Panotaker Senior Member Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 2 Location: Austin, TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Livia 90 Grinder: Mazzer Mini Roaster: Zach & Dani
Posted Mon May 12, 2008, 5:46pm Subject: Zach & Dani auger wobble fix (new way)
My Z&D roaster is just about shot. The bottom bearing has a lot of wobble in it, so the shaft is wobbleling on the bearing. I can't seem to take the rod out of the shaft without breaking it off like I read in the other fix. So replacing the bearing was out of the question, at least for now. To top it off, the bottom of the auger in that glass roasting chamber has a lot of play in it too. I need a new one of those, but I didn't want to spend $40 on one if I couldn't replace that bearing too. It seems that Z&D forgot to put some kind of bearing on the bottom of that auger (bean riser), so eventually, the auger eats away at the metal and wears it out. The combination of those two problems makes auger wobble like crazy and then the beans get stuck underneath the auger and jams it up and stops turning. When that happens, I have to open the lid and jiggle the glass roasting chamber to get it unstuck. Then I close the lid and it starts working again for a minute or two and then it gets stuck again. It is a constant battle to roast since I have to be playing with the machine the whole time to get my beans to roast. There had to be a better way to fix this thing.
Well I came up with an easy fix. If Z&D would have used a couple of bearings in the bean riser auger, the machine would probably last a long long time. I couldn't figure out how to take that bean riser apart to try to put a bearing on the bottom of it. It must be a press fit or something. So I had to figure out how to put a bearing on the top of it. What I ended up doing was drilling a hole on the bottom of the metal bowl that collects the chaff and putting a thin bolt through it that sticks out about an inch. If you look at the top of the bean riser, you will see a hole in the center of it. That bolt that I added on the bottom of the chaff bowl will fit on the top of the auger and act like a bearing to keep that auger from wobbleling. It keeps the auger perfectly straight now with no wobble at all even though the bottom bearing is wore out. If that bolt would have been there from day one, the bottom bearing and the bottom metal on the bean riser would not have wore out in the first place.
Sorry if my bowl looks a little dirty with old coffee, you should have seen it before I cleaned it. Ralph
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 12:37am Subject: Re: Zach & Dani auger wobble fix (new way)
Hi Ralph,
Welcome to the forum and welcome to the Z&D users club.
The creation of a top bearing for the auger is brilliant. I wish I thought of it.
I have not had too much difficulty in removing the roll pin in the auger drive shaft. If you remove the roll pin then work from the bottom to remove the metal part of the air duct the shaft and bearing assembly comes out. The bearing is peened into the aluminum (or zinc?) bearing holder. The peaning is not all that robust. Placing some washers between the bearing and the sheet metal helps. The washer must contact the outer race of the bearing but the hole in the washer (s) must clear the inner race. While the bearings are not available from Nesco or Z&D they are standard parts and are available from a bearing supplier. Check the yellow pages in your area. The number on the bearing is: 626Z The thickness is: 0.235". The inner diameter is: 0.232". The OD is 0.748".
I may be leaving the Z&D users club and joining the Behmor club since my roast heater burned out last night. I have gotten used to the relativly smoke free operation of the Z&D so the Behmor with its larger capacity and a cat has its appeal.
I wont be putting the Z&D into the dumpster but the repair may have to wait since I will have the get Nicrome wire and rebuld the heater. I haven't the time now to deal with the Z&D (unless the heater in my parts machine is good) and the HWP is way small for my coffee consumption so there may be a Behmor in my near future.
By the way If you need a bearing and can't find one, I have two new ones and may part with one if I switch to Behmore.
Panotaker Senior Member Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 2 Location: Austin, TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Livia 90 Grinder: Mazzer Mini Roaster: Zach & Dani
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 5:08pm Subject: Re: Zach & Dani auger wobble fix (new way)
The first thing I tried was removing the roll pin. I grabbed it with some small vise grips and tried turning it. All it did was twist and not turn. I knew if I kept trying to take it out it would just break off and then I would have to drill it out and figure out where to get a new pin. So I will do that when the time comes, but right now the top bearing fix works like a champ and the auger doesn't even know that the bottom bearing is wore out.
Another thing that doesn't work on my machine is the recall button. I guess the contacts on the circuit board are dirty. Luckily the start button works just fine. The Z&D may not be the best machine in the world, but it gets the job done and doesn't set off your smoke detectors. If anybody buys a new one, I recommend they do the top bearing mod right away, that way they wont wear out the auger or the bearing for a long long time.
I am getting ready to get rid of my Z&D also, but I wanted to get it fixed first. I recently upgraded from a Sylvia to a Livia 90 and last year I upgraded my Solis grinder to a Mazzer Mini. I am getting ready to order some new burrs for my Solis so I can sell it with the Sylvia and the Z&D and give someone a chance to own a nice complete setup. I will probably get the new Hot top drum roaster.
I know there are better machines out now than the Livia 90, but I bought mine at a pawn shop last week for $300. It was the auto model too. All I had to do to it was put in a new rubber gasket and a new filter screen. Works and looks like new now.
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 11:33pm Subject: Re: Zach & Dani auger wobble fix (new way)
When I first got my Z&D I had to look. I disconnected the ribbon cable from the circuit board. The cable is of real poor quality (at least on mine) and I broke mine. I changed the connector on the board to use a cable made of wires. I used conductive epoxy to connect the wires to the membrane switchs. I got most of the switches to work. The plan was to eventually replace the membrane switches with "real" switches. I haven't gotten to it yet. If I get the roast heater fixed before I replace the machine with a Behmor I may go back and replace the switches.
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