A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roaster

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

I found the roaster to be excellent at cleaning the chaff out of the roasted coffee. In fact the draw through the barrel is easily turned up so high that beans themselves will be sucked out of the barrel and end up in the chaff box.

Hehehe...It was rather fun watching chaff come blowing out of the vent and go drifting accross the back yard leaving a nice little trail extending 7-10 meters of chaff. LOL I wonder if any of my neighbors have noticed the smells eminating from here yet. :

The temp of the exhausted air is almost at room temp which I found very surprising. I had expected the exhaust pipe to be too hot to touch. Instead it was barely above ambient even right next to the turbine. Even the air channels didnt get all that hot. You could comfortably rest your fingers on them for several seconds. Dont try that with the barrels however or you wont be using those fingers for quite a while!! Those babies get nice and toasty! It will be interesting to see how much warmer the exhaust system gets when all 3 barrels are in use at the same time.

The air flow adjuster lever got quite warm, uncomfortably so. It got hot enough that you wanted to make any contact with it as short as possible. Im kinda surprised that they didnt put a wooden handle on them like on the barrel cover catch. Something to think about for a future mod, some insulation on them.

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

And here we have the first keeper batch. This was the 3rd roast which was a 250g batch. I had noticed on the previous batch that beans were ending up in the chaff box and had thought the barrels were overloaded. The load was fine, I just had the air flow turned up too high. Later experimentation showed that the chaff was cleared just fine with a much lower air flow.

The machine does a wonderful job of clearing the chaff. With my Z&D roaster half the chaff remained in the beans to come exploding out of the BBC when they were dumped into it. With the batches from the Gothot I only saw a couple pieces of chaff come off the beans when they were dumped into the BBC. With 2.5kgs having been roasted there was less chaff off of all of it than there was in a single 113g batch from the Z&D when it was dumped into the BBC. Now Ive got to find a use for all the chaff Ill be producing! [smiley=lolk.gif] No more chaff all over the floor! Yay!!

All-in-all Im very pleased with the new toy and look forward to tasting the roasts from it later tonight as well as getting the 2nd barrel fired up and broken in. I picked up what I needed to get the broken bolt out and should have it up and running some time tonight, that is if my friends ever stop coming by to see the new toy. Not that the proud Papa is complaining mind you. ;D

Java "WE HAVE COFFEE!!!" phile

[fatboy_1999]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

5 months and 10 days from first post to first roast.

You werent kidding when you named this an Epic!

Congrats on getting some output. I hope it brings you years of pleasure Java.

Fat "Next cafe day at Javaphiles" boy!

[robusto]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

Yes, you are showing bulldog-like tenacity, Javaphile. The epic has thrown up hurdle after hurdle after hurdle, but none phased you.

None on the actual journey, and none once the toy was safely home but still a long way from operational.

Lesser mortals would have given up long ago, but you see each setback as just another challenge to the ultimate goal, one which should be, and can be, overcome. Gear not working? just remove the chamber. Broken bolt? Just pull it out.

And the result is there.... nicely done beans in almost commercial qualtities, just in time for Christmas. We dont get to taste them...but the entertainment value has been enormous.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Happy roasting.
Robusto

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

5 months and 10 days from first post to first roast.

You werent kidding when you named this an Epic!

Congrats on getting some output. I hope it brings you years of pleasure Java.

Fat "Next cafe day at Javaphiles" boy!

Thanks for the congrats Fatboy. LOL And indeed I wasnt kidding, and its not over yet! Ill be heading up to try and get that broken bolt out of barrel #2 here soon. Hopefully things will go smoothly and it will be installed and a couple of batches run through it yet tonight. Ive already run about 4kg through barrel #1 today with the initial clean out roasts and then my series of experimental batches to try and learn some of its quirks and then multiple visitors who came over to see it and of course had to see it working and then got to take the results home.

As a side note it looks like 300g is a bit too much for it. If the air flow is turned up high enough to pull all the smoke out the exhaust its also strong enough that several grams of beans are sucked down into the chaff box. 250g seems to work just fine and with a rate of a batch every 10 minutes with all three barrels going I can put out a very respectable 3.7kg (roasted weight) every hour. That should be enough to keep even me happy! ;D

Yall can stop on by any time!

Java "The roasting fool" phile

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

<Blush> Thanks for the compliment Robusto. Many of the setbacks have phased me and pissed me off royally but the truth be known I rather enjoy busting up roadblocks. [smiley=evil.gif] And in the end the more problems and issues I have to deal with on it the more Ill enjoy it when all is said and done. Heck, today alone I think has made up for at least a month or two of problems!

I love both problem solving and fixing things to make them work right. While this project has had many challanges its also been really fun as its involved problems that needed to be solved in so many different fields, some of which I havent done anything in in a decade or more. Such as the sheetmetal. Heck, I hadnt even *seen my sheetmetal working tools (basic as they are) in over 10 years since I last used them to mod in a vent hood in my dungeon (read pressroom) here some 12 or so years ago! I still havent found my Pop-Rivit gun darnit! And I really wanted them for the new trier and loader where theyd be perfect.

I must admit though that this project has really pushed me to my limits, especially here lately with the deadline of having to have it operational *and get enough experience with it before Christmas what with one problem after another all coming one right on top of another. LOL You probably wouldnt believe me if I told you just how little sleep Ive gotten lately. : I may well sleep for the whole week after Christmas! Sleep right through my birthday and New Years as well! LOL A friend and I figured out today that in the last 6 days Ive had a grand total of about 10-12 hours of sleep. Even for someone as notorious for not sleeping as I its been a bit much. Once the 2nd barrel has the broken bolt removed and is installed and the 2 cleaning batches are done and a few more to get a general feel for it and its quirks I can then feel like I can actually get a good sleep having met my goal of having it up and running by the Wednesday before Christmas. Oh wait, thats today isnt it?

Having gotten it up and running and getting to know it well enough to turn out good roasts by today was my goal, and even if something happens with the bolt tonight (knock on wood) I feel that Ive reached that goal as the roaster is now working perfectly, albeit with only one drum usuable, it will still be sufficient to allow me to pump out what I need to for Christmas.

So tonight once Im done with barrel #2 I plan on crashing and sleeping until I wake up on my own. Hopefully with minimal interuptions from the phone. Speaking of which I suppose I should go up and get started on it.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Happy roasting.
Robusto

Yeah, and hes roasting up 15kg of coffee for presents! ;D

Java "Yay! Tomorrow I get to taste the roasts!" phile

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

Well, so much for things working out the easy way.

I tackled the broken off bolt with a 5/64ths of an inch drill bit and was pleasantly surprised when I managed to drill the full length of the stainless steel bolt with-out hitting any threads nor breaking a bit. The hard part was over right? Thats what I thought, but it was not to be.

I inserted the Easy-Out into the drilled out hole and started turning, only to find that rather than biting into the bolt it was just sliding over it and getting no bite at all. Applying more and more pressure resulted in still no bite. Eventually I was pushing for all I was worth on the Easy-Out trying to get it to bite into the bolt but it never even started to bite. When the end of the handle with the Easy-Out in it started puching its way out the back of my hand I decided that it was time for the last resort. So I took the Easy-Out out of the tap handle, grabbed my trusty hammer, and gave it a few taps hoping it would bite.

Success! The Easy-Out seemed to be firmly embedded in the bolt! Alright!! I grabed the tap handle and tightened it onto the Easy-Out and tried to unscrew the bolt. Nothing, it wouldnt budge! I applied more pressure, still no give! This was getting to be ridiculous! So I metaphorically spit on my palms and planted my feet and TURNED the tap handle <insert grunting exertion noises here> and guess what? Suddenly it moved!!

Unfortunately this sudden movement was accompanied by a *snap* and an immediate release of all pressure on the tap handle. Uh-oh. I held up the tap handle and sure enough, the Easy-Out had snapped! This of course meant the tip was firmly lodged in the middle of the bolt somewhere. Oh joy! Oh rapture!

I resignedly grabbed the drill figuring it was a lost cause but one that had to be tried. After 30 minutes of drilling I had made no progress at all. While the special bit was made for hardened metals such as stainless steel I guess tool steel was just too much for it.

Argh! So now what do I do? It was going to take a visit to a machine shop to get this hole cleared out. Ugh!

Looking at the offending bolt and casting about for a solution I thought "Well, I could always drill and tap a new hole next to it and the bracket would still work." but that would leave my nice symentrical baby looking lop-sided and fugly. So that was out except as an absolut last resort. Sitting there looking at the parts I was suddenly struck by the thought "Ya know, that bolt probably doesnt even have to be tightened down for the barrel to be usable until I can get it into a machine shop and fixed properly."

