Cooling tray filter replacements?

Sweet Marias has been out of stock for a while and I’ve been cleaning mine periodically but wanted to know if anybody has an alternative - just cut down a thick scotchbrite or somesuch ? I may try the HotTop trick of soaking in Cafiza and rinsing but would like to have a spare or two on hand just in case…

Sweet Marias just got them in stock a few days ago and they are still available this evening. I could swear that I’ve seen that same white filter material years ago at Home Depot or Lowes. So, if you could source a small sheet of it, you’d have filters for a very long time. I went ahead and grabbed a couple from Sweet Marias anyway.

I’ve been soaking mine (along with some other Bullet parts) in hot water and a couple squirts of Urnex “Clearly Coffee”. The filter doesn’t come out all white again and a slight center stain remains. But, I’m getting some gunk out. I’m pretty much a clean-nut when it comes to my roasters. Better to clean them before they become a real chore is my belief. :sunglasses:

PS: This kind of Pond/Aquarium Filter material reminds me of the Bullet’s Filter material and it may just be very close.
Aquarium Filter Pad

@stuartmcknight

The material for the cooling filter pad is part of the series of cleaning/scrubbing materials from 3M called ScotchBrite and it comes in white, blue, green and black in order of ascending ‘grittiness’ (coarseness). You can get blue and green at most super markets; I’ve spotted black (for cleaning BBQ grills) at Home Depot and white in the industrial cleaning supply section of Home Depot. Takes a studly pair of scissors to cut the stuff.

Frankly I can’t imagine ever replacing the pad since it can be washed when it gets ugly. Doesn’t have to look pretty… just needs to slow down the chaff. That from a guy who bought 2 spares when he ordered his Bullet back in January.

I also bought a spare cooling bowl 'cuz I just know I’m going to drop mine if I only have one! Then I discovered having 2 bowls works great for winnowing the beans to get rid of chaff after cooling. [ I roast outdoors… don’t think you want to do this in your kitchen! :slight_smile: ]

Bruce

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Scotch Brite is more dense and sturdy than the white filter material that comes with the Bullet. It is designed for scrubbing things and pretty tough material. The filter material that comes with the Bullet is very porous and comes apart pretty easy just from vacuuming it. It wouldn’t hold a candle to the harsher duty that Scotch Brite is designed to do. I’m not saying that Scotch Brite or some other material wouldn’t work, but it would need to be porous enough to allow good air flow for the Bullet’s cooling tray.

Cut these to size. I can’t tell the difference from the original filters.

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Agree there are lots of alternatives there. I actually just took the filter out for some roasts since I vacuum the area of stray chaff after roasting sessions anyway. If you roast in a location that doesn’t need to be spotless, filterless might be an option as I can’t see anything getting stuck in the fan after several sessions. Just a thought.

If I were roasting outdoors or exhausting the chaff (from the cooling bowl) to a location where I didn’t care, I’d agree that the filter could be optional. In my case, I’m exhausting through a variable speed fan and 4" ducting that I’d rather not become a collector for that cooling tray chaff. So, for me it is much easier to vacuum it from the pre-filter and maintain a cleaner exhaust line. :sunglasses:

@pnrenton - That material you found on Amazon looks the closest that I’ve seen to the Bullet’s filter. It is also the proper thickness. So, you are actually using that material I take it?

I am presently using these. Same thickness. I can’t tell the difference from the original. You get 5 pads. Each pad can be cut to make 2 filters.

Thanks for that answer. At (10) filters from the (5) pads for $13.79, that is a good value. I have it parked in my Amazon account for addition to a future order. :vulcan_salute:

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I’m roasting in my basement, connected to ducting and an inline fan. I’ve been using the cheap Scotch Brite filters for the past couple years with no issues.

I looked at the blue and green grade Scotchbrite but ended up thinking they were too course in texture (before reading these comments) and ended up going for commercial grade cleaning sponges. Will be trying next month.