Almost ready to order....

[MJ5150]

I'm getting closer to making my purchase. I spent almost two hours with my custom air popper Monday night to get just over a pound roasted. I love doing it, and I love getting up close and personal with how roasting in those small batches lets me be. I just am beginning to think a larger roaster may be a time saver for me, especially if I start offering to do this for friends more often.

I was hoping y'all could look over the package I put together and let me know how it looks to start off, or if I may have any regrets once it all arrives and I start roasting. I also have a couple follow up questions....

One Huky with standard appurtenance and the perforated drum and 48rpm motor
One infrared stove (I am not sure on propane or butane at this time, but I will decide)
One extra tray
One extra fan
One exhaust hood (still debating if I can come up with my own solution for less than the $50 Mr. Li charges)

Yes, you see a lack of any monitoring devices/sensors . I really feel like I get dialed in with the beans as I am roasting now, and I rely on my sight, sound, and smell to roast. It's not as scientific for me yet where I want to know the specifics on temps, speeds, times, and so on. I don't disrespect those factors or think poorly of those who use them. I am sure I will get to that level at some point, but I'm not there yet.

I also have a question on the item Mr. Li offers, 'Extra motor set(Motor,Box,Switch)' for $78. What is the box and switch? Do I need that if I get two motors?

Has anyone got the 'green light' to place an order with the new design?

All y'all are great, so I appreciate your feedback and thoughts.

-Mike

[MJ5150]

Well, I know there will be zero issues with support and customer service from Mr. Li. 

In the time it took me to make my post here after e-mailing him, I got a reply. He suggested I wait for the new, and much better, design. It will be out in four to six days.

-Mike

[kenneroast]

I went with propane on my order because it seemed more common to come by here in the US. Plus, I already had 2 big tanks. Not sure how helpful my decision is, but I hope it helps guide you in the right path.

I think the box and switch would make switching out motors. I didn't buy it, but wish I did to make swapping things out easier.

Also, I believe you shouldn't wait on the probes. At least get a phidget and record data even if you don't find it useful for a while. There will most likely be the occasion that you won't be able to fine tune your roasts to desired taste without data to back it up. I appreciate the idea of going off senses, but nothing wrong with having data to back it up. This is only my opinion though, and you're the driver here. Go with what your gut is telling you. If you end up only relying on senses, then have at it and share with us what you learn. Id be really curious to read what ever you share to apply to my own routine. I think no matter how you set it up, the huky is a fun roaster.

[Gregr]

Every time I read about someone that's about to get their roaster I get a small jolt of that old Christmasy feeling   
The "box" wasn't even available when I got my roaster so I'm no help there. But I wholeheartedly agree with kenneroast about getting the probes now. Two reasons- first it's going to be a hassle to get them if you decide you want them in the future. So much of a hassle you would probably maybe end up just buying them from Mr. Li, incurring double shipping charges.
It's great that you roast by your senses. That was something I totally missed out on with the Behmor and Hottop. However... Given how small changes in temp have a great big impact on the quality of the roast I think you'll go though a much longer learning-the-roaster phase without the temp data. Best example that comes to mind: with a hard/high grown bean like those from Central America I would start the roast at 420F. That leads to the beans being dry at specific and predictable time, setting up the rest of the roast. The same settings for a Sumatra would dry them too quickly leading to beans that look good on the outside but are underroasted (under developed) on the inside, and it would taste grassy. Just ten little degrees is all I change and voila- wonderful rich Sumatra.
As far as the other stuff- that all looks good. I chose propane; still using the 4.5# tank I first got- nearly a hundred roasts now.

[SusanJoM]

Yes, you see a lack of any monitoring devices/sensors . I really feel like I get dialed in with the beans as I am roasting now, and I rely on my sight, sound, and smell to roast. It's not as scientific for me yet where I want to know the specifics on temps, speeds, times, and so on. I don't disrespect those factors or think poorly of those who use them. I am sure I will get to that level at some point, but I'm not there yet.

