KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

[A_M]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

You will have to give it all away to teh poor...

Its all bad bad bad bad bad I tell you...

Now do not be tempted to try it. Just give it away to teh needy ;D

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Today I tried 900gms, which is the largest roast Ive ever tried in the KKTO, and happy to report that with the new agitator, the result was great.The bean used was a large Thai variety, very similar in look and size to monsoon malabar.

Well done and congrats on a great roast Borat

So one small design change makes a big difference
I am happy all my efforts have resulted in your success

Keep us in the loop on future roasts and taste reports

Regards
KK

[Lacehim]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Did my first roast in ages with the new twin agitator and I agree with borat123 it a big improvement. My roast came out great, and 1st & 2nd crack was much easier to hear, also the motor seemed less stressed too.

Great job KK.

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

This humble design known as a KKTO has reached a small milestone

*** 300 roasts since its Beta launch in January 2010 in my personal tester unit ***

At an average of 550 grams per roast, that equates to 165 kg of beans
Not all roasts were for my personal use

Thats not all
The Turbo Oven used is the original unit that was used on the first KKTO roaster from DEC 2008

The most back to back roasts I have personally done on the KKTO is 8 & I probably could have done additional roasts easily

As noted on an earlier post
The Beta KKTO design model has only 1 component changed or redesigned
1) The single agitator blade to a double blade with soft push springs

And 2 enhancements
1) Strengthen the main drive gear
2) Add Silicone tubing to minimise heat loss at the pot – to – pot contact points

All the motors have now been modified to strengthen the operation of the main gear

The main gear is modified and done in this way
1) Removal of main gear from motor housing, then separate gear from square drive hub
2) Cleaned to remove oil/grease & lightly sanded
3) Sprayed with Loctite 7649 primer & cleaner and left to dry
4) Then I use one of the strongest bonders available Loctite 609
This is a very strong & special bonder for cylindrical items Loctite say it requires a blow torch to separate
5) Plus - balance the main alloy square drive hub (part of the main gear assembly)

I have custom made a special gig to balance the square drive alloy hub (part of the main gear assembly)

If any Beta testers want the dual agitator and the gear mod done I am happy to do it free of any labour charge (PM me for details)

KK

[tonee]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Congrats KK!!
And thanks for sharing your knowledge to all.
More happiness in giving than receiving.

[bolb]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Thats Fantastic KK
As of this afternoon, 116 roasts down with a total of 70.6KG roasted using the beta unit.
Fully moded as per KKs post.
Working like a charm

It obviously has a lot more to do to catch up but its great to see the longevity of the design and solution for those people looking to invest in one of these as their roaster of choice.

Mal

[A_M]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Have no idear how many my unit has done.. :

However one of teh things I do like and it came into force today...

WAS the ability to do Back to Back runs and NO cool-down / waiting for things to happen.

YES. There is a small risk as to how the TO performs or if it goes into Over Temp protection, but at $70 one can have a spare ready to go OR just wait till it resets.

Gra I noticed uses his TO for lots of cooking and baking so again it an effective use of equipment.

[Barazi]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

This humble design known as a KKTO has reached a small milestone- 300 roasts since its Beta launch in January 2010 in my personal tester unit
KK

Congrats KK on reaching 300 roasts

Very happy to associated with this great roaster

My tester / working display unit was made much later with all the mods included so it will be quite a while before I catch up to most of you

Chris

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Hi All and KK,

Took the plunge the other day and picked up a Cookwell on special for $59. So before I go and either mod cheap ss pots or buy a proper pasta pot, has anyone done much in the way of testing out the diameter:depth and its impact on the roast?  

Good for you and welcome to the club

Is there much of a relationship between bean depth and even roasts in the KKTO?
Do the agitator designs become less efficient with deeper bean masses? Or does the deeper mass of beans create more conductive heat transfer, bean to bean?
I guess I look at the TO with this big 30cm+ lid and cant help but feel like were selling ourselves short on roast size by putting it on top of a 23cm pot.  

It does not matter about the diameter of the pot

However the total volume should be no more than 9 litres

The original roaster had a pot size of 290 mm but was much shallower

The new design was conceived to
1) use easily obtainable off the shelf products and
2) marry them with manufactured parts to give you a roaster that works well time & time again

3) also the chaff removal is a key feature of this system

Anyone can make a KKTO it just depends how good you are at DIY

Save money & you can get an unassembled kit and save time to be roasting in less than one hour

Its up to you

KK

[borat123]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Anyone else using the Jaycar temp probe with the KKTO + new agitator?

Ive noticed that with the new agitator, the improved wave action / mixing of the beans has exposed the probe to the air more, if roasting with small batches.

With my system, when roasting with less than 700gms, the probe is measuring air temp instead of bean temp. 700gms or larger and then everything is back to normal.

Im thinking of moving the probe position a little lower now. Anyone else noticed this too?

[Mono]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

I have a similar situation but my "critical mass" is @ about 500g. I have contemplated bringing the probe {Bean Bays} in from underneath with a friction fit so that I can just vary how far up into the bean mass it protrudes. I am still using the single blade agitator as my bearing set up alleviated many of the issues experienced by others.

Steve

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

You can give the probe a slight bend at the end to be immersed in the beans

However the wire probe option may be best
(see drawing)

You can also flatten the agitator bend outwards a little towards the roast chamber sides

KK

[borat123]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Yep, thats me with the wire type. I have the head of the probe fixed with a screw, already on the lowest rung of pre-drilled holes on the inner pot.

Im thinking of pushing it down further and fixing on a new hole drilled on the bottom of the pot about 5mm in from the edge.

This should still clear the blade and hopefully will stay immersed in beans to give a true bean mass temp.

[Stickleback]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

Hi All

Havent posted for a while but still puddling along doing 500gm of green a week happily. One hiccup, however, was that the turbo-ovens fan died since my last roast so I ran out to get a replacement. I managed to find the same Tiffany roaster supplied with the original kit for only $44 on a clearance special. Not sure if anyone is interested whereabouts in WA, but please feel free to PM me and I will give you the details.

Cheers

[borat123]

Re: KKTO Beta Testers Feedback....

After a while they can get pretty dirty inside if not vacd out or cleaned.  The oily smoke and dust accumulates....

Check out:  http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1289717560/2#2