# Gene 101 best way to track consecutive roasts timing?



## Jord93 (May 22, 2020)

Evening all,

I'm really enjoying roasting on the Gene 101.

I roast in the loft and have kitted it out for the roaster, ducting, insulation etc.

I pre-heat my roaster to 70c each time per roast I emergency stop then initiate the cool down procedure.

Normally the ambient temp in mild weather is around 14c but after 1 roast it can jump to 18c. Due to how I have insulated around the machine so subsequently my next roast is faster. Not always sure by how much. I can hear cracks and observe bean colour but want an accurate time difference from first roast so I can nail down my consistency instead of having a roast slightly lighter/darker.

I was thinking perhaps record external air temp reading a few times of first roast. Say 180 @ 10.20 / 220 at 12 etc then compare to second and subtract time difference?

Here is pic of my setup as you can see it naturally gets warmer per-roast due to insulation.

Any thoughts/advice much appreciated

Sorry about image upside down not sure why lol


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## Dartmoor Coffee (Feb 4, 2020)

Not sure about advice, but just saying that's an impressive setup for the Gene.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

@Jord93 - looks good, and pleased you can hear first crack! I couldn't. THe advice I had with regards to first roast vs subsequent roasts, for any roaster, is that, as a roaster, you just accept the first roast is slower and compensate for that.

I don't think there's hard and fast rule as simple as subtraction. Just treat the first roast different from the subsequent ones, and experiment. If everything was linear, man, life would be sooooo simple. 👍😊😉


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## Jord93 (May 22, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> @Jord93 - looks good, and pleased you can hear first crack! I couldn't. THe advice I had with regards to first roast vs subsequent roasts, for any roaster, is that, as a roaster, you just accept the first roast is slower and compensate for that.
> 
> I don't think there's hard and fast rule as simple as subtraction. Just treat the first roast different from the subsequent ones, and experiment. If everything was linear, man, life would be sooooo simple. 👍😊😉


 Yes, I can hear it very easy now! For weeks it was doing my head in & tried all sorts, stethoscope, sound amplifier etc.

I finally came up with a solution. Putting a stainless tube on the chaff port. With a metal filter to prevent chaff coming up. I can now hear cracks and also observe smoke, smell. Just cap it off with my glass when not using it during roast.

It is completely reversible so doesn't void warranty.

Images attached of it.


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## Irisco (Jun 12, 2020)

Not wanting to hijack this thread but can any one just clarify for me about using the "emergency stop". I know nothing about these machines but may be interested in the future but from what I have read it does say not to use the emergency stop unless its an emergency as it puts undue stress on the components. Is it alright then to use the emergency stop and then follow on with the cooling cycle? It just seems so many people do seem to use it as a norm rather than for its real purpose? Like I say I am not qualified to speak but would be grateful for this to be cleared up for me.


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## Jord93 (May 22, 2020)

Irisco said:


> Not wanting to hijack this thread but can any one just clarify for me about using the "emergency stop". I know nothing about these machines but may be interested in the future but from what I have read it does say not to use the emergency stop unless its an emergency as it puts undue stress on the components. Is it alright then to use the emergency stop and then follow on with the cooling cycle? It just seems so many people do seem to use it as a norm rather than for its real purpose? Like I say I am not qualified to speak but would be grateful for this to be cleared up for me.


 I was indecisive about this when I got my Gene 101! I have read up on it for arguments for/against. Many on the Facebook group use emergency stop.

I ultimately decided to use it so I can stop the roast when I want and not have the beans 'coasting' to a cool. And it is more so important as the loft ambient temperature can get high.

I'm sure it will probably degrade the heater life, but this can be replaced.

I did a lot of research online and made the decision to emergency stop.

As you see 99% off roasters cool externally not in the roaster itself.

Many have been doing es for years with no issues

But ultimately each to their own! 😀


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

@Jord93 - thet splution to hear first crack is genius! Well done!

@Irisco - the heating element will fail very soon if an "emergency stop" is performed and the roaster doesn't cool down.

a way to mitigate this, is to perform the emergency stop, dump the beans in a tray or whatever, put the roasting chamber back and then resume the cooling cycle.


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