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Date: 14 Nov 2006 09:27:35
From: bernie
Subject: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro
Coffee. The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger
fire. The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When
the fan grenaded and stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual
chaff and creosote ignited. It was all contained in the machine and
stack and the total loss was a $70 impeller and a shop vac filter I set
on fire trying to clean up before the embers had totally died. The fire
department used a CO2 up the stack which worked great. The rest of the
fire was put out by trickling water down the load chute. We were down
only half a day. The link
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f209/bernie10/roaster%20pics/fire%20at%20Milagro/?sc=6
Bernie
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Date: 15 Nov 2006 16:51:01
From: Steve Ackman
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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In <4559ee78$1@nntp.zianet.com >, on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 09:27:35 -0700,
bernie wrote:
> Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro
> Coffee. The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger
> fire. The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When
> the fan grenaded and stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual
> chaff and creosote ignited. It was all contained in the machine and
> stack and the total loss was a $70 impeller and a shop vac filter I set
> on fire trying to clean up before the embers had totally died. The fire
> department used a CO2 up the stack which worked great. The rest of the
> fire was put out by trickling water down the load chute. We were down
> only half a day. The link
> http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f209/bernie10/roaster%20pics/fire%20at%20Milagro/?sc=6
That impeller doesn't look bad at all... compared
to the one that ended up as a molten blob in the
Diedrich irc12 I used to run. (Fire was before I
got there.)
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Date: 16 Nov 2006 02:49:01
From: Barry Jarrett
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:51:01 -0500, Steve Ackman
<steve@SNIP-THIS.twoloonscoffee.com > wrote:
> That impeller doesn't look bad at all... compared
>to the one that ended up as a molten blob in the
>Diedrich irc12 I used to run. (Fire was before I
>got there.)
it looks like maybe it disintegrated due to continued contact with
residue buildup on the inside of the impeller chamber.
--barry "a few more days"
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Date: 16 Nov 2006 01:03:07
From: Steve Ackman
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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In <d8knl21ek034re8mrmqe87ol2qg68u4tdt@4ax.com >, on Thu, 16 Nov 2006
02:49:01 GMT, Barry Jarrett wrote:
> it looks like maybe it disintegrated due to continued contact with
> residue buildup on the inside of the impeller chamber.
Yikes! I couldn't imagine allowing more than 1/8"
buildup. If that's really wear from hitting residue,
Bernie needs to hire someone who'll come in on a regular
basis.
I used to clean every Friday night. One week I'd
scrape the blower compartment, the next I'd scrape
the chaff collection areas. Third week I'd do under
the cooling screen.
A few times a year I'd take off the "tunnel" from
the back of the drum to the blower compartment, and
scrape all that out. It stays a lot hotter up there
so not much buildup.
Chaff under the drum never got to what Bernie's
pictures show. I vacuumed that out weekly, but my
successor claims he now has to vacuum that area daily.
I can't imagine what he could be doing differntly to
cause that. <shrug >
I'm just happy that cleaning a Millenium is SO
much easier. :-)
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Date: 16 Nov 2006 08:11:23
From: Barry Jarrett
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 01:03:07 -0500, Steve Ackman
<steve@SNIP-THIS.twoloonscoffee.com > wrote:
> Yikes! I couldn't imagine allowing more than 1/8"
>buildup. If that's really wear from hitting residue,
>Bernie needs to hire someone who'll come in on a regular
>basis.
>
i don't think it's so much "wear" and "fracture" from continued
rubbing. only bernie can tell us if his blower was making noise
before it disintegrated. i know mine starts to make a growling noise
when the residue gets too much. of course steve changed the design
after he built my roaster, so it is a lot easier to clean around the
impeller on newer machines. it's a right pain on mine, so it doesn't
get done too often.
> Chaff under the drum never got to what Bernie's
>pictures show. I vacuumed that out weekly, but my
>successor claims he now has to vacuum that area daily.
