CCR-1kg Coffee Roaster

zane

yep UNM, not sure what that 105kW refers to, but i'd assumed the number under that one, 5.5kW, is the draw, still a tad higher than Tim's 3.5kW & heading into 20amp region i'd reckon, though i could be wrong about that. the cable came sans plug, only the pos. and neg. wires peeking out, i wonder if this indicates that its also meant to be run without an earth? i'll ask my sparky.  i reckon one of the variable controls will be for airflow fan, but not yet sure BF, as you can see the airflow control on yours is absent on mine... will let you know

zane

Well, John replied to me quickly with a translation of the control board. He did stress that he was quite surprised & that units normally ship with english language controls, a good chance to put the OH's dymo to good use.  ;D

Koffee_Kosmo

A neat little unit by anyone's standards Here's wishing you many great roasts  :thumb: KK

cosmic_couple22

Hi I have just purchased one of John's roasters today, so off to Sydney on Monday to bring it back to the sunny coast. Love a road trip. I am a little excited and a little bit scared all in the same moment. Hoping to get some good advice from those that have this roaster once I get it home. Thanks in advance Chester

Kelsey

Oh awesome,another Sunshine Coast (set of) fanatics! You'll find myself, Lacehim and c-man already here, with Lacehim and I being avid roasters, if not quite up to the same machine spec as yourselves - we're both on KKTOs.

cosmic_couple22

Thanks for all the information already, a steep learning curve ahead and I am sure a few toasted beans and a bit of  :'(  and  :head: before I reach  :coffee2: I have a bit of work ahead of me, build in the end of verandah to house the roasting room, weld up a nice stand for the roaster, already have the 15amp socket for the welder so thats done. Change a couple of roof sheets to clear for extra light and then I can start playing. Lucky I am on 4 weeks holiday  :D What type of external monitoring equipment/program do you all suggest. thanks Chester

zane

second the yes to chaff collector unless you roast on the porch & just direct the exhaust to the mulch/compost, or just like chaff all over the place. just got through the first few roasts on my unit & so far so good. the control for the fan on this unit is the bottom variable switch on the control panel and doesn't actually start the fan until set at around 25-30%, on the 100% setting it seems it could be be quite capable of stalling a roast Have been finding that even with minimal fan getting the unit thoroughly warmed up takes a little longer than BF's, not sure if this is actually the case. So far it seems the full 1000gm batches are a bit slow (for my liking) by current methodology. 700-800 works really nicely, mileage may vary as i haven't played much with drop in temps. no scorching or tipping on the beans but the cooling tray agitators do crunch up a few of the beans, no biggie really need to hook up new bean mass & environmental probes for roastlogger, (i'd like to get a unlogged analog one near the exhaust too), not that the one on the machine isn't ok, but to get a better idea of what's going on within the system. the one on the unit seems to be not quite environmental, not quite been mass, somewhere in between. still trying to work out a routine that is easily repeatable, will update when things are a little clearer. best of luck with the new roaster!

Brett H

Looks like a bought one mate!

Koffee_Kosmo

Nice and neat I had to look twice to find what you did as a mod KK

Kevohere

on 1352852380:

Looks like a bought one mate!

on 1352852952:

Nice and neat I had to look twice to find what you did as a mod KK

Colour co-ordinated as well!  :thumb:

cosmic_couple22

Just got back from Sydney with the new toy  [attachimg=1]

cosmic_couple22

I bought a nice bench from bunnings, a little pricey, but when I am going to the trouble of building in a dedicated roasting room it should be done well.  And while the minister for finance is in the approving mood I will get everything I can  :laugh: Framed and lined 3 walls today, starting to look like a room. Entry door to hang and bring in the electrics tomorrow, switch a couple of roof sheets for extra light and then the roaster should move in on Sunday, all going to plan.  Just need some green beans to arrive and then hopefully try to avoid charcol on Monday.  Will post a pic of the finished room, but not the charcol.  :D Chester

mycuppa

Make sure you put plenty of ventilation in any roasting room. Not just a $30 exhaust fan - a lot of fresh airflow is needed - meaning you need both input air and exhaust air.

