The perfect roaster - be part of something amazing!

[CrabApples6]

I want to be able to use my senses, to be able to smell the roast progress and see the beans.  The roaster should be quiet enough to hear the cracks as well.  The ability to adjust heat transfer style would be nice.  This could be done by joe's perf drum to solid drum, or possibly by directing the air flow through drum or around it.  Air mass flow adjustment is important.  Smoke suppression should be a consideration because it could open up location choices for a would be roaster.  Temperature measurement and heat controls that interface with software that would allow you to monitor the roast and create repetable profiles.  Heating elements can be agile(like gas burners) or a bit slower like IR(think diedrich) drum materials can also be more or less responsive.  Some consideration  should be made to the combination of drum to burner.  Stirring vane design would be important.  Even heat distribution. The ability to cool quickly.

[donn]

Some of this has been sounding like what's good about the propane grill + drum.  The 1 lb batch size anyway, and of course the no-problem gas heat.  If there's a way to instrument it better, bean temperatures etc., that would be terrific.  I don't understand, though, the intent behind control over whether the drum is perforated?  Depending on the answer, would it be the same if there's some control over baffling between the heat source and the drum?

[John F]

A quality steel drum with agressive stirring vanes, balanced, and trued on a lathe. Space/interface between the faceplate and drum; less than the thickness of a business card. No wobbling!

 

[Joe]

Some of this has been sounding like what's good about the propane grill + drum.  The 1 lb batch size anyway, and of course the no-problem gas heat.  If there's a way to instrument it better, bean temperatures etc., that would be terrific.  I don't understand, though, the intent behind control over whether the drum is perforated?  Depending on the answer, would it be the same if there's some control over baffling between the heat source and the drum?

Maybe, it's more about eliminating the the debate for people that want with perforated for better airflow and people who believe solid drums are better. One of the better options that most roasters are looking for is perforated drums, but there are still skeptics. The ideal would be a one drum solution.

[CrabApples6]

As far as the perforated drum or the solid drum, to me it's about influencing the heat transfer.  For a given metal and thickness of drum a perforated drum should respond to temperature changes quicker.  The second part is the ability to change how much of the heat transfer is conduction vs. convection.  Fluid/spurting bed roasters swing the pendulum to convection, while solid drums with little direct contact with moving gas/air swing it to conduction.  In my perfect roaster, I would be able to decide.  Radiant heat transfer is another possible influence to play with, but I think it would be harder to vary.

I think that baffling gas flow could have a similar effect, but care needs to be taken to keep the heating even.  I wouldn't want hot and cool spots, especially if they were inconsistent and changed with air flow adjustment.  The other part of this is that having a thermally responsive drum and a thermally responsive heat source could make for a finicky roaster.

This doesn't have to be a drum roaster, right?  An SCTO'ish style roaster could incorporate many of the wish list items.

We should also consider energy efficiency, safety devices, chaff removal and style. 

Energy Efficiency:

• gas/air re-circulation (or regenerative air heating) could increase the incoming air temperature and reduce fuel required.
• Proper insulation of the roaster to keep the heat in.

Safety:

• Interlock the fan to shut down on fire detection
• Thermocouple looking for rapid heat increase that could initiate an emergency shutdown
• The ability to dump the beans to a cooler without getting burnt
• Minimizer hot surfaces to prevent burns and possible external fires
• There are probably other codes that would have to be complied too (especially if gas was used) and a UL rating would probably be necessary

Chaff Removal
I think chaff removal is a design consideration for later after some other choices are made, but it is important.  Poor chaff removal can create a fire hazard and, at a minimum, ruin the appearance of beautiful beans.  This is not a big deal for me, but a new roasting hobbyist or customer who gets a bag full of chaff might disagree.

Style
Not really my area of expertise, but style can make or break a product in the mass market.  I've seen useless devices sell like hot cakes because they were stylish and vice-a-versa.

[tadpole]

Would like to be able to run a 2 to 3 pound batch .
Solid to perforated drum would be great. Maybe an insert?
Since we are throwing things against the wall. Modular drum sizes? Might be more engineering than its worth but what the heck.

Integrated data readouts so you can just plug a USB into the control panel.
Probably more that should come to mind but a lot has been mentioned already above.

[rasqual]

Oh I've been sitting on two ideal platforms for a long time now. Both very different, and both untried in mass production.

I can't afford the patent process, or anything else involved in getting something to market.

This has made me consider how very many great ideas on this planet have never seen the light of day.

