Smells_Familiar Senior Member Joined: 3 Apr 2005 Posts: 67 Location: Indianapolis, IN Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Zaffiro Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: Rear Gear Here Drip: french press Roaster: CO w/homemade base,...
Posted Mon Feb 5, 2007, 2:51pm Subject: White residue on turbo oven glass?
Hey everybody, I'm back after something like 1 1/2 years of being absent from this forum!
Now to my question. I roast with a Sunpentown oven/ cobbled base and the coffee is great. But I've noticed after a number of roasts, when the glass is nice and brown, there seems to be a whitish film that almost appears as if it's mixed in with the brown resin. It's not extremely noticible but it's there.
Is this normal? Does anyone know what is the source of the whitish resinous film? I can only think of 3 things this might come from: the beans; something in the air; or somehow the grease from one of the motors slowly vaporizing and coating the glass (let's hope not).
Maybe this is normal? Here's a pic of my setup minus the stand and variac.
dutchcoffeenut Senior Member Joined: 21 May 2005 Posts: 80 Location: BC Canada Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Andreja Premium Grinder: Solis + Macap Vac Pot: I wish Drip: Techniform Roaster: 4 homebld + Ambex YM2
Posted Mon Feb 5, 2007, 3:37pm Subject: Re: White residue on turbo oven glass?
Love your setup, very nice work. I'm not sure what it could be but I want to mention Teflon... Are your cake pans coated ? that would be a grave concern, I cant believe how many pics I've seen of BM'es and other appliances used with Teflon. Do'nt do it. Ed
Smells_Familiar Senior Member Joined: 3 Apr 2005 Posts: 67 Location: Indianapolis, IN Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Zaffiro Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: Rear Gear Here Drip: french press Roaster: CO w/homemade base,...
Posted Mon Feb 5, 2007, 7:24pm Subject: Re: White residue on turbo oven glass?
dutchcoffeenut Said:
Love your setup, very nice work. I'm not sure what it could be but I want to mention Teflon... Are your cake pans coated ? that would be a grave concern, I cant believe how many pics I've seen of BM'es and other appliances used with Teflon. Do'nt do it. Ed
Thanks. No coating anywhere in the chamber. Just aluminum and stainless. I specifically built the base to avoid non-stick. Most all non-stick coatings, especially@ over 400*F, release some nasty stuff. Anyway, here's a pic when I first made it and before changing the stirring arms. Something else I should mention is that I noticed the same off white, translucent film on the inside of my fresh roast chamber back when I had it. Anyone having the same experience?
Smells_Familiar Senior Member Joined: 3 Apr 2005 Posts: 67 Location: Indianapolis, IN Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Zaffiro Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: Rear Gear Here Drip: french press Roaster: CO w/homemade base,...
Posted Sun May 18, 2008, 10:21pm Subject: Re: White residue on turbo oven glass?
Sorry to bump such an old thread but I've got an update. So, I basicly ignored the white film issue for the last year. I figured it wasn't a big deal as I've only been roasting about once per month and I had seen the same white film/mini crystals form on the inside of my old Fresh Roast's black top.
Earlier today I happened to look through the vent slits of the Sunpentown top and I saw a thick layer of very fine (thickness) whitish mold like growth. I took the Sunpentown apart and saw the stuff growing inside of the unit... lots of it. It looks like white mold but I don't think it is. I think it's some sort of crystal deposits forming from some sort of chemical reaction?? Maybe it's caffiene from the passing air crystalizing some how. How bizarre huh?
There are basicly three layers that make up the insides of a Sunpentown oven top: the top area (plastic) houses the motor; the middle (metal) has a cooling fan in it; and the bottom (open to the roast) has a fan for air circulation, the burner, the shield that covers them, and the glass. The white stuff appeared as a thick layer of mold like crystals in the top and middle layers, and as a whitish film on the areas where the glass over hangs the roasting chamber. The white film is not present in the roasting chamber or on the glass that is within the chamber, only on the glass that over hangs the border of the roasting pan.
