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Brewer to Roaster..blower question...
JETROASTER
Top  #26 Print Post
Posted on 05/27/2011 2:51 PM
Its a whole lot easier than stainless! I used a hacksaw for cutting. Drilling is easy.
Not as easy as aluminum, but the most basic tools will work.
Curious about your heat transition piece ; It looks like a cocktail shaker top? Bravo!!!! Scott
 
oldgearhead
Top  #27 Print Post
Posted on 05/27/2011 9:02 PM
Chad,
I should be able to experiment with some recycled air. I'm planning a 'mixing box' in the front of the old Bloomfield. I will have ambient air
and air from the RC chaff collecter available at the inlet filter screen.
OGH
No oil on my beans...
 
oldgearhead
Top  #28 Print Post
Posted on 05/27/2011 9:03 PM

Quote

freshbeans wrote:
Its a whole lot easier than stainless! I used a hacksaw for cutting. Drilling is easy.
Not as easy as aluminum, but the most basic tools will work.
Curious about your heat transition piece ; It looks like a cocktail shaker top? Bravo!!!! Scott


yes, it's a 3.5" shaker top.
No oil on my beans...
 
oldgearhead
Top  #29 Print Post
Posted on 06/06/2011 5:28 PM
Progress report.
All of the big cuts have been made, and I'm down to a few (12) smaller holes, and Dave has made some very fine parts for my RC.

New Roaster June 2011 To-do List:

1) Install new brewer skin-to-frame fasteners. Old ones were removed because the HC-RC hole passed right through them.

2) Install hinge between brewer top and frame. I must drill twelve difficult holes in stainless steel.

3) Install heater, pressure switch, and TC in HC manifold.

4) Wrap HC manifold with exhaust tape, and seal with silicone paint.

5) Attach HC manifold to blower.

6) Attach brewer frame to wood base.

7) Install brewer skin.

8) Set RC in place and measure the top gap for the three inch diameter chaff collector/screen riser. Make or buy the riser.

9) Float some beans (Great Northern and coffee).

If all goes well, its heat sometime in July!

Thanks to everyone Scott, Chad, Dave, and etc. (especially dja), for all the help so far. I?m sure I?ll need more help as things progress.

JRS (AKA: oldgearhead)
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_5661.jpg
No oil on my beans...
 
seedlings
Top  #30 Print Post
Posted on 06/07/2011 8:21 AM
Awwwww... we have to wait till July? Boo. :(

(But I must say, "nice progress," though ThumbsUp )

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
oldgearhead
Top  #31 Print Post
Posted on 06/10/2011 11:47 AM
First integration day.
Today I will fit everything together, so that, I may determine the length for the 3" diameter RC riser pipe. The riser pipe contains the chaff screen/ collector, and it connects the RC to the exhaust orfice baffle. So, its a pretty critical part.

I've finished most of the items on my to-do list, except:
4) Manifold wrap - I'm going to skip this unless I find too much air leakage around the manifold machine screws. I would like to get some manifold skin temperature readings as well.
8) Float some beans - I'm going to wait till I have the riser finished before this step.

Lets start by installing this:
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_5738.jpg
No oil on my beans...
 
oldgearhead
Top  #32 Print Post
Posted on 06/10/2011 11:48 AM
.....in this hole:
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_5739.jpg
No oil on my beans...
 
oldgearhead
Top  #33 Print Post
Posted on 06/10/2011 11:52 AM
...well that turned out pretty good!
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_5742.jpg
No oil on my beans...
 
JETROASTER
Top  #34 Print Post
Posted on 06/10/2011 1:02 PM

Quote

oldgearhead wrote:
...well that turned out pretty good!


Yes it did! Very nice. I really like the plumbing fittings...very universal.
Your design lends itself to more assembly and less fabrication.
Nicely done!
I made a little discovery that a 1.25" conduit coupler works very well for joining 1.5" pipe. It just so happens that the barrel of my heat-gun is 1.5".
The inlet to a martini shaker was also 1.5"
Cheers, -Scott
JETROASTER attached the following image:
connector.jpg
 
oldgearhead
Top  #35 Print Post
Posted on 06/10/2011 2:16 PM
Well Scott, I repurposed yet another part! The 3" riser I mentioned earlier needs to be 3" long. So what's made of 3" aluminum pipe and is 3" long? ??

