Let me start by saying I love my Gene Cafe.. and this is my 2nd.. The first eventually had the same issue.

After having given my GC a few weeks rest, my first roast works perfectly. However after that one, I begin to find the heater cuttting out prematurely... It will do so as low as 452ish up to 470ish... Oddly, I seem to still get first crack about where I expected it, as it it's actually hotter than indicated.. So I thought it was the output thermostat and replaced that. No change...

Then I replaced both the PCB board and the main control board/chip... No change... Will work will for a roast and then exhibit the same symptoms..

I've also replaced the thermostat at the heater... No change...

I've cleaned the chaff collector THOROUGHLY and can see right through the screen - so it's no obstructed there. I've removed the filter at the fan - even thought it was clean as a whistle just in case. No change.

I've ordered a new fan, so crossing my fingers... Next will be the heater and I'll have essentially a fully rebuild machine but no answers.

I have not measured the output at my outlet - but not sure if that would be implicated in this kind of issue...

Any thoughts or experience with this?

Hi Javaslinger,

Same problem. Replacing the GC heater worked until my unit finally died many months later.
Just a long shot.... check the electrical outlet to ensure the CG is getting sufficient current to operate. Low or fluctuating current caused by other appliances drawing too much load from the circuit your CG is plugged into wont be too good for your roaster.

Igor

I have had my Gene cafe since 2008. Typically doing 2- 5 roasts a week. In the first year(under warranty) I had the fuse housing actually melt on me. I had that fixed under warranty. After that I had my first heater failure. When I was ordering the heater they recommended replacing the fan(it was only $10 then, really). When I replaced the fan I found the old one covered in dust that would have reduced its capacity to move air big time. I think this was why the fuse housing melted. You can really only see this when you pull the heater out.

Since then I have probably replaced the heating element 5X although my current run is a 1.5 years. Some weeks I have done 6 batches back to back. go figure. The gene has been very reliable for me other than the initial failure. The heaters I just see that as par for the course given the design. I clean the fan every time I replace every heater replacement or every 6-8 months with some compressed air. I keep a replacement heater on hand.

So I recommend you check the fan out. There are various sources on line showing how to replace the heater which needs to be removed to pull the fan out. Poor removal of heat can create havoc.

Fingers crossed I have been very happy with this unit. Only other repair was the rubber stopper on the flap in the canister. ($2.50).

The homeroasters forum is a good resource
http://www.homeroasters.org/php/forum/v ... rum_id=116


http://www.avacuppa.com.au/mediawiki/im ... de_v02.pdf
http://genecafeusa.com/products/heating-assembly

Javaslinger wrote:Let me start by saying I love my Gene Cafe.. .However after that one, I begin to find the heater cutting out prematurely... It will do so as low as 452ish up to 470ish...?

Been there, have had that down-drift.

Look at the screen venting on the base of the Gene. That grill probably needs cleaning. Take the time to pull the fan and get after that screen with a brush. http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/gene-cafe-major-clean

Thanks for the replies...

Well, I removed that screen some time ago as it was consistently blamed - but never dirty. Nor was there any 'dust' on the fan assembly.

Still I replaced the fan - no luck, no change - same symptoms. It seems air flow is always blamed, but in my case, I swear it's clean as a whistle. Taking this thing apart is my 2nd job.

I have found a thread in a UK coffee forum describing the same issue and they suspect localized heating in the coil is causing the thermostat to cut power prematurely.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.ph ... fficiently

Anyway, I've literally replaced EVERYTHING but the heater (and transformer I guess) so that's next... But I'm hoping they'll consider providing one free as I've spent nearly $200 tracking this down at this point...

Towards the end, the heater on my Gene started cycling on and off. Temperature would oscillate up and down, but keep going up overall. If I recall correctly, it started doing this at around 425 F or so? Never would get to my set temp (470 to 480 F' or so). Still made good coffee. I replaced my heater, but it didn't change anything. Was super clean inside. I upgraded and never figured out the problem.

Your symptoms don't sound quite the same though...

What did you upgrade to? I'm considering doing so but the Hot Top is just not that impressive to me and I'm not sure what the options are for Home Roasters after that....

North TJ-067 via Mill City Roasters, so it was a big jump. Makes roasting a lot more fun to have that much control. They offer a 500g version now at a lower price point, but still a big step up. I thought about the Bullet R1 for a while, but I got concerned they were overpromising on delivery times and felt they were doing a poor job with communication. Made me too nervous. Looks like they might actually start producing and shipping them out soon though (but missed another deadline). I'd still be wary of buying one from their first generation, but they could be a good option. Not sure they've announced their "non pre-order" pricing.