Green Coffee Buying Club
Coffee Discussion boards => Hardware & Equipment => Topic started by: anastasio on April 10, 2020, 12:04:28 PM
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Ok, my 2nd SC/TO died and I'm ready to leap up. Way up.
I expect to roast 1-2 lbs per week. Looking for something that can handle at least a 1lb batch. Electric, indoor/vented, 110 or 220v. Want to be able to use roasting profiles to control the batches.
If you had saved up about $3,000 from the years of roasting your own beans with a home made SC/TO ;D, what would you buy today?
- Aillio Bullet R1 looks very promising but hard to find. I really like ability to swap roasting profiles.
- Behmor Jake is very interesting, but new and I can't find any current info or suppliers (I just sent them an inquiry)
- Huky 500T - propane only?
- Others?
Thank you for your feedback.
Back to cleaning spider webs out of my Poppery II...
AA
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I can only really authoritatively speak on the Artisan roaster because that's what I use.
They have an A3 which I think you can get for that price range, which will handle up to 3 lbs they claim, meaning it can do more than 3 lbs actually. My A6 can do 5 lbs but I have ran over 8 in it already , and I believe the A3 will go down to half a pound.
It's electric so you don't have to fiddle with gas. Very versatile and very responsive.
I just checked, the price is a little higher than I remember it but I would vouch for the roaster. If you have any questions / problems or anything, their customer service is TOP NOTCH!! I have called them on the phone on numerous occasions, and every time (when I actually remembered and called during their working hours that is :) ) they have been more than willing to answer every and any question I may have ever had. One of the ones you mentioned has pretty crappy customer service from my past experiences. Customer service AFTER the sale is worth it's weight in gold, especially if stuff breaks or wears out over time.
Otherwise, I have heard a lot of positive reviews on the Huky, but yes it is propane, I think there is a thread here for just that roaster, we have a few fanboys here who I am sure could answer any questions you may have on it.
If you have any questions about the Artisan Id be happy to answer them for you.
Aaron
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I know a couple of people who I trust that use the Bullet and are very happy with it.
Over the years I've heard the '1-lb' thing as a requirement but never understood why that is.
Before my Ambex 2K (propane) I used two SC/TO's, and still use them for samples; having two of them doubles your capacity and easy to manage. Netting 12oz per batch it can hit 4#/hour. But it sounds like you're done with that idea.
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Thank you guys for the response so far. The Artisan looks really nice but I don't think I can justify the price. Heck, I'm already looking to spend more on this roster than I did on my car ::) (gotta love a good used Honda!)
I agree, support can be crucial. So is reliability. I like that the Bullet is now V2 and already improved upon. That would be a hesitation with the Jake.
As for the batch size, 2 reasons for the 1lb capacity: it seems to be the tipping point from consumer to prosumer. Better built, more features. It is also about what we consume in a week.
To be honest, I'm getting lazier and more willing to spend the money for things that work well and produce great results. I've also learned that if you take care of these things you can get a lot of your money back if you decide to sell them later. Ultimately it's cheap rent with a large deposit :-)
Thank you for taking the time to respond as I continue the search.
AA
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You might be able to talk them down a little on the Artisan, you never know. I know when I got my A6 I did not need the entire setup with the vents and all that stuff because I was roasting outside so didn't care where they chaff went, so just needed the hot part and it was significantly less than what was listed. You are correct though in that you get what you pay for, but this will last years and years and is very trouble free. If something does go out on it, the repair parts are few and simple, it's not like well, I have this Italian Left wound Knibbly Pin that sheared that I have to try to find. Nope,easy peazy, I got an entire repair kit to essentially totally rebuild the guts of mine for like 200 dollars I think it was.
Good luck with your search. One other thing to consider, the 'free stuff' they are giving you, the coffee is probably worth 200 dollars so that's a bit off really.
Aaron
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Huky fanboy here (were you waiting for me Aaron?!)
