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Post by timwilde on Mar 8, 2014 21:25:30 GMT -5
While looking for ideas for roasting cocoa beans, I was looking for something cheaper than the behmor. It looks like a wonderful machine, but it seems limited in capacity. While looking, I found a $50 rotisserie roaster/oven on Amazon.
The question I have, would this make a good attempt at a roaster? Just using the rotisserie parts and building/finding/acquiring a drum to put in there? Or does this seem like more trouble than it may be worth? Based on dimensions though, it looks like this would be able to fit a drum capable of 3-4lbs - but that might be optimism talking.
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Post by Ben on Mar 8, 2014 23:23:37 GMT -5
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Post by timwilde on Mar 9, 2014 22:13:40 GMT -5
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Post by Ben on Mar 10, 2014 7:33:00 GMT -5
Good catch. I hadn't noticed that rotisserie and convection were separate modes.
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Post by Ben on Mar 10, 2014 7:37:08 GMT -5
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Post by timwilde on Mar 16, 2014 13:56:14 GMT -5
I did find this one at Walmart for $50: www.walmart.com/ip/FARBERWARE-Convection-CounterTop-Oven-Stainless-Steel/22866805The convection feature is always on, it's a feature they specifically mention in their demonstration video on that page. The only concern I have is the size. It seems slightly smaller than the Black and Decker model. This one would appear to (assuming custom fabricated optimal drum size) allow up to a 6" diameter by 12" length drum. Calculating that out, I think that allows for 1.5-2.5lbs of cocoa beans, but not 100% on that. |
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Post by timwilde on Mar 16, 2014 14:08:21 GMT -5
eh...correction. The above was based on coffee! So it should be in the 3-4lb range for cocoa  I think i'm going to jump on it after I get a few materials together for drum fabrication |
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Post by timwilde on Mar 20, 2014 11:44:20 GMT -5
Ok quick update. I got the Faberware countertop convection oven from Walmart. It was $49.96. The product video suggested that the convection fan was always on, however, that's not the case. The "BAKE" mode uses the bottom heating elements and turns the fan on. The "ROTISSERIE" mode uses the top elements and turns the fan off. So I peeked inside. The fan motor and the rotisserie motor are very similar; 2 poles, one wired to the mode selector switch. I grabbed 2 SPDT switches, wired them up to the respective motors, drilled a hole in the side. Now, I cant necessarily turn a function off, but I can override the mode and turn it on. So, I can have rotisserie spinning during "BAKE" mode or I can turn the fan on during "ROTISSERIE" mode (or any other mode for that matter, including WARM, TOAST, or BROIL). I'll assume this is going to be trial and error, but figured I'd ask. Which mode would be best for roasting? Rotisserie uses the top heating elements, which would be very close to the drum position and uses radiant heat to heat downward, and of course have the fan on. Or Should I use the BAKE mode where the bottom elements would be used. It seems that this would heat from the bottom up, forcing the heat to go through the airflow of the fan, and might be slightly closer to the actual beans (gravity being what it is). Here's a few pics: fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/10014543_10152240682292999_1703028358_n.jpgscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1625489_10152238524737999_191492957_n.jpg |
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Post by Ben on Mar 20, 2014 11:59:33 GMT -5
This is very cool.
I'd guess that either mode would work fine as it's really small and the convection should make it consistently heated throughout.
Let us know how it goes!
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Post by timwilde on Mar 20, 2014 13:02:01 GMT -5
Well, still building the drum. I'm limited by the default spit at the moment, so my drum is quite a bit smaller than I anticipated. So, it'll be a first drum to see how the materials work and hold up, I'll put more effort into maximizing the space some in a future drum build.
Current limitations are building a 9" x 6" drum, which using the formula I've seen repeated on coffee forums, should give me about 25.5oz of coffee roasting capacity, or as John has said in a lot of places on this site, should be about 51 oz of cocoa (very slightly over 3 lbs). It does look like, with some ingenuity, I should be able to get up to a 10.5" x 6.5" drum. There's space to go up to 11" length, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to set the drum in place if I do that (since I'd have to tilt the drum to get it set in place). If I can go that big though, it should be about 35oz coffee or 70oz cocoa (just about 4.3 lbs).
Once I have the drum built, I'll do a few 8oz runs to see how roasting works in this thing, then I'll test a 3lb batch to see if that actually roasts evenly. And of course, if there's interest I'll backstep through and post an instructable on how to do this. I'll keep you guys posted as to how this works as well.
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Post by timwilde on Mar 24, 2014 11:43:06 GMT -5
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Post by timwilde on Mar 26, 2014 14:50:22 GMT -5
Ok, maiden run I threw in about 19oz of beans. I put the beans in a cold oven, and slowly ramped temps up to 425, held there for about 5 minutes then let it cool itself down to 225 for 25mins. Total roasting time 50mins. 19.3oz put in, 18.1oz out for a 5.6% water weight loss.
This time around, I spent extra time going through the beans. They were much more evenly roasted than my oven/corningware method. And much less labor. Taste of the freshly roasted criollo was fantastic. Little bitterness, no astringency and could actually enjoy eating the nibs. Total investment $74.
From the looks of things, it does look like it will comfortably roast about 3lbs.
BTW: I decided to use the BAKE mode and throw the rotisserie on as the way the drum is positioned I feared being that close to the elements might burn/scorch the beans. I may experiment with a much smaller batch and see how that runs. The rotisserie tends to move slowly, I think between 4 and 5 RPM, and the agitator fins I've put tends to allow the beans to "climb" nearly 3/4 the height of the drum as it spins.
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gap
Apprentice
Posts: 390
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Post by gap on Mar 26, 2014 15:59:13 GMT -5
Very cool
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Post by timwilde on Apr 6, 2014 15:18:01 GMT -5
Ok, as an update. 2 lbs worked beautifully. It took longer, a little more than an hour with the roast profile I stated above. That surprised me at first, but that does make sense after thinking about it a while. Basically extended each step by about 5 minutes to get a very consistent roast, which is almost identical to the previous roast of the same beans. I'll be attempting a full 3lb roast sometime in the next 2 weeks, and let you know how that goes. I dont foresee any issues, but at least I (we) will know what this drum and roaster are capable of. Thus far, super happy with it, especially for the roughly $75 I have invested in it  |
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Post by lyndon on Apr 12, 2014 4:03:02 GMT -5
That looks fantastic, and so affordable too. I may do something similar myself. Do you have a photo of the hatch element of your cage? And is it all simply attached to the original forks?
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