Loring Merlin A15 User manual

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Merlin 15K Batch Roasters
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3200DuttonAve.#413,SantaRosa,CA95407Phone(707)526‐7215www.smartroaster.com

Version 4-26
OPERATION MANUAL
MERLIN A-15 KILO ROASTER
By LORING SMART ROAST
3200 Dutton Ave. #413, Santa Rosa, CA 95407 Phone [phone], Fax [phone]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DAILY OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS FOR MERLIN A-15
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS 1
•Read all instructions before proceeding
START UP: FIRST THINGS FIRST 3
•The first things to check and turning on the power
WARM-UP: BRINGING THE ROASTER UP TO ROASTING TEMP. 3
•Fire up the burner and load up some coffee
MANUAL MODE: STARTING A ROAST 4
•Select a base line profile, product name, and start roasting
MANUAL MODE: DURING THE ROAST 7
•Navigating the manual roast screens and making some choices
MANUAL MODE: ENDING THE ROAST 8
•Dropping the coffee to the cooler
MANUAL MODE: POST ROAST & IDLE MODE 8
•Much data can be saved to the screen for future use
MANUAL MODE: COOL DOWN 10
•Cools the roaster down and turns most everything off automatically
RECIPE MODE: SOME FACTS ABOUT RECIPES 11
•How to create, name and save recipes
RECIPE MODE: STARTING A ROAST 13
Choose burner recipe, product name, drop temp and endpoint temp
RECIPE MODE: DURING THE ROAST 15
•Navigating the Burner Recipe screens and making some choices
RECIPE MODE: ENDING THE ROAST 17
•Dropping the coffee to the cooler may be manual or automatic
RECIPE MODE: POST ROAST & IDLE MODE 18
•Keep roasting with same recipe or change to different
RECIPE MODE: COOL DOWN 20
•Cools the roaster down and turns most everything off automatically
ROAST PROFILE MODE: SOME FACTS ABOUT PROFILES 22
•How to make, name and save profiles
ROAST PROFILE MODE: STARTING A ROAST 23
•Choose Roast Profiles, product name, drop temp and end-point temp
ROAST PROFILE MODE: DURING THE ROAST 26
•Navigating the Roast Profile screens and making some choices
ROAST PROFILE MODE: ENDING THE ROAST 28
•Dropping the coffee to the cooler may be manual or automatic
ROAST PROFILE MODE: POST ROAST & IDLE MODE 29
•Keep roasting with same Roast Profile or change to a different one
ROAST PROFILE MODE: COOL DOWN 31
•Cools the roaster down and turns most everything off automatically

Version 4-26
SETUP SCREEN OPTIONS 32
•Configure many roaster variables
RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE
MAINTENANCE: DAILY 35
•Some basic chores
MAINTENANCE: WEEKLY 35
•Cleaning the cooler tray
•Vacuum particulate mater from the cooler ducting under the roaster
•Clean vacuum elevator filter
•Bearing squeak
MAINTENANCE: MONTHLY 39
•Inspect cooler ducting
MAINTENANCE: ANNUALLY OR AS NEEDED BASED ON YOUR PRODUCTION 40
•Things to keep an eye on long term
AGENCY APPROVALS
•CE Certificate and Declaration
•Component approvals by type
CUSTOMER DRAWINGS & INSTRUCTION SHEETS
•Installation Notes and Plan View Dimensions
•Installation Elevations
•Burner Gas Piping Schematic
•Power Wiring
•PLC Sinking Inputs
•PLC Relay Outputs
•PLC Analog Outputs
•Front of roaster component identification
•Rear of roaster component identification
•Adjusting the A15 Gas Mixer
•Adjusting the A15 Gas Regulator
•Burner Electrode Assembly BCU
•DNLoader Flow Chart.pdf
www.smartroaster.com 3200 Dutton Ave. #413, Santa Rosa, CA 95407 Phone [phone], Fax [phone]

Rev 10-15-12
1
MERLIN A15
15KG BATCH ROASTER
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
The roaster MUST be placed on a flat level surface capable of supporting its weight.
Keep area around roaster clean and dry and clear of obstructions as required by local
safety regulations.
Do not REMOVE safety covers or DEFEAT safety interlocks at any time.
There are many HOT surfaces when the roaster is in operation, use caution around the
roaster at all times.
NEVER reach inside the roaster’s main hopper while it is hot, excessive heat could cause
severe injury.
NEVER reach inside cooler tray when mixer is running or injury may result. NEVER
reach inside the mixer when the power is on as the mixer can start automatically at any time.
All cooler ducting and the cooler fan can be EXTREMLY HOT. Allow to cool before
disassembly for cleaning.
The sample tryer has sharp edges and may be quite hot, hold by wooden handle only.
Be very careful when wearing loose clothing or having long, unbound (loose) hair around
the roaster. Hair and clothes can become caught in moving equipment and cause severe
injury.
Turn off power and close all utility valves when the roaster is not in use.

