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What roaster would you buy today?

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anastasio:
Ok, my 2nd SC/TO died and I'm ready to leap up. Way up.
I expect to roast 1-2 lbs per week. Looking for something that can handle at least a 1lb batch. Electric, indoor/vented, 110 or 220v. Want to be able to use roasting profiles to control the batches.

If you had saved up about $3,000 from the years of roasting your own beans with a home made SC/TO  ;D, what would you buy today?
 - Aillio Bullet R1 looks very promising but hard to find. I really like ability to swap roasting profiles.
 - Behmor Jake is very interesting, but new and I can't find any current info or suppliers (I just sent them an inquiry)
 - Huky 500T - propane only?
 - Others?

Thank you for your feedback.
Back to cleaning spider webs out of my Poppery II...

AA

Ascholten:
I can only really authoritatively speak on the Artisan roaster because that's what I use.
They have an A3 which I think you can get for that price range, which will handle up to 3 lbs they claim, meaning it can do more than 3 lbs actually.  My A6 can do 5 lbs but I have ran over 8 in it already , and I believe the A3 will go down to half a pound.

It's electric so you don't have to fiddle with gas.  Very versatile and very responsive.
I just checked, the price is a little higher than I remember it but I would vouch for the roaster.   If you have any questions / problems or anything, their customer service is TOP NOTCH!!  I have called them on the phone on numerous occasions, and every time (when I actually remembered and called during their working hours that is :)  ) they have been more than willing to answer every and any question I may have ever had.  One of the ones you mentioned has pretty crappy customer service from my past experiences.  Customer service AFTER the sale is worth it's weight in gold, especially if stuff breaks or wears out over time.

Otherwise, I have heard a lot of positive reviews on the Huky, but yes it is propane, I think there is a thread here for just that roaster, we have a few fanboys here who I am sure could answer any questions you may have on it.

If you have any questions about the Artisan Id be happy to answer them for you.

Aaron

peter:
I know a couple of people who I trust that use the Bullet and are very happy with it.

Over the years I've heard the '1-lb' thing as a requirement but never understood why that is.

Before my Ambex 2K (propane) I used two SC/TO's, and still use them for samples; having two of them doubles your capacity and easy to manage.  Netting 12oz per batch it can hit 4#/hour.  But it sounds like you're done with that idea.

anastasio:
Thank you guys for the response so far. The Artisan looks really nice but I don't think I can justify the price. Heck, I'm already looking to spend more on this roster than I did on my car  ::) (gotta love a good used Honda!)

I agree, support can be crucial. So is reliability. I like that the Bullet is now V2 and already improved upon. That would be a hesitation with the Jake.

As for the batch size, 2 reasons for the 1lb capacity: it seems to be the tipping point from consumer to prosumer. Better built, more features. It is also about what we consume in a week.

To be honest, I'm getting lazier and more willing to spend the money for things that work well and produce great results. I've also learned that if you take care of these things you can get a lot of your money back if you decide to sell them later. Ultimately it's cheap rent with a large deposit :-)

Thank you for taking the time to respond as I continue the search.
AA

Ascholten:
You might be able to talk them down a little on the Artisan, you never know.  I know when I got my A6 I did not need the entire setup with the vents and all that stuff because I was roasting outside so didn't care where they chaff went, so just needed the hot part and it was significantly less than what was listed.   You are correct though in that you get what you pay for, but this will last years and years and is very trouble free.  If something does go out on it, the repair parts are few and simple, it's not like well, I have this Italian Left wound Knibbly Pin that sheared that I have to try to find.  Nope,easy peazy, I got an entire repair kit to essentially totally rebuild the guts of mine for like 200 dollars I think it was.

Good luck with your search.  One other thing to consider, the 'free stuff' they are giving you, the coffee is probably worth 200 dollars so that's a bit off really.

Aaron

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