Hottop to Huky and indoor huky roasting questions

[yukoncornelius]

Hey everyone!

Bit of an introduction but more of pre purchase thoughts...

I've been roasting 2 years now and have gone through several devices so far as I get deeper down the rabbit hole.  Short lived time on a popcorn popper, then freshroast sr500, then behmor, now hottop b-2k which I've added thermocouples, htc tc4c, and control the hottop via roastlogger.  I really love the data that the hottop/roastlogger now gives me but I'm still a bit annoyed by its operation - you really have to plan adjustments in advance so its still hard to really take control of a roast.  For any new roasters reading this thread, I would highly advise you, if you have the money, go straight to huky or quest m3.  You want the device that gives you the most data, and is more like a machine than a consumer device.  (at least thats my personality).  Theres even a night and day difference between my hottop now, and the stock version; in retrospect the stock version is like roasting with a blindful compared to now. 

So here I am again, possibly contemplating selling the hottop to get a huky or even a quest.  I love the look of both machines, I love the trier, etc - it all adds up to more control and really a mini professional roaster - that excites me.   I initially wrote off the huky a year ago (when I bought my hottop) because I roast indoors and just thought that meant I couldn't use a gas roaster.  Apparently I didn't do enough research because that seems quite false. 

Stove options - propane or butane.  Any advantage to using butane?  Seems like a good/safe option if I"m roasting indoors.  If I do opt for butane, it seems I could save at least $50 by getting one from lowes/amazon, any reason to not do that?  On the otherhand, seems like the IR stove for $99 is very good and works excellent with the huky.

General Options
I'm not sure I would get the T model or additional fan/tray/bowl because I don't see myself doing back to back roasts all that often. 

Definitely think I'd want all digital thermocouples and buy the 301 logger (dual input) with usb cable to hook up to my computer and run artisan. 


Other thoughts
I guess I wanted to create this thread to get feedback from people who only use the huky indoors or in their garage.  Maybe the myth is in my head but I had this impression that the huky is only suitable as an outdoor roaster but after I looked into it, that just seems false.  Yes Its a bit clunky to store the various pieces, and assemble everything but it doesn't seem THAT bad.  Has anyone played with BOTH the quest and the huky?  On first glance, it seems not making the jump to gas would be kind of dumb at this point because I'm using the hottop, and it seems like the huky would have MUCH more control simply because of gas rather than electric.  Watching the millcityroasters video where Joe is using the huky and showing the control of how you can push the roast excites me, and makes me think its totally illogical to go to another electric device.  However, I could be not giving the quest enough credit as there are massive fans of the quest.  The biggest thing I've read about the huky is its a "clunky" or "raw" device - it really doens't seem that way to me?  Yes you need to do some odd activities but it doesn't seem too bad?  One last question, whats the minimum effective batch size on the huky?  I'd actually prefer to do 230g batches as it allows me to learn and roast more often. 


Thanks for all of the help and advice!  I will say part of me wonders dang, is all this work/money to try to get these fantastic cups worth it when I have great local third wave roasters.  Ughh, its a sickness in a way LOL.

Thanks
-Joe

[edtbjon]

Hi and welcome here!
Yes, many questions and I will try to reflect on a few of them.
First, I roast indoors (in my kitchen by a window) because it gives me a stable environment where e.g wind doesn't play things up. I tried roasting on my balcony last summer, but had massive variations and deviations from my intended roast plan, just because a gust of wind. I use the standard IR burner with a small propane (about 5 lb which will last several months) tank, which I disconnect (and secure) as soon as I'm done roasting. Just check for leaks now and then and you should be ok.
The minimal practical charge is around the 200-250g mark, else the BT thermocouple doesn't get enough contact with the beans. BUT, I strongly advice you to start roasting with 400-450g charges and stay there until you've got the hang of the roaster. The roaster is much more stable at 80-90% of max capacity and you can focus more on the roast. Smaller charges will play up on you with even a slight deviation from your roast plan. With small charges, you'll find yourself trying to balance how to slow down the roast most of the time without stalling it, which isn't what roasting should be about.
If you don't see yourself roasting back to back that often, the J model is fine. Just see to that you get dual fans/sieves/funnels, as having a separate cooling fan does give you much better control of the last part of the roast, where the roast usually develops very quickly and you need to have ALL your attention on the roast and not on rebuilding the machine. Also, get some kind of device to control the speed of the fan, as the fan is very powerful and the damper (built into the exhaust pipe) is very rudimentary. Many of us uses Variac, but e.g router speed controllers are fine too.
The Huky is quite easy to dismantle and store away. Once cool to the touch you can have it up (or down) in a few minutes. While I wouldn't mind a more expensive machine, the Huky does a very good job with the beans. It's up to me to decide how I will roast the beans, the Huky can do much whatever I want it to do, just as good as much more expensive machines does.

