First IMEX Roast

[GeorgeW]

Well done Cakey and welcome to the fold.
I do agree that for small quantities the Imex is just the job.
As for the smoke problem I have to say that this has presented little difficulty and for me is taken care of by my cooker-hood vent even without the window and door being open.
I see from your results that you have achieved a pretty even roast and this again is my experience. That said, while in your case I would put this down to blind luck, in my case it was the result of dedicated practise aided by good judgement and not a little natural ability.

[Bertie_Doe]

Cakeboy wrote

By the same token, the newer versions can roast a bit quick for light roasts, but as I want it primarily for medium-dark espresso roasts, it is perfect for me.

The Imex looks similar to my H.Precision, sadly no longer made. When it dies, I'm not sure whether to go Imex or GeneC. I want to stick with fluid air and smallish roasts. My max is about 120g, so if you screw-up, it's no biggy. Mark, have you timed your darkest roast cycle yet? Mine is about 7min 20secs, it would be nice if I could stretch this a bit.
QC

[CakeBoy]

no smoke at all when using a chimney

Strangely enough!

doesn't require a light dimmer

Back to SimonP and his amazing modifications Leigh

[GeorgeW]

Cakeboy wrote

By the same token, the newer versions can roast a bit quick for light roasts, but as I want it primarily for medium-dark espresso roasts, it is perfect for me.

The Imex looks similar to my H.Precision, sadly no longer made. When it dies, I'm not sure whether to go Imex or GeneC. I want to stick with fluid air and smallish roasts. My max is about 120g, so if you screw-up, it's no biggy. Mark, have you timed your darkest roast cycle yet? Mine is about 7min 20secs, it would be nice if I could stretch this a bit.
QC

Sorry to butt in but I regularly exeed the 7mins figure. 10, 11 mins are not unusual eg. Daterra.

[jameso]

So nice to see everyone having lots of fun

IMHO, smoke not a problem. The Hottop (which I now use) has less smoke during roasting, but when you dump the beans you get a lot more than the IMEX gave out throughout it's cycle. This is, of course, down to batch size. But leave a window open for ten minutes afterwards and it clears.

Mark is right about chaff - a small amount escapes around the lid which doesn't fit perfectly. But the chaff collector is very easy to clean out and is also effective.

J

[espressomattic]

I have great fun blowing my chaff everywhere outside when I have roasted...a brown flakey christmas every week...and the smoke...who needs incense????

[CakeBoy]

Cakeboy wrote

By the same token, the newer versions can roast a bit quick for light roasts, but as I want it primarily for medium-dark espresso roasts, it is perfect for me.

The Imex looks similar to my H.Precision, sadly no longer made. When it dies, I'm not sure whether to go Imex or GeneC. I want to stick with fluid air and smallish roasts. My max is about 120g, so if you screw-up, it's no biggy. Mark, have you timed your darkest roast cycle yet? Mine is about 7min 20secs, it would be nice if I could stretch this a bit.
QC

Sorry to butt in but I regularly exeed the 7mins figure. 10, 11 mins are not unusual eg. Daterra.

Quentin, the picture I posted was untimed for reasons already explained, but I have since produced a similar looking batch with the timer on 10 mins, though I cut it at about 9 minutes and something and went into the cooling cycle. I wonder if each machine is fairly unique with the power/heat thing and it therefore varies quite a bit from some to others.

George, I have only roasted Manuela in the IMEX to date, but can imagine exceeding double figures with some beans like Daterra. The Manuela would have been fine with the remaining minute had I not spotted they looked "done"

[jameso]

The other thing, Spongey, is how many grams per batch. Makes a big difference... (So worth being consistent)

[Bertie_Doe]

GeorgeW wrote

I regularly exeed the 7mins figure. 10, 11 mins

Cakeboy wrote

but I have since produced a similar looking batch with the timer on 10 mins, though I cut it at about 9 minutes and something

Thanks for the info guys. It seems that the Imex is a lot less fierce than the Precision.
I have a very narrow roast band - 6min 50 and it's under-roasted and 7min 50 and it's heavily oiled. The Imex's 9 - 11 mins, means I don't need to stand over it with a stop-watch. I also suspect that there is no gap between 1st and 2nd (very noisy machine).
Quentin

[jameso]

The Imex's 9 - 11 mins, means I don't need to stand over it with a stop-watch.

The IMEX may take longer, but I wouldn't want to use it without deciding when to stop by eye (and nose & ear!). If you're trying to decide what to replace the HWP with when it finally dies, don't decide on IMEX because it is fully auto. Others may correct me, but I don't think it is automatic in that sense.

[Bertie_Doe]

jameso wrote

If you're trying to decide what to replace the HWP with when it finally dies, don't decide on IMEX because it is fully auto

I agree, niether machine is auto and both work on a simple timer, but 7mins is far too short a roast with the HWP. It may be because it was designed for the 110 watt system.
With the longer roast of the Imex, I may be able to detect the 'crack gap'.
QC

[CakeBoy]

That said, while in your case I would put this down to blind luck, in my case it was the result of dedicated practise aided by good judgement and not a little natural ability.

I just want to learn from the Laird of the IMEX

The other thing, Spongey, is how many grams per batch. Makes a big difference... (So worth being consistent)

I just use a level fill of the measuring cup that came with it for every roast. Presumably, that is about 150g?

[Gouezeri]

OK, now try that again with a peaberry and then a maragogype
When it comes to fluid beds, it's always best to weigh, in my opinion

[CakeBoy]

Guess I'm a one bean type kinda guy

[GeorgeW]

That said, while in your case I would put this down to blind luck, in my case it was the result of dedicated practise aided by good judgement and not a little natural ability.

I just want to learn from the Laird of the IMEX

The other thing, Spongey, is how many grams per batch. Makes a big difference... (So worth being consistent)

I just use a level fill of the measuring cup that came with it for every roast. Presumably, that is about 150g?

No, 150grams is too heavy for the Imex. They figure they quote is not the weight believe it or not. 110 GRAMS (APPROX. 4 OZ.) is correct and I use a cheap digital scale to achieve this.
There can be quite a few minutes between the cracks but hearing them is the problem what with the noise. As I posted previously I got around this by using a modified motor mechanic's stethoscope which I insert in the top (knob removed), this means you can hear the cracks quite easily. Once the times are noted one can then revert to using the timer.