Ultimate DIY Roaster

[noonar]

That's one hot roaster MM. Great job.

[madaxle]

mate thats awesome...where can i get one

[Thundergod]

Awesome! ! !

[MartyMac]

Was the concrete mixer next to it much help

Yeah mate the mixer is for doing blends...hahahah nah that's just where it lives, for now anyway. Might have to build a shed next...

[flynnaus]

Brilliant. I'm sure if you just posted this as "My new roaster" people would be asking where you bought it, what brand is it, how much did you pay? No one would have guessed it was a self-built job.
I see you have 4 separate gas cocks.

[MartyMac]

Brilliant. I'm sure if you just posted this as "My new roaster" people would be asking where you bought it, what brand is it, how much did you pay? No one would have guessed it was a self-built job.
I see you have 4 separate gas cocks.

Thanks that's quite a compliment.

Yes the 4 valves are for the primary burners in the back, so they can be isolated independently. The idea was that if it gets too hot I can turn 1 or 2 burners off to achieve a suitable temp range, then control the temp using the fan and booster burner. So far all burners have been required as I've only roasted in winter, but it may come into play in summer.

[thewpguy]

Looks so much like a commercial one, mind blowing fabrication, engineering and plumbing skills!

[DesigningByCoffee]

Nice work Marty

[Yelta]

Very impressive Marty, great effort.

[MartyMac]

Hi again CSrs,

Just a bit of an update on my roaster. I've been installing some upgrades/mods, and I took them for a spin last night.

I got 2 tachometers for the drum and fan speed. Drum works well but haven't got the fan working yet. Just a little something to reference the settings.

Also put in a computer fan to keep the electronics temp down. Had to put in a step down voltage regulator in too, as it has a 12v rating. This gave me an idea.

I've been having trouble with the power supply when the fan is cranked up. The fan soaks up the voltage and drops it to 18-20v which intern slows the drum. So you have to adjust the drum when you adjust the fan. My idea was to put 3 more step down regulators in for the motors and juice up the supply. It did make a difference but I could only get 27.2v out of it which is not quite enough. So I've ordered a step up module. We'll see how that goes when it arrives.

I also decided to go through my receipts to see how much this thing has actually cost. Turns out I wasn't far off the money in my initial post, but I missed a few expenses. The clear ceramic $120, the temp gauge $10, and some electrics stuff $20. So the initial build cost was more like $775. Then the mods, tachometers $17 each, computer fan $7, voltage regulators $5 each, and the step up module $2. Which brings the grand total (so far!) to $838, not bad I recon.

So I roasted 500g of Columbia Tierra Blanca which roasted nicely. Will be tasting the results in the next couple of days, it was about a CS7-8. Here's some pics of my session...

[Javaphile]

Looking good there MartyMac! Heck, with a few panels and paint you could turn it into the engine room and we'd all be calling you Scotty!


Java "Gotta love it as a project comes together!" phile

[flynnaus]

...you could turn it into the engine room and we'd all be calling you Scotty!

Bean me up, Marty!

[MartyMac]

Looking good there MartyMac! Heck, with a few panels and paint you could turn it into the engine room and we'd all be calling you Scotty!


Java "Gotta love it as a project comes together!" phile

Hahah yeah it is a bit flashy with all the LEDs...

[TheLudicrousBean]

I saw your machine in another post....

But nice sexy machine...

Bit flashy with those LEDs but one question...

Perforated drum or not?

Heat source?

[Kevo]

That's two questions?