If you guessed turbo intercooler hose coupler, your right. As soon as I discovered that, I cast an eye toward my ancient Saab 9000 (76 mm). But she's safe because some guy in Michigan makes them and sells them on eBait for less than a 12" piece of pipe, and I don't have to pull the old pipe cutter or stumble over an 8.85" roller.

As far as fabrication goes, I would be lost without David Allen's help. He
is great!
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_5742-2.jpg
No oil on my beans...
 
oldgearhead
Top  #36 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2011 9:57 PM
Okay, some progress to report. I received the 3 x 3 riser today. Now I have the air loop closed. I have control of both the inlet ofrice and the outlet baffle, as well as the blower speed..video to follow.
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_6267.jpg
No oil on my beans...
 
oldgearhead
Top  #37 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2011 9:59 PM
One pound of Navy Beans:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDjmzqtASIQ[/video]
Edited by seedlings on 06/16/2011 10:14 AM
No oil on my beans...
 
greencardigan
Top  #38 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2011 10:17 PM
Try putting the youtube link inside [video] tags.

What is the diameter of the top of your funnel?
 
oldgearhead
Top  #39 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2011 10:33 PM
I tried it inside the U-Tube tags, with no luck. So I'll try the one that's for everyone but U-tube..well that works!
The riser is 3 inches by 3 inches..
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDjmzqtASIQ[/video]
Edited by oldgearhead on 06/15/2011 10:34 PM
No oil on my beans...
 
greencardigan
Top  #40 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2011 10:37 PM

Quote

oldgearhead wrote:
The riser is 3 inches by 3 inches..

I meant the top of the cocktail shaker lid. I'm trying to find a suitable size shaker for a future roast chamber.
 
oldgearhead
Top  #41 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2011 10:43 PM
The shaker top is 3.5 inches on its wide end, and 1.5" on its small end.
It has nineteen .15 inch diameter holes:
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_5397_1.jpg
Edited by oldgearhead on 06/15/2011 10:44 PM
No oil on my beans...
 
JETROASTER
Top  #42 Print Post
Posted on 06/16/2011 8:33 AM
Great looking video!! Can't wait to see the turbo coupler. That's a stitch! -Scott
 
oldgearhead
Top  #43 Print Post
Posted on 06/16/2011 10:09 AM

Quote

freshbeans wrote:
Great looking video!! Can't wait to see the turbo coupler. That's a stitch! -Scott


Oh, it appears in post 36...
No oil on my beans...
 
seedlings
Top  #44 Print Post
Posted on 06/16/2011 10:19 AM
Great work OGH! Can't wait to see a roast in progress. As you say the 500W setting looks like nice circulation, but of course that will change as the coffee beans dry out - you'll probably be down in the 250W range by the end of roast, and have twice the volume of beans... in fact you might throw 3/4 pound of roasted coffee beans in there and see how they circulate.

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
danw2002
Top  #45 Print Post
Posted on 06/16/2011 5:41 PM
Great idea OGH, way to think outside the box, i have some experience in Hot tubs and spas, and in fact have my big Spa parts cat. that i can go though...i may just to this for my blower also, instead of a VC...only thing is i wonder how well they will like to be controlled for output speed, as i must be able to control air flow....may have to pull mine off my spa and do some testing....

Quote

oldgearhead wrote:

Quote

freshbeans wrote:
Hi OGH,
Many of those are one in the same. 70 cfm sounds like the right neighborhood for up to 2 lbs....any idea about pressure? -Scott


Thanks Scott and Allen for responding.
The 1 and 1.5 HP blowers are around 100"H2O. However, I haven't found a vendor that knows if they are AC/DC or brushless, I think I would like it
on a drive.
 
oldgearhead
Top  #46 Print Post
Posted on 06/17/2011 8:51 AM
This is my current list of problems:
1) Half beans are sticking on the glass-to-metal base transistion near the bottom of the RC. This is visible in the video.
2) Way too many air leaks around the manifold bolts.
3) Waiting for the hose to arrive to begin work on the bean exit transport.
4) I need to complete the work on the ofrice dial, because I think the tye-wraps might melt in the heat.
5) June funds are exhausted. I must wait for July 1st check to continue spending money.(My budget is $159.00/mo).