Does anyone else with sunpentown oven top have this happen to them? Can someone with this oven look through the vents in the side of the unit (white metal) and let me know if you've got the same thing happening?
Caf4Brains Senior Member Joined: 26 Mar 2005 Posts: 33 Location: Chicago 'burbs Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: LaSpaz Vivaldi II Mini Grinder: Macap M4 Stepless Drip: Aeropress, Bodum FP Roaster: SC/CO
Posted Tue May 20, 2008, 10:16am Subject: Re: White residue on turbo oven glass?
I took apart my Sunpentown recently and didn't notice any white fuzzy stuff - only some chaff bits. I've also never seen any white bits on the inside of the glass cover. I use my roaster for about 30 minutes/week; a bit more often than you.
Does the white stuff feel soft or is it gritty? I'm thinking maybe it's soft (organic?) like a mold or hard like a salt. I suppose there is something about the environment that you roast in or store your gear in between roasts that is getting drawn into the roaster. But is seems more likely that the problem was in the roaster top and some of the stuff migrates into your roasting beans when the fan blows it there. How long did you use the oven before the white stuff started showing up? Did you change any of your procedures about the same time?
Posted Tue May 20, 2008, 10:38am Subject: Re: White residue on turbo oven glass?
That IS a nice setup! I think that the white coating is indeed caffeine. If you roast regularly, it will start to build up over time. I took a tour of the Peet's roastery here in CA a long, long time ago, and they pointed out the whitish coating on some of their machine parts. Odd factoid - they also noted that some of the warehouse guys would occasionally swipe a finger over the caffeine if they were super tired and too busy to have a cup of coffee.
I get some build up on the nozzle of my heat gun from time to time - I clean it when it starts to bug me. If it's getting to be 'furry' in your machine, I'd clean it out.
scubadoo97 Senior Member Joined: 24 Jun 2003 Posts: 652 Location: Florida Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Solis SL70 Grinder: Mazzer Mini & Solis Maestro... Drip: French Press/Clarity Roaster: SC/TO
Posted Wed May 21, 2008, 6:51am Subject: Re: White residue on turbo oven glass?
I took my 3 yr old unit apart this past weekend after it failed to heat and after vacuuming, it looked like yours. It was covered in dense white fuzz. I had recently taken to using an air compressor and blowing out the vents of the TO which liberated lots of fine chafe but obviously didn't do anything to remove this white residue. On my new one I may try to blow it out more often. Don't know if this will help or improve longevity. BTW, love your set up S_F. How easy is it to dump your beans and what is the bottom chamber used for?
Smells_Familiar Senior Member Joined: 3 Apr 2005 Posts: 67 Location: Indianapolis, IN Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Zaffiro Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: Rear Gear Here Drip: french press Roaster: CO w/homemade base,...
Posted Wed May 21, 2008, 10:59am Subject: Re: White residue on turbo oven glass?
Thanks everyone for your responses! It's really good to know that this is normal and most likely a crazy caffiene formation.
scubadoo97 Said:
I took my 3 yr old unit apart this past weekend after it failed to heat and after vacuuming, it looked like yours. It was covered in dense white fuzz. I had recently taken to using an air compressor and blowing out the vents of the TO which liberated lots of fine chafe but obviously didn't do anything to remove this white residue. On my new one I may try to blow it out more often. Don't know if this will help or improve longevity. BTW, love your set up S_F. How easy is it to dump your beans and what is the bottom chamber used for?
Thanks scubadoo97! Yeah, dumping the beans is akward. I quickly take the top off, unplug everything, and then pick up the entire base and dump the beans into my cooling contraption. Everything on the base is tightly fitted together so it stays together when I do this, it's just kinda akward. The bottom chamber is just used to create an insulating air space between the motor and the hot roasting chamber so the motor stays nice and cool.
A heads up for anyone wanting to take a Sunpentown apart. When unscrewing the nut that holds the roasting chamber fan on, you must unscrew it in a CLOCKWISE manner, not counter-clockwise. I almost stripped the nuts' threads trying to turn it counter-clockwise to remove it. I'm assuming that all of the Sunpentown models are threaded this way so beware.
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