>I can't imagine what he could be doing differntly to
>cause that. <shrug>
i have to vac that out after about every ten roasts. i learned the
hard way early on to avoid that buildup, and it gets checked and vac'd
before each roast session. it used to be particularly troubling
during xmas, when i would do 20 to 30 roasts per day at the busiest
times.
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Date: 15 Nov 2006 05:49:47
From: John S.
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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bernie wrote:
> Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro
> Coffee. The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger
> fire. The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When
> the fan grenaded and stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual
> chaff and creosote ignited. It was all contained in the machine and
> stack and the total loss was a $70 impeller and a shop vac filter I set
> on fire trying to clean up before the embers had totally died. The fire
> department used a CO2 up the stack which worked great. The rest of the
> fire was put out by trickling water down the load chute. We were down
> only half a day. The link
> http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f209/bernie10/roaster%20pics/fire%20at%20Milagro/?sc=6
> Bernie
Glad to read that the fire department got it under control and
minimized damage. Your comment about incomplete cleaning reminded me
of the importance of regular chimney cleaning. The creosote catches
fire and the sound in a household chimney is like that of a steam train.
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 19:23:39
From: Paul Pratt
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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bernie wrote:
> Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro
> Coffee. The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger
> fire. The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When
> the fan grenaded and stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual
> chaff and creosote ignited. It was all contained in the machine and
> stack and the total loss was a $70 impeller and a shop vac filter I set
> on fire trying to clean up before the embers had totally died. The fire
> department used a CO2 up the stack which worked great. The rest of the
> fire was put out by trickling water down the load chute. We were down
> only half a day. The link
> http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f209/bernie10/roaster%20pics/fire%20at%20Milagro/?sc=6
> Bernie
Glad everything is ok. How big is your roaster Bernie?
Paul
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Date: 15 Nov 2006 14:42:33
From: bernie
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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Paul Pratt wrote:
> Glad everything is ok. How big is your roaster Bernie?
>
> Paul
>
Its a 12k. I've been roasting on it for 9 years. First fire. Whew.
Bernie
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Date: 15 Nov 2006 14:14:04
From: Brent
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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woo hoo!, dark roast was it?
I find it easier to clean the chaf out before it burns :)
Glad all is ok
Brent
> Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro
> Coffee. The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger
> fire. The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When
> the fan grenaded and stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual chaff
> and creosote ignited. It was all contained in the machine and stack and
> the total loss was a $70 impeller and a shop vac filter I set on fire
> trying to clean up before the embers had totally died. The fire department
> used a CO2 up the stack which worked great. The rest of the fire was put
> out by trickling water down the load chute. We were down only half a day.
> The link
> http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f209/bernie10/roaster%20pics/fire%20at%20Milagro/?sc=6
> Bernie
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 12:19:51
From: Ken Fox
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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Glad things worked out, Bernie!
Wish you'd had some photos of the actual fire, but I'd bet you were
otherwise occupied at the time:-)
ken
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 11:02:58
From: cpl593h
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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The fan compartment should be inspected daily and disassembled and
scraped with a putty knife weekly. The chaff in the heater compartment
is an accident waiting to happen.
Glad to see the fire was contained and didn't do much damage.
> The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning.
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 09:56:19
From: Flasherly
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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bernie wrote:
> Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro
> Coffee. The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger
> fire. The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When
> the fan grenaded and stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual
> chaff and creosote ignited. It was all contained in the machine and
> stack and the total loss was a $70 impeller and a shop vac filter I set
> on fire trying to clean up before the embers had totally died. The fire
> department used a CO2 up the stack which worked great. The rest of the
> fire was put out by trickling water down the load chute. We were down
> only half a day.
