First experiences

Roasters and roasting

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First experiences

Postby moccafaux » Sun Jan 25, 2004 12:30 pm

At first many thanks to Hugh and Phil for getting me hooked.
Due to lot of work and no PC at home I cannot post my comments on their samples yet, nor on the way my first roasts tasted.
To make it short, roasting was a success in itself.
But, there is always a but, having read only the german part of the manual for my air popper I managed to melt the shell and lid of that apparatus.
Whe reading the original english manual I found out that this particular machine must not run longer than six minutes at a time!
I will return it to the shop and look for a better one. which will prove to be very difficult, because this was the only one available in town! Air poppers being not much in demand in this country.
Back to square one, then.
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Postby mnemonix » Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:16 am

'They all do that Sir'

Does it look like this one ? maybe in white, this is the Prima/Westbend model most people use... I've melted the top on all mine with roasts running from 6 to 12 minutes ! Not disasterously, it just looks a bit Dali-esque. DO let them cool between roasts though.

I don't know of a 'better' machine actually, the metal finish on this version is only cosmetic and I also have one made by 'Rival' but it's essentially the same inside and still made of plastic on the outside so probably no better. I haven't used it yet as I'm still busy melting the two Primas I have in service, allbeit computer controlled melting these days.

Chris.
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Postby moccafaux » Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:18 pm

Mine looked different. I just bought two used ones similar to the one shown above very cheap at ebay and will modify them a bit. Its good to know that this is common!
Maybe I will get me something more suitable for this purpose in the future, it seems to be more important than replacing my middleclass espressomachine with a much better one 8not that I had the money anyway).
chocolate+-----__0
coffee=-------- \ >;
myfuel------- (_)/(_)
_____________________________________________
Wo ich geh und steh brauch ich mein Kaffee........
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Postby chrish » Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:25 pm

Before I moved on to a purpose built roaster I used an air popper for about a year and I must admit I went over the recommended time limit regularly. On odd occasions the lid went soft from the heat, but it still performed well. I still have it as an emergency back up and think its an excellent way of getting in to roasting.

If you do need to go considerably over the time limit then consider roasting in two goes. With two poppers you've got even more options.
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Postby maurice » Thu Jan 29, 2004 6:47 pm

I've just bought a 'Rival' popcorn maker. Made two good roasts last night, both extended to nearly 20 minutes by periodic switching on and off next to an open window with -2 C temperature outside. But today, each time I switched the machine off, the 'overheat protector' kicked in and refused to let me restart for 15 minutes! There was no way the machine was overheating, as my first pause was less than 3 minutes after starting from cold. Not good news...
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Postby mnemonix » Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:30 pm

Perhaps the residual heat from the element is enough to trip the thermostat once the fan's stopped turning - it could be a 'safety feature' even to ensure adequate cooldown between uses. Or perhaps it's just faulty, I've never had a Prima do that. Can you exchange it ?

Unlike the Primas (well, mine anyway) the Rival has 'proper' screws so it's at least possible to dismantle it easily - apart from it's shape and the rather fiddly switch mechanism. I didn't go as far as dismantling the heater chamber when I took mine apart for a look, but I'd assume the thermostat is located on the underside of the heater assembly inside the chamber above the motor, and could be bypassed easily enough. Not that I'd be encouraging any kind of dangerous practice such as this...

chris.
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Postby maurice » Fri Jan 30, 2004 1:07 am

Thanks Chris. Yes, I suspect its a safety feature rather than fault - probably meant to stop kids setting the house on fire by running off multiple batches of popcorn without pause.

Buggers it up for coffee though, unless you like 4 minute roasts. Not sure I'd feel safe trying surgery on the thermostat...

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Postby cleverdic » Fri Jan 30, 2004 12:36 pm

With regards to the Prima popper, I too melted the lid the very first time I used it. I now roast with the top lid and sides completely removed to try and lengthen the roasting time, particularly in the summer. I was getting my second crack sometime after 3 minutes which I felt was far too short. To stop the beans popping out I accurately measure out the dose to 50 grams. With the popper completely open, I can get around 5 minutes in the summer and around 8 minutes in the winter.

Richard
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Postby maurice » Fri Jan 30, 2004 1:46 pm

Another technique for topless poppers is to hold a tea strainer over the top - lets the hot air out, but keeps the beans in. You have to lift it from time to time to let the chaff escape...

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Postby mnemonix » Sun Feb 01, 2004 7:03 pm

I couldn't resist getting my 'Rival' popper of the shelf for another look this weekend. Apart from rewiring it for the laptop, I cut the roast chamber down so it's not as deep but also got a parafin lamp glass to sit on top (with a wire mesh 'mushroom' chaff collector over that).

The pleasant surprise was that the Rival's good for a 160g roast (running the fan at the normal 24V), required no stirring at the start, and with the roast chamber/lamp glass mod I could watch it all happen through the glass.

Chris.
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Postby alans » Mon Feb 02, 2004 9:35 am

Nice one Chris, I've been thinking of doing this myself, have you got any pics? Did you get a lamp glass that fits perfectly? Is it's rim on the inside of the popper roast chamber or the outside?

The list of things I'd like to try for roasting coffee just keeps growing....
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Postby moccafaux » Mon Feb 02, 2004 2:58 pm

My two poppers work great, albeit very different. One is much quicker than the other and gave me a full city roast in almost no time. until now, the thermic switch-off didnt activate, but if then I will remove it.
i also tried a heatgun with an old cast-iron casserole on a campingstove. Works great and one has much more control with the necessary senses.
Funny thing with the lamp glass, thats what I considered as a modifikation (we stock a huge amount of these glasses ion our shop, all different diameters).
Also I want to cut the mesh out of a colander and manipulate it to sit on the glass. Bend in the shape of a cooks cap (=mushroom) and with a piece of aluminium on top. This may ensure that the chaff is blownn to the side an collects in the "overhang" of the mesh. Just the embryo of a thought at the moment, though.
chocolate+-----__0
coffee=-------- \ >;
myfuel------- (_)/(_)
_____________________________________________
Wo ich geh und steh brauch ich mein Kaffee........
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Location: below Frankenstein castle

Postby mnemonix » Mon Feb 02, 2004 8:09 pm

The lamp glass is an exact fit inside the top of the roast chamber though not tightly so, but it seems to sit there happily enough. I have a tall, curved glass too which fits very nicely and drops down further into the roast chamber but it interferes with my thermometry.

Chris.
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Postby mnemonix » Mon Feb 02, 2004 8:36 pm

there should have been a pic attached but tmc's behaving a bit oddly this evening !
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Postby maurice » Tue Feb 03, 2004 3:27 am

Chris

Great picture - but more information needed!

Does the photo mean that you're loading beans half way up the glass container? Or are these beans in motion, suspended by hot air?

You said you've cut the roast chamber down. Literally cut it?

Are you doing a continuous roast, with no cooling off time? If so, how long is it taking?


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