Looking to Upgrade Have No Clue What to Add

[bradenl123]

Hey everyone,


My name is Braden I am 25 and live in El Paso Texas. I have been roasting on the Freshroast SR 500 for 5 years and wanted to upgrade. I was originally looking at Mill City and BC but came to the conclusion that is just too much money for me right now. I have scoured the HB forums and have decided the Huky is probably the best for me. Two questions: What on earth do I add? My main goal is to be able to profile consistently and learn how to roast in a professional way on a smaller footprint. What are the recommended upgrades for someone who wants to make a single purchase and have no limitations in the end? Also, how easy is this to put together? I have really no mechanical knowledge.

Thanks,

Braden

[SusanJoM]

Hey everyone,


My name is Braden I am 25 and live in El Paso Texas. I have been roasting on the Freshroast SR 500 for 5 years and wanted to upgrade. I was originally looking at Mill City and BC but came to the conclusion that is just too much money for me right now. I have scoured the HB forums and have decided the Huky is probably the best for me. Two questions: What on earth do I add? My main goal is to be able to profile consistently and learn how to roast in a professional way on a smaller footprint. What are the recommended upgrades for someone who wants to make a single purchase and have no limitations in the end? Also, how easy is this to put together? I have really no mechanical knowledge.

Thanks,

Braden

A HUKY just won't fit your stated goals.
I have no idea what roaster would, but I am quite sure the HUKY won't.
Which is too bad, because it is a great little roaster....
Good luck.

[edtbjon]

As Susan said, the Huky is a great little roaster. The pros AND cons is its small size, weight and footprint. The Mill City TJ-66 weighs in at 100lbs+ and about twice the cost. If your aim is to learn how to roast like a pro, you'd need the consistency that comes with the mass holding the roaster at a stable temp.
The whole idea of profiling is first and foremost to be able to duplicate a roast. Unless you can do that it's hard to tweak with control. The "duplicate" part is a bit harder on the Huky, as the roaster weighs say 10lbs and even the slightest variation of e.g room temperature will affect the roaster. Having said that, you can in my opinion definitely learn just about all aspects of profiling and "professional style" roasting on the Huky. Once you've learnt how to control and tweak the roast and roaster, I think the results from the Huky can be compared to a professional roaster. But first and foremost it does come down to you and your abilities.

In this forum there are plenty of discussions on how to configure the Huky, so please spend a couple of days browsing the forum. That will give you lots of ideas to compare with your intended roaster setup. A standard setup with two fans etc. is a good starting point. Get a good "router controller" (instead of the Variac that many of us uses, but which is overkill) and you will be good.

[bradenl123]

Perhaps I explained myself wrong. My intention originally was to get a TJ-066, 067, BC-300, or BC-600. After speaking with my family I realized that learning the craft first and foremost would the route to go. I then narrowed down my results to a Huky, Quest, or Hottop. I have roasted on an SR500 so any upgrade is an upgrade. What I desire it the ability to roast quality beans and learn the trade as I go. I want the ability to hone in on a skill and reach my peak with whatever roaster I chose. I know the Huky is gas and gas has the ability to change on a dime which will aid in profiling. I am not concerned with repeatability 100% of the time which is probably what having a 067 is able to do with the larger thermal mass. My question should have been. I want a Huky what do I need to start out so that I won't need to get pieces here and there. The end all be all of Huky. I don't know what a perforated drum vs a standard drum will do aside from more airflow. I know I need MET, BT, and ET probes but what are the 306 and 302 or whatever on the "Pricing and FAQ" basically I am asking for a standard set up for one who wants to dive into the roasting world.

Thanks,

Braden

[SusanJoM]

I want a Huky what do I need to start out so that I won't need to get pieces here and there. The end all be all of Huky. I don't know what a perforated drum vs a standard drum will do aside from more airflow. I know I need MET, BT, and ET probes but what are the 306 and 302 or whatever on the "Pricing and FAQ" basically I am asking for a standard set up for one who wants to dive into the roasting world.