Seriously though, the Huky is a great little roaster. Love mine and would buy again. Got it heavily used bit its still chugging away. IDK what the cost new is but they're durable and the maker is responsive.
I do back to back already so throughput is realistically 3 lb/hour. My 20lb tank has been running for 3 years this coming June.
Quest is making a larger version of their M3, called the M6 which I would consider if wanting to stick with electricity and move to a drum with convection and conduction. I don't hear about breakdown issues.
There is also a Hottop electric drum.
I would buy a Bullet too because of the inductive heat and the ability for it to automatically use memorized profiles.
Finally, there is an Ikawa pro: dump beans in, hit start, dump roasted beans out, repeat. More cycles for the same end amount but that lil bugger is boss.
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Brian, Ikawa is that sample roaster I believe, it does 2 oz at a time. It also cost about 4500 dollars, at least when I checked a few years ago it did. Way too much for me especially for 2 oz of coffee!!
Aaron
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Brian, Ikawa is that sample roaster I believe, it does 2 oz at a time. It also cost about 4500 dollars, at least when I checked a few years ago it did. Way too much for me especially for 2 oz of coffee!!
Aaron
I almost put something at the end of my Ikawa post about hold the chirps cuz I know about both the cost and batch size features.
Some folk (not me) have the dough for it and it's a viable tool. As of now I know of two of them near me. I'm sure there are others given the first buyer is a small shop I never would have guessed would by one.
The primary thing overlooked by most is that it will produce indistinguishable results for the same coffee and charge each time. Plus, its load, press start, walk away, unload, rinse, repeat. I could theoretically roast all day long while working without having to split my concentration using something a bit larger than a blender. No mess, no probes, no software, no worrying about hitting temp/time marks to make gas and fan changes. AND get as much or more than I get with an hour long roasting session.
Value is an individual proposition everyone has to make for themselves in light of their situation. Obviously there are two sides to the coin regarding the Ikawa.
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Brian, thanks for chiming in! There are a lot of good reviews for the Huky. But, it seems like it is made by 1 person in Taiwan, isn't electric (I wan't to roast in my basement now) and for about $400 more I can get double the capacity with the Bullet and the profiling. I do like that that the Huky can roast back to back to make up for the lower capacity. My younger, more adventurous self (with more time) would probably buy it and then pimp it to basically do what the Bullet can (add sensors, PC, etc.)
Found some good 2020 roaster reviews for each category (consumer to semi-pro):
https://www.beanpoet.com/best-home-coffee-roaster/ (https://www.beanpoet.com/best-home-coffee-roaster/)
Since the Bullet is out of stock, I seem to have plenty of time for more research!
AA
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Interesting write up they did on the roasters anastasio, pretty indepth, however besides the "Mee Too" off shoots of some of the other roasters, there are a few others they could have mentioned in there as well.
brian, on your Ikawa, yes if you want to do two ounces at a time, you can come back every 18.7 minutes and have a pound of coffee after 4 hours. Many people don't have that kind of time to literally have to babysit a coffee machine all day to get a few pounds of coffee. Ok, yes you can just stick it in and walk away and do whatever, but all of us who roast coffee, I would hope know better than to walk away from a roast in progress, (although im sure we all have done it once or twice :P ) Looking at the bullet, which falls about the same price range if I read the article correctly, it looks like you can do pretty much the same with it on a larger scale. The Ikawa does have software, it's just built into it, and well ok an App too, since it's for your phone, and unless you want to use one of their generic profiles like the Behmor has, yes you will have to fiddle a bit to get your profile what you want, and only then after you found your perfect profile, store it and re run it. However to be fair, that's for any machine really, they aren't born knowing what you need for X or Y coffee at any given year or origin. They do have a library though they claim where others have uploaded their profiles to share. On an interesting point, lets say you an I both had one of these, our rich uncle died and left us the money, and we both ran the same profile, only mine was at 124 volts because my solar was burning hard, and yours was at 114 volts because all your neighbors love their AC's set at 70 degrees and have the pad transformer loaded to darn near ringing. Given we have the identical programs or profiles in them, will our results be the same. I think not. So while I will get consistency, in my roasts, WE will not get consistency. Besides, you get that cheap industrial electric, mine is home made, therefore is better >:D
Aaron
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Aaron,
I think you're just playing devil's advocate. I've been around them several times and know a pretty fair amount about their operation. They're more advanced than you think. A ton has been spent on development of the app and machine.
