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Valves for me.
I typically only sell whole beans and I bag them immediately after roasting.
The CO2 after a few days would probably burst the bags if they didn't have valves.
You would have to let the coffee de-gas for quite a few days before being able to use bags without valves.
How many...
When I drop the roasted beans into the cooling tray, I stand there while they are cooling.
I occasionally stop the mixing arm to manually remove the following:
1. Quakers - those beans that appear under-roasted (but aren't).
2. Over-roasted (dark) bean fragments. They are not whole beans and...
I sure am glad I'm not roasting 21 hours/day.
Unless there were multiple personnel shifts doing the roasting (in which case I'm fine with the idea of 24 hours/day), that sounds like the definition of needing a roaster capacity upgrade.
I was recommending for Ambex based upon price, reliability and ability to get support/parts within the USA.
No, I haven't owned one, but I have occasionally used a friend's 10Kg - which is old and has been very reliable.
Sample roasting thoughts:
You will need to be very skilled to do a 200gm...
I would buy an Ambex 5Kg.
https://www.ambexroaster.com/shop-roasters/ym-5
While the body is manufactured in Turkey, the rest is made in Florida.
So you get support from within this country, which (IMHO) is essential should something break.
Their prices are reasonable (relative to their...
I looked on their website.
For flat silver bags with valves that state 8oz (dimensions 6.5 X 8 ) they quote 16c if you buy in 1000s.
https://www.northatlanticbags.com/product/flat-metalized-pouch-6-5-x-8-od
Any comments about the CO2 extinguisher?
I note a previous post on this thread from topher stating that he has a silver(water) extinguisher.
I personally reckon CO2 would be better because:
1. Water running everywhere could cause damage.
2. CO2 being emitted is very cold, which should help...
I was lucky that there was absolutely no damage to my roaster.
I shamefully admit I have taken very little action.
Since my electric company installed a new substation, we now hardly ever have any outages.
When an outage occurs, it is typically momentary.
The most important thing I have done...
I use 24gm coffee with 430gm water.
This would be slightly weaker than Musicphan's ratio except for the fact that I don't actually do pourover.
I was using my trusty Bonavita Full Immersion Dripper (4 minutes brewing time) for the last 8 years until the other day when I dropped it.:x
Bonavita is...
I try to use the same beans as before for the first roast of the day.
That way, I can compare (also using Artisan) my previous first roast of the day against the one today.
Now there are probably ambient temperature and humidity differences, but it (almost) removes one variable thus improving...
While we are on this type of subject, I have found it is a good idea to have a backup plan in case your roaster fails for some reason.
I have made a deal with a roaster in the next town over.
If my roaster fails, I can use his and vice-versa.
We have both agreed a reasonable fee for using each...