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

[RobertL]

I received my TO yesterday evening after a good cleaning I was on my way to roasting. I roasted two half pound batches the first one was darker than I wanted. I think with the 1.5 inch spacer I 'm using full heat is too much, on the second batch I lowered the heat and it turned out better. I used the stock stir arms they worked okay but I will start working on modifying one today. I tried to let the beans coast at 350F but they seemed to lose heat quickly so I rotated the heat on and off to maintain 350-360f for around two minutes. First crack happened around 8 minutes and went for about 2 minutes. I ended the first roast at 12 minutes and I ended the second roast at 11 minutes. After transferring the coffee to jars I noticed the coffee smelled sweet. My Behmor roast always smell very gassy the sc/to roast were different much sweeter. 

[Tex]

My second power cord to the fan motor and using the TO handle to control the heat is looking more economical the more I read..

I split the fan & heat circuits too, but I have a router speed control for managing heat. Roasting is more or less a dialed-in process now; preheat with full power, then flip to variable power.

First mark gets me to bean drying temps, next mark gets me to caramelization, and the third takes me into 1st crack. From there it's just listening for 2nd crack and watching Mickey's skinny 3rd hand.

Piece of cake!

[RobertL]

I split the fan & heat circuits too, but I have a router speed control for managing heat. Roasting is more or less a dialed-in process now; preheat with full power, then flip to variable power.

How many amps is your router speed control? I want to split the fan and heater circuits on my TO if I can figure out how to do it. Maybe I'll add the router speed control while I'm at it.

[Tex]

I split the fan & heat circuits too, but I have a router speed control for managing heat. Roasting is more or less a dialed-in process now; preheat with full power, then flip to variable power.

How many amps is your router speed control? I want to split the fan and heater circuits on my TO if I can figure out how to do it. Maybe I'll add the router speed control while I'm at it.

I get this 15 amp model at Harbor Freight. I'm on the 2nd one in less than two years - the 1st one quit working right in the middle of a roast!

[peter]

I get this 15 amp model at Harbor Freight. I'm on the 2nd one in less than two years - the 1st one quit working right in the middle of a roast!

I wish I knew more about these things, but is a controller designed for a motor being asked to do something it wasn't designed to do when you ask it to control a heating element?

I normally don't expect HF stuff to last very long, but am wondering if it died because it was cheap HF stuff, or if it's not meant for that sort of duty.

[mp]

I get this 15 amp model at Harbor Freight. I'm on the 2nd one in less than two years - the 1st one quit working right in the middle of a roast!

I wish I knew more about these things, but is a controller designed for a motor being asked to do something it wasn't designed to do when you ask it to control a heating element?

I normally don't expect HF stuff to last very long, but am wondering if it died because it was cheap HF stuff, or if it's not meant for that sort of duty.

I had bought an electrical timer ... cheap ... it was 5 or 6 bucks ... worked great for a couple of years and then it died.

It was so much cheaper than its competition I could not really complain. 

No regrets.

 

[Tex]

I get this 15 amp model at Harbor Freight. I'm on the 2nd one in less than two years - the 1st one quit working right in the middle of a roast!

I wish I knew more about these things, but is a controller designed for a motor being asked to do something it wasn't designed to do when you ask it to control a heating element?

I normally don't expect HF stuff to last very long, but am wondering if it died because it was cheap HF stuff, or if it's not meant for that sort of duty.

At ~10% of a variac, who cares? If a $19 device lasts ~2 years, it's cheap enough to replace and still be ahead of the game at the end of 10 years. It works, and that's all I care about.

[mp]

I get this 15 amp model at Harbor Freight. I'm on the 2nd one in less than two years - the 1st one quit working right in the middle of a roast!

I wish I knew more about these things, but is a controller designed for a motor being asked to do something it wasn't designed to do when you ask it to control a heating element?

I normally don't expect HF stuff to last very long, but am wondering if it died because it was cheap HF stuff, or if it's not meant for that sort of duty.