They are truly plug and play. The app controls the roast. Everything is preset before it starts. Preheat, charge, go, dump finished beans. They don't need anyone standing over them to babysit. They just chug along till finished. The machine manages the heat and air inputs using a feedback/PID system. If your power is higher than mine it'll account for that.
If you want to shorten the yellowing-brown time by X seconds, make a profile to shorten the distance between the points, save it, run it. It'll adjust the heat/fan to make it happen without any interference. In fact, no changes are possible during the roast except for shutting it off.
It's not _at all_ in the same league as a Behmor's preset programs. The Bullet is more like it in that regard due to its internal feedback loop. IDK if a non-used profile can be loaded into the Bullet then run. I personally prefer the ability to adjust on the fly like a Bullet, but if I get a profile I like it is repeatable. IDK how many it stores or how to pull them up.
The Bullet is my next step if I need more volume because of its capacity, repeatability, and footprint. Then a 6K gas drum of some sort.
The Huky is my baby for now and it meets all of my needs except for elimination of user error! IDK if Mr Li makes it solo or has helpers. He's been in business for many years and I don't hear about any reliability issues from shoddy or inconsistent workmanship. Maybe they're out there but I don't see them. The Bullet is Asian made too but Euro designed. They seem to be solid but there is a volume disclaimer somewhere on them. My buddy has one but the board is down somehow and he can't get it back running. Probably broke it and won't fess up!
A nearby roastery uses a 5K electric drum operate and was impressed. IDR the name but it worked just like a tabletop gas drum except for power source. Ran on 220. If the Jake is released without all the nanny features the Behmor has it could be a contender.
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brian, Huky has been around for a while. A fair amount of people have them, a lot of good is being said about them. I have a hard time seeing that he'd be able to keep up with the demand just by himself anymore to be honest! Maybe at first but now with so many people wanting them, hmm hard to say. I really hope he has someone else under his wing, because eventually well..... Id hate to see that roaster go away like some of the others we have seen in the past.
Aaron
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brian, Huky has been around for a while. A fair amount of people have them, a lot of good is being said about them. I have a hard time seeing that he'd be able to keep up with the demand just by himself anymore to be honest! Maybe at first but now with so many people wanting them, hmm hard to say. I really hope he has someone else under his wing, because eventually well..... Id hate to see that roaster go away like some of the others we have seen in the past.
Aaron
Growth and succession are two of the main challenges of being a small business for sure. I also hope Mr. Li can keep it going. I think there remains a market for a small gas fired shop roasters. To be honest increasing competition from electric roasters coming to market in the last what, 5 years or so (Jake, larger Quest M6, Bullet, Ikawa) is an influence too. More folks want to roast now than ever before.
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so the demand is there and increasing but some people like a gas roaster over electric, it's easier for them in their eyes. Yes id say the electric roasters are taking a chunk of that market as more and more are showing up but I don't really see gas going away anytime soon, or the demand really decreasing on them, since the demand for home roast is really going up.
Aaron
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Sorry to ask a dumb question, but what is an SC/TO?
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Sorry to ask a dumb question, but what is an SC/TO?
Stir Crazy/Turbo Oven.
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Thanks, now I know.
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If you are upgrading from a SC/CO or other fluid bed type roaster, I would consider an RK drum and propane grill. My coffee journey consisted of the popper, SC/CO, heatgun dog bowl a few times, hottop and RK drum. The RK drum is very simple and uses a readily obtained control system-your brain. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it is easy to produce good coffee that your family and friends will enjoy. It was relatively easy to put together and then modify the propane grill. I got the grill and the sheet aluminum required from the depot. The other component you have to consider with a system like this is bean cooling. I went from using an air compressor and a 5 gallon bucket to a shop vac and colander which is what I am using now. The only reason I am now trying to sell mine is to upgrade to something with a smaller footprint.
