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Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

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  • Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

    Hi everyone, I did some Mandehling in a BM last week with mixed results, and seeing Sullos success with a popper, I decided to get one myself ( a Breville Crazy Popper) .

    My trouble is that I either have not reached first crack or cannot hear it over tthe fan noise - I have high frequency hearing loss and mild tinnitus which is a real bugbear.

    I roasted some Brazillian Monte Allegre 4 days ago. There was a distinct single crack (ie one bean) at 5 minutes and after that it seemed like a continuous rustling noise up to the 14 minute mark.

    The reason I dont think it reached FC at all is that several times through the roast, I turned the popper off so the movement of the beans would not mask the crack if any. I expected to get a cracking at least for a few seconds from the residual heat.

    Result - silence.

    I finally ended the roast at 14 minutes and did a taste test after 3 days resting - ziplock bag in a dark cupboard - and it was very nice indeed.

    Tonight I tried some Rwandan Cyangugu from my starter pack (thanks Andy) and deliberately tried to burn them to see if I could make sure I could make out a definite crack - either first or second.

    I also tried out the temperature probe I bought today from Jaycar.

    Result -
    0 to 5 minutes - temp rose to 200C with the beans changing colour and one solitary crack at 4.30, light chaff

    5.00 to 7.30 - temp stabilised at 200C, light chaff, colour now dark (normal). No crack

    7.30 to 12 - partially obstructed chimney for a few seconds and thus raised temp to stabilise at 204C still no crack

    1200 to 2000 restricted the chimney again so the temp stabilised at 207C still no crack.

    Pulled the roast at 20 minutes after recognising nothing was going to change significantly any time soon.

    There was no smoke at any stage and the beans are dark roast coloured with no burnt smell but at no time did I hear a first or second crack of any kind.

    From the look and smell of the result, I think it may be quite drinkable so I suppose I shouldnt complain. Ill give it a try in a couple of days :-?

    From looking at temps obtained by other CS members it appears my temps are significantly lower.

    I would like to ask - did I buy a dog? and should I try another popper to compare (Sullo might loan me his )

    Should I try for higher temps (obstructing the chimney seems to work, and the house is insured ;D ;D )

    Or am I just too deaf to hear the cracks and should instead play with timing, colour, aroma and other such measurements to refine my roasts. After all, the Brazillian Monte Allegre turned out fine!

    All comments are welcome so feel free

    Cheers

    jeff

  • #2
    Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

    yep sullos might loan you his
    geex he must be a nice guy LMAO

    temps I got on cyangugu reached 225
    come over and well try it out in the newly founded research and development garage

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

      How much are you roasting at a time?
      I can get up to the 20min mark with 50g or less roast but that just takes waayyy to long for me so i just use 80-100g.
      Dont have temp readings so i dont know how hot mine gets.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

        I never roast less than 100g. Temperature just never gets up there. My typical batch size is 125g. Max batch size for my poppers are 140g and 150g respectively.

        Low ambient temperature is a killer for poppers. Obstructing the chimney is a useful trick, as is putting the popper inside a box to help up the temperature of the air intake.

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        • #5
          Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

          Yes wingnut.
          100gms should get you there if the popper is OK.
          I have the Crazy Popper and am completely deaf in one ear.
          I was worried about my ability to hear the cracks before I attempted my first roast but it hasnt been a real problem.

          By the way, I found the Mandheling was very quiet with FC.

          Try another bean variety to compare.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

            Hi all and thanks for the quick replies

            Used 100grams each time but I am troubled that I couldnt burn them even though it was about 22C ambient and I tried hard

            I was thinking of using 50g to get higher temps (?) my thinking being less thermal mass (weight) = higher energy (temp) available to the beans

            This thinking must be wrong going by nunus experience

            I was thinking less is more - sounds like some bad Tom Cruise movie (ever seen a good one?)

            Ill try 150g tomorrow and see what I get.

            Hey Sullo, how bout I borrow your popper when you are at work?

            Keep it warm for your 4 days off. ;D

            jeff

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

              Yep no prob, I can pack it in the otherside of the 20sec cooler.
              Im back Monday I think

              **note to self ensure beans are roasted before letting CP go! **

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                Thanks TG - us old guys need to stick together.

                I will, as you suggest, try another breed - maybe ITM or something else although I have so far tried Brazillian Monte Allegre, Sumatran Mandehleng and Rwandan whatsitsname each with the same result.

                It would be so easy to blame the equipment but living in the IT environment, as we do, Operator Error cannot be discounted.

                Although sometimes OE should also be described as the I-D-ten-T factor

                cheers

                jeff

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                  I dont think its the I-D-ten-T factor.

                  I experimented with 80g when trying to get longer times.

                  Even with my chimney, the odd bean escapes from a 100g batch.
                  Maybe try 120g.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                    Problem solved

                    I borrowed sullos popper and cooler yesterday ( neither of which he will be getting back any time soon ) and did back to back tests.

                    I discovered my popper was giving temps some 50C lower than sullos using beans from the same bag (Sumatran Mandehling) under the same conditions.

                    I decided that all things being equal, if I could reduce fan speed, I could increase temp so I spent the next hour with screwdriver, sidecutters and * yes * hacksaw completely dismantling the thing.

                    I can tell you now those suckers are not meant to be taken apart! ;D

                    Looking at the motor circuit board, it looks like it only has a bridge rectifier and a filter cap with bleed resistor setup - plain English , no speed controller.

                    I then spent the next 30 minutes reassembling the popper.

                    The solution to the problem is using gaffer tape to cover the air vents on the popper base section by section (use old beans and run it for 5 minutes to get it to running temp and then add or subtract tape as required. A bit rough but open to fine tuning.

                    Tried some Indian Tiger Mountain 150g to get a first crack at 3 mins / 238C and rolling crack at 4.30 / 254C. Unfortunayely as the roast got to the end of FC at 6 minutes / 250C, I bumped the chimney off and beans started going eveywhere so I stopped.

                    Great colour and aroma so I will be interested to see how it tastes after a couple of days.

                    Now all I have to do is learn how to play with the variables, which is half the fun, and get a decent roast going.

                    cheers

                    jeff

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                      I didnt find it at all difficult to pull the Crazy Popper apart. :-?

                      As for the vents, your idea of taping them, in your case, seems like a quick and easily adjusted solution.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                        I know where you live Wingnut!!

                        and my dremel tool is a magic godsend when ahem dissassembling!

                        although using the tools you used woulda been fun
                        smash bash destroy, except ya still need it to work after, so a lil less destroy..

                        Glad its worked out, I will never leave a snob in distress.

                        Let us pray brothers and sisters that Snob Wingnut will be strong with the Force!

                        and get a good roast and gimme back my toys too

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                          Well sullo, no matter how much you crawl, ya jest aint gettin your toys back yet ;D ;D ;D

                          As for ThunderGod not having much trouble in the disassembly process, it all depends on the tools at hand. After all, if you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. ;D ;D ;D

                          I have a screwdriver hammer, a suidecutters hammer, a hacksaw hammer.......

                          cheers

                          jeff

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                            And to think my day job involves being allowed to play with millions of dollars worth of electronic gear.

                            Air Traffic Controller here I come 8-)

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                            • #15
                              Re: Ok - Did I get a dud popper?

                              Thats it no beanbay for Wingnut please Andy!!!

                              until my toys are back you big meanie

                              and I just madea coffe and realised I have 300gms left :O

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