QUESTION:

Can I split the dual tower CBS-52H15-2 to brew coffee and make iced tea?

Jen

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ANSWER:

Yes, it can. You can order an iced tea option with this brewer Z013 just specify which side you want it on. Just so it is clear, this option will brew a half batch of hot tea, then it has to be manually diluted with cold water. Most people have a 3 quart measuring pitcher dedicated for this function.

Shane

QUESTION:

Can I use the TPD-3.0 with the CBS-52H15-2? If not, which brewer will pair with this dispenser?

Jen

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Jen,

The TPD-30 will only work with our CBS-61H or CBS-62H models.

To make this easier and faster in the future, our website does have this information. Click on this link http://www.fetco.com/luxus.html, select model series, then the size. When that particular dispenser comes up on the right hand side there is a description and at the bottom of this description the equipment the dispenser can be used with is listed.

I hope this is helpful and please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Shane Blais
Director of Technical Services & Corporate Training

QUESTION:

Hi Shane,

I am a distributor. My customer has a CBS-2018 and they like brewing into a carafe. The current unit can’t keep up with production. Electricity available 13 amps, 2 & 1 ground wire, single phase, 120. There is a water outlet for direct plumbing. What model should I move them into?

Thanks,
Jamie

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ANSWER:

Jamie,

If you are not able to increase your electrical, then it is not easy to increase out put. However the CBS-2021eG (120V with 1X 1.7KW heating element and can be plugged into a standard 15amp outlet) is a brewer that auto refills which makes recovery time a little faster and you can the brew two batches in a row without waiting for the brewer to come back up to temperature. After those two batches the brewer will need to recover. The 2018 cannot do this it brews then fills then needs to heat after every brew.

Now you would need to buy separately the Tray Assembly p/n 1102.00009.00 because it does not come standard with the 2021eG because it is supposed to brew into our 1.5 gal gravity pot. With this configuration there is a 2-3” gap between the brew basket and the server however this does not appear to affect the temperature of the end product.

The CBS-2021eG was not designed to be used with this server, but I know some folks who have used it this way and appear to be very happy with it.

If you can upgrade to a 20amp circuit, the CBS-2021eG can be purchased with a 2.1KW heating element, and then you can brew nearly 2 more batches per hour than the one mentioned above.

I hope this is helpful please let me know If I can be of any further assistance. 

Shane

QUESTION:

Hi Shane.

I have a question keeping the grounds from overflowing into the coffee. We have a CBS 2041e 1 gal. brewer and in order to get our coffee to strong eonugh for our customers we use 1/2 pound per batch. Unfortunately, this can result in overflowing grounds.
Is there an oversized brew basket we can get or perhaps a series of setting adjustments that you might recommend to combat this problem?

Thanks,
Peter

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ANSWER:

The basket that you are using is the biggest we have that will fit this unit. To be honest you should not need anything more than that. 8oz fits well within specification for this brew basket.

My guess is that you are grinding your coffee just before brewing and you may even have fresh roasted coffee as well which means you have got a virtual explosion occurring in your brew basket when water comes into contact with the grounds. If my assumptions are correct this is not a problem but we just need to make some adjustments to programming. 

Making another assumption I would say you do not have any pre-wet set on the brewer so, enter programming following the instruction laid out in the User’s Guide. Once there, go to parameter 1.4 and set it to 7% then advance to parameter 1.5 and set to 10 Seconds. Press hot water faucet to save the changes and turn brewer on. Run a test batch check for grounds in coffee if none then taste. The tasting part of this is critical and I recommend brewing a batch at current settings then at new settings so you can taste side by side.

Shane Blais
Director of Technical Services & Corporate Training

ISSUE UPDATE:

Hello again Shane,

The plot thickens, I now have no visible voltage to the element, the high limit is OK, but the voltage across A1 & A2 on the SSR only reads 99Volts.
The other strange thing is the ready light is always on. I assume it is only supposed to light up when the unit has reached brew temperature?
Again, your help is appreciated.

Gwyn

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ANSWER:

OK! If your ready light is always on then the thermostat is satisfied and it will never heat which is clearly indicated by your voltage reading at the SSR which shows that the SSR is open so no heat.