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^^^ good post.
The only drawbacks for me are the requirement to roast out of doors, and difficulty in measuring bean temp. But I have had some very well-roasted coffees from an RK/grill.
Not meant to contest the validity of either, but if batch size wasn't an issue, my preference would still be the SC/TO due to the above two limitations as well as cost. Obviously wanting 3# or more per batch makes the RK/BBQ a clear choice.
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I was researching the Stir Crazy/Turbo Oven, but most of the links I found on GCBC were no longer available. I’d like to build one, they sound like something I need. I’d like to roast a pound at a time if possible. My Behmore can, but not a good dark roast. I’ve set it on fire trying to get a large batch dark roasted ;D.
Thanks,
Doug
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Getting a lb. net out of a SC/TO is doable but takes more serious mods. Adding more agitation will do it w/ the provided amount of heat, but just barely and it means replacing the motor and stirring arm, both of which will take some skill.
Why do you say you'd like a lb. at a time? Is it arbitrary? I always hear people throw out that 1-lb. number like it's the holy grail, but never know why. Unless you're selling it by the lb., who cares if it's 16oz. or 14oz.?
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I roast every 10 days, and using a cr1010 from Nesco ( no longer available),
A SR 540 and the behmore. I mostly use the nesco and the Fresh Roast cr540.
In all, I do 10 - 1/4lb batches. Something with a larger capacity and home made would be my.
Due to the electric circuit capacity in my garage, I can only run one roaster at a time, so I’m roasting for up to 3 hours each session. If I could do all in about 3 batch’s, it would be a huge time savings.
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Gotcha. A SC/TO would do that in an hour.
Google messed with my googlepages thing and took down the photos. Bummer.
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I noticed on of the links for the sc/to was to your website. The text was there, but no pictures. I’m pretty handy, so if I had good instructions and pictures I could make it. But the few writups I found were less than adequate.
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The stirring arm can be modded in any number of ways. My version made from a coat hanger was designed for both small and larger batches, but it's a compromise. If you were going to stick to 12oz and up, the stock arm with some adaptations would be better.
Splicing a properly-rated toggle switch into the power to the heating element is needed and is fairly straigtforward.
I use a 1" aluminum bar bent into a circle as the spacer to lift the top unit away from the beans. To go much higher seems too much distance from the beans. I also cut a groove into the spacer to drop a thermo probe into the beans; there are a few different ways to get temp measurements but that worked well for me. I attached the spacer w/ 3 screws so that the last 90* of the circle could be propped open to release chaff and modulate heat, but find that I don't actually use that feature.
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Thanks Peter!
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Not to hijack this thread but what is the consensus of the Sonofresco? I am toying around with upgrading. Started out with SC/TO for years and then built a KKTO roaster earlier this year. The KKTO gave me the capacity I was looking for and gives a very consistent roast but it's still just a cobbled together roaster that frequently needs minor tweeks and adjustments to keep it going. I'm going to read through the Sonofresco sticky at the top of the page to learn from others but wanted realtime feedback as I have my eye on an affordable 1lb used Sonofresco not far from me.
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Not to hijack this thread but what is the consensus of the Sonofresco? I am toying around with upgrading. Started out with SC/TO for years and then built a KKTO roaster earlier this year. The KKTO gave me the capacity I was looking for and gives a very consistent roast but it's still just a cobbled together roaster that frequently needs minor tweeks and adjustments to keep it going. I'm going to read through the Sonofresco sticky at the top of the page to learn from others but wanted realtime feedback as I have my eye on an affordable 1lb used Sonofresco not far from me.
They're highly regarded fluid bed roasters AFAIK. I'd buy it if the condition/price/etc checked out and it were my thing.
