Sonofresco Users?

[LightHaus]

I have had my roaster for 11 months.  I have used it a couple to few times a month as I learn and grow my Friends and Family business..

Sadly, I still don't have a shed to roast in so on a kitchen cart, I wheel it out and park it at my porch, roast, clean, roast and clean to store again.

Its flipping HOT out side in Tulsa.

Yesterday, I noticed that the 'front-round' side of my roaster was quite HOT to the touch.  Now as I said, i'm out side, but the front of the roaster is not in direct sunlight, the rear of the roaster is.

All that said...

I don't recall having the front of the roaster so HOT.  I can keep my hand on it, but its on the edge of needing to pull my hand back.

Have I just not noticed this before or should I be looking to open it up and make sure everything is in line under the chamber?

Thanks!
v

(OH..
My roasts are still very much the same.  RL2, RL3 with beans I roast month in and out are the same.  I did notice my new CostaRican beans seem to get darker than I recall, but my normal beans are roasting the same as best I can tell.)

[Jddurango]

Hey Light Haus!  I have been thinking about getting the 1# Sonofresco....are you still liking yours?

I have had my Behmor for a few years now and it's time for an upgrade....I'm tired of the batch size limitation and cooldown.

[ScareYourPassenger]

The heat is normal for these. There're really is no insulation from the flame that kicks on when a roast is going.

The design is very simple but effective. The only real drawbacks are the pulsing of the flame in and off. This causes large fluctuations in temperature and if they are at critical stages of development it will change the flavor. So it is sensitive to bean density/elevation.

Tuning the gas will help smoothen some of the fluctuation out but ultimately it needs a modulating valve.

I am convinced that air roasting is a great method for roasting coffee. It has the ability to provide flavors that a drum roaster cannot.