An Opportunity

OK, so my post is less than 24 hours old, and I'm happy to say that there has already been some interest.

Here's what I'd like to do. I'm going to try to post a little bit of information each day to go over the basics on how these machines work and how you repair them.

This way, if we move forward, the candidate will have some basic knowledge.

And maybe someone else will pursue opportunities in his/her area.

These machines are very logical. Once you understand how they work, it's very simple to diagnose the problem and repair it.

We'll talk about three kinds of machines: Coffee Brewers, Traditional Espresso Machines, and Super Automatic Espresso Machines.

Regardless of which machine we're talking about, they all need to do three things. They need to fill, heat, and dispense.

If you know how to fix one coffee brewer, you can basically fix any of them. The same thing applies to traditional espresso machines.

So, let's start with traditional coffee brewers.

I work on a bunch of different brands, but based on what my customers have, I mostly work on machines made by FETCO and by Grindmaster/American Metal Ware. (BUNN & Curtis are among the other big commercial brands.)

If you'd like to follow along, here are the manuals for the brewers I work on the most often, two from AMW and one from FETCO:

http://www.grindmaster.com/literature/servicemanuals/AM-309-08%20Arpt_Shtle%20Brwr%20Manual.pdf

http://www.grindmaster.com/literature/servicemanuals/AM-344%20PB%20Manual.pdf

http://www.fetco.com/06_USERS_GUIDES/CBS-5000.pdf

Let's talk about a couple of basics and then we'll talk about the fill cycle for brewers.

While some smaller brewers operate on 110V power, most of the ones I work on operate on what's called dual voltage 110V/220V.

This means that the heating elements work on 220V, while the rest of the machine works on 110V.

So, the power cord needs four wires: two hots to create the 220V for the heating element(s), a ground, and a neutral (for the 110V components.)

When a machine is shipped for installation, it does not come with a power cord. A standard dryer cord & plug should work. But you need to coordinate with the electrician to make sure that the outlet that they install matches up with the plug that you have. (Just because there are a variety of plugs/outlets that will all do the same thing.)

They also do not come with a water line. You need to run one. Plumbers tend to use coils of copper tubing. I don't. I use 3/8" flexible poly tubing along with a variety of plastic & brass fittings. It's really easy. If you have questions, ask, or I can get into it later.

So, let's look at the fill cycle.

The first thing a brewer is going to do when you turn it on is look to see if it has water. If it does, it will begin to heat. If it doesn't, it will fill itself first before turning on the heaters.

How does it know if it has water? The brewers use a level probe that is in the top of the tank. Once water reaches the probe, it stops filling.

How does it work? There is a wire attached to the top of the probe that leads to the main board. Water has minerals in it that make it conductive. When the water reaches the probe, an electrical circuit is completed and it stops filling.

So, until the circuit is complete, the board will open an inlet valve. The tank will fill under standard water line pressure. There is no pump or anything like that.

Once water has reached the probe & the circuit is complete, the valve closes.

What could go wrong? A lot.

The most likely cause of problems is going to be hard water. We're going to talk about hard water a lot. Hard water can do several things (in general). It can build up and block water flow. It can build up and cause leaks by damaging seals/gaskets/o-rings. Or, it can build up on probes and cause them not to work.

If hard water builds up on a probe it insulates it. The probe will not read the water. It will not complete the circuit and it will not close the inlet valve.

This is one of the most common (and easiest) problems I deal with.

Here's what happens on the FETCO brewers. The metal probe sits in a teflon housing. Only the tip of the probe is in the tank. When hard water builds up, the tank overflows and water pours out of the brewer all over the counter.

It won't stop until someone turns off the machine or the water.

I get these calls every so often. The employees will come in and the machine will have poured out all noght and flooded the store.

It's a super easy fix. All I have to do is unplug the machine, take off the top, and remove the probe. (It just comes out with a phillips screw driver.)

I use a metal file to clean the hard water build up off the probe, put it back in, and plug the machine back in.

Problem fixed. It's really that easy.

Some of my store managers get it. I've shown them how to fix it and they do it themselves. I've left extra probes behind with some of them. But, others don't get it and they need to call me.

...

The problem is a little different, but just as common on the American Metal Ware Machines. They have a probe that has two parts, a long probe that sticks deep into the tank and a shorter one towards the top.

It will heat once the longer probe senses the water. It will stop filling once the shorter probe senses the water.

Now, occasionally the short probe will stop working & the machine will over fill. But, what happens far more often is that the longer probe will have hard water build up on it. This means that it will not start heating.

Even though the short probe still works, and the machine has stopped filling, it will not heat.

The probes work independently. So, while the short probe is saying "I'm full, stop filling me", the long probe is saying, "I have no water in me, don't turn on the heaters yet".

It's stupid, but that's how it works.