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1352896253:

Just got back from Sydney with the new toy  [attachimg=1]

I do like a nice orange coloured roaster Beautiful  :thumb: KK

cosmic_couple22

Well the roasting room is nearly finished, just need some beans to arrive and the monitoring equipment. I have read some great articles on the importance of positioning your thermo  probes.  So to get the bean probe low enough in the bean mass is it acceptable  to position a 25mm probe in the bean door (20mm above the left viewing window bolt) and the E probe  25mm below the right hand lower bean chute bolt (just out of the airflow)  Also thinking about positioning a third probe in the side of the airflow. Any advice from those wiser than me ( that's everybody :rofl:) greatly appreciated. Chester

cosmic_couple22

Thanks for the info BF, if you can share the bean probe measurment that would be greatly appreciated. Think i might take the face plate to a machine shop for drilling, (taking the easy option after reading how hard the steel is)  :thumb:. Unless I can get the finance minister to approve a drill press purchase  :rofl: Thanks Chester

mycuppa

Contact Glenn @ Duscon All Steel Sheet Metal (tell him I sent you). They will make up some spiral duct to your measurements with flanges and quick-release clamps (essential for cleaning). You can assemble it on-site. Not as good as a completely smooth surface such as mandrel formed tubing, but heaps cheaper and still quite good/effective. If you go larger diameter bear in mind that fan pressure may not be able to shoot the smoke out with as much force - it could tend to just hang around and roast smoke is heavy so it does not tend to float up that well which is very annoying (in more ways than one). My Joper has twin 250mm vents (roast smoke and cool) and a 150mm vent (green loader). A friend's similar sized probat has a very small 150mm vent for roast smoke. So, size does not always matter - it's matching the design that is important. Venting is an area that many mistakes are often made. God knows, I've made a few myself.

cosmic_couple22

Thanks for the measurment BF.  :thumb: I finished my little project and moved the roaster in, a few little extras to do, but pretty happy.  [attachimg=1] Had to have a little play and do my first roast. 1 kg of Rwanda Inzovu dropped in at 200c, roasted taking Bean Flyings earlier profile advice (another thanks BF) Finished at the start of 2nd crack (i like double shot espresso's so went for that little bit darker roast) [attachimg=2] Total time 12:45, and pretty happy. I am sure it's not perfect but I confess I did have to race inside and pull a couple of shots, just to have a little taste. Pulled beautiful and nice in the cup, so hope it is that good in a few more days. Lots to learn, and lots of fun to come. feedback greatly appreciated. Chester

Brett H

Holy Wow... Looks amazing.  You're roasting with the windows open... Yes?!

cosmic_couple22

You cant see it but the top edge is vented, but I am trying to source another window. Also there is a roof vent / whirly to go directly above the roaster. Just couldnt wait another day to have a play.  :D Chester

Brett H

on 1353761423:

You cant see it but the top edge is vented, but I am trying to source another window. Also there is a roof vent / whirly to go directly above the roaster. Just couldnt wait another day to have a play.  :D Chester

Brilliant mate!  It's going to be really warm there in Summer so night roasts while you grab another window possibly.  :thumb: I've used these guys myself: http://www.udm.net.au/stock-list.aspx?q=Window&min=&max=&sort=alpha

cosmic_couple22

Well did a second batch of beans this morning looking to acheive a different roast, and all went pretty well. Drop in at 195, 90% heat 25% fan dropping back a little at 2 minutes then at 4 minutes into 75% heat 25% fan temperature slowly climbing from 137 to 173 and first crack at 9 mins tweaking it down to finish at 13:30 sec at 199c. [attachimg=1] Looks alright  [attachimg=2] Very happy with the roaster and at the price I don't think you can go to wrong, I must put out a huge thank you to Bean Flying for all his information and original posts.  They made my decission process and confidence in purchasing this roaster so much easier.  :thumb: Bean Flying do you want me to post the cooler tray photos up here or pm me with an alternative location. Now do I go and make a brew or wait a few days?  ::)

