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

[peter]

Is the Supentown SO-2000 preferred over the SO-2002? It looks like the main differences between the two are that the SO-2002 has 2 fans and a digital control over temp / time versus a knob. Opinions?

I don't know about the two fans part, and if that's true it'd be news to me.

I always shied away from the digital controls.  It's just more likely to fail than a knob, and you have to sit and push the up/down buttons too long to get the temps set where you want them.

[Warrior372]

Thank you for the advice Peter. I feel the same way about digital stuff . . . . it always seems to be the first thing to go on most items. Here is the link to the SO-2002 - mention of the two fans is the 7th bullet from the bottom - http://www.sunpentown.com/sodicoovnaca.html. I thought that maybe 'better circulation of air' from the two fans might make up for the digital aspect. Maybe I am thinking too much .

[Everett]

What sorts of times are you guys running on your SC/TOs? I've been putting mine through its paces, and i just stepped it up to a batch size of 545g green, to get approximately 1lb roasted.

My first batch of this size was tonight and it was the Costa Rica that Peter just had on offer:
1Cs 18:00
1Cf 20:00
Drop 21:00

Second batch of the night is PNG flatbean also from Peter. I went hotter at the beginning.
1Cs 14:00
1Cf 16:15
2Cs 19:30
Drop 20:15

Third batch is Sumatra from Peter as well. I started with heat in the middle of the first 2 and stepped it up to full at about the same time as the others. This was a slower progressing roast than number 2, as I pushed it a bit farther into 2C and it came out a bit lighter.
1Cs 16:00
1Cf 18:00
2Cs 19:30
Drop 20:30

Just wondering what your guys ideal timeframe is for a roast of this size in one of these guys?

Sent from the Mobile

[peter]

I notice when I even put a lb. of green in mine that the outside of the bean mass, where the hot air is actually coming down (the fan pulls air up in the middle and sends it down along the circumference) the outer beans roast faster and darker.  It may have something to do w/ my arm design, but mainly I think it's the slow rotation.

Other than that, and I don't know where this 'common wisdom' comes from, but many will tell you that 20min is getting into the baked beans territory.

Do you have the SC heating element disconnected?

Ultimately, it's your taste buds that will tell you.  If you're not hung up on netting a full lb., try starting with a lb., and seeing how a faster roast goes.  I would suspect that your longer roasts are on the dull side, and something faster will add some nuance.  Let us know.

My 380g batches will usually be getting to the start of 2C in around 15min.

[Everett]

Peter,


Thanks for the reply. I have 60 rpm motors in both of mine, and a bit of aluminum tubing added to the arms of them, so agitation is more than adequate for the amount that is in there. They seem to come out nice and even. I also have a 3/4" aluminum lip, with a 1 1/4" chaff ejector above that, so there's lots of room for the quantity of beans that are in there.


I have been doing 454 green, and averaging 390 roasted, and those have been in the 15-16min to 2c range, 12-13 or so to 1c. Those have been nice and tasty. Based on the percentage weight loss I have been getting with those batches, I went 545g, and all 4 tonight came out to the 454g range, albeit a bit longer than I would have liked.


Ideally, I built these roasters with the end goal in mind of being to be able to do batches that are slightly over 1lb roasted (enough to give me a bit to try, if the batch is sold). 20 minutes does seem a bit long to me, compared to what I am used to, but like you, I'm not sure where the 20min baked idea comes from. That said, being that these are freshly roasted, I have not tried them, and I will likely not be trying them either. They are spoken for already.


Regarding the bottom heater, I have that on a switch, and I use it for pre-heating the roaster, and for a bit of a warm up in between roasts, but it is off for the duration of my roasts, so I suspect this may provide for a nice addition to push a roast into 1c a bit quicker. I had not even thought of it, haha.


By the way, I have been really enjoying this latest order I got from you. Thanks again Peter.

[grinderz]

At full blast, my Galloping Gourmet can take a pound of beans to 2nd in about 13-14 minutes or so, though I'm usually trying to slow things down at points during the roast. That includes preheating to about 300f before dropping the beans in.

[Everett]

Grinderz, is that 1lb green or 1lb after roast? My times are about the same on my SO-2000s. 1lb green to 2c in 14 on average.

[grinderz]

Green weight.

[peter]

Ideally, I built these roasters with the end goal in mind of being to be able to do batches that are slightly over 1lb roasted (enough to give me a bit to try, if the batch is sold). 20 minutes does seem a bit long to me, compared to what I am used to, but like you, I'm not sure where the 20min baked idea comes from. That said, being that these are freshly roasted, I have not tried them, and I will likely not be trying them either. They are spoken for already.


Regarding the bottom heater, I have that on a switch, and I use it for pre-heating the roaster, and for a bit of a warm up in between roasts, but it is off for the duration of my roasts, so I suspect this may provide for a nice addition to push a roast into 1c a bit quicker. I had not even thought of it, haha.


By the way, I have been really enjoying this latest order I got from you. Thanks again Peter.

I forgot that you were building two roasters.  You may consider downsizing your batches to give you faster roasts and more control, and leap-frogging batches.  At least I've found that to work well.  When I do 380g batches, three of them will net me 2lbs. and a few cups for myself, and at that rate the roasters have a capacity of 4lbs. per hour.

Using the bottom heat (for my addled brain) is asking for trouble; I'll invariably forget and leave it on too long.  I had a small signal lamp wire into the switch circuit and that was great, but never found the right bulb that would last very long.  Plus, the idea of never know for sure where the bottom element was in its t-stat cycle is annoying; you can't necessarily be sure the element is on just because the switch is in the on position w/o some sort of signal.

