Bullet R1

[bengreens]

Heh, something of an update:

In order to use the Aillio roasting software, I've been spending a lot of time trying to install Windows 10 on an old Asus laptop someone gave me. He was messing around with Ubuntu on it and it stopped working for him. Replacing the hard drive with a blank one is a no-go, booting from a DVD with Windows ISO burned onto it ditto.

Meanwhile I'm putting our old furnace on Craigslist to make some room in the basement for the Bullet. Going to vent it up the service chimney as I used to with the Swissmar. (Have been heating the house with a Jotul gas stove in living room, which does an amazing job given the size of the house.)

Too cold in Portland lately to roast on the deck, and I need to put more of a dent in what I've already roasted. It's a whole new world roasting over a pound at a shot, rather than 8 oz. But once the furnace is gone and I'm set up downstairs, oh boy!

I'm looking to experiment with 300 to 400g batches. The Yirg. Kochere improved on further rest but next time I'm going darker. It's from 2013 . . . trying to clear out my older stash while getting to know the Bullet.

   

[YasBean]

Well, I finally replaced the broken housing and face plate for the control panel.  (Things got banged up in the shipping.)  The USB did not talk to the computer, so I also replaced the back PCB.  Along with these warranty parts, they also shipped the new bean temp probe.  All put back together (minus one screw - darned!), I finally did my first roast with full computer read-out.  That was much more satisfying than the previous few roasts.  I have been sticking with 454 gr and 227 gr roasts, just because GCBC shipments come in pounds.  Yesterday's 1/2# Purple Mountain Kona came out smelling like Kona heaven.  This morning, it was still not quite ready, but I could taste that wonderfully rich Kona flavor trying to come out.  This roaster should be the end all for me.  Match that with the Londinium L1 (also some warranty work) and E8 w/red speed burrs, and I should be done with acquisitions for a while, and busy with coffee.  I have been well caffeinated, and have fallen back in love with the occasional espresso shot here and there.  Each one is so easy and delicious!

[stevea]

Hey guys - I'm interested in building a roaster and tripped across the Bullet R1.  Looks great and its hugely efficient if it can really do 1kg with 1500W in a reasonable amount of time.  Part of the efficiency (I assume) is that the induction heater just heats part of the drum as it passes by and you aren't losing huge amounts of heat to the rest of the roaster or to exit air.  There are other ways to accomplish this - but induction heating makes sense.

So I've looked for pix & vids of the Bullet drum and induction coil to see just how it's put together - but no luck.   Are you aware of any pix or diagrams for this ?

My other question is about air-flow.   I've seen a vid where someone disassembles the 'tail end' of the Bullet, near the drum motor,  and I see that there is a chaff-catcher there, that requires manual cleaning every couple roasts.   But what exactly happens to the hot air after the chaff filter ?   Is that dumped into the room (heat loss) ?   Is it returned to the drum chamber ?  If it's returned do they run it through a catalyzer or something to remove smoke ?

I believe the drum (is it a screen or solid ?) is open on one end which allows them to use a funnel-in and dump-out as well as a thermowell temp sensor on that end.   Can you confirm ?

It also appears they are using one IR temp sensor - but what exactly are they measuring with it ?  Beans ? Drum ?

thanks in advance. 
btw - I am not trying to rip-off their design, but it's always educational to see what others have done, and this roaster has a lot of good ideas.

[YasBean]

Steve,

The drum is solid, open on the front for charging and unloading.  The induction heating is built into the drum, not a separate element, so yes, very efficient!  Exhaust exits from the rear, after passing the chaff chamber.  It is not filtered, so some people build venting systems.  I just run it under my kitchen hood.  The IR sensor detects drum temp, and a there is a separate bean sensor.

[stevea]

WOW - I sincerely appreciate the description.   I did find a pix of the Bullet roasting chamber on a Korean site eventually, but it doesn't exain enough.

So the squirrel-cage fan is pulling hot smokey air from the front of the chamber, down the "long tube"  above the RC to the filter and then out ?  Is that right ?

Nothing wrong w/ that, but in a closed system you might want to consider pushing clean cool air into the system rather than pulling hot dirty air.

[hankua]

I had a chance to watch a couple of roasts on the Bullet yesterday at a cafe. We were experimenting with the Tonino roast color meter and using the Bullet for the test. From my perspective it looks pretty easy to use if one has some basic parameters to follow (charge temps/settings).