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So has anybody here had any experience with US Roaster Corp roasters? Went and looked at a propane 3kg roaster today that I can likely get for under 3k. Owner died and family knows nothing about it and want it gone. This thing looks like a very well built roaster in good shape and I’m really tempted.
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Unfortunately I do not know much about them so can't be of any real help,but if it is a good roaster, that's a good deal you got there, Id hop on it for sure. If you end up not liking it, Im sure you could easily flip it for your money back at least.
Aaron
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I say go for it!
Is it available for a 'test drive' where it is? Or at least can you plug it in and hook up a propane tank to make sure it's working?
US Roasters was a very good name in the biz and I've never heard a complaint about their roasters or service. But I know nothing as to what they're up to today.
The only drawback, assuming this roaster's in good shape would be if you want to do smaller batches. You could do a lb. on it, but it takes a deft hand and really knowing the roaster to do it.
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I agree with Peter. US Roaster Corp has a good reputation. The big question is around batch size. Do you need a 3kg roaster? I guess if not you could buy it, refurbish it and then sell it. It’s probably worth four times the asking price.
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OR.... you could start doing 3 kg batches and start selling roasted coffee :D
Aaron
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Gonna go pick it up tomorrow. Got it for $2k even since we couldn’t get burner lit, only pilot would light. Everything else checked out. It’s gotta be something simple. From what I’ve read, something to do with air flow but it was in the need of a good cleaning.
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Excellent!
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I was researching the Stir Crazy/Turbo Oven, but most of the links I found on GCBC were no longer available. I’d like to build one, they sound like something I need. I’d like to roast a pound at a time if possible. My Behmore can, but not a good dark roast. I’ve set it on fire trying to get a large batch dark roasted ;D.
Thanks,
Doug
Is this what you’re looking for?
http://turbocrazy.atspace.com/index.htm (http://turbocrazy.atspace.com/index.htm)
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Update 1 1/2 years later...
I bought the Aillio Bullet and have finally gotten pretty comfortable with it. I'm roasting two 400g batches every other week (that is the amount that usually fills a quart jar after roasting).
I'm not using the software as much as I thought I would. My laptop crashed and I didn't take the time to set it back up. Instead, I've been following a general profile of time/temp/rate of rise/power/fan speed using the control panel. Keeping it simple. But, I'm applying the same profile to every bean. Thankfully with very good results, but I'm sure I'm not hitting peak flavor with each bean type.
Wife loves most batches (as do I) and I'm only spending about 1hr each roasting session. Mission accomplished.
Handy cleaning tip: Star San (sanitizer for home brewing) is a fantastic coffee roasting residue cleaner! Go figure. Dilute it for sanitizing as instructed on the bottle then spray it on. Clean with soft brush or rag and rinse.
Thank you everyone for your feedback and suggestions!
A
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When I used to roast on my I roast, or the Behmor for that matter, Id do pretty much the same thing, Id use a general profile and tweak on the fly mostly via time to get what I needed. With the B is was more of ok when is the thing going to hit first, then try to pull it before it gets too much into second if it didn't run out of time first.
That does seem to work very well for most beans, you start at a 'good' spot and can go either way from there for perfection if you really want to dial in a bean, but if you don't have the time you are still good to go with what you are at and have a very drinkable / likable coffee out of the thing.
Being easy to clean is always a good thing. Some would say that, Cleaning the chaff is an absolute must, as it can cause fire hazards, the grime on the glass, is important but they don't think so critically much. Unless you got it totally gooped on that it's sticky, all it does is prevent you from seeing the color of the bean perfectly. I would tend to agree with that but I have seen over the years that, in some fluid beds, grime makes it abrasive and the beans may not want to loft properly, and with the behmor, grunge on the walls can affect it's temp sensing too and cause issues, so yes keeping it clean can be important depending on your unit.
My A6 the stainless loft cone, is dirty but I have a controllable loft so if I need I can give it a little more oomph to get it going.