Rev 10-15-12
2
General Information
Picture
001
Time and Temperature Graph.
Mode line indicates in which mode you are operating:
MANUAL ROASTING MODE
BURNER RECIPE RUN MODE
TEMPERATURE PROFILE RUN MODE
Thermal Coupler Temperatures
are indicated on the Graph by
their given color.
Circulation Fan Adjustment Slide
Burner Percentage
Burner Adjustment Up and Down Buttons
Burner Adjustment Slide
LOAD GREEN button indicates to
the computer that the Green has been
loaded for the Automatic Modes of
Recipe and Profile.
Manual Button for
dropping Green Beans
into the Roasting
Hopper
ON and OFF
button for the
Cooler Paddle
Drive
ON and OFF
button for the
Cooler Fan

Rev 10-15-12
3
START-UP
Empty the chaff collector drum. Reinstall the chaff drum and be sure that the locking
clamps are securely latched.
Be sure all cooler ducting is installed with gaskets and clamps are latched tight.
Check to see that the cooling hopper is empty and close the cooler discharge gate.
Close the roaster door.
Open the utility valves for air, water and gas.
Turn roaster “POWER-ON/OFF” switch to the ON position, momentarily. The power
will come on and the switch will spring back to center. The display screen will boot.
Make the necessary adjustments required to satisfy any fault conditions that may be
indicated on the startup screen once it boots.
WARM-UP
Push the “BURNER” button in the lower left hand corner of the display screen. The
frame of the button will switch to green (see Picture 002).The roaster will automatically purge the
system and then the burner will ignite. When ignition starts, the center of the burner button
will turn green and the green “burner on” light will light on the front of the control console
(see Picture 003).
The roaster will begin to warm-up.
The roaster will warm up to the preset “Idle Mode” (see Picture 004) high temp value, usually
around 450 degrees F., and the burner will be turned off by the system. At this time, the
roaster will indicate that it is in Idle Mode. By turning the burner on and off between two
preset temperatures, the roaster temp can be maintained within a narrow band. If the burner
is left on at low fire when the roaster is empty, the temp would continue to climb and the
roaster would get too hot. By cycling the burner, the temp is maintained at an appropriate
level. The burner will reignite at the Idle Mode low temp setting (based on return air temp).
The process takes from 20 to 30 minutes depending on the temp in the room and the target
values chosen by the operator on the setup page for Idle Mode High and Low Set point
values. See section on the “Setup” page screen.
A roast may be started at any time but many roast masters wait for the Idle Mode to
“porpoise” a couple of times to fully preheat the roaster so the first roast won't be too much
longer than subsequent roasts. This porpoise cycle takes about 10 minutes.
“LOAD GREEN” button is needed to activate the automatic modes, Recipe Mode and
Profile Mode. Once the beans are loaded, push this button to send the signal that the beans
are ready to automatically drop when the roaster reaches “Drop Temperature”. This button is
not used in Manual Mode.
Select the batch size that you wish to roast. To select the batch size, touch the yellow
button located under the burner percentage reading at the top right of the screen (see Picture 004).

Rev 10-15-12
4
Picture 002
Picture 003
Picture 004
Picture 005
MANUAL MODE: STARTING A ROAST
A roast may be started at any time after the door is closed from the previous roast. It can
be started during “POST-ROAST” or you can wait and start it once the machine has entered
“IDLE”.
Background turns green and the
“CIRC FAN” turns on when
“Burner On” is requested.
Button turns green and says
“ON” when burner is lit.
Touch Yellow “Batch” size button will open the
batch size dialog box. The size will determine fan
speeds necessary for the size of batch.
Drop Green shows the seconds that the Green
Bean Hopper door will be open when
dropping green according to batch size.
Mode Indicator
IDLE Mode
ROASTING
POST ROAST
COOL DOWN

