Cleaning Roaster (Purchased Used)

[tmthomp]

Hi Everyone,

I just purchased a used Huky (upgrade from my current Behmor).  It is a T model with only about 20lbs roasted; but it is in need of some cleaning.  I have cleaned pans, tubes, and fans; however, should I take apart the roaster and pull the drum out for cleaning?  Or is there a burn off procedure?

Thanks!

[edtbjon]

You may wipe the drum with a piece of cloth, but it should be brownish on the inside. (I even burnt some vegetal oil on the outside of my drum, but that's me...)
The only "really" moving parts are the bearings. (The drum moves the bearings...) You can carefully take them out and clean/regrease them.

[Slayton]

If it's only seen 20lbs roasted I wouldn't bother.  The drum itself, in my opinion, probably never really needs to be cleaned as there shouldn't be much in the way of any built up residue as it should get burned off or out.  Maybe I'm wrong and I would welcome other opinions or insights. The bearings should be regreased periodically but I wouldn't think after 20lbs.

[edtbjon]

To chime in with Slayton, the roaster doesn't need to be squeaky clean to run. But it's of course nice to start your Huky journey off with a clean machine.
I consider the Huky to be a low-maintainence machine, i.e you don't have to do much between roasts or even at the end of a roasting session. The only thing that you need to take care of is the chaff in the exhaust sieve in between every roast and the chaff in the bottom tray (under the IR burner) at the end of the session. On the T model in particular you need to empty the exhaust pipe every few roasts too (as a few beans seem to get stuck around the damper). That is very much simplified with the $30 "quick connector", unless you already have one.
Please note that 20 lbs may well be a longish roasting session for a day! The Huky is very capable to keep up with those kind of roasting sessions. It's more a matter of keeping your senses sharp for those 7-8 hours of work.

[tmthomp]

Thanks everyone for the quick feedback.

It had some residue in the pipes and on the fan, I was amazed last night how easily it cleaned up.  I got a better look in the drum and it look really clean.  I should have everything lined up for its first roast this weekend.

[Pinotnoir]

Is it okay to use a degreaser to remove the gunk that is stuck in the exhaust pipes, I discovered recently that quite a bit of chaff gets clogged in the pipes during roasting, resulting in pretty bad airflow. Luckily the roasted beans did not taste smoky.

[edtbjon]

Is it okay to use a degreaser to remove the gunk that is stuck in the exhaust pipes, I discovered recently that quite a bit of chaff gets clogged in the pipes during roasting, resulting in pretty bad airflow. Luckily the roasted beans did not taste smoky.

Yes of course you can use whatever works in the exhaust. Think about the direction of the air and that you're talking about an "exhaust" pipe.

[hankua]

I would stay away from any automotive type cleaners and use food industry chemicals such as: Cafiza, Simple Green, TSP, even Oxiclean. it's a good idea to wrap the wood handles and try not to submerge them in the cleaning solution.

Some long handled round brushes help as well.