I DO wonder if really heavy grime can affect an outcome on a roast flavor wise. I know if you burn chaff, that smoky can infuse a little into the beans, but wonder if heavy grime can affect flavor? Not sure Id want to try that one ::sick::
Aaron
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I'd buy an Ikawa home or the Huky again. If I needed more volume I'd probably get a Buckeye.
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The Ikawa home that only does like an ounce or two at a time no?
Aaron
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The Ikawa home that only does like an ounce or two at a time no?
Aaron
Yes to the Ikawa.
Its small batch size is offset by its repeatability. Once the recipe is nailed down its hit go and let it do its thing as many times as desired. It really is that repeatable with no real effort. Just takes wrapping the head around a different user experience.
I could sit at my desk and work like normal while it roasts all day a few feet away with non-discernable differences. It might get old after a bit but still, it doesn't take but a minute to dump then re-load. Plus I think its easier to get high-quality sample roast results that are transferable to a primary roaster than with some other methods.
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brian i agree with you there. I was looking at the Ikawa seriously for a bit there for sample roasting.
The 2 oz roast size was very appealing to me, as if you pooch a roast or it didn't turn out the way you hoped for, you have a few more shots to try it again with the 8 oz sample that is the typical size you get from any warehouse ... vs.. an 8 oz roast and if you pooch it, have to call Royal, uhh, umm, yah, im a dumbass, can you send me another sample please :D :P
What turned me off was the 3k to 4500 dollar price tag of the thing. Wait a minute now< I already HAVE a 4k roaster, that does down to 8 oz, up to 8 lbs, I am NOT spending another 4 grand for a 2 oz roaster that can talk to my phone... Granted this was a number of years ago, maybe the price came down a bit but that was just too over the top price wise for me. A Huky would even work at that range.
Aaron
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The ability to get at least 2 roasts out of a sample is another benefit I forgot.
As an FYI, they have revamped their basic offering - its appx $1000 now. Not minimizing that amount as its not cheap but it is a lot cheaper than the $5K Pro.
If I were looking at getting started in roasting with something that could provide a really good cup this would be on my super short list. So many of the cheaper roasters just don't get it done then there's an upgrade in short order or continued questioning "what am I missing". Heck, even if one determines roasting isn't something to continue there are several prospective used machine buyers in the wings.
I bought one of the Poppers to sample roast with. I want to like it but I can't get a good cup from it: they all taste "roasty" no matter what I do. Its crazy too because there isn't any smoke retention. I'm wondering if the beans are picking up burnt chaff. I drop them right at the end of 1C. The ratio is out of kilter though because of the short roast duration and the fact that 1C tends to run 1 to 1:30.
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popcorn poppers to roast with, i find yes, they are roasty. I think it's a combo if way too short roast time and the heat is very hot to get the temp up TO roast, and you can't control it. Pretty much every roaster has some sort of heat control,with a popcorn popper it's just on full blast.
Well heck, 1000 is very close to approaching doable now. 3100 was not, I'll have to go look at that thing again, something that cheap, I could justify much easier and write it off. Dammit man, I do NOT need another roaster! i may need to start muting people here ! :D :P
Aaron
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popcorn poppers to roast with, i find yes, they are roasty. I think it's a combo if way too short roast time and the heat is very hot to get the temp up TO roast, and you can't control it. Pretty much every roaster has some sort of heat control,with a popcorn popper it's just on full blast.
...stuff deleted...
Aaron
I started w/a popcorn popper and put a fan speed control on the fan, and a variac on the heater--I think that is pretty common when roasting with a popcorn popper.
-Phil
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If you control it that way pwest then they can be pretty snazzy roasters. you can control the loft and the heat input and honestly I think could get some really decent roasts out of them.
if you just do the campbell soup can chimney with no other controls on it and just throw beans in and 4 minutes later have roasted coffee, then umm no, not the best coffee :D
brian I looked into that Ikawa roaster you mentioned. They are trying to push their 'business' model one on me that is running close to 5 grand. I'll have to see what all the difference is between their 'pro' model at 5 thousand dollars, and the one you mention that is running around 1 thousand dollars. I'd be really interested to see what huge changes make it shift that much? Hopefully it's not the 'oh but it's CONNECTED !!!, it talks directly to fakebook and twatter !! mentality that's driving that price.