[yukoncornelius]

Thanks for that response - very helpful...

The batch size is both good and bad, I like the ability to roast in larger batches but I prefer to roast more often and since I'm only roasting for myself and sometimes other people, that would be ALOT of beans to go through on a regular basis.  Not only starting out getting used to the machine, but each time I'd get a new bean, it takes several roasts of trial and error to profile how you'd like it and thats potentially alot of beans to run thru. 

Also thanks for the recommendation on definitely getting fan/tray/funnel.    I was wondering how essential that is, I guess spending more $$$ there is worth the hassle.

I think right now I'm also contemplating a jump to the Quest M3.  Interestingly, they end up being the same price if I account for wanting to add thermocouples/usb datalogger to the quest (which I definitely would want to do). 

[edtbjon]

The rant about starting up roasting with close to maximum charge weight is about learning the roaster (and roasting with a gas drum roaster). You will eventually get the hang of it and then you can reduce the charge weight (in steps) to a practical minimum charge weight. You don't have to repeat the process with every kind of bean, but getting to know the difference in how to roast say a natural Sumatran and a high grown washed African or Central American is part of learning how to roast...
As you mention the Quest, the very same principles goes for that roaster too.

[yukoncornelius]

Yeah I understand - I experience the same thing with my hottop, its part of getting to know the roaster and making it work for you.  The logging has helped A HUGE amount with the hottop.  Being able to see when I made adjustments, how the bean reacted, etc.  Still unsure of what to do - I am jealous though when I watch videos of hottop operation.  Looking at the beans with the trier, smelling them, etc - I just hate I don't have that capability right now.  It seems like such a fundamental element of roasting.  Watching mill city roaster's various videos, its amazing how many times they're using the trier to see how the roast is developing. 

[jmill_pdx]

I've been reading this forum for awhile, but this is my first post. I've been wanting a Huky a long time! At this point, the only thing keeping me from sending Mr. Li the money is that I'm worried about the indoor smoke. I would be roasting indoors, likely in my garage. I would likely run the exhaust with flex duct under the garage door to the outside. I have a lot of stuff in my garage, and am not wanting to make everything in the garage smell like smoke and/or roasted coffee? Is this an irrational fear?

If someone with a similar setup could weigh in it would be greatly appreciated!

[jeffdt]

My understanding is that if you order the optional Exhaust hood then you will be able to attach an exhaust duct to do exactly what you're describing. The duct itself would be purchased on your own and not through Kuanho Li, as it would add unnecessary bulk to the box/shipment which would drastically increase the cost of shipping.

Any form of roasting is going to create smoke, but nicer roasters like the Huky provide tools/options to manage it 

I haven't received my Huky yet so if I am wrong about this I will of course defer to someone that is more familiar!

EDIT: And as an aside, I personally wouldn't mind if all my stuff smelled like roasted coffee... I've come to really love all of the different smells associated with the process!

[jmill_pdx]

The problem is my garage is being used for storage of furniture and some of other people's things, so while I like the coffee roasting smells as well, I don't want to be inconsiderate and ruin the furniture.

[edtbjon]

The problem is my garage is being used for storage of furniture and some of other people's things, so while I like the coffee roasting smells as well, I don't want to be inconsiderate and ruin the furniture.

First, I tried roasting on my balcony last summer with very varied results. All of it due to small changes of wind. The Huky isn't isolated at all and it's very sensible to even small changes in wind speed etc. An intended 11 profile turned out to become a long 15 minute roast etc. Final thought, that wasn't a good idea, even though I didn't have to worry about any smell.
I usually roast in my kitchen, where I cannot route the smoke out into the old central ventilation. So, I roast by the window with a 3" hose connected to my exhaust "dog bowl" which directs the smoke outside (the hose it 4 feet (1.2 meters) long). After a roasting session I can smell the coffee a day or so, but most of it was vented outside. With some care you can get just about all of the smoke outside of the garage and you'd be allright. If possible you can make a hole that is 100mm/4" wide or similar and have a proper routing of the smoke done with that connection.
For the valuable furniture, I'd just cover it in plastic sheets/blankets, which I'd do anyhow (for dust or whatever).
I used to have a non-heated garage (before splitting up with my ex) and as Sweden has temperatures between -25 and +30C that is a challenge too. But again, the major challenge is possible temp changes while you roast, not the temperature as such. The ambient temp can be challenged by a proper warmup.