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Honey Badger 1k
seedlings
Top  #26 Print Post
Posted on 03/13/2012 8:07 AM
Jon! You have yourself a super-practical, functional and great-looking roaster! With a little height added to your beater, and perhaps a second vane on the opposite side, that roaster could fire up a huge batch of beans. Great videos, great write-up. Well done!!!

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
JETROASTER
Top  #27 Print Post
Posted on 03/13/2012 8:14 AM
Nice machine, nice post! Thanks for the vids. -Scott
 
allenb
Top  #28 Print Post
Posted on 03/13/2012 7:47 PM
Not only does HRO have the first (that I know of) direct flame home-built roasters but it has two totally different varieties: direct flame drum and direct flame SCTO.

Now Scott is going to have to add a third variety, the DFFB, Direct flame fluidbed.;)

Allen
1/2 lb and 1 lb drum, Siemens Sirocco fluidbed, presspot, chemex, cajun biggin brewer from the backwoods of Louisiana
 
seedlings
Top  #29 Print Post
Posted on 03/14/2012 8:19 AM

Quote

allenb wrote:
Not only does HRO have the first (that I know of) direct flame home-built roasters but it has two totally different varieties: direct flame drum and direct flame SCTO.

Now Scott is going to have to add a third variety, the DFFB, Direct flame fluidbed.;)

Allen


We've also had a direct-flame breadmaker & torch roaster smile
http://homeroaste...ad_id=1029

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
jkoll42
Top  #30 Print Post
Posted on 03/26/2012 4:59 PM
A little update. My new burner came in last week and was able to swap it out and roast two batches over the weekend. The lower heat output matches the roaster much better. They are 30psi/2bar rated for max output and the roast ranged from 20 to 10psi so I still have overhead but didn't have to bring it down to stall speed. It is also much easier to keep tighter control on the ROR since a small change in pressure does not equal as huge a change in heat output as with the larger burner. It's a keeper! I though it might be interesting to see the size comparison of the two burners so here it is (ruler is in inches). Top burner - sievert 394102 (3.1kw). Bottom burner - sievert 294102 (7.7kw)

Jon

farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/7018987599_e38ee7eb19_b.jpg
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
jkoll42
Top  #31 Print Post
Posted on 06/14/2012 6:55 AM
Update #2

The axial fan I was using just didn't push enough pressure to get the circulation I wanted in the chamber. The smoke was getting trapped in there and giving a slight off flavor to the beans. To test things out I pulled the retired poppery I out and ran flex duct from it (I have the fan/heat circuits seperated) to provide airflow over the burner. This turned out to be just the right amount of air. Off flavor is gone and the smaller burner still has enough heat output despite the significantly larger air turnover.

Any ideas for a compact blower unit with a similar pressure output as a popper so i can integrate it into the roaster and ditch the duct?

The other somewhat surprising thing I have noticed is in the rest period for the beans. My old hg/bm usually peaked about 3 days post roast and specific flavor notes declined noticeably after that. With this setup, peak flavor seems to be more like 4-5 days out but is more developed and complex and it holds those notes with nearly no degrading.

Any thoughts? The only variable I can think of is the influence of the direct flame.
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
JETROASTER
Top  #32 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2012 10:02 AM

Quote

jkoll42 wrote:


Any ideas for a compact blower unit with a similar pressure output as a popper so i can integrate it into the roaster and ditch the duct?



Does this blower need to handle heat? -Scott
 
jkoll42
Top  #33 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2012 11:34 AM
No, it is behind the heat source.
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
JETROASTER
Top  #34 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2012 12:08 PM
For a pound of something tasty ...it's yours! 4" single fan. -Scott
JETROASTER attached the following image:
4inchsingle.jpg
 
jkoll42
Top  #35 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2012 10:14 PM
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

PM
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
John Despres
Top  #36 Print Post
Posted on 06/17/2012 10:00 PM
That fan is worth a mound of beans...

Good on you, Scott!

ThumbsUp

John
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
Web
JETROASTER
Top  #37 Print Post
Posted on 06/18/2012 2:32 PM
Ok, it's headed your way. Hopefully it will do some good. If not, I'll find another.

I started throwing blowers into our recycle collection. I accumulate roughly twenty a week....most are completely funtional!
Todays vacuum cleaners seem to fall apart long before the motors fail. ....sign 'o the times. -Scott
 
bryce_wes
Top  #38 Print Post
Posted on 12/03/2012 1:21 PM
I am interested in making a "clone" of this roaster. I currently am using a popper but want to move up in the amount of beans that I roast. I am hoping by staying with a hot air machine that I can maintain similar results to what I achieve now. This project jumped out at me because I have almost all the parts on hand. I just have a couple questions.

First, do you just roast 1 kg of beans per roast or is there a bit of wiggle room in that?

Second, Is there a significance to the angle of the convection tube?

Thanks in advance, and congratulations on a great looking roaster.
 
jkoll42
Top  #39 Print Post
Posted on 12/03/2012 7:55 PM

Quote

bryce_wes wrote:

I am interested in making a "clone" of this roaster. I currently am using a popper but want to move up in the amount of beans that I roast. I am hoping by staying with a hot air machine that I can maintain similar results to what I achieve now. This project jumped out at me because I have almost all the parts on hand. I just have a couple questions.

First, do you just roast 1 kg of beans per roast or is there a bit of wiggle room in that?

Second, Is there a significance to the angle of the convection tube?

Thanks in advance, and congratulations on a great looking roaster.


It would be great to see another roaster using this design as inspiration. Any help I can give just shout out.

1kg just kinda rolled off the tongue easier. I typically roast 2# load since it is easy to order beans in even pounds. With that burner there is more than enough heat for 5# but I think you might run into agitation issues above 3# with the stirrer setup the way it is. I think you would probably be able to throttle the burner back enough to do 1# although I haven't tried. So to answer your question a bit more directly, yes there is wiggle room but I am not sure just how huge a window that is effectively. Probably 1-3# without much modification; maybe more.

The angle of the convection tube was mainly to try and hit the center of the bean mass which was about at the base corner of the pot but the exact angle has proved to not be significant.

One additional update that I will post below. Hope this helps and start a new thread with your build!
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
jkoll42
Top  #40 Print Post
Posted on 12/03/2012 7:59 PM
UPDATE::

All has been roasting well. I was having some issues with a little slight unevenness in the roast which I initially though was a agitation issue. Turns out the torch was putting out flame too directly into the beans. I extended the copper pipe to allow for more air mix into the flame before it entered the RC and that solved everything. It's about double the length now and works great.

Also got to test the 'off the grid' ability of the roaster during the Sandy power outage. Ran it off a car jump pack and the propane tank and all was good!
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
bryce_wes
Top  #41 Print Post
Posted on 12/04/2012 12:13 AM
Thanks for the info. That is more than enough flexibility for what I am looking for. I will try to post a thread as I build the roaster.
 
jkoll42
Top  #42 Print Post
Posted on 12/31/2017 7:24 AM
Hi all - it's been a while. Work, family etc.

So after 6 years I had my first failure on the roaster. I was planning to roast some batches in single digit weather, dumped the beans and maybe 15 seconds later the stirrer seized.

As best as I can tell after probably 250 batches of heat cycles the long preheat got the aluminum fatigued enough that when a bean got jammed between the stirrer and the RC wall it bent the stirrer back and jammed it against the RC wall. They were pretty small Guats, not peaberry but small.

There aren't any cracks in the metal and that gear motor only puts out 4 in-lb of torque so that's my only thought.

Back to the shop tomorrow to make the most annoying to make part of the whole build out of steel. Let this be a warning to anyone making a stirring arm out of aluminum that's getting hit directly by a torch during preheat - you might only get 6 years out of it roar

Happy New Year all!
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
jkoll42
Top  #43 Print Post
Posted on 02/26/2018 7:25 AM
Update on the stirring arm for anyone who might be looking to build something similar. Finally got around to fixing it. To make fabrication and future mods/repairs easier I kept the geometry the same but totally redesigned the assembly.

