I’m not sure how many fans are in the Bullet, but my question is about the “half exposed” fan at the bottom rear of the machine (see photo). During a roast about a week ago, I started hearing a sound that I can only liken to a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle wheel… a very fast bicycle. It is kind of a high pitched sound and gave me the impression that something was “clicking” in the blades of one of the fans. After the roast, I cleaned the chaff, the chaff filter, and vacuumed around the big squirrel cage fan. I looked at the little fan in the bottom and decided to spin it to see if that was where the noise was coming from… it wouldn’t turn. I didn’t try to force it, afraid I would break it. Later, I tried to find some info on line, but couldn’t find anything. So, my questions:
Is this fan supposed to be able to be spun when the roaster is off?
Is this the fan that is referred to as the “impeller” fan?
What is the best way to inspect this fan? Do I have to remove the entire back end of the machine?
Is there a tutorial or info on line that covers this fan?
Sorry if I am covering ground that has already been covered. If someone can direct me to some information it would be greatly appreciated.
I roasted today, and the same sound occurred late in the roast and through the cooling cycle. I also got a A-08 error message during the cool down phase which is not unusual on my machine. I do not have an external fan connected to the exhaust. I vacuum clean the chaff filter after every roast, but it is probably due for a soaking (Cafiza is my cleaner of choice).
T
I’m only replying b/c you haven’t received an answer so far – I can’t answer all of your questions, but I can tell you that:
2) The impeller fan is the large one in the upper-right corner of your photo. That’s the one that moves air through the Bullet and out the exhaust.
I suspect the fan you’re talking about is there to cool the electronics. If you’re not sure that is the source of the noise, you can run the Bullet with the chaff collector off as pictured (don’t roast that way, obviously) and maybe you can catch the fan in action and confirm whether it’s the source of the noise.
Thanks for answering. I’m now two roasts past the noise that I heard and it is not making that noise anymore. I do, however, want to see if that fan is running okay, so I will follow your advice and run a “roast without beans” with the chaff collector removed. Thanks again!
If you jostle or bump the roaster, possibly when moving or during cleaning, there is a wire harness near the electronics cooling fan that can move slightly and touch the fan creating the noise you hear. I’ve had it happen after tilting the roaster forward on its front legs when vacuuming out the drum.
Is this fan supposed to be able to be spun when the roaster is off?
→ Yes you should be able to spin it by hand when the R1 is off
Is this the fan that is referred to as the “impeller” fan?
→ No this is referred to as coil fan 2. The impeller refers to the big aluminum “fan” that draws the smoke out.
What is the best way to inspect this fan? Do I have to remove the entire back end of the machine?
→ you will have to remove the motor cover, then remove all the screws holding the two parallel plates, then you can access the screws to the bracket of coil fan 2. It is save to do but takes a bit of time.
Is there a tutorial or info on line that covers this fan?
→ No, not at this time.
The A-08 warning is ok, and not so serious.
If you connect the R1 to RoasTime you should be able to monitor all the fan’s RPM. Press the info button on the top right corner and you will see a list of info, including the RPM. When the induction is running both coil fans should be spinning. You can also manually check this if you take off the chaff collector and go to roast mode, then then small coil fan 2 should start spinning.
Jacob, thanks for the excellent info. I did take apart the back of the roaster, and during the process, the “coil fan 2” suddenly “freed up” and was able to be turned easily. So I put back together what I had disassembled and everything is working fine. Thanks for the tip about looking at the “info button” - a world of great info there, and great reassurance that everything is working as it should.
I notice I regularly get the A-08 alert despite having the chaff filter clear (as that is what the manual suggests to check). Switching the fan speed to F7 or something clears it. Is there a firmware issue waiting to be fixed on this ?
