First-Time Roaster Finalizing Set-Up (Help!)

[alejandrooo]

Hi guys, very excited to have gotten my Huky 500T today with a solid steel drum.  I've followed the pictures Mr. Li sent to assemble most of it https://goo.gl/photos/1GSSu7ct6vWBQcBg9, but am now not fully sure how to proceed with replacing perforated drum with solid steel one, despite reading from Susan's post I should start by removing the back: https://www.hukyforum.com/index.php/topic,203.msg1943.html#msg1943

Also not confident what to do with these remaining pieces (such as the pipe clamp and temperature gauge) https://goo.gl/photos/nUj9BbvSTnGQRwYt6.

Sorry for the very basic questions but would appreciate all help I can get.  And no, won't be roasting here on the rug in the living room in case anyone was wondering =).

Thanks!
Alex

[SusanJoM]

The pipe clamp is useful for attaching venting to the vent/exhaust bowl.

The thermocouple gets screwed into the hole left when you unscrew and remove the analog ET thermometer.

[alejandrooo]

Lol, as soon as I woke up this morning, it hit me what clamp was for, but thanks on the thermocouple.

Mr. Li said most of the rest of that is just spare screws/parts.

And I haven't had time to replace the solid drum, but any advice on ensuring I do it right first time given your experience?

Will it make sense what to do with this motor (attached) once I take off the housing?

[SusanJoM]

I can't help you with your question about the motor.  Looks like you got a bare motor and not one in a housing, so you will have to remove the other motor from the housing and install the new one, which I think I remember will require some soldering???   Someone else will have to help you here.

For removing the cover of the HUKY I strongly suggest you buy a much stronger tool than the one Mr. Li enclosed for the screws that hold the cover on.  They are very soft and prone to stripping using the underpowered (very short) tool that came with the HUKY.  Otherwise it is pretty much self explanatory.  Just take pictures as you go so you remember how to put it back together.

Why don't you just start using it with the perforated drum and motor to make your life simpler?  You have all the time in the world to change to the solid configuration if you don't like it.....

[edtbjon]

I know that you by now have read the maintainence document , which shows all the "easy" things to do. But I do recommend that you stick with the perforated drum, as Susan suggests. Learning the roaster (and roasting in general) is very much the same with both setups.
My reasoning here is that even though the general tear-down and reassembly of the Huky is quite simple, replacing the motor in its housing is a true test of your patience.
On the other hand (just for the discussion ...) I have always been a little bit in doubt about the need for a 50% increase of motor speed just because you put a solid drum in the Huky... (I know the story behind it... It's in the excellent write-up by SlickRock over at HomeBarista, now maybe 4-5 years old.) I suggest we'll put that discussion in a separate thread.
With that said... If I'd felt the need for going for the solid drum with what I know about the motors etc, I would go ahead and switch the drums while keeping the 48rpm motor.

(Have I done enough to messed things up now... )

[alejandrooo]

You guys are probably right...I think I'll start testing with perforated before ripping everything apart, given how new I am to this, and will wait until I'm a bit more familiar with all the moving pieces before the swap.  Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies