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Breville Crazy Popper

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  • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

    Its been a few years since I prodded around inside things electrical.
    I am well aware that 240V is dangerous.

    When I have a look inside my popper I will make sure I am further away from the nearest power points than the length of the poppers power cord, just in case the plug somehow trys to connect itself.

    Once Im in there Ill assess how much power goes to what and decide from there whether to proceed or not and how to proceed if I think its worth the trouble.

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    • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

      Think I might pop out to the warehouse tomorrow and buy the el cheapo they have just to pull the thing apart leaving my mistral intact.

      Im not too scared of 240v, been playing with it for a while now just need to think safety, safety safety.

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      • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

        The fan motors inside a popper are usually on the scale of 20vdc. Isolating the fan from the heating elements isnt too difficult, but I didnt have a soldering iron handy.

        I know Mal has a schematic of a popper, as I got my copy from him a while back. Theyre not too complicated, a rectifier, a main heating element, a secondary element to drop some of the voltage for the motor, and the fan motor itself. Another important component would be the thermal fuse (which is easily bypassed).

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        • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

          Went and bought a cheap popper and pulled it apart, very simple. however to modify it so that you can turn the heaters off while leaving the fan running is probably not worth the cost. I found some info http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/28/h...offee-roaster/

          If you decide to go down that path dont forget they are talking in 110vca terms and we use 240, so the part numbers quoted will be wrong but your local jaycar/dse/tandy should be able to give some assistance.

          To me it seems like too much effort compared to a bowl of ice.

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          • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

            Hi Boldor...

            The engadget info - to me at least - is the wrong way to solve the problem!! :-?

            You want a constant stream of air - to stir during roasting and possibly to cool after the roast....
            You want to reduce the heat - to extend the roast time and permit larger volumes.....
            You want to be able to control the heat.....

            So, yes you need a transformer (of the correct voltage and current rating) to power the fan.... with just a switch on the mains into the transformer to turn it on/off
            And a high powered light dimmer in the heater circuit - direct to the mains via the switch which turns on the fan. This adjustment will work in the correct way- turn it up = greater heat)

            Also running a transformer off a light dimmer is not a good practice.... the light dimmer turns on and off the power each half cycle (100 times per second) - that rapid switching of power is not good for transformers (or the dimmer for that matter as it doesnt like inductive loads) for a whole range of reasons.

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            • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

              I too was thinking it was the wrong way around.

              My Crazy Popper definetly needs the heater controlled with the fan going full blast as it already is.

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              • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                Why not just isolate both portions of the circuit, and use a switch to turn the element on or off. Since you more than likely have a datalogger to log the temperature, you can manually be the thermostat. This is also useful to cool the beans without the use of a bean cooler. At the end of the roast, simply turn off the elements.

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                • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                  Im hoping it is going to be that simple.
                  I dont have a datalogger so would be winging it if I can reduce the heat.
                  But being able to cool the beans without dumping them would be a good start.

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                  • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                    Originally posted by JavaB link=1152343660/150#154 date=1165460747
                    You want a constant stream of air - to stir during roasting and possibly to cool after the roast....
                    Having access to variable air flow is an advantage is you want to roast different size batches, as in for blending. A lot of people have modded their poppers with this outlook in mind.

                    Originally posted by JavaB link=1152343660/150#154 date=1165460747
                    You want to be able to control the heat.....
                    Pretty well essential ;D

                    Originally posted by JavaB link=1152343660/150#154 date=1165460747
                    Also running a transformer off a light dimmer is not a good practice.... the light dimmer turns on and off the power each half cycle (100 times per second) - that rapid switching of power is not good for transformers (or the dimmer for that matter as it doesnt like inductive loads) for a whole range of reasons.
                    Yep, dimmers are definitely NOT recommended for this application..... However, solid-state fan controllers of the variety used for ceiling fans, etc are ok to use. Even with this type of controller though, its not a bad idea and probably advisable to install additional RF filtering to keep EMR to a minimum.

                    Cheers,
                    Mal.

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                    • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                      Originally posted by Thundergod link=1152343660/150#157 date=1165500888
                      Im hoping it is going to be that simple.
                      You will need a transformer for the fan whether or not you use a dimmer for the heater..... and a transformer will cost about the same as a dimmer (but the dimmer should only be used with a resistive load - Ok for the heater elements but not the transformer and fan)....

                      Just seems it would make your life so much easier if you could turn down the heat.... rather than turning the heater on for a second, then off for a second etc...

                      works a treat with the heatgun used with the corretto.

                      and what Mal said above

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                      • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                        Just did some checking on prices....

                        A 600Watt dimmer is about $30 (you would need a 1200Watt versions so even more dollars....)
                        A 30 volt tapped transformer.... so you can get 22V etc (you could also use taps to control fan speed) $20....

                        Plus switches, a box to put everything in etc... etc...

                        A second hand BM and a heat gun looks a lot cheaper

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                        • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                          Originally posted by JavaB link=1152343660/150#160 date=1165504949
                          A second hand BM and a heat gun looks a lot cheaper
                          And easier

                          Mal.

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                          • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                            Im still waiting for my 2nd hand BM.

                            I agree the cost is prohibitive.

                            But at some stage the challenge may override that.

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                            • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                              :-?
                              I dont think I quite got the point accross that I wanted to with my previous post. Regardless of dimmer, fan controllers and transformers. The point I was trying to make was that for the time, effort and money to do this type of mod, compared to the batch sizes of a popper doesnt quite seem economic. The time, effort and money would be better used in a HG/BM setup and have the advantage of bigger batch sizes.

                              Comment


                              • Re: Breville Crazy Popper

                                Originally posted by Boldor link=1152343660/150#163 date=1165538054
                                The point I was trying to make was that for the time, effort and money to do this type of mod, compared to the batch sizes of a popper doesnt quite seem economic. The time, effort and money would be better used in a HG/BM setup and have the advantage of bigger batch sizes.
                                Spot-on Boldor.... Youll get no argument from the "converted"

                                Mal.

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