Upgrade to gas sample/hobby roaster?

[hankua]

I've got my sights set on a Taiwan mini500 as an upgrade from a Behmor. My wife is Taiwanese and her brother agreed to help me out with the buy, so that's a big advantage. The few people that have these roaster really like them, and the quality of manufacture. There won't be much factory support, other than email and telephone (in Chinese I assume). My wife thinks I'm nuts, and every other day I wonder about that..... This upgrade would be  "once and done" as the machine is a miniature professional roaster. There's going to be a big learning curve for me going from a "plug and play" roaster to something with multiple sensitive controls and getting a Mini over here is going to be complicated, compared to buying a Quest M3.  As far as the setup for the gas roaster; I want to make a cart and roast in front of the garage or on the patio. I'll find out more information in June, and there could be a possibility of bringing in more roasters. So what do you think? Is this "way over the top" ?
 

[peter]

What does the price come to in USD?

A main concern would be parts when it breaks down someday.

[hankua]

The price in USD is @ $2600, depending on exchange rates for NT to USD at the time of purchase and that's the Taiwan price picked up at the loading dock. The Co. has been making the Mini roaster for a while, and has a whole line from 40 kilo capacity to 500 grams (the Mini). Spare parts would be sourced from Taiwan, shipping them is not a big deal. Of course buying American is the best way to go, if one have the pocketbook and I wished there were more choices, or I had the skill level and equipment to build one. If the Taiwan roaster Co. folds, then I assume the buyer is on his own.

[hankua]

Well I've decided to go ahead and place an order for a Feima 800n, 500 gram roaster. The devaluation of the USD has caused the price to increase, and it's hard to predict when our currency will be favorable to the Taiwan dollar. There is a possibility of getting two roasters, and selling the second one on ebay. Still thinking about that.

[Warrior372]

Do they offer a discount if you purchase two roasters? What is the price difference between the 800N (500g) roaster and the 801N (1kg) roaster?

Can you please keep us up to speed as your transaction moves forward. I would like to see specifics on preferred payment method, project start time after payment is made, total build time, full transit time, how they crate the roaster and finally your take on it once you receive it.

I might be interested in trading you a restored commercial single group lever for the second if there is interest:) . I guess your location would play a big part as well. I have a 2kg Has Garanti roaster with an electric element and currently live in a apartment, so I cannot plug it in since it is 220v.

Congrats on the decision. I am sure it is well worth the price paid despite exchange rate. Do you think they have reacted differently to your transaction with your brother-in-law being there to deal with them in person?

[hankua]

Hey thanks Warrior! From what I'm told this factory's roasters sell on quality, not price. There are 8 models ranging from 500 grams to 40 kilos. My wife ended up going to the factory and met with the owner as her brother could not make it. Now on the surface that sound great right? Guess what, there are two words my wife hates to hear and they are "coffee machine".  And for her coffee roaster is the same thing. 

So Warrior are you interested in buying an 801N or something similar like a T-1000? I think the T-1000 is on the Bella site for 126000nt which would translate to 4500usd, and I'm guessing shipping to your front door for 1000usd. That comes to $5500 for a roaster with no warranty, no factory support, and nobody who speaks English. Oh and you need to make full payment in advance before construction would begin for a factory made machine. The agent in Taipei might have some in stock for shipment, and they could be shipped air freight to O'hare where you could pick it up yourself.

How much more is a 1 lb US Roaster or a Dietrich? Can you speak Chinese? Can you fix a roaster by yourself?

Now my plan is to be in Taiwan next year, and if my deal goes smoothly, there is a possibility I could hook someone up with a roaster and get it shipped to their front door. From what I've been told, the owner is not interested in selling roaster in the USA. Too complicated, too many regulations, liability issues, etc. In essence, your buying a Taiwan roaster in Taiwan, and then shipping it somewhere else. If you got a million questions and need someone to hold your hand, forget it. But if your buying Taiwan because you think the quality is one of the best, then that's a different story.

[Warrior372]

I guess you have to weigh in the price of a new roaster versus a used one too. The whole idea of paying before anything is manufactured is very odd to me. It seems to be very common among businesses selling roasters outside of the US. It makes me uncomfortable to say the least.

