Keeping your roaster clean is a must for consistent roasts and the long life of the machine. In traditional roasters, it is a hard and time-consuming process where the technician takes apart all of the ducting, fans, and cooling tray to scrape off coffee residue manually. Once you have an air roaster like Link, life is much easier.
Reading the manual may give you the impression that maintenance is not needed. It is, in fact, very simple, and it is quite important to remember it to avoid any unnecessary errors that can occur.
First thing to remember is that the roasting chamber will go darker and darker with use. It’s normal that „drum” is getting seasoned. It means that it’s covered with a thin layer of coffee oils. It doesn’t affect the taste of your roasts, so don’t worry. It is also very important to NEVER clean the tip of your probe. It’s super sensitive, so even touching it may break it.
What is most important from a user’s point of view is to clean outside of the roaster once in a while. Usually, when it’s getting dusty. Just use a damp towel to wipe it off.
The second part of maintenance that should be done on a regular basis is to clean the chaff collector. If you roast your coffee daily, it’s recommended to clean the inner glass of the collector with a damp paper towel and brush the mesh disc on the top to make sure there are no clogged holes. This will ensure smooth and uninterrupted airflow.
For a deep clean of your chaff collector, disassemble all parts. Then, soak them in a solution of espresso machine cleaner or Urnex Roaster Soakz. After five to ten minutes of soaking, any residue should be very simple to wipe with a paper towel or cloth. When all parts are dry, you can continue your roasting.
We’ve been asked about chaff hooking onto the temperature probe during roasting. According to our knowledge, it shouldn’t affect the temperature reading. There is so much air moving through the roaster from many different angles that the probe will read the temperature with no effort.
Something that can happen as well is a coffee bean stuck at the bottom of the roasting chamber in one of the air inlets. There is no other solution than keeping an eye on the chamber if there is nothing stuck down there. If there is, the operator should use some sort of tweezers to set it free. Remember to be very careful to avoid touching the probe!
I hope this article will help you to keep your roaster in a healthy condition for many, many roasts. In case of any questions, don’t hesitate to email us.
Our step-by-step roasting guide & roasting tips has been design for you by Aleksander Smet, 2022 Polish Roasting and Cup Tasters Champion.
