A maintenance schedule for your coffee roaster
Maintenance keeps roasts consistent, prevents fires and is what your insurer asks about after one. A daily, weekly, monthly and annual schedule you can adapt to your machine.
6 min read Updated 9 October 2026
Your maker's manual comes first; this schedule is a framework to adapt. Base intervals on batches roasted as well as calendar time: a roastery running 40 batches a day needs to clean far more often than one running 10 a week.
The schedule
- Every session: empty the chaff collector or cyclone; check the cooling tray screen is clear; check the roaster is attended at all times while hot.
- Daily: wipe down the bean hopper, trier and outside surfaces; check the destoner's stone box; record any faults or unusual readings.
- Weekly: clean the cooling tray and its fan housing; inspect the chaff path and the duct sections you can reach; check probe readings against each other for drift.
- Monthly, or by batch count: clean the full exhaust duct run and fan; inspect drum vanes and seals; check belts, chains and bearings for wear and noise; test emergency stops.
- Quarterly: calibrate or verify thermocouples against a reference; inspect the afterburner or catalytic unit; check gas and air settings with a qualified engineer if the maker recommends it.
- Annually: full service by the maker or a specialist engineer, including the burner and gas train by a Gas Safe registered engineer; LEV examination if due (at least every 14 months); review the fire risk assessment.
Records
Log every clean and service with the date, who did it and what was found. Insurers, inspectors and buyers of a used machine all ask for this history. Note the batch count at each clean so intervals can follow usage.
Signs something is wrong
Act on these
- Roasts taking longer at the same settings: restricted airflow from chaff or a dirty fan
- Smoke in the room: duct leaks or blocked exhaust
- Bean temperature readings jumping: a failing or loose thermocouple
- New noises from drum or fans: bearings, belts or imbalance
- Burner struggling to light: gas train or ignition fault, call an engineer
Spare parts to hold
- Thermocouples for bean and exhaust
- Drive belts or chain
- Fuses and the commonest relays
- Door and trier gaskets
- Ignition parts recommended by the maker
Where Roastnet helps
Questions roasters ask
- How often should a coffee roaster be cleaned?
- Chaff every session, cooling tray weekly and the full exhaust run monthly or by batch count, adjusted to your volume and the maker's guidance.
- What causes coffee roaster fires?
- Usually chaff and oily deposits igniting in the chaff collector, ducts or cooling tray, and roasters left unattended. Cleaning and attendance prevent most of them.
Official sources
- Gas Safe Register: Find a registered engineer
- Health and Safety Executive: Local exhaust ventilation (LEV)
Rules change. These sources were checked on 9 October 2026; always confirm the current position with the body that publishes them before you act.
Read next
Extraction and ventilation in a roastery: fumes, dust and fire
The roaster's exhaust carries smoke and chaff out; the room still needs air for the burner and protection for staff from roasting fumes and dust. The rules and the practical design points.
Insurance for a coffee roastery: what you need and why
One policy is compulsory as soon as you employ anyone; the rest are what your landlord, lender and wholesale customers will ask for. What each covers, and the roastery-specific questions insurers ask.
Buying a used coffee roaster: the inspection checklist
What to ask before you travel, what to look at with the machine cold, what to watch with it running, and the paperwork that should come with it.
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