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

[parkerto]

Are all the stir crazy 1,000 watt and does going higher make a difference like  the popcorn pumpers? Is there a specific model everyone recommends?

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

[Badam]

Are all the stir crazy 1,000 watt and does going higher make a difference like  the popcorn pumpers? Is there a specific model everyone recommends?

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

I would guess the wattage of the stir crazy is somewhat irrelevant as you are not using it for a heat source, and that rating is for the heating element, I believe.

I would focus on a stir crazy that has a good stir arm motor. Worry about wattage when it comes to the Turbo Oven. 

[antoine_t]

Fantastic job, haven't been able interact much, been in Vegas for the last month or so, the wife had open heart surgery crashed a couple of times ended up with a stroke, no use of the right foot, my world and hers will never be the same., glade to be back roasting again feeding my obsession. Just finished building a SC/TO modified for a friend, I have 5 people locally roasting this way and they love it, they buy greens from me at cost. Glad to hear your up and running.

Rich

Hey Rich

Terribly sorry to hear about your wife, I hope she has a speedy recovery.  I do not know the severity of the blockage your wife has but with hard work and physio, a lot people have regained a lot of their mobility/range of motion post stroke. 

Thanks again for your contributions to this board

[parkerto]

Peter helped me with a SC/TO SETUP. so it's time to share. He modded a great SC, I bought a good TO he recommended, and then I wanted a cooling unit so I found a bucket and poked some holes into it and stuck a shop vac in it to stuck out hot air. Works great!





Todd Parker

[peter]

Just think, now you ruin more coffee faster!


JK, glad you're having fun with the new setup, Todd!


The cool part is, now you're the expert that can help the next noob along.   

[parkerto]

This was my second roast, but the first I really logged. I tried to dial it back so it would roast longer, sill a little under though? The decosonic temp steps in increments of about 18° so half steps would be about 9° for the TO, don't know how that translates to the bean. Any advice and feedback is appreciated.


11.22.15 Panama. 424°, down 1/2 step every 2 minutes. 372° at 6 minutes. 383° at 8 minutes. 1st crack at 8:45 at 390°.   Pulled at 10:30 at 401°. Cooled 5:30 minutes.

Todd Parker

[e.roc]

So, I made a stirring base modeled after sea330's ideas.   I roasted 1 & 1/2 pounds of coffee.  1C was about 17 min. And 2C about 23 min.   Is that too long of a roast cycle?   Am I baking vrs roasting?   Should I move the heat source closer to the bean mass or lower the mass amount?   The 1st roast was decent, but deferring to you SC/TO experts for wise counsel...

[ptrmorton]

Seems long - especially for 1/2 pound and you don't say whether the 1 lbs roast was significantly longer.  I think you need more heat or less heat loss.  What is the wattage of the turbo oven and is it the only thing running on that electrical circuit?  How high did you preheat before dropping the beans?  Can you completely close the roasting chamber or is it always vented to some extent?
sea330's mods worked great, but I really have to drop hot and conserve heat to make the larger batch sizes work. I've insulated everything and I live in Arizona!

[sea330]

I have tried 1# 5 Oz with pretty good success (just under 14 min to finish), however I charged at 400 deg and had to use bottom heat to keep things moving into first crack. I use a GG at 1440 watts with two stock SC stir arms stacked on top of each other, seems to give me better agitation, the 60 RPM 13 watt motor is a must with big loads. I do close the ejection hole and open when things get rolling.   

[e.roc]

The 1st batch was 1 & 1/2 pound.   Thanks for the replies.   I did charge to 425f.   Second roast done now.  It was 14 min on 1 pound.  Lower the heat unit.   It is 1200 watt supentown. Pic attached.   Looks good, no?

[dlofx]

Been a few years since I've posted, but I was curious if anyone has perfected a stirring mod / agitator yet?

I think my stir crazy motor is on its last legs after roasting over the years and not sure the stirrer I am using is well designed enough to extract enough agitation.

[ptrmorton]

Dlofx,

Sea330's mod on the previous page of this thread works well and is fairly inexpensive. I've increased batch size to about 450g with good control and nice even roasting.  The limiting factor seems to be heat. Summer temperatures help  (I live in Arizona)  as does insulation.  I use dual stock stirring arms, but there are some killer stirring arms pictured on the previous page as well.
Welcome back.

[dlofx]

Dlofx,

Sea330's mod on the previous page of this thread works well and is fairly inexpensive. I've increased batch size to about 450g with good control and nice even roasting.  The limiting factor seems to be heat. Summer temperatures help  (I live in Arizona)  as does insulation.  I use dual stock stirring arms, but there are some killer stirring arms pictured on the previous page as well.
Welcome back.

Off of your advice, I doubled up the stirring rods, though I created one off the previous page and combined that with the stock one. MUCH more even roast and did two batches of about 350g.

Sea330 created a modified shaft for me over a year ago now that has been nothing short of awesome. I think the next mod will be beefing up the motor as beans still do get stuck occasionally.

[ptrmorton]

Happy to help - or actually point to help.  The increased RPM motor with more power makes roasting more relaxing in the sense that there is less fiddling.  Cheers.

[helderdan]

Anyone have troubles tripping breakers with their TO? I just out together a SC/TO system, utilizing a galloping gourmet. I can't get the thing to run at 500 degrees for more than about 30 seconds before it trips the breaker. I even tried running an extension cord from my garage to my house (kitchen) to separately power the TO. The grounded house plug got tripped immediately. Anyone else experience this? Or have potential solutions in mind?

Thanks