A nice little sample roaster that is absolutely repeatable, over and over again all day, has a lot of appeal for sure, but not at 4 to 5k dollars worth.
I'll see if I have time monday to call them on the phone maybe and we can talk a bit.
Aaron
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popcorn poppers to roast with, i find yes, they are roasty. I think it's a combo if way too short roast time and the heat is very hot to get the temp up TO roast, and you can't control it. Pretty much every roaster has some sort of heat control,with a popcorn popper it's just on full blast.
Well heck, 1000 is very close to approaching doable now. 3100 was not, I'll have to go look at that thing again, something that cheap, I could justify much easier and write it off. Dammit man, I do NOT need another roaster! i may need to start muting people here ! :D :P
Aaron
:) ;D
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popcorn poppers to roast with, i find yes, they are roasty. I think it's a combo if way too short roast time and the heat is very hot to get the temp up TO roast, and you can't control it. Pretty much every roaster has some sort of heat control,with a popcorn popper it's just on full blast.
...stuff deleted...
Aaron
I started w/a popcorn popper and put a fan speed control on the fan, and a variac on the heater--I think that is pretty common when roasting with a popcorn popper.
-Phil
The "Popper" is a specific roaster which is why I capitalized it's name.
Its not a popcorn popper. It was designed as a roaster with variable fan and heat settings, a timer, and a cooling phase. It eliminates having to convert a popcorn popper to a roaster as it comes that way.
THAT said, I can't get anything without that heavy roast note from it -yet. Not to say its not possible I've just not figured out. Maybe I just need to work with my timings and drill for a thermocouple or 2.
And yes, I've followed directions.
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brian, I do not have one, so can't speak from absolute experience on it, but, from my days of using FBR's.
Up the loft a little bit, lower the heat a little bit, yes it will take longer to roast but won't be pushed so hard. Also don't be afraid to get it cracking, lower the heat a bit, HOLD it there for a minute or so to let it stew..for lack of a better word in the crack zone, then whump the temperature to push it thru and over.
Another trick i have used before, oh god over a decade ago on my Redneck Roaster, run it straight up into crack, then pull heat way back to essentially stall it a few degrees after crack started.
In other words lets say a roast begins crack at 400 degrees, and first crack ends around 415 degrees, and at 420 is where second is going to start coming in.
Push it thru, hit 400 it's cracking, VERIFY it's going and not just a rogue early bean, then pull it thru to say 405 degrees, and then pull the temp way back, even if you undershoot it and have to kick it back up,but keep it at 405 and let it do it's crack thing. You can smell and hear when it's winding down, when its getting done, up the heat to push it thru fairly quickly now, since your roast is essentially done.. thru to end of crack, , then go into cooling when you feel it's where you want it.
It's hard to explain w/o actually having one or being there with you.
You need to get your ass down to jax, bring your roaster and we'll spend a weekend roasting coffee, going fishing and making a video of our mis-adventures ! :D
Aaron
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Those are pretty clear to me Aaron, thanks.
Regardless, I might take you up on the fishing and roasting offer sometime!
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Tough decision, but I ended up pulling the trigger on a new Arc 800g roaster. Running it on propane. It's a bit of a learning curve for me at the moment, as I've only ever roasted with a Behmor, 3 in total, for the past 12 years or so. So far it's a blast, no issues to report.
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Don't say blast and propane in the same sentence :) :D
glad you are having fun with it. I was like that with my Artisan when I first got it, i must have roasted 60 lbs of coffee in a day or so.
