powdery. I bought it at Williams Sonoma. I also saw something at Walmart that was with the coffee brewers that was the same. I don't know about its effectiveness for Roastium but it does a good job at keeping the drip machine working well. I think I'll try oven cleaner for th= e roastium. Don <Snip> |
Might try beer making supplies. Ask for ascorbic acid. McSparky At 10:54 AM 5/11/2006 -0400, you wrote: <Snip> |
This is where I got some. The local Ace ordered it in no charge for shipping. http://snipurl.com/qbp0PeterZ Barbara Leazier wrote: <Snip> |
--Apple-Mail-14--589923546 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset -ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Go to the spice aisle and look for "sour salt." Sometimes the Rokeach brand of it can be found in the Kosher section as well. On May 11, 2006, at 9:54 AM, Barbara Leazier wrote: <Snip> Sandy www.sandyandina.com --Apple-Mail-14--589923546 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset O-8859-1 Go to the spice aisle and look = for "sour salt." Sometimes the Rokeach brand of it can be found in = the Kosher section as well. On May 11, 2006, at 9:54 AM, = Barbara Leazier wrote: |
also you can find in any health food store. That is where I get mine. John On 5/11/06, Sandy Andina wrote: <Snip> t <Snip> ribes) go to <Snip> |
It's with the canning stuff (mason jars, etc.) I use Simple Green for my roaster cleaning, btw. (of course, it's pretty= much just pre-mixed citric acid as I understand it) <Snip> rchasing <Snip> ery <Snip> you <Snip> Enjoy! Steve :->http://www.cafepress.com/stevespics<- My little store of Impressionist">http://www.svandyke.com<- My simple websitehttp://www.cafepress.com/stevespics<- My little store of Impressionist & Special Event photography |
Sorry to be late to this discussion, but I have a solution for your brown cowling: Take it apart and run it through the dishwasher. The first time I tried this, in desperation, I had a fierce case of roastium; it almost got it clean, so I ran it again in the next load. It came out brilliant and shiny. Now I do it every month or two, whenever it seems to be gunking up. I also had my Alp die mid-roast; when we got it apart we also found it full of chaff. With help from others here, we discovered how to get at the thermostat thingie (it was in a glued-up box), replaced it, and have been using the thing ever since (more than a year). Every so often we open it up and vacuum any accumulation. Kathleen <Snip> |