Run a backup higher up - general ideas (a flow sensor would indicate
creosote or any restrictions) - looks like some heavy-duty ganged apps,
then more safety fire-shal stuff.
http://www.feedandgrain.com/searchscript/search.asp?SearchSiteURL=%5Carticles%5Cfg_2004%5Cfg_0404%5Cfg_0404_04.htm
Generator exhaust stacks should be inspected to ensure the following:
that they do not contact any combustible material; or that they do not
pass through any combustible material, insulation, or roof covering; or
if they do pass through combustible material, that they are adequately
isolated by a ventilated metal thimble, masonry chimney construction,
or by an insulated assembly certified for the application. Generator
exhaust stacks should be provided with at least the following
clearances: (9") from combustible materials Roof penetrations should
be provided with metal ventilated thimbles meeting the following
requirements: thimble at least (6") larger diameter than the diameter
of the exhaust stack; thimble extends at (9") above and below any
roof construction.
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 09:48:35
From: daveb
Subject: Re: Roasted Photos
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Mebbe time for a CO2 system?
daveb
www.hitechespresso.com
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 12:05:24
From: Dan Bollinger
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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> Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro Coffee.
> The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger fire. The cause
> was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When the fan grenaded and
> stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual chaff and creosote ignited. It
> was all contained in the machine and stack and the total loss was a $70
> impeller and a shop vac filter I set on fire trying to clean up before the
> embers had totally died. The fire department used a CO2 up the stack which
> worked great. The rest of the fire was put out by trickling water down the
> load chute. We were down only half a day. The link
Restaurant grill hoods have integral extinguishers built in. Why not rig roaster
vents with a CO2 bottle so all you have to do it open the valve? Better yet,
use a therm-valve and let it be automatic, just as in the grill hoods.
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 21:39:23
From: Barry Jarrett
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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On Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:05:24 -0500, "Dan Bollinger"
<danNObollinger@insightSPAMbb.com > wrote:
>Restaurant grill hoods have integral extinguishers built in. Why not rig roaster
>vents with a CO2 bottle so all you have to do it open the valve? Better yet,
>use a therm-valve and let it be automatic, just as in the grill hoods.
roaster fires can occur in a number of places in the system (drum,
cooling bin, chaff bin, exhaust stack). fires starting one place can
quickly migrate to another, especially if an incorrect response is
made. putting a CO2 bottle on the stack would be completely
ineffective on a drum fire, and the "hit the fire button" response
would delay appropriate action (shutting off gas & air, and shooting
CO2 down the tryer hole). i prefer multiple CO2 extinguishers within
easy reach, so i can put 'em where needed.
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 11:48:18
From: Jack Denver
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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You're very luck that it wasn't worse.
In Photo #5, it looks to me like the gas flex line runs too close to the
stack. Also lose the paper tag.
"bernie" <bdigman@zianet.com > wrote in message
news:4559ee78$1@nntp.zianet.com...
> Here is the link to photobucket of last week's roaster fire at Milagro
> Coffee. The exhaust stack, in my opinion, saved us from a much bigger
> fire. The cause was a failed impeller fan and incomplete cleaning. When
> the fan grenaded and stopped exhausting heat and smoke the residual chaff
> and creosote ignited. It was all contained in the machine and stack and
> the total loss was a $70 impeller and a shop vac filter I set on fire
> trying to clean up before the embers had totally died. The fire department
> used a CO2 up the stack which worked great. The rest of the fire was put
> out by trickling water down the load chute. We were down only half a day.
> The link
> http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f209/bernie10/roaster%20pics/fire%20at%20Milagro/?sc=6
> Bernie
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Date: 14 Nov 2006 11:57:33
From: bernie
Subject: Re: Roaster Fire at Milagro Photos
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Jack Denver wrote:
> You're very luck that it wasn't worse.
>
> In Photo #5, it looks to me like the gas flex line runs too close to the
> stack. Also lose the paper tag.
>
>
The photo is very deceptive due to the angle from which it is taken.
The clearances on all the lines, stack, combustibles, etc. is more than
adequate. And, yep, we were lucky even though we went to great lengths
when designing the installation for this sort of event.
Bernie
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