Another Silicon Valley type here

[rawman]

Hey All,

Some of you may know me from other forums such as Coffeegeek, HomeBarista, etc.  Also same rawman from the greencoffee coop.  I started roasting with a bbq drum set up many years ago, then moved on to a hottop, and am now looking at the Huky.  thusband was kind enough to demo me his set up the other day (thanks again!) and I think I am going for one but still looking into the exact configuration.  Thought I would at least say a quick hi and introduce myself to those who don't know me.

Jon

[SusanJoM]

Who could forget that name ?
Glad to have you.

It is just so cool to see people from all over the coffee oriented net showing up here:-)))))

[hankua]

Huky is a good choice for datalogging, pretty easy to hook up.

[Gregr]

Welcome 
I had a Hottop before the Huky. I loved it- was a lot of fun but the Huky is a different animal completely.

[rawman]

Welcome 
I had a Hottop before the Huky. I loved it- was a lot of fun but the Huky is a different animal completely.

Thanks for the warm welcome.  Yeah the Huky seems very different, but what I saw of it I liked.


I've done some searching on the forum on different set ups, and so far I am thinking of only going for one fan (exhaust). For cooling,  I think I will just go back to my old plastic bucket/vacuum cooling similar to this one posted by a friend of mine:

http://s73.photobucket.com/user/ghholt/media/newbeancooler.jpg.html
When I roasted with the BBQ grill that's what I used and it worked great.

I have a canning funnel that I use to drop beans into the Hot Top but it seems it is too big for the tube on the Huky.  So I will order 2 funnels.

The thing I want right away would be a DC exhaust fan.  DC is so much easier  to control and faster response time.  I've read some posts here talking about it but didn't see anything really conclusive yet.  Anyone come up with something?  I sent a mail to ask Mr Li already.  Thanks again for the warm welcome, seems like a nice site y'all have here.

Jon

[edtbjon]

Even though I've read and "understood" the thread(s) about DC fans, the fan(s) supplied with the Huky does seem very durable. I havn't seen any reports about fans braking down. But it may be a cheaper choice for precise control to use the DC version of the fan and a cheaper DC controller. (A Variac is an expensive device.) I havn't seen any reports of a working DC exhaust fan for the Huky yet. You may be the first...
If you already have a good bean cooler, capable of cooling a full pound, you don't need the extra fan/tray, which most of us are ordering. But you may already know that the "standard" Huky way of cooling the beans is very effective. The beans cool down to room temp in a few minutes.
Last, welcome to the show...

[Gregr]

I agree that the standard fan/set-up is very effective. Been using it for 2 years now with no complaints. I'm a one-fanner. I like simple, but at the same time I greatly appreciate all the DIY'ers that are pioneering all the different things that can be done to the Huky. The vented bowl with a piece of duct ran to just below my range hood is how my set-up works. Simple and effective. The fan is controlled with a $16 dimmer, easy peasy.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xspeedster+fan+control.TRS0&_nkw=speedster+fan+control&_sacat=0

[rawman]

Anyone happen to know the size of the fans (diameter and CFM?)  A co worker of mine was just telling me how he just had to replace his radiator in his Honda Accord, and then had to replace the fan.  The light came on over my head.. I was looking for a 12 v DC fan that should hold up to heat pretty well.  The engine compartment in a car gets pretty warm so heat might not be a problem..  Just need to see what size fan to use.  Not that I think there is anything wrong with the stock fan set up, (especially since I haven't actually use one yet!), I'm just looking around at options.. 

(Also, if I should split this off to another thread let me know?)
Jon

[rvtech]

I sell/install a DC fan at work. It's 12 volts DC and moves a lot of air. It's an automotive/RV air conditioning condenser fan. Diameter is 12". Kinda pricey.....$192. I see others around for $40 and up, but they don't move nearly as much air.

[rawman]

Thanks rvtech.  Little on the expensive side.  Is the diameter of the stock AC fan 12"? 

[rvtech]

The stock fan is 8"

[edtbjon]

The stock fan is 8"

Nah... The opening of the stock fan is about 6" and the housing is very close to 7". (We use metric here in Sweden, but as I've owned 100s of "sevens" ("sjuor" in swedish ) in my younger days, 8" or 20cm seemed very wrong. Now, what is that crazy Swede talking about??? Vinyls!!! Good ol' singles. )