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

[drob]

I don't suppose anyone would have an original shaft for a stir crazy one might have replaced with the socket/bolt mod, would they?

[peter]

What happened drob?

[drob]

I was trying to screw the hanger bolt into the shaft, and was holding the middle section with a pair of pliers, DOH!  Hole was too small, I guess, and I thought I could get it in anyway.  Live and learn.

[headchange4u]

My SC unit has a removable stirring shaft comprised of a socket with a screw JB welded to the socket and then some washers and nuts to hold the stirring arm. I bought it like that. The socket drops on to the SC's square plastic shaft on the motor. Today the square plastic shaft on the stir SC became rounded and now my stirring arm assembly keeps popping off when beans are in the roaster.

The only way of fixing this problem is to permanently glue the stirring arm assembly to the SC's plastic drive shaft. I have tried JB Welding things together but the JB Weld won't stick to the plastic drive shaft. I have also tried various epoxies that you can buy in stores but they are only rated for ~250-300* and they release their bond during the roasting process.

I am looking for an adhesive or epoxy that A) will stick well to both plastic and metal and B) is able to resist the heat of repeated roastings without losing it;s bond. Any recommendations?

[peter]

Any recommendations?

Get another motor?

[headchange4u]

Any recommendations?

Get another motor?

I've got a back up unit, but I really hate to toss a SC that still function fine mechanically. I was thinking that the epoxy/glue would be a pretty easy fix.

[Tex]

Just to make sure - we're talking about the nub on the motor itself? If so, there's little option other than finding a new motor.

My SC unit has a removable stirring shaft comprised of a socket with a screw JB welded to the socket and then some washers and nuts to hold the stirring arm. I bought it like that. The socket drops on to the SC's square plastic shaft on the motor. Today the square plastic shaft on the stir SC became rounded and now my stirring arm assembly keeps popping off when beans are in the roaster.

The only way of fixing this problem is to permanently glue the stirring arm assembly to the SC's plastic drive shaft. I have tried JB Welding things together but the JB Weld won't stick to the plastic drive shaft. I have also tried various epoxies that you can buy in stores but they are only rated for ~250-300* and they release their bond during the roasting process.

I am looking for an adhesive or epoxy that A) will stick well to both plastic and metal and B) is able to resist the heat of repeated roastings without losing it;s bond. Any recommendations?

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

You can try more glues... or spend the same money (or less) on a SC base at the local thrift store, swap motors and roast on...

[peter]

I have a spare motor if you want it.

[headchange4u]

I have a spare motor if you want it.

Cool. PM sent...

[SusanJoM]

Is anyone using their SC/TO or TO/UFO to roast small batches of beans?
I'm the only person in the house.  None of the dogs drinks coffee.
So, for example, one day this week I wanted to roast 6 oz each of three different beans.

My difficulty seems to be that the roast escalates so fast once it hits FC.
I have to hold onto the probe to keep it into as much of the bean mass as possible, and I have the alert set on 450 just to keep me safe.  But that alert is going off less than 2 minutes after FC, (which seems to occur at about 6 minutes into the roast) at which point I scramble around and dump everything to avoid serious scorch.

Any suggestions for creating a profile for small batches and aiming for C+ or FC? 

Susan

[peter]

I have somewhat of the same issue, and today I'm roasting a sample for Milowebailey that's only 4oz. 

The temp probe becomes more useless as bean mass decreases, since the tip of the probe where it reads temps is exposed to more hot air and less beans.  (Sort of like Tex - more hot air and less beans  )

Your main concern tho' will be to learn to modulate your heat, with or without the assistance of the thermometer.  Small roasts are a two-edged sword; they're easier because they'll accept heat more easily and can be raised quickly, but harder because they have little momentum and won't coast as nicely- if you kill the heat the beans cool/stall easily.

All I can suggest is finding a way to get the probe to stay in the same spot without having to hold it, and then watch the temp it reads just as first starts and then modulate the heat so that temps climb gradually.  Somewhere towards the end of 1st you should be able to turn the heat off for say 15sec., while watching the temp- the temps will continue to climb because of the beans' momentum and being exothermic, but that rise will slow.  As the temp rise slows, turn the heat back on, allowing for the amount of time it takes for the heating element to come up to temp and start adding more heat into the beans.

With practice you'll be creating a nice, even, and slow heat ramp through 1st, and into 2nd.

You may be dealing with another issue too.  If too much heat is poured into the beans going into and during 1st, they will have too much stored energy and will continue to climb right into 2nd, regardless of having the heat off.  I have fun watching my temps climb an extra 10deg or more, after killing the heat.  In fact, that's often how I end a FC or FC+ roast; say 1st is ending around 420F and I let the roast hang around the low to mid 420's for a couple minutes (which would give me a nice C+ roast level) and then I add heat until my probe reads 426, if I kill the heat then it'll climb all by itself into the mid 430's with an outlier snap or two of 2nd crack.  So make sure that you don't pour too much heat into the roast, and then expect it to stop when you want it too.

Hope that helps answer your question.  Sorry if it's too much info.

[Tex]

Howdy Susan!
I've been using the air-popper for sample batches (anything under a half-pound). But I've been thinking about modding the UFO/CO for this job since I have the Sonofresco doing the heavy batches.

I'm considering how to reduce the diameter of the spacer ring and stirrer to do this? This is what I've come up with so far. I'm thinking the spacer ring might need to be taller and be just wide enough to accomodate the TO heating element. Since this is a semi-permanent solution (too cumbersome to switch back & forth) it may not work for you?

[peter]

That will address the issue of stirring a small batch by concentrating the beans into a smaller space, but not the real reason Susan's having the problem of roasts getting away from her.

[ButtWhiskers]

The best way to slow down a roast for small batches is to:
1)  Reduce the TO heat output/temperature setting -and-
2)  Increase the exhaust opening

With a UFO, you should be fine area-wise with your setup as the diameter is smaller than a StirCrazy.  If you had a StirCrazy you might want to reduce the roasting area as Peter suggested.