Oy vey! Catastrophe in our roasting department!!!

I have had my Hearthware i-Roast2 roaster since February 2007. Love it. Use it exclusively to supply chez Badgett with wonderful coffee.

Catastrophe stuck last night. My roaster quit in the middle of a batch. Overheated and shut down. I was there when it happened. It quit and the beans started smoking and a little snap-crackle-pop was going on. I immediately took off the top and poured out the beans. Some beans were burned but most were barely cooked.

I had noticed recently that the beans were not moving very well in the chamber as they roasted. This roaster uses both hot air and radiant heat to roast, so the circulation of the beans is very important. I didn't know if the blower was faulty or just that the oil build-up was slowing them down.

I soaked the chamber in a solution of dishwasher detergent and water all night and all day. Came home today, scrubbed very well, especially the metal part at the very bottom and tried a batch. Holding my breath the whole time.

Success! The cleaning did the job. I thought all day that I was going to have to get a new one. I would buy the same one if I had to, but it looks as if I dodged the $200 bullet this time. Maybe a routine cleaning would be a good idea?