The display is conveniently placed, controls easy to figure out, and can toggle between ROR/drum temp. On this unit 1C was @184c a lot lower than my other machines (194-200c), something you just get used to.  I can see where the chaff collection would prevent continuous use, however the machine could be used for "light cafe" roast production; as was obvious in this setting.

I would be comfortable roasting without datalogging on the Bullet using the ROR and a paper graph to get a handle on its characteristics.

The fact it can roast over 500g (800g?) on a standard 110v household outlet using induction technology is revolutionary.

[Ascholten]

500 gram is about a pound, on 1500 watts, not a huge deal.  Behmor was kind of onto the idea when he came out with his unit way back when, with a little more designing he could have easily done it.  I think the UL listing thing kind of shits on a lot of dreams too.  I have seen some pretty stupid things that need to be done for a 'ul' listing, whereas stuff coming from China... not so important to have that listing.  Well from a marketing standpoint it should be but you know how that goes.  Induction heating would get around some of the problems with heat transfer, and a gentle air flow to vent the smoke so it don't taint your beans during the roast, yet not too much to suck out all the heat with it, and you got yourself a good setup.  If you really wanted to nerd it up, you could build a crude baffle system, kind of like a preheater like we use at the power plant, the hot air with smoke going out, heats up the air it's sucking in so you get to reclaim some of the heat as well.

Aaron

[hankua]

I think the Bullet is sold/marketed as a 1K Roaster; what the actual number is YasBean could elaborate on.

[YasBean]

Since we buy in one pound increments, I have been roasting either 454 grams or 908 grams. I think 908 gr is easier, but I have gone as low as 228 for my Kona. I have been loving my Bullet, so far. It is definable difffrom the HotTop, but a step up in most ways.

[bengreens]

Aillio's software (which they continue to update, often responding to user feedback) has improved by leaps and bounds, and the community of Bullet users continues to grow. People post their roast profiles/protocols on the R1 Facebook group (along with questions/tips/requests for improvements), and there are some excellent results.

Folks are reporting success with batches as big as 1100 grams and as small as 350g (maybe even less; it's really hard to keep track of developments via the Facebook page, especially as I go weeks at a time without looking at it).*

Aillio has been asking for beta testers for a Mac version of their RoastTime software (so far it's only been available for use with PCs).

There's a lot about roasting I don't understand, but my confidence levels are rising lately as the Bullet's mechanical and software kinks get ironed out. A higher-capacity chaff collector began shipping last year (standard on new machines; earlier adopters needed to pay for it), and before that, the improved bean probes mentioned in an earlier post (free of charge).

A couple of weeks ago I did four 600g roasts back to back with no mechanical or software problems. May not sound like a big deal, but it was a first for me with the Bullet. Having things go wrong was really making for a steeper learning curve; I'm encouraged now to roast more frequently. And am finally getting to the point where I'm comfortable giving away what I've roasted, instead of having to wait till I've finished drinking all the results to roast more.

Cheers!

*Besides the FB group, which is really difficult for me to track information down on, Aillio has their own page (I believe it's for Bullet owners only; definitely requires signing up to gain access) that is easier to use (but is less used): community.roast.world. There is also an unofficial Bullet R1 users website, VERY few posts there. The most useful/helpful resource I know of is Therese Brøndsted's coffeenavigated DOT net. She's done a lot of work pulling together information and explanations.

[brianmch]

I was interested in a Bullet about a year ago when looking for a new roaster.  Wasn't aware that there were so many hiccups with it.  Glad to hear that they are continuing to iron things out. 

[YasBean]

I did not experience any hiccups.  Oh, and I have roasted as small as 250 g and as large as 1,000 g.  Going strong!

[Skioutwest]

I also have a Bullet....one of the original pre-orders from mid-2016.  I am extremely happy with it.  I do 450g batches, and feel its a bit overkill for me, but the software makes using the unit a joy.  Yes, there are quirks, but isn't there with everything?

-Mark

[reverseapachemaster]

I have one of the newer units. I believe I am the next to most recent batch shipped (early Jan 2018). So far very happy with it. No problems except user error and getting to know a new roaster. I think it roasts best with a larger volume and have been roasting 1kg batches but have roasted as little as 600g with success.

[YasBean]

Welcome to the club!  It is a great roaster!

I have gone as small as 200g with little trouble, but usually roast either 454g or 681g.