Popcorn machines at K-Mart

[Firepower]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Roasted more coffee beans tonight, took advantage of cool temps after storm, reached 2nd crack with a nice chocolate brown looking bean. roasted 2 x 80g batch, followed by 40g batch to finish stock of Brazil Pulped Natural. Pleased with the results of my 2nd roast.

Last roast on hot Saturday morning resulted in dark almost black oily bean,2 x 100g batch, had to throw them out as tasted disgusting, but learned what not to do

I stop my roast a about 5 -10 seconds after 2nd crack, or first sign of smoke, approx 6 minutes.

[shapeshifter]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

I almost broke my rule to myself of not looking at other roasters, ok well I broke it a little but you know although the other roasters are fancy and can get the times where they need to be with ease, I dont need to roast the amount of coffee that is the optimal amount for these roasters.

We are going back to the drawing board with the mods for the popper (well once hes made the RX3 the most computerised car in Australia) Im hoping for some more than fantastic roasts from the good roasts I get already

[Dimal]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Gday shifter....

With having control over both the air-flow and the element output, you should be able to roast up to 200g batches in a Popper, quite controllably. Before I moved up to a Corretto, that was my typical batch size.

I moved up from a tin-can chimney though, to a glass hurricane lamp chimney which allowed for larger batch sizes without losing beans plus the added benefit of being able to easily view the progress of the roast.

The big thing with larger batch sizes in a popper, is agitation so you need to be sure that your fan control allows you to push the fan up to near its maximum speed, especially at the beginning when the beans are heavy. It also helps if you tilt the popper forward slightly, up to about 10deg. from vertical should be enough.

Managed to achieve some excellent quality roasts after getting used to the dynamics of the setup and it was only the attraction of being able to roast larger batches that I moved up to the Corretto; for no cost since we already owned a BM and a heatgun or two.

Just play around with the variables (one at a time) until you achieve the sort of batch sizes youre aiming for and then fine tune to achieve excellence in the cup. Its a lot of fun.... 8-)

Mal.

[lu]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Oh rapture, oh bliss

Steve how are your results with the mods you were intending to do?

lu

[trentski]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Just for reference, Kmart had at least 100 of these in my local store on display. Must be a big mover.

Ive been to two different Kmarts and two different Target stores and neither had any popcorn makers :

The likes of HN and Good Guys etc all have them from around $45 up

Be super impressed if someone knows where you can get them for $12 8-)

[iam_mimo]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Would it be possible to add a resistor each to the element and fan line? If yes how should this be done?

[Firepower]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

element yes, fan no, want to reduce element/heat power, not reduce cooling/fan
will need to use crimps to connect, as element gets too hot to solder.

to buy it try discount shops , crazy clarks, dollar shops etc.
any place that sell cheap kitchen appliances, toasters, kettles, etc

[Dimal]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Would it be possible to add a resistor each to the element and fan line? If yes how should this be done?

Not really practical at these sorts of power levels. The resistors would have to be rated for the same current flow as the main element(s) and have a power rating in accordance with this formula...

P = I²R (Watts)

I= Current (Amps)
R= Resistance (Ohms)

Much better to just separate the Fan Motor supply from the Heating Element circuit and run each independently. Remember though, 240V AC can and does KILL.....

Lots of info on this mod above in the Stickies...

Mal.

[iam_mimo]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Cool thanks.

Has anyone tried adding a potentiometer to the heating element?

I guess for now just separating them and adding on/off switches for each shall be good.

[Pete39]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Ive been modifying one of these - have built separate triac controllers for the fan and heater and am currently trying to get a feel for everything. Aim to post some pics and info sooner or later! If you havent done so, I would highly recommend doing some roasts with it in its original form - it helps with getting a feel for whats going on and when. Then if you add some more control youve got a starting point - being able to adjust the fan and heater settings to get what you want is not as simple as it sounds. As Mal mentioned, if youre thinking about pots, you need to take into account the power ratings.

[shapeshifter]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

This is what mine looks like at present.

Were about to start on a whole new roaster based on the popper but handling a larger quantity

[Andy]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Wow, thats insane. Certainly worhy of the McGyver Award for the "the most modified popcorn roaster on the planet."

8-)

[scarey]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

This is what mine looks like at present.

All that chaff on the kitchen bench!  Surely that doesnt pass the SWMBO test... oh hang on :-X


;D

[shapeshifter]

Re: Popcorn machines at K-Mart

Oh cool, thanks Andy  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Ummm scarey  ;D ;D ;D yeah my kitchen my mess (have to admit the floors have never been vacuumed so much since I took up roasting), my OH is the envy of all the guys he knows, who else has a house 3/4 full devoted to research and development engineering  ;D

It still isnt completely finished, there will be a power switch on the front and the next button over is for the programs, I can do any sort of programs I want, from set profiles Ive put in with the fan/heat speed to temperature/time programs (if that makes sense) and it all goes back and forth through wifi to my laptop.  The temperature gauge is also the first gauge but isnt connected yet  ;D

Oh I should add though that although it can do all the program side of things I still prefer to do it manually, oh course I can override the programs but I like full manual control as the roast progresses.

Ohhhh also forgot to add, the beans cool in there as well !!!  Normally takes about 2 minutes from 220 to 40 degrees.

[Hatchy]

ALDI - 12 Popcorn maker

Absolutely brilliant shapeshifter.
You must be an electronics engineer?

For all those interested - ALDI have $12 popcorn makers starting thursday - Lumina brand.