Bellwether Safety Overview

Is the Bellwether safe to use? Yes. Here’s why:

Design:

The Bellwether Roaster was created using a human-centered design approach, which means every piece of the roaster and its software—from the inside out—was designed with you in mind.

Materials:

The Bellwether Roaster is constructed of heavy gauge stainless steel and is encased in a steel frame. All user controls are accessed through the app on the iPad, and all moving parts are safely housed inside of the machine, hidden away from anyone who uses it.

Fail-safes, sensors, shutoffs, and electrical safety:

• The Bellwether Roaster has ample sensors and safety shutoffs, so roasting can be done safely and confidently no matter the operator or environment.

• All off-the-shelf electrical components are UL certified, our semi-custom heaters are from UL certified suppliers, and the roaster’s frame complies with UL standards.

• Both the 50 amp fuses and 20 amp sub-circuit fuses are compliant with UL guidelines.

The main power switch provides two levels of protection:

1. If the building’s power is turned off or drops to a level low enough that the roaster cannot get enough power to operate safely, the roaster will shut down.
2. When the building’s power returns and a surge of power is detected, the switch will protect the roaster so that it can safely power on for use.

• If any heaters or motors were to overheat, the internal safety system will shut the roaster down to prevent unsafe conditions and/or damage to internal components.

Software

To make sure you always have the latest and greatest version of our software, we’ll push software updates to your iPad automatically, but never while the roaster is being used.

Roasting Safety

Traditional roasting methods use gas, an open flame, and allow smoke produced from roasting coffee to enter the environment where the roasting takes place.

Since the Bellwether Roaster is electric, uses clean technology, and has a completely enclosed roast process, fire and smoke are eliminated. Here are a few key points:

• Both the roasted beans and smoky air from roasting are contained in heavily insulated stainless steel. A proprietary cooling system draws air through a filtration system, where the air is heavily filtered before being released into the environment.
• There are eight temperature sensors that allow the whole system to manage internal machine temperatures at safe levels. These safety limits can’t be overridden by the user.
• Additional temperature protection is provided by a special UL-rated safety switch, which works independently of the software (ie. you can manually turn off the machine if needed).
• When creating roast profiles, there are safety parameters set within roast profile development so you won’t be able to take a roast curve to unsafe levels. The roast drum sensors have their own temperature limits, creating a 50°F safety margin so no beans get too hot.