I love my hobby roaster, but...

[ecc]

I am starting to look at other roasters. 

Try to pretend this isn't a blatant rationalization:

First I lost (another) heating element.  I run way too much through my Gene Cafe.
I thought that if I waited at least 4 hours between roasts, it would survive longer. (about 7 months, 224 roasts) 

If the hobby machine lasts the final leg of 2 years at this load it will have cost roughly $900 for purchase and maintenance, ($495 + 4 heaters) about $40/month.  If a better machine lasted 10 years, it would be worth the equivalent of $4500 worth of hobby roaster.

At only 16lbs a month, the $40/month ($2.5/lb) hobby roaster is expensive, the longer lasting machine with double (or x4) capacity would not only save time, but would save money (per lb at least) if I ended up roasting more!

The Roast magazine highlighted Sonofresco's as a great gateway roaster.  Diedrich, Toper, possibly USRC, and Probat also have small 1kilo roasters.  I am assuming much over 2lbs and smoke/fire/cooling concerns begin getting unrealistic for casual indoor residential use.  I am also deliberately ignoring barbecue grill solutions as inconvenient, not-as-freakin-cool, and hard on my garage.  Feel free to correct that if you want.

I am open for any direction at this point.

[grinderz]

Might I suggest?

http://sites.google.com/site/peter4jc/

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

Might I suggest?

http://sites.google.com/site/peter4jc/

good suggestion, the SC/TO has been a reliable work horse for me... I can fill a quart mason jar (or two pints for better aging control) with one 12 oz roast and that will last me almost a week (if I don't share) I roast in the garage to keep the mess away from my wife but peter's got a pretty good set up that keeps the smoke way down.. I think you could do the same with a kitchen stove vent that vents out side ?? might need a little bigger fan ??
as my needs grow I am tinkering n a bbq setup but it is an outdoor sport at that point and winter is coming..

[BoldJava]

At only 16lbs a month, the $40/month ($2.5/lb) hobby roaster is expensive, the longer lasting machine with double (or x4) capacity would not only save time, but would save money (per lb at least) if I ended up roasting more!

You aren't rationalizing.  It makes perfect sense.  The Gene has been relegated as the sample roaster and the RK drum is in the front pew.  We'll see about that tune come February, though, when it is 3 below zero.

Take a look at Peter's set-up as provided by JJR's link.  Slick.  Need to be handier than me to get there.

B|Java

[milowebailey]

The sonofresco is a good roaster.  I had one 4 years and didn't put a dime in it except to clean and of course Propane.  Know that you would need decent venting for the Sono (smoke), but I just vented mine out a window.  Important other "feature" is you must roast a pound +/- a few oz... so no more 1/4 lb batches or even 1/2 lb batches in the Sono

The drum roasters are also a good choice and if you keep them clean you need not worry about a fire... unless you hit 3rd crack.  Venting for them is about the same as a Sono.. with a 1 lb drum you could roast 1/4 lb.

4 lbs a week (every week) is too much for a hobbyist roaster IMO.  Figure you are saving at least $4 / lb... $16 a week vs buying store bought coffee,  That's over $800 a year savings.. x 10 years = $8000... with this math you can justify pretty much any 1 lb roaster out there.

[Pyment]

You can see time savings of 100 hours per year. In that same 10 years that is 1000 hours. Then you can figure out what your time is worth and add that to Milo's calculations.

The numbers are even better for a 2K roaster, BTW.

[peter]

The setup I have would preclude being a shop roaster; you can't plop this down in public and impress John Q. Public.  

Two of the SC/TO's are easy to use simultaneously.  My stirring arms are modded to allow small roasts, down to 100g, but max out around 410g.  Even at this volume I can easily do 4lbs. per hour.  If you needed more capacity than that, a few SC/TO users (BW comes to mind) have modded their stirring arms for 1lb. per batch.

If you want cheap, reliable, and indoors, the SC/TO should be on your short list.  There are times, such as holiday-roasting, that I wish I had a 2kilo roaster, but for what I do, 4lbs. per hour is good.

[7over]

I started with a home-built bbq drum roaster and avoided the weather problems by roasting in my shed. Propane has problems expanding properly at less than 20 degrees F so I did not roast when it was that cold but other than that, it worked just fine until I was selling more than I could keep up with at 2 to 3 lbs per batch. All the smoke and chaff etc stayed outside and I got plenty of 'me time' in the shed during roasting to boot!
My total cost for that setup (including motor and coupling and cooling aparatus) was less than $300.00 ... I think. It's been a while since those days so my recollection may not be what it was... plus I'm approaching my 50th bday (am I really THAT old?!!) so... I may need a little grace.

Since then, I've built and put into production a fluid air bed roaster and can roast 7 lbs in 13 min. with the present configuration. (actually, it can roast those 7 lbs in about 4 min if I let it!.. but I have chosen a different path)  I'm working to up that to max capacity of 20lbs and should be able to roast that volume in 18 min or so... but that's about $1,000 down the road...

For me, the best way to roast a small volume of beans to both get started in business and learn to roast was the bbq drum roaster.

[Tex]

I had a Sonofresco for ~1 year and loved the convenience of it. Just put the beans in the roast chamber and push a button; can't get much simpler than that. Two problems; 1) As Milo pointed out, you're limited in batch size to the factory recommendation - more or less doesn't work too well because of the programming on the unit. 2) There's really no way to learn about roasting; the programs are fixed, which means you can't alter heat levels, air flow - no alterations of any of the roast profile except length of roast.

It's a bit expensive for non-commercial use and is too restrictive for professional use. But if convenience is your thing and you can live with the fixed roast profile, this is the machine for you.

Oh, and if you want the perfect roaster to use at farmers market and such, the Sono is the machine for you!

[peechdogg]

The SC/TO route was the best indoor (I have a kitchen vent that goes to the outside) DIY rig I tried. I would do it again in a heartbeat if indoor roasting was my plan.

[Pyment]

You might look at this:

http://forums.roastersguild.org/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=134

[ecc]

Great stuff guys, thanks!

Has anyone here owned or had a USRC experience?

[Stubbie]

Great stuff guys, thanks!

Has anyone here owned or had a USRC experience?

I have one of their 18kg machines.  The only problem I have had  in the 18 months I have been roasting on it was one burnt fuse.

Simple maintenance, all direct drive motors so no chains or sprockets to lube.  I don't know anything about their sample roasters though.

-Stubbie

[Pyment]

I think MGLoyd has a US roasters sample roaster.

[MGLloyd]

I think MGLoyd has a US roasters sample roaster.

Unfortunately, I do not.  Behmor, stovetop stockpot and heatgun/dogbowl all the way for me.