Author Topic: Standard Stove - any ideas what to substitute it with at the European market?  (Read 29104 times)

Offline LizMax

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Solid or Perf: Solid
  • Serial Number: 1045
  • J or T : T
Hello dear roasters!

My name is Lisa, I bought the Huky some time ago, T, butane, with the standard stove that Mr. Li is offering.

Today was the first time I assembled the whole system and put it to work. And I immediately understood why Portuguese customs did not let the stove enter - with all my respect to Mr. Li this thing is scary to stay in the room with. It doesn't look trustable at all, and makes me nervous every time I turn it on. And I have already worked on the production roaster, so I've seen some things.

I already ordered green coffee, it will be arriving in a couple of weeks - and I am here with the roaster that is scary to put to work.

Probably some of you have met with the same difficulties, and found another stove that could be used with Huky and not to give problems? Or any other solutions? I am currently in Lisbon, Portugal.

Thank you for your help in advance!

I am already considering getting a Gene Cafe instead, so you can see how desperate I am  :-X


Offline SusanJoM

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Solid or Perf: both/either
  • Serial Number: 454 (perf) 1243 (solid)
  • J or T : J
  • Charge Weight : 350 gm
Have you used that stove Braden?

Do you really think it is friendlier  than Mr. Li's stove?


"There is a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in." Leonard Cohen.

Offline bradenl123

  • Newbie
  • *
I got the recommendation from reading other user's posts on these forums. I have not used this stove. I was just giving her another recommendation.

Offline SusanJoM

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Solid or Perf: both/either
  • Serial Number: 454 (perf) 1243 (solid)
  • J or T : J
  • Charge Weight : 350 gm
Well that makes more sense.  I didn't think you had a HUKY.

I think recommendations should have slightly more teeth than that I think, but the OP can deal with the information as she sees fit.   



"There is a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in." Leonard Cohen.

Offline edtbjon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Solid or Perf: Solid (Perforated in the closet)
  • Serial Number: 498
  • J or T : J (Trying out a Cyclone)
  • Charge Weight : 300-400g
Well, you do need a burner. The good thing with Mr Li's burner is that it's very easy to adjust to exactly the heat you want (with the extra needle valve that he installs). The glow of the IR element is also very visible, which is not always the case of an open flame.
If I understand you correctly, you didn't get the burner. I'm clueless about the portugese market, but I guess kitchen gas burners are common there. What you need to find is a burner which allows good control. While waiting for my Huky, I did look for alternatives which could be found at e.g camper supplies etc. Now, the IR burner does a good job, so no need for anything else.
You doesn't mention where you're going to roast. (Again...) I guess that you can find a sheltered place outdoors to at least start up using the roaster to build confidence. After all, climate in Portugal is very different to the Swedish climate for most of the year.
Also, using any gas stove is a matter of practicing routines and common sense. If you worry, invite any friend who have experience with kitchen gas burners to accompany you for your first roasts.
Now, dare I roast even lighter?

Offline LizMax

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Solid or Perf: Solid
  • Serial Number: 1045
  • J or T : T
Well, you do need a burner. The good thing with Mr Li's burner is that it's very easy to adjust to exactly the heat you want (with the extra needle valve that he installs). The glow of the IR element is also very visible, which is not always the case of an open flame.

- I was playing with it yesterday, and I cannot agree with that. As I saw, if I am going to use this burner, I will have to adjust the gas valve instead of the regulator of the intensity of the flame. Because the last one makes almost no difference.


.
If I understand you correctly, you didn't get the burner. I'm clueless about the portugese market, but I guess kitchen gas burners are common there. What you need to find is a burner which allows good control. While waiting for my Huky, I did look for alternatives which could be found at e.g camper supplies etc. Now, the IR burner does a good job, so no need for anything else.

- I got the burner. The problem was I ordered it Portugal, and on the customs it did not pass, because it has no european safety certification. The customs workers considered it highly unsafe (and now I understand why), and prohibited the entrance of this device to Portugal. So it was delivered to Moscow, and then from Moscow I brought it to Portugal by myself.

What should I pay attention at while looking for another burner? What kind of numbers?


Offline Wayneg1

  • Global Moderator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Solid or Perf: Perforated
  • Serial Number: 825
  • J or T : T
  • Charge Weight : 400
I'm not sure what the anxiety is with the original burner.  Most people using the Huky have this burner in propane or butane configurations.  The gas is controlled with the blue knob.  As Ed was saying the heating element glows when it is active.  You don't need to do anything with the regulator other than connect it to the gas source.  There is a gold button on the regulator that sometimes needs to be pressed for a couple of seconds to start the gas flow. As long as you check for leaks, and there are none, this burner works quite well.

Offline SusanJoM

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Solid or Perf: both/either
  • Serial Number: 454 (perf) 1243 (solid)
  • J or T : J
  • Charge Weight : 350 gm
Liz, have you contacted Mr. Li with your concerns? 

I'm surprised that he didn't know that the stove couldn't be shipped to Portugal. 

Perhaps he has encountered this before and knows of a substitute that you can find there.  I think he's your best bet if you really don't want to use the IR stove.

"There is a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in." Leonard Cohen.