I don't know if anyone is using their HUKY with parts sourced only from Mr. Li.   I seriously doubt it.  Most of us have different gauges, different fans, different exhaust set-ups.

306 and 302 are iterations of the Center data logging stuff Mr. Li sells.

And for the rest of it you can glean if you read through all of the Before You Buy threads for questions asked and answered pre-purchase.

Enjoy your research.

[edtbjon]

Again to chime in with Susan...
The Huky is very much a "kit" roaster, which works when ordering a "standard" kit.
I can of course put together an order list for you, but that have been done maybe lots and lots of times already. Look in the "Pre-Purchase" subforum (where you placed this thread) and read up.
Now, if you are looking at the Huky for learning how a gas roaster works, most larger roasters typically uses solid drums. 
As pointed out before, some sort of fan controller is good, as the built in damper is too crude for fine contol.
Most of us hooks up the roaster to a laptop and views/logs the roasts with Artisan coffee roasting software, which needs some kind of interface between the ThermoCouplers and the computer. The Center 30X (many versions available) is available from Mr Li, while many of us are more into the Phidget 1048. Or why not go for a Arduino/TC4 solution, to which you later can add functionality as you choose.

The main thing though is to learn the roaster and roasting. That will take some time and give you the experience from which you will most probably find directions to what to modify, if you want to modify anything at all. Personally, I don't mind the fully manual style of roasting, even though I'm building a cyclone exhaust system at the moment. Now, I'm close to 3 years with my Huky and I'm still learning from every new bean I roast.
The reason for me going on about "duplicate", is that unless I can duplicate, I do not have good enough control so that I can tweak my roast to whatever I want to. This is the basis for any roasting on any coffee roaster, so it's nothing Huky-specific.

[Brewzologist]

Braden;

I'm a long time Behmor user who recently switched to the Huky and went through a similar investigation of the pro/con of Quest, Hottop and Huky.  I decided on the Huky because I think it gives the most potential for controlling the roast.  But that's a subjective statement since I never got to use the other roasters.

That said, you need to realize the Huky is likely more of a kit/DIY project than those roasters.  If you aren't willing to take the time to set up, customize and calibrate it you will not be happy.  I also strongly believe you should have a dedicated cart/space due to the design of the roaster; you won't want to be moving/taking it apart every roasting session.  I knew these limitations going in and I'm happy with my choice.

I suggest you spend a few hours on this forum doing a LOT of reading so you know what you're getting into before taking the plunge.  There is certainly something to be said for having a more out-of-the-box and self-contained roaster that doesn't need gas.

Steve

P.S.  I am a bit OCD, but for example see the list of things I did before doing any roasts at all with the Huky.  (Arguably some tasks will/may be needed with the Hottop/Quest too.)

1- Made a cap for the damperless T-pipe I ordered with the Huky.
2- Built a custom cart with chaff collector and an outdoor exhaust solution
3- Integrated a DC fan via an Arduino/Artisan for better airflow control, and then calibrated the airflow using an anemometer.
4- Replaced stock gas gauge on IR stove with lower pressure gauge for more control over gas flow.
5- Installed a variable pressure gas regulator because I didn't like the way the stock one connected to tanks here in the U.S.
6- Set-up and calibrated the thermocouples with the phidget
7- Worked through grounding/ground loop issues that surface with multiple electronics.
8- Read lots of books/sources on the craft of roasting/Artisan since the Huky won't guide you at all on creating successful initial roasts.

[Wayneg1]

Some very good advice posted above for you to ponder Braden.  I started with an iRoast and moved to a Hottop. I upgraded the Hottop when they came out with their latest control panel that integrated with Artisan.  Personally, I never liked the way the Hottop roasted, the profiles were too hard to dial in and the support for the machine was not to my liking.  I sold it and bought a Huky.  In comparison, I am extremely satisfied with the Huky but, it has quite a learning curve. If you're willing to do the research and put in the effort you will be happy with a Huky.  I have no idea about the Quest, so can't help you there.  Good luck with your decision