I have two Genies on the scrap heap, the second a replacement machine from Tim. Multiple heater failures, LED failures, board failures, plastic shield falling off, etc. etc. There are a number of failed units being reported on other sites. It is reported that the heaters for 230 volt units are more robust and it is also reported that post mid-2008 110 volt units are better. There are also owners that have had good service from these units.

For a machine designed as a heater to have the act of heating lead to its demise is pretty weak. I could not advise anyone to purchase a Gene Cafe. It has been over a year since I replaced the Gene and I'm still irritated.

I'll have to agree with the concerns about Gene reliability. I've had mine for roughly 15 months, have probably averaged three roasts a week. Mine has required disassembly twice: Once for a freak accident--the fuse cover was apparently loose and a spring-loaded fuse shot 20 feet across the yard--and once for a heater breakdown.

On the positive side, Tim gave absolutely top-flight service. Lots of phone advice and very prompt replacement of defective parts, without charge. That kind of support deserves respect--and repeat business. But there's still that nagging issue that a $500 machine had problems with such light-to-moderate use. I suspect, if the machine fails again, I'll go with Hottop. Or, who knows, maybe the Gene is now good for the long-haul. Fingers crossed. It does a very good job.

Hi, all.

First roasting post in defense of the Gene Cafe. I've had mine since Nov. 2007. In that time, I've roasted over 450 batches in it. Indeed I have had to replace the heater, but after 100 or so pounds, I wasn't the least but irritated. Tim replaced it so fast, my head was spinning.

I truly enjoy using this machine and will buy another once I really wear it out. The extra 300-400 for a HotTop is a bit out of my price range, but if I could afford one, I'd certainly buy one.

Until I use a HotTop, I can't answer the original question.

In any event, thanks for letting me play here. Now if I can just get my avatar up...

John

It is painfully evident that the design of the Gene Cafe's heater unit is just not robust enough. Any sort of build up of chaff residue in the chaff collector or dust build up in the air intake will cause it to wear out over time. My Gene Cafe lasted about 14 to 16 months, averaging about 1 Ib per week until it refused to cycle past 450 degrees with any reliability. Admittedly, I had not been cleaning the inside chaff screen on the chaff collector prior to the failure (did not know it was there) - and maybe had I done so, the heater would have lasted longer.

Interestingly, when I brought this up with the tech at the shop where I bought it (the Greenbeanery in Toronto), he told me that one simple fix was to bypass the heat-activated auto-protection switch inside the heater assembly. This would prevent the heater from relaying the message that it was overheating and not cause the heater to shut off prematurely in the roast cycle.

I took the heater assembly apart, and tried to bypass this switch. The switch consists of two contacts that are separated by a heat-expandable material - when things get too hot, the contacts no longer make - well - contact, and power to the heater shuts off. Strangely, after doing my best to bypass this, things did not improve markedly -but I'm only moderately competent in electronics, so maybe I did something wrong, or do not understand how the over-heat protection works after all... Also, I may have damaged some of the heater elements when trying to reassemble... Not sure.

BTW, for sealant for the heater assembly, I used silicone gasket sealant, available at any automotive parts store. (I think the red tube is rated for at least 500 degrees). I've taken the unit apart since at the sealant seems to be holding up well. I just hope there is no chance of noxious fumes from the sealant mixing with the air that roast the beans, as this might be a health hazard - however, I have not been able to detect any chemical odours that were not there before...

So, now, after that hassle, I'm faced with ordering a new heater for $90. Maybe someone else can post about possible ideas how to disable the over-heat protection circuit, or at least make it less sensitive. I suppose this could be a bit of a fire-hazard, but like all roasting, it should never be left unattended anyway...

Hi Cynan.
How can I clean this chaff screen on the chaff collector?
I only blow with my breath,the slots on the up and down sides of the glass cylinder,plus the chaff collector.
If you can help,please do it.

Sorry for the late reply - Have not been around lately.

To get at the internal screen in the chaff collector, you need to dissassemble it. This involves taking out the screws that hold the chaff collector together (I think there are 4, but not certain). The chaff ccollecgtor will then come apart in half and you will see that there is a smaller interior screen underneath the screen that is externally visable.

Definitely a design flaw. I wounder if taking this internal screen off altogether would be a viable option?

After I grudgingly bought a Hottop, I received a free replacement heater for my broken GeneCafe. The Hottop has been so good to me, I haven't even gone through the trouble of rebuilding the GeneCafe because I know what will happen. After a few months of roasting the heater will fail again.

So far the Hottop has been solid as a rock and giving me more consistent results. For some odd reason, my Hottop roasts last longer than my GeneCafe roasts. That is, the Hottop roasts taste good to me 10 days after roasting where the GeneCafe roasts started to get really stale after day 7. Odd.

I strongly recommend a Hottop to any serious home roaster. I have owned an IRoast (I-Roar), Genecafe and a Hottop and far and above the Hottop is the best unit.

Finally got around to getting a replacement heater for the Gene Cafe. (BTW, it was stamped with a date of 11/2008, vs 08/2006 on the original. Unfortunately, the two look identical, so I'm not expecting any improvements in durability). The Greenbeanery was good enough to offer me a replacement heater for $45, half their price for a new unit, even though my machine has been out of warranty for a year and a half. The installation went pretty quick (aside from the RTV gasket sealant tube I was using splitting and leaking silicone sealant everywhere...) and I am now just giving it a few hours to cure.

I wonder how many months it will work this time? Oh well, I guess that's what you get when you build a roaster using a heating unit borrowed from a hair-dryer... Maybe someday I will be able to afford a Hottop...

Edit: BTW, I have been looking at the MSDSs of these Silicone sealants. The one that Genesis (company that makes the Gene) uses and all the RTV silicone sealants I could find indicate the possibility of formaldehyde fume emission at temperatures above 180 deg Celsius. I wonder if this is a health hazard - or if the walls of the heater box don't actually get any hotter than this. Anyone have a laser thermometer?

...I use it outdoors,so I don't afraid any fumes.

Right, but I am more concerned with the possibility of fumes permeating into the beans during the roast - both for flavor and health reasons.

I am happy to report that my Gene Cafe is functioning like new with the new heater unit (cycling up to the set temp with no problems with no beans). Alas, but for how long...

After about 20 hours I could still detect some faint fumes coming from the sealant I used (after the heater had been cycled on for a few minutes). The package says it has a 24 hr cure period - so I'm not going to try roasting anything until tomorrow.