Offline edtbjon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Solid or Perf: Solid (Perforated in the closet)
  • Serial Number: 498
  • J or T : J (Trying out a Cyclone)
  • Charge Weight : 300-400g
Ok, you contrabanded the burner to your place. :)

Most of us uses propane versions of the burner, but it should really be the same. Are you using small, like hair spray size cans for it?
Anyhow, as you feel afraid of the burner, you have to work with that.
The one thing that I'm aware of is that when the burner is cold, it's a bit hard to ignite with the "click" of the black turning dial. I have one of those lighters with a 10cm nozzle on it for this first ignition. But once the burner is hot, it's no problem to reignite it even after some 5-10 minutes of being turned off (to cool down the roaster for the next batch).
I guess there are over a thousand of these burners in use with the Hukys that Mr Li have sold, and I've seen very few, if any reports on the burner being un-safe.
By the way, I really don't think the customs officer knew anything about gas burners. He was just looking for something and he found out that it lacked the european certificate... "Hammer time" :)

I have taken a look at a few of these small burners that may fit for the Huky, and they seem even more unsafe and flimsy. The same goes for most of the cheap Barbeque grills/ovens (just about anything below 300€ ($300 for the rest of you. :)), the gas piping and connections are very much "budget".

Just for reference, I guess most of us only uses the "3 flames" setting on the black dial. That makes the whole cheramic element glow. There is enough room to manouver to manage all the aspects of the roast on that setting.

Now, these "facts" doesn't really matter if you feel afraid of the burner. I do suggest that you take the burner to e.g your balcony or any outdoor space and try it out there. Give it time and try it out properly. Turn it up to "full blast", take it down and find the minimum setting (at say 0.25 - 0.5 kPa) where the burner is stable and will not go out. A little bit of wind is actually good, because if the burner stays lit with a small gust of wind, it should be safe indoors.

The idea of doing this outdoors is that gas is heavier than air and if it leaks it will leak away from the burner and very quickly get too diluted by air so that it will not blow up.

Last, it would help both us and yourself if you can point out what aspects of this that you are afraid of. Susan, Hank et al often points out the need for respect when using any gas burner. Never leave the room or do anything much else when roasting. Use proper connections etc. Take good precautions, which is respect, and you do not have to be afraid.
Now, dare I roast even lighter?

Offline beananimal

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Solid or Perf: solid installed, performated available
  • Serial Number: 363
  • J or T : T (+J)
  • Charge Weight : 333g or 400g
Here in Germany we had quite some discussion about the safety of the burner. But this was all related to the thread to connect the hose to the big bottles, which is not allowed here as it is right-handed.

I know that the handling of the version with the small cans is different, and it feels like it needs a lot of attention, but for me this is related to the small bottles... That you have the gas directly aside and that the pressure is decreasing within a few roasts. This affects even the start process.

Therefore the hint with the external lighter is very valuable.
I am with Björn: Play around with the stove.
This black starter knob. Ignore it, but let it rest somewhere in middle position.
be an animal: be curious. trust you guts. play the game

Offline hankua

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Flame On!
  • Solid or Perf: Solid
  • Serial Number: 321
  • J or T : J
  • Charge Weight : 324g/454g
A couple of options would be to have a burner welded up in a local shop and fitted out with a needle valve and gas gauge. Question is what kind of gas is available to use in a safe location? Do you store gas bottles in a rack outside the apartment, natural gas line inside?

There's a guy in Taiwan who builds a DIY roaster that can operate with charcoal. The roaster sits on a stainless box and has a grate welded inside. It works pretty well and coffee tastes great. Shouldn't be that difficult to make and use out on the patio.

 

Resources

PRICING and FAQs

ARTISAN RESOURCES

PHIDGET INFORMATION

ROASTING GUIDES

ROASTING TERMINOLOGY

GREENS SOURCES

A FEW VIDEOS

Temperature Converter

Celsius:
Fahrenheit:
Kelvin:

Recent Topics

Rob Hoos article on Thermocouples by SusanJoM
August 31, 2017, 02:52:23 PM

CFM range for exhaust fan by edtbjon
August 30, 2017, 08:13:09 PM

Standard Stove - any ideas what to substitute it with at the European market? by hankua
August 30, 2017, 08:07:16 AM

Just Purchased, Hello from Claymont, DE! by hankua
August 30, 2017, 07:57:21 AM

Hello from Melbourne, Australia! by hankua
August 30, 2017, 07:55:07 AM

New to Roasting (opportunity to buy a Huky) by hankua
August 30, 2017, 07:52:18 AM

Hello from South Korea! by K.Brown
August 30, 2017, 05:40:09 AM

First Roast with Artisan, Feedback Appreciated by edtbjon
August 28, 2017, 04:17:34 AM

And another checklist to validate… by SusanJoM
August 25, 2017, 09:15:43 AM

Estimated Cost after Mods and Tools For Maintenance etc. etc. by edtbjon
August 25, 2017, 01:46:56 AM

Phidget 1048 Temperature() [Error 126] by MasterKraus
August 23, 2017, 06:41:08 PM

Any ordering at MLGP by jay
August 22, 2017, 06:44:05 AM

Powered by EzPortal