The fix is just as easy as it is on the FETCO. I remove the probe and clean it off with the file. I clean both the short & the long probe as long as I have it out of the machine. (It's actually one part, with two probes.)

These problems are my most common ones on these brewers. If you can do this, you can fix 30% of the problems already.

I have one store that has the AMW machine. About once every two months I have to go out and clean his probe (that sounds dirty) because his machine is not heating.

I've shown him how to do it at least six times. He calls me each time instead.

...

Far less often is that there will be a problem with the inlet valve. It's possible that it will fail. The coil might go bad. It could get clogged, or it could develop a leak.

We use a voltmeter to see if the valve has electricity to it when it should be filling. If it does, but is still not filling, there is either a problem with the valve and it needs to be replaced, or their is a problem with the water pressure.

...

Another problem can result from a clogged water filter. Water filters are installed externally. Filters trap sediment. If they trap enough sediment, they will restrict water flow.

I had a bunch of issues with this last summer. One of my customers (about 30 stores) changes their water filters twice a year, whether they need it or not. (That's a joke. They all need it at least that often. Most need it more often.)

When the machine brews, it dispenses water from the tank. The water level drops and no longer completes the electrical circuit to the level probe. it opens the inlet valve and cold water enters the tank.

But if the water pressure is compromised by a clogged water filter, it won't be able to refill the tank as quickly as it's dispensing the water.

Because the water dispenses from the top of the tank (where it is hottest), it will be unable to dispense if the water level drops to far. Though the tank is not empty, it will essentially run out of water.

This is another very simple fix. All you have to do is change the water filter.

My customer would call me and say that their trying to brew and they keep getting too little coffee. It's "short potting".

I would go out and change the filter. Done. Problem solved. The machine can now refill quickly enough.

It takes about 10 seconds to change the filter.

I've encouraged the stores to purchase a couple of extra filters. Then, they could change them themselves when it happens.

They don't. They call me.

That's it for lesson one.

I hope I've made it simple and clear enough.

Please ask any questions you might have. If you have any suggestions on how I could do this better. Please let me know that as well.

We're already about 25%-33% done with coffee brewers. We can be through this in just a couple of more days.

 

If you are interested in learning more, each manufacturer offers classes.

They are usually only one day long. (Though BUNN's is three days.) They are usually free.

I was able to sign up before I even started my business.

BUNN is headquartered in Springfield, IL. They offer classes there and in various places around the country including Moonachie, NJ (just outside of New York City and right next to Giants Stadium), Cerritos, CA (near Long Beach and/or Anaheim), Dallas, TX, and Atlanta, GA.

You can view their schedule here.

http://www.bunn.com/pages/service/serv_location.html

They also have online tutorials that you can view there.


FETCO is located in Lake Zurich, IL. This a sort of far Northwestern suburb of Chicago.

It doesn't look like they've posted 2011's schedule, but you can find their schedule here: http://www.fetco.com/tech_support.html

They also have a lot of tutorial videos here: http://www.fetco.com/tech_support_videos.html

And manuals here: http://www.fetco.com/tech_support_training%20guides.html

...

American Metal Ware has there factory in Northbrook, IL, a suburb of Chicago. But their parent company is in Louisville, KY.

I've never taken an official class from them.

I'm not sure about their classes. They don't have a lot of information online about it, but you can find all of their manuals at Grindmaster.com.


...

Curtis is located outside of Los Angeles. I've taken their class when they offered one in the Chicago area.


Like I said, these brewers are all very similar. If you understand how to fix one, you'll be able to figure out all of them.

See if there's a class in your area and sign up or talk yourself into one.

 

People in the newspaper business are the razor's edge away from having to look into this.

 

You say that like it's a bad thing. It's not.

You can make more money and be your own boss. You can build a business that you can sell or hand down to a child.

When I told one of my friends about my plans, his response was something like, "that sounds really blue collar."

So what? It's your business.

And my friend? He's been mostly unemployed the last five years.

 

No, I'm saying it like gallows humor. Chill.

 

No, I get that. and I'm not offended.

I just want to let people know that it's ok.

What you do doesn't have to define you. You don't have to stay in a dead end career. (Please don't take this wrong.)

I used to wear a suit & tie to work every day. I made a good salary and thought I was a big shot in sports marketing.

I was quoted in the Sports Business Journal, Brand Week, Event Marketer Magazine and others.

I spoke at and moderated panel discussions at sports marketing forums.

I instituted innovations that are now commonplace in the industry.

And then I left my job and discovered that I couldn't find a new one.

It's not easy to change directions 180 degrees. But sometimes it's necessary.

I just want people to consider it. And not just this specifically. You need to be prepared and you need to think of all kinds of things that you never previously considered.

 

My god, you sound like a supergenius!

 

You are an idiot. Go away.

 

This is fucking genius. I can't stop laughing.

I'm glad you expanded your mind a little bit back in the day.

 

Jager