I do not speak Manadrin, but I have two classmates who are from Hong Kong who could help me out if needed.

What is the shipped price of the 800N (500 gram) roaster?

[hankua]

Warrior: having a friend that can speak Mandarin is big plus. Now I've not got the shipping part totally nailed down, but one agent quoted me 335$ air freight to Jacksonville, and I think Chicago would be the same. That's half what UPS charges, so I'm wondering if it's a low ball price. Are you after a 500gram roaster or a 1000gram roaster? It makes a difference because of the volume and weight.

I'm not going to need a 1000 gram roaster, but if that's what you may eventually need it would be silly to get the 500 gram roaster. I'm not even sure the 500 gram roaster does a full pound. It will do 300 gram charges any which way you want. It's a really big decision to go with the 800n or 801n. I think the 801n has a more precise air valve, and different type chaff collector/cyclone? Also weighs twice as much as the baby brother.

Bella Taiwan has a web page with prices you can check out, and most people buy from them as they are a factory agent. I'm not an agent of the factory, so no price quotes will be made. Apparently I calculated the exchange rate incorrectly, and then it has dropped some more.

My suggestion is if you want to get a roaster right now, have your friend call Bellataiwan to get more details about pricing and shipping. 

[BoldJava]

There is a long thread on the Mini 500 over at HB if someone wants to read along:

http://www.home-barista.com/home-roasting/mini-500-roaster-t12461.html

[hankua]

Great point about the HB thread on the Mini500! That's a great read for anyone interested in a Taiwan roaster. I'm all for buying American made, and wish we had more choices. I think our regulations and liability issues are preventing small workshops from offering hobby roasters. You mean to tell me a baby gas roaster can't be built for 3 thousand and make a profit? Just give us something with a solid drum, adjustable gas burner, and an air fan; how complicated can that be?

[Warrior372]

In the past Diedrich and Ambex have responded to similar questions by saying that they only want to work with roasting professionals. For this reason neither makes a 1lb roaster anymore. You will also notice that their price on a 1kg roaster is very expensive. Some of this speaks to quality, but some also speaks to aiming the roaster at a particular audience.

[Tex]

Great point about the HB thread on the Mini500! That's a great read for anyone interested in a Taiwan roaster. I'm all for buying American made, and wish we had more choices. I think our regulations and liability issues are preventing small workshops from offering hobby roasters. You mean to tell me a baby gas roaster can't be built for 3 thousand and make a profit? Just give us something with a solid drum, adjustable gas burner, and an air fan; how complicated can that be?

Just look at a Hottop. They have two built in automatic ejection points, probably because their legal advisers told them that hobby roaster would be more likely to blame fires on the machine than their own stupidity. CYA!

There are always two levels of safety - one for the pro and another for the amateur.

[hankua]

One of the reasons I started this thread on GCBC was the members use all different kinds of equipment from home built, all the way to pro machines. Everyone on this board is interested in roasting or they would be here to start with. Someone out there has been roasting for a few years and is thinking of a major upgrade, and not everyone has metal fabrication skills and the required equipment. I would love to see more people buy mini500's so there could be a larger user group here in the US. I just hope mine gets here in one piece and doesn't get hijacked by Somali pirates. 

Next week my wife is going back the the Feima factory and talk with the owner about my order. The shipping agents have all different prices, and the terminology is confusing to say the least. If and when the roaster goes in the back of my pick-up truck, that's when I'll really know what all the transportation costs are.

The easiest way to get a mini500 is to plan a vacation to Taiwan, and bring it back home on the airplane. 

[Tex]

I'll be keeping an eye out for your feedback. It's a bit smaller than I wanted but if it holds together it could be useful.

It's difficult to read poorly translated specs. Is the drum really made of cast iron? the operating weight of 99 lbs seems light for a drum roaster. Milo - what does your Ambex weigh in at?

[Tex]

Now I'm even more concerned. Several threads on other forums hint , but don't come right out and say, that the 800N has batch capacity of only 300 grams. That puts it in the HT & Behmor category - hardly worth $2500 plus S&H costs.