zane

Starting to get the hang of it but, one thing i've noticed is that the impellers on the airflow fan are just the size to catch outgoing chaff & can fill up with just a roast or two, especially with naturals or coffees with a lot of chaff. For this reason i reckon its a good idea to be able to remove the ducting on the roaster side easily and visually inspect, with a vac handy to clean. The quantity that can build up makes me think the airflow efficiency will be heavily impacted if not regularly maintained. Maybe a contributor to your odd roasting day BF. On the up side, coffee is tasting good, sweets seem to hang around in the relatively low environmental temps, & development is good even at light colouration. The unit is capable of nice short times, & now i'm getting decent roast times with the full Kg, with no perceivable scorching or tipping. The shorter trier works well.

mycuppa

on 1353813119:

Starting to get the hang of it but, one thing i've noticed is that the impellers on the airflow fan are just the size to catch outgoing chaff & can fill up with just a roast or two, especially with naturals or coffees with a lot of chaff. For this reason i reckon its a good idea to be able to remove the ducting on the roaster side easily and visually inspect, with a vac handy to clean. The quantity that can build up makes me think the airflow efficiency will be heavily impacted if not regularly maintained. Maybe a contributor to your odd roasting day BF. On the up side, coffee is tasting good, sweets seem to hang around in the relatively low environmental temps, & development is good even at light colouration. The unit is capable of nice short times, & now i'm getting decent roast times with the full Kg, with no perceivable scorching or tipping. The shorter trier works well.

A common procedure for all roasters - even the big ones. Depending upon the design, this could be a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly cleaning task. Beyond affecting your roast quality - this is perhaps the most common way in which fires start in roasters - clogged exhaust and cyclones venting. Generally, you can't see the smoldering chaff until it's well underway and if it's in any airway with oxygen pressure, it can quickly escalate into something very dangerous.

zane

mycuppa, yep, but the bucket sized impellers on, say the UG22, don't catch the chaff in the same way; I reckon this model should absolutely checked as DAILY post roasting routine, especially when roasting multiple batches BF, I had considered orienting the fan exhaust downward, not 100% sure the mounting holes are evenly spaced, but looks close, may have to give it a go.

cosmic_couple22

OK have pulled the cooler tray apart and put it back together. Sorry up front if I have taken to many but Ididn't want to skip anything. [attachimg=1] cooling tray [attachimg=2] arm adjustment [attachimg=3] centre spindle I switched my upper manifold from right to left and all holes lined up.  I do agree with Zane the design of the fan blades catch a heap of chaff, so much so I will investigate a different blade that isn't shaped like a drag line bucket. More photos to come for those thinking of reconstruction mods (BF)  :thumb: Chester

cosmic_couple22

Hope these are what you wanted BF [attachimg=1] t-arm [attachimg=2] lower sweep arm [attachimg=3] arms thats the external stuff ^-^

cosmic_couple22

lets go inside [attachimg=1] inspection cover [attachimg=2] inside to tray motor and across to fan [attachimg=3] housing [attachimg=4] sweeper motor everything seems well put together apart from the shape of those fan blades.

cosmic_couple22

Fan assembly to go [attachimg=1] internal [attachimg=2] fan housing and manifold [attachimg=3] fan and motor [attachimg=4] manifold hope those help.  Still a lot of chaff even in the blades of the lower fan and I have only roasted two 1 kg batches.  Being a fireman myself I better keep a stiff clean out protocol. Nothing worse than your own crew coming to your house because it's burning down.  :doh: Chester

cosmic_couple22

I had a look this morning if you could point the rear manifold down.  After taking it apart the answer would be not quite. The rear mount for the exhaust and manifold contacts the manifold outlet. You could rotate the manifold to about 45* down and redrill the holes in the heavier mounting plate. Intresting though, I switched mine from right to left to create a direct line to the chaff collector and after 2 roasts there is no chaff in the fan at all. Chester