SC/TO Profiles / Q&A / Tips & Tricks

[Osidecoffee]

My spacer ring is attached together on the ends with little metal pieces, so I’d have to remove those, then see how I can keep the ring together. I could always drill bigger holes into it, then use a bolt to hold the 2 ends together, then I can create separation between the two ends like you do when I want to vent the roaster.

[ptrmorton]

My ring is attached to the base with small, self tapping screws.  The "spring" in the steel spacer holds it closed so all I have to do is gently force it open with the "magic" stick.

[Osidecoffee]

Just looked through old posts in this topic and saw a post from 2011 where you mentioned how springiness of the aluminum would keep it together, and that it didn’t need to be over-engineered haha. You’ll give me the courage to mess with it and find a better solution

[peter]

I have nothing to add; nothing on mine has changed in 10 years or more, so if you read through the posts you know what mods I am using currently.

[ptrmorton]

Just looked through old posts in this topic and saw a post from 2011 where you mentioned how springiness of the aluminum would keep it together, and that it didn’t need to be over-engineered haha. You’ll give me the courage to mess with it and find a better solution

Actually, that was peter's comment (who just joined the party) also known as the Warden - Distributor, SC/TO expert.  But I'm better looking.

[peter]

But you don't have a Mona Lisa smile...

[ptrmorton]

NICE!!!

[Osidecoffee]

I’m glad my mistake provided some nice humor in the end 

[Osidecoffee]

So I was able to get some time to tinker last night, and had just the right nuts and bolts to make a chaff door in my spacer ring, and it worked perfectly! 

[ptrmorton]

Excellent!  It is a subtle change, but I think you'll like the increased control.  Also, you can "guide" the chafe better - well sort of. 

[peter]

Does your door open and close?  Some people have them open all the time and IMHO there's no point in letting heat out unless you need to.

Since you have yours roasting I'll assume you don't need this tidbit... but for those still in the build process, check the rotation of the TO's fan.  You'll want to set up the chaff chute to accommodate that direction.

[Osidecoffee]

For now I have mine open all the time. I have a good 4 to 5 inches of overlap in the ring, so I’ll need to find a good way to open it partially through the roast while still keeping a good shape with it. And of course for the first roast I used it, the opening was facing the wrong way, so that was fun. But then once I got it going it worked well. Even with the door opened through the whole roast, it still was a good 2 minutes faster then when I had to vent chaff by lifting the turbo oven slightly, so it’s an improvement for now until I’m able to open and close it during the roast.

[ptrmorton]

Don't underestimate the usefulness of the magic angled stick.  By adjusting the amount of taper you put between the spacer overlap, you can adjust the opening size.  Mine has worked well for 4 years  I'm thinking of applying for a patent except I stole the idea from peter.

[peter]

I'd like to see a photo of the magic angled stick, Peter.

I promise my lawyers won't get involved.

[David (PalateOfAnAardvark)]

It looks like it's been a while since anyone posted on this subject. I've decided to chuck my Chinese sourced flatbed roaster for a SC/TO build.

A few problems to overcome:

1) I live in a 220v country, 110v appliances like a StirCrazy and most of the TO brands are not available here. What I've done is try to find the equivalent. For example, a Baumann popcorn maker instead of a StirCrazy. And a locally manufactured turbo oven, 220v, 1400 watts.

2) The Baumann stirs at approximately 5-8 RPM. In drum discussion, the RPM is usually much higher. Is 5-8 RPM sufficient, or is there a published mod to make the rotation faster?

3) The stirrer on the Bauman looks thin and rather inadequate. Is there consensus on a mod to get greater stirring action/agitation?

4) I usually use temperature to tell me when I've achieved the desired roast (usually City or Full City) To do that, I take the lid off my flatbed roaster and use a combo of 'quick-read' thermometer, and recently an infrared thermometer) to get the bean temperature. Is there a preferred mod to build in a thermocouple type of temperature probe(this is what I use for meat smoking)? Or some other recommendations, short of removing the TO to take bean temp.

5) Finally, cooling. I now use a colander and a fan to cool beans, and it takes a long time and is messy. I'm thinking of using a shopvac rigged to suck air through a colandar or steamer tray. Any comments or notes?

Thanks, I know there are experts, I hope you can point me in the right direction to start.