[fajimr]

Can I use my multimeter to test the voltage of an outlet?  If so which setting would I use?  I'd hate to shock myself, or worse yet, fry the unit...

this is not audio related but I just bought a home coffee roaster and it is not getting hot enough to roast the beans properly.. one suggestion was to check to make sure that I have enough volts coming through.  funny, people also said to make sure it wasn't plugged into an extension cord- maybe there is a market for power cords among coffeegeeks! 

as an added bonus... first person to answer will get a 1/2 lb of freshly roasted coffee (that is if I get it working)- but you have to answer both questions above.  If I can't get the unit working, I'll buy you a cup of coffee next time our paths cross (come to montreal for the audio festival!!)

thanks in advance
jim

[avahifi]

Set the meter on AC volts and put one probe into each side of the AC outlet and it will tell you the voltage at the outlet.  Make sure to not touch any metal parts of the probes and make sure the meter cables are connected to the ground and Volts terminals.  Some meters have separate terminals for measuring current (amps).

Send coffee to 2665 Brittany Lane  Woodbury, Mn 55125

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[fajimr]

thanks Frank!!

let me get the machine working and figure out how to get a good roast and the coffee will be on its way.. if the machine was DOA, I'll take you to the Italian district in montreal for a great espresso (I imagine you will be coming in March, no?)

jim

[srb]

Jim,

Yes, you can use your multimeter to test your outlet voltage.

Select the AC Volts range that is more than your standard AC voltage without going too high.

A standard voltmeter range is usually 250V AC.  While you can measure it with the 1000V AC range, you won't be as accurate as you would with the lower range.

Since you are measuring AC, polarity is not important, and you can insert the leads either way.

You didn't say whether you have a digital or analog meter.  A digital meter will usually show an overvoltage error when you exceed the range, but an analog meter will slam the meter needle against the righthand stop if your selected range is less than that of the outlet voltage.

Yes, an extension cord is usually not recommended for heating appliances, but you could use one if it is of sufficiently large gauge.  In other words, don't plug a ~1500W heating appliance into a standard lamp extension cord!

If you have other appliances connected to the same circuit, you may have a voltage drop when they are on, even if you are not exceeding the total amperage enough to trip a circuit breaker.

[fajimr]

thanks SRB...  that is useful. I checked and got only 10 volts from the outlet I had been using.  Another one right next to it (they were both recently installed by the landloard) showed 122.  But I did try the roaster in one of the 'good' plugs so I'll have to see what's going on.

sorry but no 'runner-up' prizes, but if you happen to come to montreal for the audio show, I'll buy you a cup of coffee too 

[mgalusha]

Jim,

On other thing you might check is the voltage while it's in operation vs the voltage when it's turned off. If it drops radically then it's possible you have a bad connection between the wiring and the socket. This can happen when the sockets are wired using the push in type of connections. We had this problem with a laser printer, when the printer would power up it would cause the PC's on the same circuit to shutdown or reboot. I replaced the outlets with some heavy duty Pass & Seymour that used screws to clamp the wires and the problem went away. One of the outlets I removed had cracked around the wire entrance and represented a hazard as far as I was concerned.

Unless you are comfortable replacing the outlets I would call a qualified electrician or someone who is experienced and determine why you only had 10 volts on the first outlet you measured. Better yet, make your landlord take care of it.

Mike

[PaulHilgeman]

All of the above is good advice.

DO NOT Measure your voltage with a grounded oscilliscope probe, I am not sure if you have one, but this could be bad as the ground is usually not a floating ground on most scopes.

HIJACK:

How do you roast your coffee?

I roast my own too!!!  I used the poppery II for a few years, also with HG/DB, but I got a iRoast 2 for Christmas last year from my wife and after a month or two of fooling can get perfect 14 minute Fully City Plus roast or about 455 air temp around the beans.  Just at the verge of vienna.

I am pretty addicted to Sweet Maria's Liquid Amber for both espresso and traditional caps (2:1 Milk:Espresso).

I've had success with other beans, but I'b buying this stuff 20 lbs at a time now  

-Paul

[srb]

...(they were both recently installed by the landloard)...