Rev 10-15-12
5
Select the name of the product you are about to roast from the list of product names you
entered under the “SELECT PRODUCT” button of the “ROAST LOG COMMENTS” tab. It
will now appear on the main “MANUAL ROAST” screen (see Picture 006, 007, 008).
At this time, you may also select a “BASELINE” if you want to monitor the roast
progress relative to one from memory. You will be able to view the actual (current) bean
temp. as it progresses, on top of the graph of the historical baseline on the “PLOT SCREEN”
(see Picture 010) accessed by a tab on the main screen. You can roast by manually adjusting the
burner from this screen to keep the roast on track. The red line on the plot represents the
actual process value (bean temperature) and the white LINE is the historical graph of a roast
from memory. While in this screen you may use the “TREND” tab to view a larger version
of the normal trend display with most buttons minimized and some missing to make room.
Use “PREVIOUS” to return to the normal trend screen.
To select a baseline from memory touch the purple “RECIPE / PROFILE” button on the
main “MANUAL ROAST” screen. Touch the red “BASELINE PLOT” button top center on
the screen and it will turn green. Use the “LOAD PROGRAM FROM MEMORY” to select
the baseline you want to use and confirm with a “YES”. The baseline will now be available
from the “PLOT” tab on the main “MANUAL ROAST” screen (see Picture 009).
The endpoint temperature must be set or changed each time a new value is desired.
Touch the “ENDPOINT” digital indicator (see Picture 006) grouped with the other digital
temperature indicators at the top of the screen to set the desired endpoint for the new batch.
The endpoint you set here will be used to signal the end of roast approach both visually and
audibly.
If in “IDLE” mode, and the burner is off, it’s usually best to start the burner, so the
temperature will be rising in the roaster, then drop the beans at the desired drop temperature
by pushing the “DROP GREEN” button which will turn from red to green while the beans
are dropping. If the roaster is already above your desired drop temperature, open the roaster
door till the temperature falls 10 degrees or so below the desired drop temperature, then close
it and drop the beans at the desired temperature while it is rising.
You may adjust the burner as soon as the drop green gate is closed, as evidenced by the
green “DROP GREEN” button turning back to red. A timer will show on the button (see Picture
011), counting down the seconds that Green Hopper will be open which varies according to
batch size.
You may adjust the Circulation Fan speed, using “Slide” (see Picture 011) adjuster on the left
side of the touch screen, as soon as the drop green gate is closed. This function allows you to
control the movement of the beans.

Rev 10-15-12
6
Picture 006
Picture 007
Picture 008
Picture 009
Picture 010
Picture 011
Roast Log
Comments
(Picture 007)
Select Products brings up
your Product List (Picture 008)
You can scroll through your product list by
touching “<<Last Product” or “Next Product>>”
Click here to go back
to the Main Screen
White line is a profile
from history. The red line
is your New Roast Profile
Touch to Adjust
ENDPOINT
You can adjust the Circulation Fan Speed
once the Drop Green Door closes.
Drop Green Timer
count down.

Rev 10-15-12
7
MANUAL MODE: DURING THE ROAST
During the roast, you may jump between the “TREND DISPLAY”, “ROAST LOG
COMMENTS”, and the “PLOT” tabs (see Picture 012, 013, 014 and 015). You may also enter
“SETUP” and make changes to some of the basic values and parameters of the roaster.
On the “ROAST LOG COMMENTS” screen, you may attach notes from the on screen
keyboard that pops up when you touch the comment bar (see Picture 013). You may also type
them in from a physical keyboard on any PC on your LAN after you create a clone of your
roaster screen. Open a browser on your networked PC and type in “HTTP://” then your
roasters I.P. address, then “:5800” and hit enter. Your roasters I.P. Is most likely
192.168.1.200 but you can check on the information tab of the “SETUP” screen if that
doesn't work. You may also try another browser. They don't all support this but IE and
Firefox usually work. A Tight VNC password dialog box will open and you then enter one
of your two passwords. One is for viewing only and one is for interacting. You will need to
interact to enter your notes but be very careful, the screen is live and if you click on
something, it is just like touching it while standing at the roaster. Be careful with this!! (but
don't be afraid of it)
You may start the “TIME SINCE CRACK” timer manually (see Picture 013 and 015), and its
value will be recorded with the other roast data e-mailed at the end of the roast. Touch the
digital display of the timer to activate it.
20 degrees F (9 deg C) before the endpoint is reached the amber flasher on the front of
the consolet will start flashing. As the endpoint approaches the flasher will flash faster. At
10 degrees F (4 deg C) prior to the endpoint, the horn will sound off one time for about a
second. The volume of the horn can be adjusted by rotating the bezel of the horn. At 5
degrees F (~2 deg C) below endpoint, the horn will sound off several times.
Picture 012
Picture 013
“Time Since Crack” is a timer you start when you detect 1st
or 2nd crack. This is only a timer; it does not detect “Crack”.