I had it happen a couple of times. I pressed it back in place the first time (it was a tight fit) and it happened again. Both times I found it at the bottom of the cooling tray.
Mine appears to be a press fit, not glued in as there was no sign of any glue residue on the pin or in the hole. The problem is that the thermal coefficient of expansion for aluminum is 21-24, and the thermal coefficient of expansion for stainless steel is 10-17, which means aluminum expands more than stainless steel when heated.
I peened the end of the pin slightly to enlarge it and pressed it in using a large vise under a good bit of pressure. It hasn’t come out since.
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Hi all. I’m a new roaster and my pin fell out immediately, so I put the pin in and did a couple of pops with my spring loaded center pin. Easier than holding a punch to it and smacking it. Works great.
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Glad to hear this helped you! I actually tried that way first myself, but I couldn’t keep the tryer from moving around a bit when I was pre-loading the spring. It was easier for me to use the hammer and punch.
I received my new trayer from Sweet Maria’s Monday. It appears they put something in where the pin is seated, almost like a gasket or something to help hold it in. I haven’t roasted with it yet, but I’m confident this one will not fail. I’ll report back after my next roasting session.
I roasted about 8.5lbs of coffee this weekend and the new trayer pin did not fall out. I think they figured out the issue and resolved it moving forward.