Take a look at the t-stat it should be a digital t-stat with a 2 digit digital display. With the power to the brewer on the t-stat in its current state should be showing a temperature (to read temp over 100°F the two digits along with one decimal point on the display represents the last two digits of the temperature so 5 0. is 150°F. For temperatures over 200°F the two digits along with two decimal points on the display represents the last two digits of the temperature so 0.5. is 205°.

Now typical set temperature on this brewer is 202°F so if it is up to temp it should read 0.2. or whatever the t-stat is set for. To determine set temperature turn adjustment stem CW or CCW slightly and the display will begin to flash. Whatever number is displayed on the t-stat while the display is flashing this is your set temperature.

It is possible that the set temperature is too low and you just need to turn it up by turning the adjustment stem until you get to desired set temperature.

Or if it is at the desired set temperature and the t-stat is satisfied and yet water temperature is cold or only luke warm it could be the T-stat or the temperature probe. I would try replacing the t-probe first then if you still have the same issue then replace the t-stat.

If you have any questions about this please let me know.

Shane

ISSUE UPDATE:

Hi Shane,

Thanks for the reply, the serial number is 600147071386. It is a 120V unit.

Thanks so much,
Gwyn

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RESPONSE:

OK, based on this serial number, this is a brewer that uses a Solid State Relay (SSR). My guess is that the SSR is not functioning or your High Limit (Single shot t-stat) is open. This is assuming that the thermostat is calling for heat, of course. If the t-stat is calling for heat, then you should have 120V from the blue wire on the SSR to neutral. I would suggest that you remove the blue wire from the SSR when taking this reading (of course making sure to observe safe electrical procedures). This will help prevent the possibility of false readings.

FYI—SSR’s and any solid state components, for that matter, are notorious for false readings when using a multimeter so be careful. It can fool the best of us. In addition, because of the way this brewer is wired, your readings at the heating element will always be misleading. See the wiring diagram for clarification.

If the t-stat is calling for heat, then the SSR should close and the heater should start heating; unless, of course, my theory is correct and the SSR or the High Limit is not functioning. 

To check the high limit, which of course is mounted at the top of the tank, make sure the brewer is unplugged, then remove both wires from the High Limit. Next, check continuity between each terminal. If you get continuity, then the High Limit is good and, therefore it has to be your SSR that is the problem.

The easiest way to verify this is by taking an amperage reading with your amp clamp. Place your amp clamp on the red wire that goes to the heating element when the brewer is on and calling for heat. If the SSR is working, you should be getting about 15 amps. If you are getting zero amps, as I believe you will, then we have found the culprit. Replace your SSR.

Let me know how this turns out. I hope this information will be helpful. 

Shane Blais
Director of Technical Services
and Corporate Training

QUESTION:

Hello,

I have what may be considered a less than intelligent question regarding your double brewer series.
If voltage at the element is 120V should the unit be heating up? I replaced the element thinking that was the problem but both the old element and the new one read approximately 8 ohms. Still, the unit refuses to heat the water tank.
Any input would be appreciated.

Regards,

Gwyn

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ANSWER:

By no means would I consider your question less than intelligent. It is a very good question based on what you are conveying to me and I would call this a sanity check more than anything.

If I assume that this brewer is a straight 120V unit and you have 120V at the heating element then, yes, it should be heating. This is provided that this brewer uses a Mercury Relay to switch power to the heating element. If that is the case, then the voltage present at the heating element should produce heat.

However, if the brewer in question uses a Solid State Relay to switch power to the heating element, then you could very well get 120V at the heating element without producing heat.

If you give me the s/n to the brewer, I should be able to determine if the brewer has an SSR or a Mercury Relay.

Also, is this by chance a 120/208-240VAC unit?

I look forward to your reply.

Shane Blais
Director of Technical Services & Corporate Training

QUESTION:

I have a FETCO Millenia CBS-2018 and it doesn't seem to be brewing correctly.  Can you please help?
 
When I go press the green brew button, it only brews half the decanter and then it takes a long time to brew the rest of the pot.  I have to press the brew brew button several times before it will start dripping.  What am I doing wrong?
 
Rocio
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ANSWER:

Rocio,

I am a little confused about what is the problem here so bear with me as I explain the operation of the CBS-2018.

You say that you press the green brew button to start a brew cycle, but the brew button on these brewers should be black. The only thing green should be the ready light that indicates that the brewer is up to temperature. I want to make sure we are talking about the same thing here so please clarify.