I think you are wise not to order the Center devices which Mr. Li offers, since if you decide to do any datalogging, the Phidget will be a better way to go.

On the other hand, for the very slight extra expense you probably should add in the extra digital thermocouples in case you want them later.  They are easiest to source directly from Mr. Li and they will add to your resale value if you decide to part with your HUKY, plus you can almost certainly sell it/them to someone here who wishes they had ordered one.

[MJ5150]

Great points, thank you for the suggestion. I'll probably go ahead and add those after all. Easier now, then later.

Well, this decision just got a whole lot easier for me when the folks who sell the Quest M3 said they would not sell me one since I am just  a home roaster. They suggested I buy a Hottop.

-Mike

[edtbjon]

You will not regret the Huky. It's a great roaster, just give it some time and also give the beans time to rest once you have decent looking roasts. They do take some time to mature and some of my first roasts were on their way to the compost when I gave them a last chance and they all of a sudden tasted quite good. I do have some confidence now, after some 4-5 months and some 30-40# roasted. I guess that the drum getting seasoned plays its part too, but most of it probably comes down to experience gained.

That was kind of a strange answer from those "folks"... The Quest is definitely a serious roaster, but still intended for amateurs. There is no way you can make a living from roasting 1-2# per hour and the Quest differs too much from any professional roaster to make it qualify as a profiling roaster (even though it may serve as one).

[Gregr]

That was a strange thing to say to a customer. I do not get that. Regardless- the Huky is better anyways ;-)

[MJ5150]

.....since if you decide to do any datalogging, the Phidget will be a better way to go.

Would you please post up some pics of how your Phidget is set up and connected? I did a search for the Phidget 1048, and all I came up with was what looks like a circuit board, so I am mostly confused at this point now.

I am guessing I need to order probes still somewhere if I buy this Phidget 1048?

-Mike

[edtbjon]

The Phidget 1048 is indeed a small circuit board. It should be ordered with the corresponding acrylic case. The connectors for the ThermoCouplers (TCs) are nice, but a bit pricey, as you really don't have to cut any cables (just open the male connectors on the TCs with a screwdriver). The usb-cable is included with the Phidget.
Then you simply install some software (from the Phidget site) to have the correct drivers on your computer. You should not run the software while running Artisan, as Artisan only needs the drivers to be present.

... and yes, you still should order the probes installed by Mr. Li. (The BeanTemp (BT) is installed by default. Ask to have the EnvTemp (ET) probe instead of the analogue meter, which is free of charge. The third (MET) probe is optional and the least important of the three, but the best and cheapest way of having it installed is (again) by ordering it installed by Mr. Li.

[MJ5150]

I'm getting closer to my purchase.

I'm still not convinced the extra fan/tray is the best solution for bean cooling. I wonder if there is something better that will cool and stir the beans. Maybe a modified ice cream maker of some kind. The extra fan/tray is only about $63, so not expensive, and anything else will likely cost more. Still, I was hoping for something that would stir the beans as they cool.

-Mike

[Gregr]

That fan is so strong it really does a pretty fast job of completely cooling the beans. I'm gonna time it next time I roast but I'm guessing it's 3 minutes or less to room temp. Actually cooler than room temp.

[SusanJoM]

And with my handy dandy OVE glove on I can just give it a stir or two if I have a notion to.

It's a whole lot neater than my old cooling method which was to put the beans in a sieve on top of a fan blowing upwards through them.  That had to be  outside because the chaff went everywhere....It got them cool fast, but this is faster and neater by far.

[kenneroast]

That fan is so strong it really does a pretty fast job of completely cooling the beans. I'm gonna time it next time I roast but I'm guessing it's 3 minutes or less to room temp. Actually cooler than room temp.

You normally roast about a pound at a time, right? I think it might even be faster with a smaller batch (~150grams).

[Gregr]

Yeah- a full pound in 3 minutes or less. A half pound would probably be cool in 90 seconds.