Roasters- Hottop to huky

[Silentdoom]

I’ve searched this many times. I somewhat know the answer. I have a Hottop 2k+. I log my roasts. I don’t want to blame my tools, but I want to mess with gas. I’ve been thinking of what to get. (mc)... was what I was thinking. Couldn’t decide between 500g, 1k or 2k. I’m roasting 200g now and would like to do bigger batches, but not crazy big. I’m still unsure of my roasts so I hesitate giving roasted beans away, let alone sell. Kind of just a consumer at this point, I don’t want to say prosumer, but that seems accurate.

I feel like the huky would suit me at this level if it really does provide great roasts. I know it comes down to me learning the machine and beans, but can this survive as a sample roaster in the future? Does it’s language somewhat transfer to a bigger machine?
What do I need to connect to computer.

[peter]

Besided 'messing with gas' do you have any other motives and goals?

[Silentdoom]

Right now, my batches are consumed in 2-3 days. So it’s hard to get a backlog of degassing beans. Controlling my roast easier is another thing. It seems like it’s agreed upon that the Hottop has some lag. I feel like I can’t apply bigger roaster knowledge as much. Meaning, like, cutting gas until 1 minute in. It seems like it takes my roast too much time to catch up so I don’t do it, being electric. And getting more knowledge on different roasters. I guess I just want to try something closer to bigger production. A steadier ROR. My air flow seems different on the Hottop. A lot of people have nodded it, but even the mods are debated heavily.

[Ascholten]

If you want to mess with gas, taco bell will do just that for a lot cheaper 

The huky is probably your next best bet for bang for buck.

Aaron

[Silentdoom]

Does the huky hookup to a computer easily for logging. And what about for gas? Do you have to use a tank or what?  Probably stupid questions.

[Ascholten]

The Huky's I have seen use a propane tank however if you can provide the volume to it, like a gas dryer type hookup I don't see why you could not run it fine on natural gas.  You might want to let them know when they build it, may need a slightly different  burner on it.
I also know someone  Hankua who uses his computer with his huky and says it's real easy to hook up.

Aaron

[bjenki7]

I have been researching them a pretty good bit because that is probably my next step, though I am by no means an expert. They come standard with a thermocouple for BT as well as an analog thermometer for ET, but you can specify a thermocouple for ET and get him to add a thermocouple for MET if you so desire. Those would hook up to a phidget, which would then hook up to your computer via usb. I think that you might be able to get him to do one for natural gas, but I know that you can get it with propane or butane as a source. The standard option is propane. The stove part of a Huky is separate, so if you would prefer to use a gas stove in your house or a separate gas stove that does not come from Mr. Li then that is an option as well.
-Brandon

[Silentdoom]

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Has anyone roasted on both of these machines? My plan is to test out the huky a few times to see which I prefer, then to put the Hottop up for sale.

[hankua]

The Huky comes with yellow mini-k plugs on the thermocouples, so you need some type of digital meter, Phidget, or other interface. There’s a less expensive meter on Ebay that can interface with a laptop https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F141555186876

I have a smaller electric Mercury roaster that’s kind of like a Huky but electric, and it’s very different roasting than gas, much slower to react to changes; less flexable. Although I’m still learning how to manage the heat/air.

The Huky500 is not at it’s best with 500g, one pound charges are not a problem and 350g have more flexibility. It can do back to back roasting no problem, just a bit tricky with bean cooling as that’s not built into the machine. You need a fully professional roaster to get an integrated bean cooler and blower.

[brianmch]

I’m really happy with my Huky and have no plans to do anything different for quite some time, if ever.

Love the responsiveness to gas and air. Monitoring through Artisan is pretty easy if you can be comfortable not knowing what you’re doing for a while and trust the process.