Now as far as the brew cycle is concerned,  just in case you are not aware this the CBS-2018 cannot brew until the brewer is up to temperature this is indicated by the ready light.

Once the ready light is on, then you can brew by pressing the start switch. During the brew cycle, the dispense valve pulses on and off and dispenses a set volume. These brewers are set up as either 1.8L or 1.9L and this is determined by the length of the liquid level probe. When the brew cycle is complete, the brew light will flash for 90 seconds indicating the drip delay. Once the drip delay is complete, your dispenser should be full.  This cycle should take about 5 minutes.

Now, depending on how the brewer is configured, you could have a pre-wet delay programmed into the brewer; which means the brewer will dose water for 5 seconds then stop and delay for 30 seconds then it will begin to brew with the dispense valve pulsing on and off during the entire cycle.

There are a few other things based on programming that could make it look like the brewer is not working, yet it is, but check these things first and let me know what you find.

I hope this will be helpful to you.

Shane Blais
Director of Technical Services
and Corporate Training

QUESTION:

Hello Shane,
 
I found your shortpotting video on YouTube and found it hopefully helpful.  We have a new unit like the one in the video and the water volumes are constantly having to be recalibrated due to shortpotting.  I have already cleaned the little rubber spray valves but have not cleaned the spray plates or checked for blockage in the line  between the tank and the electronic valves--I have set the fine tune program settings for water flow to as wide open as they will go and the volume set at 1.24 gallons and we are still shortpotting..... I'll let you know how it goes with the spray plate and blockage in the line...
 
The question I have for you has to do with setting the brew time on station one.  Currently it is set at 14:30 minutes.  When I am in the programming mode and change the time down to something like 5 or 7 minutes and then go to hold the stop button down, the system kicks back to 14:30 before it will give me an STO confirmation.  On the station 3 and 4 I can change the time by holding down the Stop button, and I can change program settings in advanced settings; it's just that one brew time setting it won't let me change it.  Weird, huh?
 
Thanks in advance,
 
Dan

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ANSWER:

Based on your description of programming I would say that you have a 2042ee or a 2032ee. Is there any chance you could get me the serial number to this brewer I might know what is causing your fluctuating brew volume.

As far as the issue that you are having with brew time. This only happens when you are asking the brewer to do what it cannot do. If you are trying to get a volume of water in a given period of time that the brewer calculates is not possible it will automatically change the brew time that you programmed to a time that is possible.

Now parameters 60 and 61 you said are programmed wide open this should mean you set both to 0.09 which will make the valve open for a longer period of time during each pulse. For the half batch this maybe possible but it may not for the full batch settings. It is unlikely we will be able to fix this until your flow problem is fixed.

Please get back to me with serial number and also remove the cover that is right above the spray heads and take a look at what color the dispense valves are. Please get this to me ASAP so we can fix both problems.

Shane

QUESTION:

Hello!

I am just trying to get a precise amount as far as volume your brewers can produce per hour.

I opened the spec sheet for products.  I noticed that a brew time is listed (usually around 4 minutes) and then there are the numbers that say batch/hr based on water temperature.  Is that the number I am looking at?  I assume that number includes the time the brewer needs to refill and reheat water.

So, for instance, I am just making sure that if I were to hypothetically purchase a CBS-2051e Extractor (1.5 gal.), with a 4 min. brew time, if I have 120/208 voltage, and my water is cold, I can expect it to brew a maximum of 7.7 batches/hr, or 11.55 gallons?

Also, I know that each account is different and is dependent on a lot of variables, but can you give me a very general idea about what are the most common voltages and does water typically start off hot or cold?

Thanks so much!

Liz

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ANSWER:

Liz,

Your interpretation of our spec sheet is correct. Of course, if you change a variable such as adding pre-wet and a pre-wet delay, this will increase the actual brew time therefore possibly reducing the number of brews you can accomplish in a 1 hour time period.

Now as far as what is typical from location to location it can be said that in general the majority of all locations will have 120/208V single phase power and water supplied is almost always cold water. Now that brings up another variable which is water supply temperature will also have an impact on the production of a brewer. I.e. The colder that water is the longer it takes for a brewer to heat.

Shane Blais
Director of Technical Services & Corporate Training