Kegoroaster??????????

[doveguy1]

KEGOROASTER. I am thinking cutting slots in the smaller one and rotating it in the larger one, I got a 50 rpm gear reduction motor off e bay. Where the tag goes in I am going to put a bearing that I think will support  the drum from the one end. so far cost are 10.00 bucks large keg Craig list, 29.00 bucks small keg brew store, 25.00 bucks motor e bay.

I plan on making burners out of 1 1/2 pipe with 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch pipe with small wholes. I did something similar when I brewed beer.

Now do I make it a dump type or can I make an auger that will make it come out if turned one direction and stir it turned the other direction?

And then the cooler that it dumps in, maybe stainless steel screen in a cut off keg with a salvage fan motor out of a heater or ac unit? with a car air filter on the out put side of the fan??

My guess is a 10 lb roaster

[doveguy1]

is this a bad idea?

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

You have my attention    you may want to try the roasting drum with no holes first, I believe the bigger roasters are that way... maybe the difference is like burger king (flame broiled) but if you put the holes in first its hard to take them out 

I am interested in your burners, I am having more fun building (or conceptualizing) roasters than roasting coffee.. (almost)

The bigger commercial roasters appear to have fins that want to dump the beans but as long as the door is closed ...

but I like your idea, you could have an open mouth, see the roast, dip a trier in ...  reverse the motor and done

I just made a great cooler for my one pound bbq roaster... automobile heater fan pulling out of the bottom of a 5 gal bucket, the colander gets sucked on to the bucket when its empty     (I will try to get pics this weekend)  I think you could scale up the bucket (plenum) to accommodate your roaster capacity and still get plenty of cooling power.... you may want to automate the stirring at that size though  :icon_scratch:

will you support both ends of the roast drum? that is a stucking point for me

[John F]

is this a bad idea?

You gotta try it to see.

Not "bad" things but things I don't understand....

Why put the Corny inside the keg...is the keg your roasting/heat chamber?

Why the burner pipe burner thingy instead of just using of the shelf burners?

[doveguy1]

Putting the smaller inside is to keep the heat and not waste it.

The pipe burners I know about and know that it will produse  alot of heat cheap,

But now I am thinking of making a frame and enclosing it with stainless, the keg is cheap stainless steel

I am think that I can use one saeled bearing in the end the the tap would have been attached. If I don't cut the small keg up I bet it will work to surport the small keg inside

I kind of like the idea of a door that would open and the coffee falling into the cooler

I will make some drawings,

[doveguy1]

here is a pix of a burner some guy made, something like this but maybe like six of them

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

my other crazy hobby is hand made potters and your burner is like what we use to heat pottery to 2000 deg F.

I was thinking you were describing something like a grill burner only larger...

Your burner will make the keg hotter in one area than in others, and/or if you use more than one I think you will have a hard time controlling the heat (like trying to fill a paper cup with a fire hose)

the simplicity of the open ended roast drum and reverse auger will be friendlier to you than the dump door

is there any chance you can find a shop that roast coffee and get to know them well enough to peek inside the roaster    that would answer a lot of questions in your head

as far as the one bearing.... my Dad worked for Caterpillar so I tend to over design but I think you will want support at the open end of your drum over time, the thickness of the drum combined with 10# of beans and repeated heating and cooling of the metal will be the weak link. (IMHO)

Im liking it.. wondering if my brother still has any of my old stainless cans in his garage :icon_scratch:

[eprunier]

I wish I knew enough about commercial roasters to be able to contribute, but I'm following this thread with great interest I'd like to build a larger capacity roaster myself.  Please keep us updated with your progress.  I'd love to see the finished burners. 

That Bonne on your avatar looks pretty sharp!

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

I just made a great cooler for my one pound bbq roaster... automobile heater fan pulling out of the bottom of a 5 gal bucket, the colander gets sucked on to the bucket when its empty     (I will try to get pics this weekend)  I think you could scale up the bucket (plenum) to accommodate your roaster capacity and still get plenty of cooling power.... you may want to automate the stirring at that size though  :icon_scratch:

[Pyment]

Big roasters come both with and without perforations. I think all US made roasters have solid drums. Roure which is one of the top manufacturers uses perforated drums. I suspect you would get higher air flow with the perforated. More heat via convection and less  via conduction. Also the air flow would probably dry the beans faster unless you had a way to vary the air flow like a damper or a variable fan. Some of the chemical reactions during roasting need some residual moisture to happen. Maybe BW can wade in here.

What are you going to do with all the non metal parts of the Corny?

[doveguy1]

What are you going to do with all the non metal parts of the Corny?

Get them off some way, I have been on vacation, and have not given this much time, thank you everyone for your help, I have get a sub woofer made and then some duck calls and then maybe ths roaster, oh and most of the house needs paint inside too. Man my boss wants me back to work.

[Joe]

Big roasters come both with and without perforations.

Probat uses solid cast Iron drums, I would try to do as much as possible what Probat does. I am waiting for someone who is converting from skillet roasting to glue a bunch of Iron skillets together for a BBQ drum.

As far as your roaster idea, I think it is pretty cool, I just converted a keg into my brew kettle a couple months ago and the thought never crossed my mind. On your cooling bin I think you went a bit overkill, but it should work fine. Plenum? so I take it you are a mechanic of some sort?

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

On your cooling bin I think you went a bit overkill, but it should work fine. Plenum? so I take it you are a mechanic of some sort?

Yes its over kill.. but it was a cheap blower and It chills the beans quickly...  I like the challenge of making the things I need out of the things I can scrap together "I have done so much with so little for so long I am now qualified to do just about anything with next to nothing"

[Joe]

On your cooling bin I think you went a bit overkill, but it should work fine. Plenum? so I take it you are a mechanic of some sort?

Yes its over kill.. but it was a cheap blower and It chills the beans quickly...  I like the challenge of making the things I need out of the things I can scrap together "I have done so much with so little for so long I am now qualified to do just about anything with next to nothing"

At least it was cheap. To be honest a nice 1/4" thick sheet of aluminum would work just as well, in fact faster. But most people construct something similar but with a shop vac that can be used for chaff removal as well. But that looks like it was probably really fun to make.

So you didn't answer my question were you once or are you currently in a mechanical field of employment?

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

So you didn't answer my question were you once or are you currently in a mechanical field of employment?

I am a low voltage electrician (phone data fiber optics) and I have been dissembling and reassembling things most of my life.