Aaron
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For my recent upgrade from a Behmor 1600+, I wanted a gas fired drum with better temperature guidance. After mulling the choices for several months, cost, quality, portability and a large user support base made choosing the Huky a good choice for my needs. I ordered.a Huky from Mr Li with fittings for 3 RTD probes about a month ago. I’m only 10 batches in, no pooches so far and loving the capabilities of this roaster. With some time spent reading on the Huky forum and HB, the transition was smooth and the coffee taste is good, probably as good as my bag of burner beans are capable of, given the huge variations in bean size in this washed hue hue I picked up a couple months ago (not the one I see Aaron has available now). I did take a chance on my last batch and roasted one batch of last years quality CR La Mineta stash that I still have a few lbs of and it is great. I charge 350g batches per Rao’s 70% capacity suggestion, with C-C+ batches yielding 296 to 298g of output. Not a large batch size if your looking to start sales with a large capacity output, but with a good BBP and an organized work flow, you could brown a lot of beans in a day of roasting. The LPG gas settings needed to roast 350g on my unit are so low that I suspect this roaster would easily be capable of doing 1# batches. I haven’t tried it as I only roast for myself and family and that extra capacity is not needed.
The roaster itself is pure KIS….all manual with no electronics to breakdown or fuss with other than following the user guide to set up Artisan on a laptop. ie it’s not a paint by numbers, push button/done roaster. As such, it’s also is not a remove from the box and start roasting today package either. It has a DIY aspect requiring sourcing exhaust tubing, devising exhaust fan control (I use a router controller), ordering and installing your own temperature probes and Phidgets to connect via USB to Artisan software loaded and setup on a laptop. All the DIY stuff sounds daunting, but thanks to the posts and ideas of users on the now idle Huky forum, and a comprehensive Artisan installation/use guide found on the Artisan site, it’s fairly straightforward to set up. So far, in my limited experience, it’s a perfect combo of sight, sound, smell roasting coupled with a dynamic sight picture on the laptop screen showing and recording the parameters of gas and air you’ve selected as well as the 3 temperature inputs several times a second to guide the shape of the heat applied right now as well as serve for analysis later.
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Great write-up, doc!
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210doc your experience follows mine almost exactly. The roaster is very agile during the roast and the feedback is solid. My sweet spot batch size is usually 380 - 400g. I use Artisan to control the exhaust fan (PWM fan), but otherwise the setup sound similar. Enjoy the roaster and don't be afraid to try back to back roasts letting the bean charge absorb excess heat for about 60 seconds and then hitting the gas!
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We should have a Huky thread in the forum here and HankUA is a very good person to talk to about them as well.
I think he even went and visited with the guy who makes them at one time !]
Aaron
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I'm happy to see that Huky's are still being purchased and enjoyed. I love mine and would recommend it whole-heartedly. There are a few quirks and its a bit cumbersome but that's just how it is.
They're a bit out of fashion given the trend away from manual anything to automated everything.
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sadly brian has a point here.
these kids today, just so lazy, and, I want everything done for me and NOW DAMMIT !!!!
god forBID anyone asks them to put any effort or input into something themselves, and it's not just done to perfection FOR them and handed to them and QUICKLY NOW, don't you make me have to look up from my phone for more than say 15 or 20 seconds now. THAT is a micro aggression ..
Automation makes things easy and convenient, AND for the nerds amongst us, being able to add toys and whistles and bells and boops and buzzers is ..well dammit it's just FUN !! But when it's done so that I do NOT have to learn what's going on, HOW it works etc, then IMO, it's not so much better.
Besides, the more gizmo's and gadgets, the more stuff to break, and YOU not having a clue what you are doing, because all you want is, I put beans in, and tomorrow when I wake up first thing in the morning at about 1030am ...there's a cup of coffee waiting for me. . the more chances you are going to be spending 500 dollars for a new one of these 'gizmo's every 2 years, which goes against pretty much, the entire, 'hobby' mentality...
Ok, im an old dinosaur who just needs to crawl off into a corner and die... I get it.
STFU Boomer.....
Aaron