Author Topic: 5 kilo roaster  (Read 609 times)

bboyt

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5 kilo roaster
« on: June 16, 2011, 01:56:52 PM »
I just bought a 5 kilo roaster in Mexico. It was purportedly built in Pueblo, Mexico but there are no markings. It is a simple drum design and roasts with Gas. Does anyone know anything about these roasters; for example, what company builds them, quality, roast times, or parts availablility?

Thanks for the help,
Ben

milowebailey

  • Guest
Re: 5 kilo roaster
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2011, 01:59:15 PM »
Do you have a photo?  It's hard to even guess based on where you bought it.

Charly

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Re: 5 kilo roaster
« Reply #2 on: June 16, 2011, 02:23:21 PM »
 There are many many many small business roaster builders in Mexico. Untill you post a photo I'll just guess what yours might be like. I've roasted with a number of Mexican machines and usually they are built solid,take an incredible amount of abuse, pretty low tech so it's easy to repair if anything wears out. Just keep it greased up and cleaned out and it might run forever. Always underpowered in the sense that the burners are primitive. You might be able to upgrade the burner pipe. Under load it if you want roasting time under 20 minutes. Usually just one fan for both roaster air flow and cooling tray. Easy to learn how to roast in, capable of great roasts once you get enough practice. I was planning to buy a 5K Macafe roaster from Veracruz. $3,500 brand new custom built with two fans and vent pipes, but the price of shipping it to Vancouver went up to about $4,000(!) so until I drive a truck there some day (very doubtful) I gave up on that plan.
  In pretty well every Mexican roastery I've visited they overload the drum, set the gas on high, and do some other chores until the temp gage hits the number they want (30 minutes or more usually) then dump and cool. The overloaded cooling tray takes another 20 minutes to cool it enough to remove. Baked beans, flat taste. A few times I've used their roasters and, loading 25% less greens, done sweet, profiled roasts in 18 minutes. They think they're saving on gas with the bigger loads but I show them they're not. Next visit they are always doing it the way they did before, of course  ::)

bboyt

  • Guest
Re: 5 kilo roaster
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2011, 07:14:36 PM »
Hey Charly, thanks for the reply--what you explained is my machine to a tee. It's very simple and most of the parts that I have replaced so far I've been able to get at the auto parts store (bearings and belts). I am going to post some pics but at the moment I have the entire machine apart--it was incredibly dirty. Like you said it has a single fan and feels very sturdy. The guy I bought it from told me that he was doing roasts in about 30 minutes which is a lot longer than I want. . . I thought part of his problem was becuase he didn't pre-heat before dumping the beans, most likely in an effort to save on gas. He was probably also overloading. If I were to upgrade the burner system what would be the best way to do that? At the moment the jets sit 2 1/2 inch from the drum. There are two rows of 4 jets each. There is alot of room in there so I think I could get just a new burner system designed and bolt it into place. Anyway, thanks again for your reply and I will post pictures soon.

Ben