There are exceptions, but in my experience, Landlords have never been the best of electricians!

...(sorry but no 'runner-up' prizes, but if you happen to come to montreal for the audio show, I'll buy you a cup of coffee too  ...

Thanks - but will it be "fresh roasted"?

Let us know the outcome.  Have you tried it an outlet NOT wired by your Landlord (on a different circuit altogether)?

Steve

[fajimr]

How do you roast your coffee?
I've had success with other beans, but I'b buying this stuff 20 lbs at a time now 

ahhhhh, a roaster!!!  I was actually thinking about throwing up a discussion about espresso in the sports forum and see what people here think about coffee... if their tastes in coffee run the same as audio... it would be a very interesting discussion indeed.   

Myself, I have always loved good coffee and have recently got into espresso.  I have had an old gaggia that does the trick and recently bought a Virtuoso grinder- it's not a Rocky but does the job pretty well......  as for roasting.... wellll

the I-Roast v. 1 I just bought was used so it was my first foray into roasting. So I am not there yet.  It came up at a good price North of the border (so I don't have to hassle with duties which is wearing me quite thin.. just moved from the states)..... so I decided to jump on it.  Not sure if it is an electrical issue or something happened in the shipping (I also made sure ambient temp was fine... I have a thread going on coffeegeek.com)

BUT I have spent a lot of time on Sweet Maria's.  hopefully in the future we can trade roasting curves.  for now, I'll rely on the locally roasted beans.  Luckily here in Montreal, there are lots of choices and I am learning which are better than others....

maybe I will go throw a topic up in the sports circle

[Gordy]

Hijack Pt. II

I've an I-roast too, really like it except it doesn't behave well with high chafe beans, especially Kona/Sumatra types.  I'm thinking of trading up to a larger capacity type but I really do need something with an exhaust attachment like the IR has!

[fajimr]

Thanks - but will it be "fresh roasted"?

there are a couple of places that are pretty good here in montreal-  my favorite comes complete with older Italian guys sitting around talking about who knows what in italian......and if I ever get my roaster going, you can swing by my place for a 'fresh' cup too

p.s. actually I'm not sure if the landlord did the wiring himself, I meant that the previous tenants told me they finally were able to talk him into it...  all the other new plugs read at 122 as do a few of the older ones

cheers
jim

[fajimr]

I've an I-roast too,

you know about coffeegeek.com, right?  they have great reviews and discussions over there.

[PaulHilgeman]

LOL, This is hilarious, the merging of two worlds filled with obsessed geeks!!!!  Yeah, I like CoffeeGeek quite a bit, though I am much more into audio than coffee in the web sense.

Just like audio, there are very few decent coffees to be had anywhere, some nicer restaurants have good drip, but in the whole city of chicago there are about 5 or 6 good places for a good espresso!! 

I think it might be more rare than good sound.

I too have a Gaggia, I baby millennium (6 years and still pulling 2-4 doubles a day), It is truly an excellent machine.  The care that goes into it is more what makes it, not the machine.  The grinder and the roast probably makes more difference anyways when using a well functioning, clean machine.

-Paul

[fajimr]

just put up the espresso thread over at the sports bar Paul....

and am now off to make an espresso....  in montreal, you pretty much have to go to a cafe to get a good espresso and with all the cafes here you have to know which one to go to... restaurants are so-so

[Gordy]

There was a coffee thread a year or so ago, quite a few of us are roasting our own!  AC member Beat roasts commercially for his cafe in N.M. and, last I heard, was branching out to include selling a selection of vacuum brewers as well!  In fact, I bought my Bodum electric through Beat 

[avahifi]

Thank you.  By the way, my favorite coffee is Jamacian Blue Mountain (if one can actually find the "real" stuff.  One coffee professional told me there is about 20 times as much Blue Mountain sold in the USA each year as actually produced.     Next choice, a good Columbian or Costa Rica brand.

Make sure you have an electrician check out those "landlord installed" AC outlets.  I would not trust them.

Frank Van Alstine