Sure enough, with the barrel mounted as if the bolt were still there and doing its job the bracket it held was being held in place by the bolt on the other end which kept the barrel from moving forwards and backwards, and while there wasnt enough of the bolt sticking out to grab, there was enough of it there to prevent the barrel from moving upwards!. Hhhmmm....This might just work!

With my fingers crossed and my breath held I flipped the switch that turned the roaster on and watched as it came up to speed. This looked good! No unusual noise or chattering from the gear and the barrel was sitting nice and solidly in place. This was going to work! Weve got two functional barrels!! WooHoo!!!

As I was preparing to fire up the new barrel I realized how tired I was and that it would probably be a good thing if I waited until I was fully awake before doing the initial roasts in barrel number two. <Javaphile rubs the impressions of letters in his forehead...Now how did those get there?!?> So on that note goodnight and Ill see yall on the other side of a healthy number of hours of, hopefully, uninterupted sleep. ;D

Java "Why does this keyboard keep hitting me in the face?" phile

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

Alright, things are right on schedule for the big roasting session tonight with 2 barrels up and running and ready for some massive output.

After falling unconscious into bed yesterday I managed to get a solid 8 hours of sleep in before the phone rang and woke me. After trying unsuccessfully to get back to sleep for 15 minutes I decided to stop fighing it and get up and go sample the first roasts.

After stumbling downstairs I fired up the Cimbali and while it was warming up I slammed a nice tall glass of CP (a very nice Huehuetenango) with milk and then made another to sip on.

With two barrels now working on the roaster and everything on schedule for the big roasting session for Christmas presents I decided to take a day off and just relax and try and let my body recooperate a bit from the abuse Id subjected it to over the previous 2 weeks while madly working on the roaster. So I decided to set about making the Trier and Loader v.2.0 while relaxing in my dungeon now that I had some proper construction materials. I dug through my stack of old tools looking for a broken coping saw Id retired some years back and pulled the handle off of it to use for the Trier. I then dug around through my bins looking for some appropriate screws and then headed back to the dungeon for some relaxation.

I made some measurements and then cut the piece I needed out of the big sheet of heavy alum Id picked up the previous afternoon. Using a pair of flat-nosed pliars I made my 3mm fold around all the sides so thered be no sharp edges anywhere to catch an unwary finger on.

About this time I figured ye olde Cimbali should be warmed up by now and headed upstairs to the kitchen to enjoy (*hopefully!) the first roasts from the Gothot. I did my usual purge and warm the cup routine and guessed at the weight of beans to use and tossed them into the Super Jolly and flipped the switch. UUuuuummmm...that smells *good! Definately a bit of a different smell than the same beans had had when roasted in my Z&D roaster. I locked the portafilter in the grouphead and twisted the brew switch expecting to have to toss the shot as the time would be off. Whoa! Lucky guess on the mass and grind, a perfect 25 second shot! The crema was light colored as I had expected with these beans (Bolivian Cenaproc Caranavi D´Montaña) but plentiful with a good solid body that easily supported a teaspoon of sugar for 15 seconds.

Everything looked and smelled good, but now for the all important test. How did it taste? I sipped the straight espresso and was rewarded with a very nice flavor. It was on the mild/light side as I had expected with a hint of the roast flavor creeping in as I had also expected as I had taken the roast to the very first of the 2nd cracks (this was done to give me a benchmark time with the initial roasts while getting used to the new roaster) while it preferes to be pulled maybe 15-20 seconds prior to this point to maximize the bean flavors while reducing the roast flavors to a minimum. All-in-all a very drinkable cuppa. Still my least favorite of all the coffees Ive got, hence why it was used for the initial roasts ;D, but a successful first roast! WooHoo!! So having polished off that first pull in my taste testing I brewed up another double and steamed up some microfoam for one of my Javacinnos and retired back down to the dungeon to finish up the Trier.

Using a AA battery I formed the piece of alum into a cylinder and then using a steel awl I punched holes in it for the screws. I then put the piece on the handle and marked where the screws would go then carefully predrilled the screw holes in the handle so it wouldnt split when the screws were put in.

I then put the screws in being careful not to overtighten them and made the final bends in the end of the cylinder so the beans would stay in when it was used.

