Huky vs. USRC

[charlesaf3]

Hi,

I was thinking of buying a USRC 1 pound, then a local roaster said he had bought a Huky and recommended I check this place out.

I plan on roasting around 3 pounds a week or so for personal consumption.  I roast for espresso - on the hottop liked to stop the heat at first crack, then coast towards second.

What would I give up by getting the Huky?  Clearly I would be saving a fair bit of money, and space.

Thanks,

Charles

[NightFlight]

Have you looked at the North TJ-066 and TJ-067. Go to Mill City Roasters and I am sure you'll be impressed.

[hankua]

I like the USRC vs the SF1 due to pricing and air control. If you have the spare money and don't mind the investment, it's a "once and done" type of purchase. Used machines are rare, but do pop up ocassionally just like the SF1.

The price is reasonable if one considers all the factors involved in US manufacturing and the minor difference between say a .5K and 3K with
cutting, welding, fabrication, wiring, etc.  It's not a "bread and butter"
product for USRC, more of an accessory item.

[charlesaf3]

Sorry, is the SF1 the Huky or the North?

The Huky seems quite a bit less than the USRC.  At the point I get to the North, it seems like I might as well just buy the USRC?  Guessing a bit at prices here

[Wayneg1]

Sorry, is the SF1 the Huky or the North?

The Huky seems quite a bit less than the USRC.  At the point I get to the North, it seems like I might as well just buy the USRC?  Guessing a bit at prices here

SF1 is a San Franciscan, I believe they are quite pricey. USRC will be very expensive also if you're comparing it to the Huky.  I think the base price on the North is $2700.

[hankua]

This is a tough question to answer; because of upgradeitis. That's where I come up with "one and done", no looking back or second guessing. I've seen both the USRC and San Franciscan sample roasters in action and own both a Huky and a Taiwan built 1lb Feima 800n professional machine. (Feima is a 2011, used Huky is a 2013).

Huky is already good enough for Hobby or sample roasting, but there are intrinsic values in play such as: American made, best of class, last forever construction, etc. And high resale value on the American machines doesn't hurt either.

[jyalpert]

Are you roasting as a hobby or professionally?

- Huky = more or less the cheapest legit roaster you can buy.  Very high bang for the buck.  It has all the controls of a pro drum roaster - gas pressure, air flow, etc.

- The primary dig on the Huky is that it is sort of cobbled together.  The roasters are all made by one man in a workshop in Taiwan.  He does a great job, but the roaster is sort of a work in progress.  He is always coming out with new mods, updates, etc.  The funnels are made of aluminum lamp shades.  The power source is a butane or propane hot plate like they use for keeping hot pot soup warm in a Chinese restaurant.  You'll need to buy some extra stuff like a Variac to control the fan.  Etc etc etc.  The Huky is a great machine, but it's zero frills vs. . . .

- USRC/North/SF1 = more "professional" models.  You might get made in the USA, maybe beefier construction, and everything is all integrated together.  They'll have dedicated heat sources, integrated fan and cyclone, etc.  You may get better/faster support if there is an issue I guess.  Although that's only really a problem if you're roasting professionally.  The Huky has proven so far to be pretty robust.  As to whether or not they will roast better coffee, I'm not sure if that's the case.  The Huky's controls, while designed for value, get the job done quite well and allow for repeatable roasts.  My opinion would be that the user has more to do with it than the machine, but I've also never roasted on any of these machines.

The USRC and North machines in particular are about 2x-5x more expensive than the Huky.  For me, as a home roaster and hobbyist, I don't really see 2x-5x more value.  The Huky was already a pretty expensive toy to have for a hobby.  If you're a pro, maybe it's easier to justify.

My impression of why people seem to like the Huky is that it has stripped away all of the "frills" of a true pro machine, and basically re-imagined how you'd build a roaster that home users can afford, while focusing on doing a good job only for the features you actually need (powerful heat source, powerful fan, telemetry).  Mr. Li did a great thing here - you can't get those set of features, that work as well, in any other machine in the price range (Hottop, Quest, etc.).

If you've got upgradeitis as Hank says, you might still yearn for something that looks more like a Probat.  But if you're like me, I see the Huky as the break-point in the diminishing marginal returns curve for roasting machines.  It's basically the minimum viable true roaster - zero compromises where it matters, but no frills either.  I could not be happier with mine.

[charlesaf3]

Thank you very much, I will order the Huky