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Smoke Elimination Device

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shep:
I have been a member of this group for many years but have not been active for a long time. Over the past 20 years of roasting I have gone full circle from home roaster to commercial wholesaler to retired and back to roasting at home. I purchased a home in a community where roasting on the 1 kilo gas roaster I kept to play on was not going to be an acceptable practice so I sold it. I have been thinking about picking up a Bullet to avoid the gas/flame issue but I am still concerned about the amount of smoke I will expose my very close neighbors to. I realize this is not an issue for many of you, but I'm sure it is for some.

That led me to take notice of a project a local micro factory has recently developed. The group has built a ventless, indoor meat smoker that eliminates the smoke by turning it into water vapor and CO2 (safe levels). I was able to get a meeting with them this past week to discuss the possibility of using their smoke elimination technology on a small coffee roaster, such as the Bullet. The idea was received very well and they are interested in exploring the possibility. What they have asked of me is to see if I can gauge interest in such a device. That is the reason for this post.

Just a few things to be clear on:
1. I mentioned this to the Admin of this site before making this post.
2. I do not work for this company and am not selling anything. I met with them out of my own personal interest in finding a solution to a smoke concern.
3. That said, the company that I just retired from after 43 years owns this micro-factory, so I do have an association with them.,
4. I don't know anything about how the technology works yet. We only met to discuss whether or not is was something they could adapt their technology to and if they are interested in pursuing it.
5. I have no idea yet what it might cost.
6. The device would be an add on to a roaster, although they did discuss the idea of should they build a roaster of their own.

I would love to hear from this community as to whether or not you would have an interest in such a device, so please respond here as to your initial thoughts. Thanks!

Here is a link to a YouTube video from the company discussing the smoker. They have  several videos: https://youtu.be/IQx_jZS0bcI

Shep

peter:
Hello Shep,

It's nice to see an old, familiar face posting again.

I don't have the need for such a device, currently, but have thought about moving and how the facility that would suit me best at my age probably wouldn't be amenable to coffee roasting so I will be following if this goes anywhere.

shep:
Exactly the case for us. We lived on a farm where we could do pretty much anything we wanted, but as I approached retirement age, we wanted something simple to care for that we could leave and travel easily. We ended up buying a patio home in a subdivision, similar to a townhouse or condo in which we are in close proximity to our neighbors. We have an HOA to navigate as well. I want to continue enjoying the roasting process, using an engaging machine, without creating a negative situation with my neighbors or the HOA.

peter:
Gotcha.

An old member here, 7over, has a commercial roastery (uses a Loring now) with a self-designed fluid-bed roaster.  He ran the exhaust through a large vat of water that would soak up the smoke before it exited the building.  I thought it was a pretty cool and effective design, and wonder why that isn't used more often.

shep:
I've posed this question in a few places. This may not be the right audience for the question but I thought I'd try to get as much input as possible to share with the engineers at the factory.

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