It is now a piece of 1" square aluminum stock for the spindle with mild steel bar attached for strength. The leading edge is thin flat stainless as it is much easier to profile it for height/curve of the RC. Where the set screws meet the shaft I ground flat spots on the shaft as a sort of keyway. All set screws/screws tapped at 10-24.
jkoll42 attached the following image:
img_20180226_080200.jpg
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
JackH
Top  #44 Print Post
Posted on 03/01/2018 4:22 PM
Jon - Glad you got it back together and working again. How fast does that spin?
---Jack

KKTO Roaster.
 
jkoll42
Top  #45 Print Post
Posted on 03/03/2018 6:53 AM
iirc it's 200rpm
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
homeroaster
Top  #46 Print Post
Posted on 03/21/2018 2:57 PM
Awesome
*********************
Ed Needham
"to absurdity and beyond!"
http://www.homero...
http://www.facebo...EdNeedham1
*********************
 
Web
jkoll42
Top  #47 Print Post
Posted on 11/12/2018 7:05 AM
Quick update

Ever since I had to replace the stirring arm I've been having issues with roast evenness. The worst was an old batch of SM Monkey which had a finicky bean in the mix that was so light it roasted really fast. With the new set up I had some glowing red in the cooler and actually had a batch catch on fire on a very hot day this summer. I'm assuming the new stirrer changed the way the beans stirred and was no longer putting the main mass in front of the flame.

This is revision 2 of the fix done late at night so it's a little rough looking. Basically a flame baffle at the end. The end of the cap is drilled w/ 1/4" holes. I initially tried to just drill out the cap but basically turned the tube into a furnace that sounded like a misfiring pulse jet. When the copper started smoking a foot up the tube I figured I better cut the gas and redesign BBQ grill Side note if anyone is looking for a design for an overly complex and dangerous tube furnace hit me up.

Roasted a batch of Rwanda and it was completely even. Didn't have time to weigh out a batch of Monkey but will get to that this week to confirm it's finally working correctly.

The last thing is going to be to tweak the thermocouple location. Before the beans expand and lose water weight I'm still getting influence on the TC from RC air temp.


farm5.staticflickr.com/4816/45794496622_ce573cfed3_k.jpgIMG_20181112_074419 by J Koll, on Flickr
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
DeepB
Top  #48 Print Post
Posted on 09/24/2019 7:42 AM
Hi,

This is an interesting build, and I am considering building something similar.

Do you have any experience on batch-range? Could you do 500g batches?

Would you do the same design again? Change anything?

Do you by any chance have more detailed pictures or a plan?

Thanks
Daniel
 
jkoll42
Top  #49 Print Post
Posted on 10/04/2020 2:17 PM
I just wanted to update the thread with a recent change to the bean mass TC. After fighting erratic reading with my standard twisted bare TC I decided to make a switch to a probe style. The response is still quite good but there is enough smoothing to also make the ROR readings more reliable.

It's a straightforward install - 1/8" NPT female cap w/ a hole drilled to allow passage of the probe. High temp gasket maker as a junction to the RC. The jam nut style setup threads into this which allows the probe to easily be slid in/out even while operating if necessary. The copper wire is just there as support since the probe length puts a fair amount of weight onto the joint. The RTV allows for some probe movement as the beans hit it which should make sure there is no chance to get a weird bean jam between the probe and stirring paddle. Standard twisted bare TC is up top for ambient RC temp readings.

First roast went perfect!

live.staticflickr.com/65535/50418166398_bc7e8e6460_k.jpgPXL_20201004_173450967 by J Koll, on Flickr
live.staticflickr.com/65535/50418166463_3b1519fe63_h.jpgPXL_20201004_173426090 by J Koll, on Flickr
-Jon
Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3
 
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