Hhhmmm....not bad, not too bad at all. Actually pretty darn nice I think! This should work perfectly. Small enough not to be easily caught on the vanes when used, yet plenty large enough to pull a good sample. Rounded nicely so it can just be rotated to empty the beans out instead of having to try and flick them out of it and back into the drum and no beans will catch on the bottom of it either while emptying.

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

A view from a different angle so you can see the size of the catch basin and how the end is formed.

All-in-all a very respectable job I think.

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

I then turned to making a new loader with higher sides so I could pour the beans in with one hand with-out worrying about them spilling over the edges.

I was not as happy with how this project turned out as I still hadnt found my rivit gun and so resorted to the universal Itll hold anything in place ductape. Again all the sides have been folded over to remove any nasty sharp edges and via experimentation with a paper template I arrived at what seemed like a good compromise between high sides and easy fillability. Doing some test pours with it it works quite well with the beans staying in the chute just fine as long as you dont just upend the can and try to dump them all in a half a second.

Filling is a touch awkward but not unreasonably so, and with a scoop (yet another project for the sheet metal!) instead of a cup being used will work perfectly. Eventually Im sure Ill redo it when one day I runn accross a nice stainless container of the right size, but for now it will sufice unto the day.

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

And a view from the side.

The can is a standard 16oz. veggie one.

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

After getting another (*full! WooHoo!) nights sleep I tackled the shields/air guides on the back of the barrels.

With the original shields long gone I had only the 3 pictures of another Gothot Id managed to find on the net ( http://www.sweetmarias.com/hondurasCoEcupping2004.html ) to work from.

I made my measurements then traced out what I thought would work on the alum sheeting and cut it out. Using my usual high tech tools (a pair of pliars and a pair of strong scissors) I cut, bent, and reshaped the piece of alum into the appropriate form and attached it to the roaster.

Looking at it I thought not bad, but something seemed off about it. When I compared it to the pics I realized Id cut the side angle up too the top instead of to the bottom of the side fold over the air channel which would probably dramatically change how it worked.

Heres a pic of it, Shield v.1.0.

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

So using v.1.0 as a template I traced a new form on the alum sheeting and set to work folding and reshaping it.

Thinking ahead knowing that Id gotten it right this time I used the first piece I cut out to trace the outline for 2 more just like it on the alum sheet before I deformed it by fitting it to the roaster. Not being *that confident that Id gotten it right I formed up and fitted the first piece to the roaster before I cut out numbers 2 and 3. ;D

Because of the change in shape going from a flat area over the air channel to a rounded shape up next to the back of the drum housing it required some very careful bending so as not to crimp or crease it. The bowed out sides where the flat goes to round worked out nicely as the metal had to bow outward there to clear the gear onthe drum in that area. After fitting it onto the barrel I was satisfied with how it looked and cut out and made up the other 2 parts fitting one of them to barrel #1 and setting the 3rd one aside so it would be ready when-ever the third barrel is usable.

[Javaphile]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

The thumbscrew on the back is the only thing, other than tension at various points, that holds the shield in place.

The hole in the top of the shield is there to oil the drum shaft. From the factory there was a long decorative hollow post that went through the shield and screwed into the shafts housing. Those posts were missing on mine when I got it and they had been replaced with solid bolts! Kinda hard to oil the shaft with a solid bolt in the fill hole!!

On all the other holes Id punched in the alum Id flattened the burrs on them down but on these oil holes I left them in place as theyll act as a guide for the oil as they stick down into the oil fill hole in the housing.

As quick mock-ups go I think the shields v.2.0 might just work. Theres a slight gap between the shield and the back of the drum housing that may allow some smoke from the oil on the shaft to escape but I think theres enough of an air draw through the area that it wont be a problem. Im not sure of it yet so I cant say v.2.0 will be the Final version, unlike the Trier which I think is no longer Beta but is now the Final release version.

Over-all I must say shes pulled together very nicely and I think will provide me with many years of roasting enjoyment. I still have detailing work I need to do to it, and of course I still need to get a new gear for the third barrel, but all the major work of restoring it to its original working condition is now done. Yay!! [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif] [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif] [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

Java "Im so happy!" phile

[JM]

Re: A (Epic?) journey in search of my perfect roas

Thanks for sharing this fascinating story - and Im sure the coffee you are roasting tastes that bit better for all the TLC you put into the restoration!