[YasBean]

It sounds like there are two camps: the larger capacity "garage roasters" and the <=1# "kitchen roasters." I belong to the latter. I have a HotTop P model, and can speak to what I wish for in this roaster.
I need an electric roaster to be used under a stove hood.  Up to 20 amps, 120 volts. I liked the programmability of my HT-P in the beginning , but now really wish it could interface easily with a computer or tablet to have close control of the roast. I am often frustrated that the HT-P does not allow much on the fly adjustments. I would like to start with a preprogrammed profile but be able to interrupt and adjust the parameters any time. We could then have a database of profiles to share. Enter the distribution code, and the app or control software would download and show profiles others have provided, such as the profile saved and shared by he cupper.
The HT also has too much plastic.  I've stripped the threads of the back plate, and the barrel often rubs on he heating element. Then, there is the load size.  .5-1# would be ideal for me.


HT-P
VBM DB
Vario

[donn]

It sounds like there are two camps: the larger capacity "garage roasters" and the <=1# "kitchen roasters."
...
Then, there is the load size.  .5-1# would be ideal for me.

There's two kinds of people - the kind that believes there's two kinds of people, and the kind that doesn't.

I propose that it would help to introduce a third category intermediate between your first and second, the roasters that are larger than the typical kitchen appliances and can really manage 1 lb.

Then we can eliminate the first category, because everyone would like to be able to roast a pound if they could.  I infer that includes you - your Hottop isn't big enough - and potentially everyone else who has ever bought a kitchen appliance roaster, because the way they do it, indoors or out, they're limited by typical household circuits.  Really satisfactory capacity means either a more heat-efficient electric (apparently the Stir-Crazy/convection oven rigs roast bigger loads?  Behmor claims 1 lb but might be stretch?), that could push the limit up a bit.  Or it means a different appliance model, like 220V or propane, that isn't your usual kitchen appliance - and once you take that step, it's silly not to make the garage roaster, so we can dispense with the intermediate category as well.

[peter]

I've seen the 1lb.-hang up for years, but still don't know why that would matter to the typical home-roaster.  Unless you're bagging the beans for sale or for gifts, who cares what size batch you net, whether it's 1lb. or 12oz.?

[donn]

I guess I use them up fast.  12 oz. vs 16?  It's a fairly small difference, but noticeable, why didn't you ask about 15 vs 16?  In the general picture though, 12 oz is still more than you're going to get from kitchen appliances.  Hottop is your high end roaster, and it maxes out at 8, right - depending on line voltage?  The Hearthware Gourmet that I stupidly bought some years back wouldn't do near that much.

If a little bit of coffee goes a long way in your household, then you wouldn't like my propane BBQ grill drum roaster.  It's ill suited to small loads, I don't think I've ever bothered with anything as small as 1/2 lb.  For me that means robusta or anything I have in small quantity, I'll try to heat gun that stuff.  The question is though, when we're daring to dream about a perfect roaster, and knowing you guys perfection means expensive, who cares about small loads?

[djbetterly]

Out of curiosity, is this thread a hypothetical situation, or is this the beginnings of an independent GCBC kickstarter campaign?

When I read forums about roasters under $2000, almost every roaster ends up being modified to some degree to meet the exact needs of an experienced home roaster.

Personally I would love a roaster that could be converted from electric to gas.  I currently live in a NYC apartment and running a gas roaster in an apartment would be dangerous.  However, in the future we plan to move to the burbs and I've love to move to a gas roaster. 

I'm also a sucker for data logging for the ability to recreate a roast.  Using the artisan software with my Quest has made that quite easy. 

[kevsnova]

I would like a 2 kilo (4.4lbs) drum roaster, My thinking is that I can still do small batches but have the capability to do larger ones. I have recently hooked up with a machinist and a welder(fabricator). I have been searching online for a suitable size and design idea for a propane drum roaster.
As mentioned previously in this thread, I would want to design the drum and machine to run close to silent. I have watched some videos of roasters trying to listen for first crack where the back ground noise is of a very high decibel.
Could some sort of audio change gadget inside the machine determine that first crack has started?
Just something I am looking into now.

[Joe]

Might be a GCBC kickstarter eventually. Want to get some idea's kicked around and see where folks are landing on some stuff. The more input the better. I have to say the Allio Bullet checks most of my boxes...Personally but the Sonofresco checks all of my real boxes. But in creating something new that people already don't have crazy prejudice about such as Fluid bed vs. Drum its good to start with a less controversial platform. I.E. What is your ideal 1lb drum roaster features.

[sonnyhad]

Many of the roasters on the market lately have been over a couple grand in price! That is hard to justify for the hobbyist that roast their own and 1lb a week is all they use. It would be great if a general platform could be had that roasts a pound and is between 500 and 1000 dollars. That would make it more digestible for the average hobbyist, and like others have stated, then you could have a nice choice for a Christmas gift when someone asks what you want!