..and on the brighter side:
1) I have control of the beans with either blower speed or a single orfice dial located above the RC. I believe I can set the blower speed for the size of the load, then choke the exit air as the beans loose weight.
2) Mixing looks very good.
3) It looks like I can use recycled air by simply closing the brewer's water door!
4) Blower is AC/DC so speed control is cheap.

What should I buy to seal the leaks in this thing? I was thinking header wrap with a silicone paint seal. Any other ideas?
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_5738_1.jpg
No oil on my beans...
 
seedlings
Top  #47 Print Post
Posted on 06/17/2011 9:33 AM
To seal, I like versachem clear silicone. Oreilly auto sells it too.
http://www.jcwhit...19830.jcwx

I use increased air flow to persuade the 'stuck' beans to participate. You'll have much more flow once the leaks are fixed. It's ok to have a little leakage before the heat, but have NONE after the heat.

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
dja
Top  #48 Print Post
Posted on 06/17/2011 12:15 PM
Jim;
the beans that hang on the edge problem, I still have some hanging in my 5 inch tube even after trying to make sure that there was no lip to catch on. They normally will get knocked off by other beans, I have not noticed it making a big enough differance to see half roasted beans in the final product.

Sealing Products; this is an area that everyone will have their own opinoin on, if the leaks are below the roast chamber I would use Red High Temp Silicone Sealant it will take more temperature than the clear. Any areas above the base of the brewer I would use the clear stuff, brand doesn't really matter as its all the same stuff, find the cheapest stuff.

on my roaster when I was running the same size tube that you are I didn't really notice any leaks around the Pyrex to metal joints, if you don't plan to disassemble the tube for cleaning the cracks will fill with coffee oil and chaff particals and will seal up.

An area you maay want to look at if you plan to recirculate air is Chaff Filtering. I ran my roaster in the house a coulpe times, when I needed to test and it was dark and way too cold last winter.

to contain the chaff I simply took a metal dryer hose and hooked it to the top of the roaster and stuck it in a hole cut in a carboard box, that I had covered another opening in the box with a furnace filter, this trapped all the chaff, I'm not gonna tell you about the smoke. I haven't seen what your planning on for the chaff entrapment but if its close to the outlet of the tube and its of a screen wire arrangement it may plug on you giving you some unwanted air flow control.
The two pieces on top of the pyrex tube run a small bead of silicone in a circle, remember a lot goes a long way in a joint like that.

I have a question for you where did you get the thermal couple that you have mounted in the tube just below your preferated cone piece, (shaker top), I think that one like that would work just fine in my roaster. Also let me know what kind of temperatures you see in the air stream from the coil. it is between the heating coil and the bean hopper correct.

go to wally world and buy you one of them cheap egg crate matt thing they sell of putting on your bed and line that lower cabinet with it and it will stop a lot of the blower noise, wish I could do that to mine but its not to be unless I go to a ten inch tube to house the motor.

David
I pour Iron and roast Coffee BeansThumbsUp
If life seems normal your not going fast enough Mario Andrette
 
oldgearhead
Top  #49 Print Post
Posted on 06/17/2011 6:24 PM
Thanks David and Chad for the ideas:
1) I got the 1/4-20 threaded TC from China via eBait. However. Auber has them as well: http://www.auberi...mp;cPath=3
2) Hanging Half-beans - I think my bottom RC 'O' ring need to be 1/16" dia instead of 1/8".
3) There are no leaks in the RC or any of its transistions. They are all silicone 'O' ring sealed. The only leaks are in the manifold.
3) I hope to use this for sound insulation:
http://www.foamby...ramid.html

..and here is a photo of the Z&D/Nesco chaff collector I'm using at the top of my RC.
oldgearhead attached the following image:
dsc_6543.jpg
Edited by oldgearhead on 06/17/2011 7:05 PM
No oil on my beans...
 
oldgearhead
Top  #50 Print Post
Posted on 06/17/2011 7:17 PM
Now to the question of sealing the manifold;
I have two areas of concern: The gap between the 'funnel' and the sink drain. it is a very small gap. It is actually too small (and too hot) for a silicone 'O' ring. I will trry Permatex Red, because I have some. The other areas are around the machine screws that contain the heating element. I sealed these initially with 'Red' plus silicone 'O' rings but quite a lot of air does leak around them. I will re-apply the 'Red' but I think some type of wrap may be needed for mechanical support. May be some 1/2" fiberglass tape??
No oil on my beans...
 
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