Home-made roast cooling solutions

Roasters and roasting

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Postby zapty » Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:40 am

Hmmm, food for thought...
Bezzera B3000A, Giotto Premium, several Cona's, several Balance Brewers, Atomic, Milano etc,
Aristarco, Rancilio MD 40, Ditting and Eureka MCI grinders, several antique roasters, a mini500/800N propane/electric Taiwanese roaster, greens all over the place...and some other unmentionables that have not been mentioned......
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Postby CakeBoy » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:21 pm

GB, Pete, others with the all stainless steel steamer solution, could you tell me please do your steamer sections fit firmly into the lower 'pan' part? I ask as we purchased a cheap-ish £9.99 steamer from Argos yesterday (along with a Woolies value £20 bagless cylinder vacuum). The steamer was advertised as a 'Tower' but we were given a 'Sabichi' (a brand often found at Wilko) and the fit is terrible. The top is all wobbly and there are gaps where it should seal. It will go back unless the collective experience is they are all that way. Ta in advance :P
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Postby GreenBean » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:18 pm

Mine fit like a glove Cakey. In reality it may not make much difference to the cooling but why go to the trouble of making a bean cooler out of a sub standard product that you are less than happy with. My steamer came from Asda at about £9 and is a high quality product. I do not know if they still supply them but it may be worth a look.
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Postby CakeBoy » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:01 pm

Thanks GB, I totally agree. Today we looked at steamers from Woolies, a Viner's branded version and two different offerings from homebase (their own and the 'Ready, Steady, Cook' type). One or two were slightly better than the Sabichi model but none fitted significantly tighter. Perhaps I am being over critical. In order for me to figure out where we are, can I please ask, does yours fit 'machine tight', just sit in nicely but loosely or does it move if jiggled whilst seated? :)

Meanwhile, I shall check out Asda - asuming of course that even if they have a steamer now it is the same product.
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Postby GreenBean » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:46 pm

CakeBoy wrote:can I please ask, does yours fit 'machine tight', just sit in nicely but loosely or does it move if jiggled whilst seated?


Well .. :oops: I don't think I have ever been asked such a question before, well not until a third date at least!:oops:

Since you ask mine is a satisfyingly tight fit. When placed in position it sits high and only falls the last 15 mm or so into place when pressed with a few kilograms force. Once in position the whole thing can be lifted by the top section and shaken without the two sections parting company.

I really don't think that such a fit is necessary. When the vacuum cleaner is on the pressure drop over the bed of beans will result in several kilograms of force holding the two halves together.
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Postby leecb » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:51 pm

Mine definitely doesn't jiggle Cakey and I'm shocked that you would ask such a thing!!

But seriously it wouldn't work well as a steamer if it doesn't fit properly- you are trying to get as much of the steam into the top part as you can. I would return it on those grounds if I was you, seeing as you bought it as a steamer I would have said it is not fit for purpose.
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Postby CakeBoy » Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:17 am

Thanks guys, this is really helpful and much appreciated. Upon further inspection tonight we have concluded that the quality is dire. One top section actively rocks in the pan and the other leaves a visible gap at the 'seal'. We are going to have a look at the M&S version as none of those we've yet looked at fitted as you described GB.

What did you use for the hole making process GB, if I may ask a gentleman such a thing on what is probably now our second date? :D Whilst on the subject, how is your cheapo vac holding up? Hombase didn't have any of that pp hose you mentioned, perhaps Wickes will stock it?

Oh Leigh, please don't spoil my fantasy - a girl needs a little jiggle ;) :P

Seriously though, it's going back tomorrow for sure. It's not even the one advertised in the catalogue.

Thanks again y'all :P



Edit: Typo
Last edited by CakeBoy on Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby GreenBean » Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:44 am

The cheap vacuum cleaner is holding up fine so far. PP drain pipe is stocked at both the large B&Q stores in my area and should be available from plumbers merchants. It is used for kitchen sink drains as it can stand boiling water. I am probably being too fussy but I would not use other plastics in such a service as I do not want fumes from hot plastics anywhere near my coffee. If you smell the normal drain pipe and the PP pipe (even at room temperature) I think you will immediately see my point. The PP pipe is also very cheap and is about the required diameter. You can also get push fit fittings, such as elbows and couplings with a flexible seal that are ideal for vacuum service.