At ~10% of a variac, who cares? If a $19 device lasts ~2 years, it's cheap enough to replace and still be ahead of the game at the end of 10 years. It works, and that's all I care about.

+1

 

[RobertL]

Today I finally feel like I nailed my first roast with the SC/TO. I discovered that my TO runs much hotter than the dial is set at. This was the first roast I felt like I had complete control of, a nice controlled ramp. The first few were up and down with the heater running hot and me try to compensate.

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

I split the fan & heat circuits too, but I have a router speed control for managing heat. Roasting is more or less a dialed-in process now; preheat with full power, then flip to variable power.

How many amps is your router speed control? I want to split the fan and heater circuits on my TO if I can figure out how to do it. Maybe I'll add the router speed control while I'm at it.

when I opened my TO it was pretty clear what wires went to the fan and what wires to the temp controller/heat elements..  I just wired the fan wires to a new cord now the fan is on if the plug is plugged in.. the heat can be controlled with the built in dial or by lifting the handle on the TO with no effect on the fan..

is the router controller more accurate than the heat control knob that came on the TO from the factory??

[Tex]

I split the fan & heat circuits too, but I have a router speed control for managing heat. Roasting is more or less a dialed-in process now; preheat with full power, then flip to variable power.

How many amps is your router speed control? I want to split the fan and heater circuits on my TO if I can figure out how to do it. Maybe I'll add the router speed control while I'm at it.

when I opened my TO it was pretty clear what wires went to the fan and what wires to the temp controller/heat elements..  I just wired the fan wires to a new cord now the fan is on if the plug is plugged in.. the heat can be controlled with the built in dial or by lifting the handle on the TO with no effect on the fan..

is the router controller more accurate than the heat control knob that came on the TO from the factory??

The TO's thermostat was the biggest obstacle to using the dial - its dead band was too wide. So when I rewired my TO I did away with the thermostat and wired the element directly to line-in power . I tried using the handle to control heat, but it's either 100% on or 100% off - that's not enough control for someone like me.

With the router speed control you're managing the temp by varying the percentage of power being applied. For example: Say I'm running the TO at 85% to 300, then maybe 90% to 375, then back down to 85% to 1st crack, then ... (These are hypothetical settings, not necessarily the ones I use).

By putting a Kill-A-Watt between the router speed control and the TO, I can measure the wattage applied to achieve a given temperature. Which means I'm now profiling my roasts so I can get some degree of repeatability for future roasts.

It also means I don't have to babysit my roaster as much - I can multitask without having to worry about pooching a roast.

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

I started out using the TO dial but use the handle now..  I don't have a dead band.. just found I could follow the bean with the handle and a temp probe.. I only lift the handle to slow down for caramelizing and to stretch out the roast after 1C

the dead band would get me looking for something different.

[Tex]

I started out using the TO dial but use the handle now..  I don't have a dead band.. just found I could follow the bean with the handle and a temp probe.. I only lift the handle to slow down for caramelizing and to stretch out the roast after 1C

the dead band would get me looking for something different.

That's what makes roasting so interesting; everyone's got their own method for arriving at a common end - good coffee in the cup.

[sea330]

Hi ya all, I am facing the same issues with the thermostat so I decided to install a solid state relay a K type TC and a inexpensive temp controller off ebay. For the fan speed control I am thinking just 2 or 3 position fan switch from goodwill. I have everything I need to set it up maybe tonight I will put it together. It's a blast tinkering with this stuff. I will let you know how things go tomorrow. Rich

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

Hi ya all, I am facing the same issues with the thermostat so I decided to install a solid state relay a K type TC and a inexpensive temp controller off ebay. For the fan speed control I am thinking just 2 or 3 position fan switch from goodwill. I have everything I need to set it up maybe tonight I will put it together. It's a blast tinkering with this stuff. I will let you know how things go tomorrow. Rich

I found no advantage to changing the fan speed..  I had my TO heat hooked to a PID but found I was just using it for the temp and could get very good control with the handle on the TO