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Home > Hearthware i-Roast Roasting Tips
Hearthware i-Roast Roasting Tips
| Hearthware i-Roast "Quick Start" Tips |
Cleaning Tips
Troubleshooting: roaster won't start
This is NOT a replacement for the Owners Manual and you are still required to abide by the information in the official manual or risk voiding your warranty.
It is human nature to let your excitement over your new roaster cause you to throw caution to the wind. “Only read the operating instructions as a last resort” may be going through your mind.
These simple quick start instructions are designed as a compromise and will help you get started quickly. Nothing in these instructions is intended to contradict the Owners Manual.
GETTING STARTED
After carefully unpacking the roaster you need to assemble it. The roasting chamber assembly must be locked in place before the roaster will work – a simple downward clockwise turn will lock it in place. note: the inner part of the chaff collector goes in with the solid (concave) side UP
Plug it into an electrical outlet that has good, consistent voltage. If this is a problem in your area, I suggest using a Variac to maintain voltage stability at 115 – 120 VAC.
Remove the chaff collector (fully assembled) and dump in your green beans:
one rounded 1 cup measure, or two rounded ½ cup measures by volume, or
5.1 – 5.3 ounces / 150+ grams by weight
Replace the chaff collector and lock it in place with a clockwise turn.
Select or Set the Roast Profile
Preset 1 is an 11 ½ minute preprogrammed profile for “soft” beans – just push Preset 1
Preset 2 is a 12 minute preprogrammed profile for “hard” beans – just push Preset 2
There is a commentary on soft vs. hard beans in the Coffee School section of the website.
OR…and this is my quick start recommendation
Program the roaster yourself for a hot, fast roast like you have come to expect from fluid-air bed roasters, then watch the roast and switch it to “COOL” when you have the roast you want. As this will be a learning experience, keep good roast notes to help you determine how to program it to automatically. The control panel near the bottom front of the roaster has four buttons on it:
Preset 1 / >, Preset 2 / <, then under those are Roast/Temp and Cool/Time.
The I-Roast gives you three roast stages to program, and the ability to add time only to the last stage only (see manual), so follow these instructions closely to program 10 minutes of roast time (with the option to add more time) – the 4 minute cool cycle is fixed and cannot be programmed.
TO SET YOUR OWN PROFILE
1) push Roast/Temp and Cool/Time simultaneously – the display will read “Prog”
2) push Roast/Temp (to set the temperature for that stage)
3) (preheat) then set the temp at 470 by pushing the UP arrow
4) push Cool/Time (to set the roast time for that stage)
5) then set the time at 1:00 minutes by pushing the UP and DOWN arrows
6) (primary roasting) REPEAT steps 2 through 5 for the second stage, but using 485 degrees for 5 minutes
7) (finishing stage) REPEAT steps 2 through 5 for the third stage, but using 475 degrees for 4 minutes
8) push Roast/Temp and Cool/Time simultaneously – the display will read “Set”
9) push Roast/Temp again to start the roaster.
10) Remember, you can ADD TIME to the third stage only – up to a combined total roast time of 15 minutes, but it is doubtful you will need to - push UP arrow
11) When the roast looks like you want it to look, push the Cool/Time button to start the cool cycle. Reminder: keep notes for future roasts. Once you have enough data you can change the third stage roast time to go to cool automatically.
12) To achieve faster cooling, once the roaster has gone to the cool cycle, turn the top cap of the chaff collector ~1/8 turn counter-clockwise to unlock it. It gets pretty full of chaff during roasting and loosening (not removing) it allows for better airflow.
This profile will remain in the roaster until you unplug it – unplugging = reprogramming
CLEANING TIPS
Cleaning your roaster is similar to taking care of / changing oil in your car: if you do it regularly and do it well the roaster, like your car, will last a long time – if you neglect it, it won’t – that’s simple logic.
You need a good, stiff brush and a damp rag – occasionally clean your roaster (any roaster) especially the roasting chamber, with one of those newer orange-based cleaners.
1) dump and brush out the chaff collector after each roast
2) check the rubber-like seal on the bottom of the chaff collector after each roast and brush out any chaff that builds up in the seating groove – failure to do this part will cause the chaff collector not to seat well and allow hot air to escape, which significantly affects your roast.
3) Same treatment for the seal between the base unit and the roasting chamber
4) Wipe out the roasting chamber with a damp (not wet) rag after each roast to keep oils from accumulating and affecting bean visibility.
Keep the roaster base, especially the buttons, clean, as they could stick if they get “all gunked up”.
While you are doing your first few roasts, take the time (if you haven’t already done so) to thoroughly read and understand the Owners Manual. There is more information in there that is not included in these Quick Start Instructions.
Troubleshooting: roaster won't start
Problem: roaster doesn't start - it surges on then shuts off, and I lose my program
The i-Roast is designed to be used indoors, which is the reason it has the venting attachment...to enable you to vent the smoke outside, up your kitchen exhaust fan, or ???.
This is a safety feature to prevent from overworking the sensitive circuitry and ultimately reducing your roaster's useful life. The roaster will not start up in temps of less than 55 degrees fahrenheit, so this can be a problem in cooler weather to those of you who are relegated to roasting in the great outdoors, your garage, or some other cold place. There IS a solution.
The BEST solution is to roast inside where it's nice and warm (or move to the tropics), but if that's not possible for whatever reason...
It is possible to "preheat" the system in cooler temperatures by taking these simple steps:
first, DO NOT program the roaster yet - it won't hurt it if you do, but it will be a lot of extra work - read on...
SIMULTANEOUSLY press "Preset 1" and "Roast" - the roaster will start for a second or two, then surge, and stop.
REPEAT this procedure 5 to 10 times, then try roasting again. When the roaster is sufficiently heated to prevent the sensor from turning it off, you are good to go.
ROAST NORMALLY: Now is the time to program your roaster (if you normally do so) or roast live using one of the presets, so load your beans into the roasting chamber and start it up - you should now get your regular roast. Obviously if you take a long time to program your roaster or otherwise get started the roaster will cool off again and you will need to repeat the "preheat" process.
This may seem like a lot of fuss, but many sophisticated electronic devices have their little quirks: this is the i-Roast's. Also like so many other things, once you get accustomed to it, it won't be a big deal. Let's hope the reward - deliciously wonderful fresh-roasted coffee - is worth the effort to you!
Have fun and Happy Roasting !!
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