With limited tools I would suggest the following to cut the hole in the base. Use masking tape to cover the area and mark the cut out required. Drill small holes (about 3mm dia.) just inside the marked line and as close together as you can. If you can centre punch for the holes before drilling it will avoid the drill running off. Break out the centre section and use a file to open the hole to the required size.
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Postby CakeBoy » Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:47 am

Thanks GB, I feared it would be a multiple drill-hole job. At least we have a Dremel which should make the edge smoothing a little easier. PP pipe will be sought and found - hopefully today :)


Edit: Having just looked again at GreenBean's photos, I have to confess to missing that the pp pipe is rigid - we incorrectly looked for 'bendy' stuff at Homebase. A return visit appears to be in order :oops: :roll:
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Postby GreenBean » Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:49 pm

The photos do not show the PP pipe. I used Marley Polypropylene Waste Pipe WPP33WX White 32mm dia. from B&Q. It is currently £1.88 for 3 metres. That should not break the bank. :D
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Postby CakeBoy » Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:41 pm

Well lots to tell. By chance, before reading your reply, we purchased the very same pipe that you mentioned above - which is very reassuring. I think we got a 2 metre length for £1.28. Could I ask what joint sections, if any, you used in attaching it to the vaccum please GB?

Now for the steamer story ..........
We tried another Argos (an 'Extra' store) to see if they had the 'Tower' steamer shown in their catalogue in stock, but the shop system came up with 'Viners' as the manufacturer which looked promising, though in reality all they had physically on site was the Sabichi model already mentioned in this thread and rejected. Incidentally, the latter is so lightweight that the steamer parts actually pop in and out when pressure is gently applied to the centre of the perforated section. Each makes it's own 'pop' noise, which is nice and could be quite musical in the right hands :)

In the absense of a local Asda, the Woolies' steamer was considered again and although not bad, the seal was not perfect. The M&S 'value' version that I had high hopes for yesterday was 'in the flesh' as bad as the Sabichi :(, and Cargo's offering was little better. Some of the big stores wanted £30+ for an item that seemed no more than on par with those we had already considered at one third the cost.

None of the steamers locally would lock tightly into their pan bases , so in the knowledge that we couldn't find anything of that nature it was time to reconsider seal quality and specifically the stronger of the Homebase offerings which was only previously rejected as a non-locker. It was a decent weight unit at just under £15, rigid in the steamer section centre and it sealed perfectly, so that is what we went with for now.

If we ever spot one at Asda (or anywhere for that matter) that seals tightly like yours, I am happy to 'upgrade' to it. In the meantime, I think the homebase kit will do a decent job. What a 'to do' that all was!

Phew, time for a coffee! Thanks again for the help :D
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Postby GreenBean » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:22 am

Wow you are going to quite some trouble over your cooler. I am sure the steamer you have selected will be fine. I can not really help you with the connection to the vacuum cleaner as every model seems to use a different connection. I simply cut the hose off the connector that came with the vacuum cleaner and modified a fitting to connect to it. I have the luxury of a lathe at home so modifying fittings is not a problem for me. I am sure you can find a way to connect it using the push on fittings. If you end up with a loose fit silicone (bath) sealant will stick to the PP, can fill large gaps, and is good for a few hundred degrees centigrade.

I want to mention another issue regarding the placement of the vacuum cleaner in relation to the cooler. I have not seen anyone else mention this and it is no doubt just me being way too fussy :oops:. In my early trials I placed the cooler on a table and the vacuum on the floor using a few elbows in the pipe to connect the two. After cooling the coffee I would turn the vacuum off. When I removed the steamer tray with the coffee later a smell of hot vacuum cleaner, motor, grease etc. was evident in the cooler base. This was due to convection from the hot vacuum and pipework. I did not detect any effect on the coffee from this but did not want to take any chances. As I was intending to build my vacuum in I decided to place the vacuum above the cooler. This solved the (imaginary?) problem.
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Postby CakeBoy » Fri Oct 31, 2008 11:58 am

You wouldn't believe how difficult it has been to find a steamer with a reasonable seal. I too thought it would be a simple job! I didn't think about the vacuum connector itself with the hose removed offering a decent joint option.

Thank you for the other info too. We were originally going to have the steamer and vac level on a table, but will now look at a small 'step' for the latter to sit on with a couple of albows in the pipe. I agree, as you suggest, regarding the motor smell probably not effecting the beans, particularly if they are removed as soon as cool (immediately when the vac is switched off), because the air is otherwise always being sucked away from them. Nevertheless, it won't hurt to add the height differential just in case. Thanks so much again for the hand holding :)
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Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
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