[stevea]

OK - w/o reviewing 37 pages.  My old GG falied (spectacularly - sparks & smoke & everything) 2 weeks ago and like a good scout I pulled out my spare GG and moved on.  But of course I have 2 problems.
1/ the spindle stirrer doesn't work well on the new SC  and
2/ I need a new spare TO.

2/ Well LOVED the old 1440W GG - it's hot & powerful and lasted the most of 1000 roasts, but to be honest I had it apart too many times and eventually the insulation failed and the heating element was busy  arc-welding beans when I yanked the cord.    I am a strong believer in the idea that time matters and so 350-400g of beans under the TO need to hit 1st crack in <7 minutes (in a pre-heated unit).  So the 13-14min times sound bad to me.  Will a Supentown SO-200x get a reduced load to 1st crack in time ?

 1/ I melted out the plastic SC spindle some time ago, so I have a Sears 1/4" socket long-ish wrench (7/16ths?) that fits nicely into the drilled out spindle hole.  I have a slit down the top for the arm-wire, but sadly this combo on the new SC lifts out of place (down at the 1/4" vs wrench fitting).  So it turns ~3/4th of a turn then stalls, then turns a bit more.   Or alternatively the arm-wire pops out of place and fails.   Either way it seems the beans force the arm upward causing a disconnect.  Anyone got a solution.   I *think* I'll take a small diameter screw an wedge a washer+screw  into the (nylon) 1/4" drive to wedge the whole thing into place.

[peter]

2) I'm assuming that to get to 1C in <7min. your SC heating element is in use, yes?  If so, I don't doubt that the Sunpentown will have sufficient power.  I use one side by side w/ the GG, and they heat similarly, even though the stated wattage is different by a couple hundred watts.  The GG appears to be more robust however.

1) Is there room on the threads of your shaft for a nut and washer directly under the SC's bed?  A jam nut is about half the thickness of a standard nut, if you can find one in the specialty hardware bins of a good store.

[stevea]

2) I'm assuming that to get to 1C in <7min. your SC heating element is in use, yes?  If so, I don't doubt that the Sunpentown will have sufficient power.  I use one side by side w/ the GG, and they heat similarly, even though the stated wattage is different by a couple hundred watts.  The GG appears to be more robust however.

1) Is there room on the threads of your shaft for a nut and washer directly under the SC's bed?  A jam nut is about half the thickness of a standard nut, if you can find one in the specialty hardware bins of a good store.

2) No SC heater, Peter.  For years (until the fireworks) I used a 1440W old-school GG and an SC w /the heating element disconnected.  In the distant past someone suggested that SC heating element was a negative.  My opinion is that the SC heater doesn't matter much since the thermal cut-off kicks in before 1C temps.  I typically use 400 gram (14+ oz) of greens.  I also use a springform pan extender, which seems to make the unit a little faster.   Preheat for 2 minutes before the 1st load.  At full power (no diddling)  hit 1C by 6 minutes or a little under !

So you comment leads me to believe that ~200W delta is not that critical and should do the job.

1)  I'm probably on my 3rd or 4th  SC and each one is built a little differently.  The previous one was severely damaged (burning beans & sparks ruined the non-stick surface) so it was tossed.   One of the older ones had it's shaft melted enough to bend the shaft making it unable to turn.  So (following some advice from CoffeeGeek IIRC) I found a Sears extended length socket that goes from the 1/4" drive on the motor and up thru the 'pan' hole and extends up by ~1/2 inch.  I cut a vertical slit thru the socket end for the stir-arm wire.  I got the parts for this some time ago - so this it the first time I've put the socket method into use - and it's problematic.



So there is no thread on the shaft !   The nice thing about the plastic shaft is that it had a shoulder under the pan to prevent it from popping upward.  The socket doesn't.    So while the stir-arm is spinning and encountering beans it is pushed a bit upwards, and this causes the socket to lift up by a bean-height or so. and this is enough to cause the socket to disengage from the motor's short nylon 1/4" drive.

Maybe I need to buy a new SC and give up on the socket method.

On that topic - My experience has been that the original SC mechanism works OK out of the box by only wrapping the nut-hub w/ aluminum foil - or  by replacing the nut and covering w/ copper pipe end-cap.  But after ~20 sessions (usually on the third of 4th roast of the session) the plastic threaded extention softens and fails.   So then I drill a hole and tap/thread the shaft and install a metal bolt.   This lasts quite a while (several hundreds of sessions).

Do you have a similar experience ?  Better approach ?

(tnx Peter - and for the burundi offering too).

[peter]

I don't think I've had any of the plastic shafts melt beyond the threads.  My solution has been to grind the plastic shaft flat to the bottom of the slot where the stirring arm sits, and drill a hole down the shaft and install a hanger bolt.




I've read that some people will use a socket, but a standard length socket, with the hex end connected to a bolt.  That way you have threads extending up through the SC bed, and can place a nut/washer below the bed to keep it in place.

[grinderz]

I've read that some people will use a socket, but a standard length socket, with the hex end connected to a bolt.  That way you have threads extending up through the SC bed, and can place a nut/washer below the bed to keep it in place.

I had to read this twice before I could visualize what you meant. I like it and have an old SC that I may try it on. I've never been quite able to get the hole for a hanger bolt drilled straight enough to suit. Both times I tried, the stir arm ended up wobbly.

[dmankin]

Years ago, I stumbled on a StirCrazy knockoff made by Salton - it had a METAL AXLE!  I have been roasting weekly in it since 2006! (stock stir-arms, and heater disabled).

http://www.homeroasters.org/php/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=32&thread_id=363