Opinions of 1 pound sample roasters

[nickwin]

Does anyone have any experience with any (or all) of these 1 lbs sample roasters?:

US Roaster Corp Sample Roaster

Diedrich IR-1

San Franciscan SF-1

They appear to be more similar that not in design and price. I'm curious if one has any advantages or disadvantages over the others as I am in the market for one of these.

 

[eldub]

IMO, you are wasting your money if you buy two roasters that are both basically sample roasters.

I can roast as little as a pound at a time on our US Roaster Corp 12kg machine. I have no need for a smaller roaster.

lw

 

[peterjschmidt]

I don't think he said he was buying two of them.

I don't think he asked if you needed a smaller roaster.




No firsthand experience, but know of a few that own a SF, and they are happy as can be, even tho' the SF is expensive.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

There is no advantage of of one or the other
I am assuming if you are looking for a sample roaster, you must have a very large roaster where you can't really roast a small batch.

I actually like double Probat 1/2 pound sample roasters.
They do fabulous job and you can sample roast 2 at a time.

I have seen few used one as well.

Good Luck

 

[eldub]

Nick mentioned buying a 3kg roaster in another thread and he also wants a sample roaster, if'n I'm reading it correctly..

 

[CoffeeJunky]

Nick mentioned buying a 3kg roaster in another thread and he also wants a sample roaster, if'n I'm reading it correctly..

Now that doesn't make any sense....

 

[nickwin]

Now that doesn't make any sense....

First of all thanks for the input, it really is valuable. My concern (in my other thread) was wether I would have problems getting consistent roasts doing 1,.5, or even 1/4 pound batches for sampling and profiling on a 3 kilo roaster. I'm gathering that this is not a valid concern .

But back to this thread, I actually just kind of threw the IR-1 into that list at the last minute, I realize its a different design with the IR and over twice the capacity, so that really isn't an even comparison. But between the SF and the US Roaster, they are no advantages to one over the other? How about in terms of build, fit and finish, maintenance? I also can't really find anything about the burner control on the SF-1, is there a burner control besides the valve on the back of the pressure guage? Does it give you pretty good control? I know that the US Roaster has a burner control dial on the left side next to the rest of the controls.

I'm also looking at used open barrel models but I thought the 1 pound models might be better for profile development. Not to mention that the open barrel models can be pricy even when there used.

 

[chast]

I own a US Roaster 3kg and a ilb sample roaster. Most of my samples are 1/2 lb. Can the 3kg do samples? sure can, but I am not going to waste all the gas to do a 1/2 lb. I also feel that the sample is more accurate. I was told I was wasting my money on a 3kg but it works for me. The sample roaster is simple to use, no bell s and whistles. What it comes down to is I wanted it and purchased it. Worked for me!

 

[eldub]

Chast: We would have to waste a heck of a lot of gas and beans to justify spending money on a sample roaster and 3 kg roaster as well, imo. While I can see how that set up might work for you, I really don't think it's necessary. (Like you said, you wanted it and purchased it.) But in my opinion, you have two sample roasters.

 

[nickwin]

Chast: We would have to waste a heck of a lot of gas and beans to justify spending money on a sample roaster and 3 kg roaster as well, imo. While I can see how that set up might work for you, I really don't think it's necessary. (Like you said, you wanted it and purchased it.) But in my opinion, you have two sample roasters.

Eldub, are you saying that you don't have anything smaller than a 12kg at your roastery? You do everything on the 12kg?

 

[nickwin]

I own a US Roaster 3kg and a ilb sample roaster. Most of my samples are 1/2 lb. Can the 3kg do samples? sure can, but I am not going to waste all the gas to do a 1/2 lb. I also feel that the sample is more accurate. I was told I was wasting my money on a 3kg but it works for me. The sample roaster is simple to use, no bell s and whistles. What it comes down to is I wanted it and purchased it. Worked for me!

So basically in your experience the 3kg can do everything the 1 lbs can? The 1 lbs does small batches slightly better but not a night and day difference? Can you still get relatively consistent results roasting .5lbs on the 3 kg? Thanks.

 

[eldub]

Eldub, are you saying that you don't have anything smaller than a 12kg at your roastery? You do everything on the 12kg?

Correct. We do everything on a 12 kg roaster. We can roast batches as small as 1 lb. on this 12 kg unit from US Roaster Corps. However, I seldom roast batches that small anymore.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

That is exactly what he is saying.

In my opinion, that takes very delicate roasting tech. to roast a 1 pound on 12k machine but as Eldub has post, he is a number person. he carefully watches everything what is going on with his roaster. So this is not for everyone. I sure won't be able to do that. I have hard time roasting 1/2 pounds on my 5 pound roaster that I made.

 

[sae]

I'm considering buying a Huky 500 for sample roasting

 

[eldub]

After being in business for a bit over a year, I don't roast many batches under six or seven pounds. For instance, this morning I arrived at the shop and realized we were running low on our Peruvian French roast. We'd just finished a bag so it was time to get into a new offering. I opened the bag, scooped out seven pounds or so and fired up the roaster. When the bean mass reached 439* I pulled a sample with the trier and quickly put it in the freezer to cool. I did the same at 448* and 458* before completing the roast at 465*.

After a few minutes, all beans were cooled to room temp. Most of the beans roasted to French will be sold today and tomorrow. The small samples as well as a bit of the final product will be cupped Tuesday morning when my Guinea pigs arrive for our weekly experimentation. This way, we have samples from four different roast levels. Folks will buy the French roast but I'm interested in finding the sweet spot for this lot of beans.