Gas vs Electric?

[eldub]

Greetings, all...

We are looking at a US Roaster Corps 5kg shop roaster. I'm curious as to the pros and cons between gas and electric units in general.

Any input from experienced roasters would be appreciated.

Thanks.

scott

 

[tortillatree]

Well I have been running a 5K USRC gas roaster for a year and a half now, and I have never once regretted it .... after visiting dozens of roasteries, I haven't yet been envious of anyone else's roaster.

As to an electric roaster, I haven't used one, and I've never even run into one of that size. It would be very expensive to run, slower to heat up, and less responsive/less reactive to changes in heat. Think of a gas burner on your stove vs an electric one. You can instantly change the level of the gas flame higher or lower, and the water starts or stops boiling. But with an electric burner, that burner gets hot, and it stays hot, and you just don't have as much control.

In short, the only reason you would want electric would be if you can't run gas to it for some reason, or if running gas to it would be enormously expensive. But you might have to put in a whole new electric panel to run a 5K roaster anyway, and I just don't see how you could come out ahead in the long run with electric.

(btw, it is well worth getting the MasterRoast package with the digital controls and profiler. for one thing, it's worth it just for the digital control panel, even if you don't plan to use profiles. but about half of the roasts i do manually, and about half of them i let it roast itself. it even opens up the door and lets it out and cools it without me lifting a finger. saves me hours and hours and hours of labor, and hasn't messed up a batch yet, which is more than i can say for myself And with roastmaster, even if you're in manual mode and something should ever happen, ie you faint or get a phone call or whatever and forget you were roasting, the USRC is so smart that it has a built in sprinkler system. ie, beans catch on fire around 480 degrees, so mine is set at 460. if my beans ever were to be 460 degrees hot, the roaster would turn off the flame, quench the beans in cold water, and spit them out. Most roasters would just keep roasting until the whole building burned to the ground. )

Get the built-in magnet in the cooling tray dispener to catch iron-stones, nails, and random metal that you'll find now and then. I wouldn't bother with the bean light or the strictly decorative options (ie glitter paint). And you don't need to have control over how fast the drum turns, I've never once thought, "I wish I could slow this darn drum down from turning so fast.." Ha, nope. It's perfect as is. I can't remember the other options. They can really trick-out the roasters, but you really don't need a lot of the optional stuff. Although if money is not a problem, why not have fun with it?

--Matt
Happy Mug Coffee

 

[eldub]

Thank you, Matt for those words of wisdom.

I'm really impressed with the way many in the industry have offered up important information to help this wine geek (me) to get up to speed in the coffee bidness.

The only concern I have with a gas unit would involve the potential flavor imparted to the beans with this heating method. Should this even be a concern?

Thanks in advance.

scott

 

[eldub]

Btw.... I was under the impression that US Roasters offered the option of gas or electric heating elements?

 

[kanyevil]

What capacity were you looking to buy?

 

[eldub]

We're looking at 5-12kg roasters.

scott

 

[chast]

US Roaster

I have 2 US roasters that started out with propane and I converted them to natural gas. Big difference in roasting with controlling the flame. Looked at electric in the beginning and realized it would have been a mistake. US Roasters also use gear drive motors, no belts or chains that slip or need adjusting. Both roasters are completely hands on, no profile system.
Great customer service !

 

[eldub]

Thanks for the replies.

lw