roaster is HEAVY

[debbiej]

our roaster came in a day ahead of schedule. unlike my last order of beans which are two days late.

I am fighting the urge to go down to the shop and stare at it.

for 4 years I've roasted coffee off site, in a little barn on our residential property. It feels like the time to start roasting in the shop. In fact it seems to be unfolding in an amusing manner. my plumber and HVAC contractors said: "we'll take care of the inspectors, lets just do it". A very unusual customer was so excited that he offered his equipment to move it. it is just moving ahead without much effort on my part.

So I took him up on his offer, and his truck with two guys. when I saw the truck and the guys, I was really concerned. After the crated roaster was fork lifted into the box truck, they went to my shop. I told them then, that there was no way we could uncrate and lift gate that roaster down, much less get it in. they agreed. and back to their business they went. I tagged along, chewing my nails on behalf of my roaster. they fork lifted it to a bigger truck, a flat bed, with a 3 wheeled forklift and a pallet jack on board. I followed behind, still chewing my nails over bits of packing material flying off and dreading every bump and turn.

we arrived at the shop and my confidence was restored by some thoughtful planning. the roaster was removed from truck, forklifted to patio of shop. this roaster was WELL crated. after crating material was removed, and roaster was removed from it's substantial base, 5 men lifted it to the pallet jack and took it in the shop, not without a lot of grunting and swearing. involved: the customer/ business owner, his crew, my cook and my husband.

I'm excited beyond description at my new roaster, and amazed at a customer who believes in us and cares enough to help us like this. I asked him to let me pay for his employees and equipment. he laughed and said "$4000" I laughed and said "ok, in coffee credit"

so the decision was made. my new roaster will have an audience at our shop.

tomorrow I beg the HVAC guy to bump us to the top of his list so I can roast coffee on it!

 

[topher]

Very exciting!!! I wish you all the best...you going to post pictures or what??

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Yes very exciting. We're all anxious for pics of that first roast being pouring into the cooling tray. Aren't you glad you didn't get a 5 kg?

I'm still looking at the 2.5 kg Diedrich...it's a lot lighter at only 260 lbs. I can't seem to find a good IR3 before it's sold, always just after.

 

[debbiej]

a few nights ago we took a propane bottle and some dryer venting, which we ran out the door, down to the shop. I just couldn't wait. needless to say, not the ideal venting situation. but I got to roast on it, and I LIKE it! the fire chief came friday, and ok'd us going ahead with the installation. I now am having the usual situation where the plumbing contractor is a day or two late. :? I heard one of my employees say "the latte goes to the guy sitting in the roasting room". made me giddy. thanks for sharing my excitement!

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

It looks so at home there in the corner. I emailed the lady with the San Fran Roaster. I don't think she wants to sell and was interested in a trade with you (for your AMBEX maybe) I think. So are you going with insulated double wall tubing, like Selkirk makes? I've heard the HVAC guys sometimes don't realize coffee roasters are positive pressure and sometimes install the standard double wall water heater tubing and that will just plug up and catch fire eventually since water heaters are just natural convection and normally don't pressurize the ducts. Terry from AMBEX gave a pretty good talk on venting at SCAA.

 

[debbiej]

I just caught the end of Terry's presentation, and was really disgusted with myself for missing it. I will ask the contractor about it. the specs call for class A pipe, which is triple wall. and he called US roasters to check with them on what to use. He said he was still sourcing the pipe. thanks! do you think the woman with the SF is waiting to hear from me? I didn't get the impression she was certain about selling or trading. sorry!

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Ahh, she seems to be a bit inconsistant. She was a bit ticked that I even suggested it might be for sale and then appologized later and said it might be. I don't know what to think, lol

Oh most of what Terry talked about is in a paper on his site. If you can't find it let me know. He even talks a lot about using a profile controller, PID, and how to set it up.

 

[chast]

Deb,
I used Selkirk's C1 series which is stainless/Alum with 1 inch of insulation. You can touch the pipe right from the roaster and it is really cool. I used 6" pipe as Dan suggested. The only difference is I use a Lateral T vs a 90 degree which most people use.

JMHO
Charlie

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Charlie, I'm gong to be installing a small TT roaster in a small shed (12X10). Terry at Ambex and Diedrich recommend going straight up with a zero loose stack termination. I was thinking of just doing a very short horizontal run, maybe 2-3 feet with the 6" selkirk 1" insulated pipe. They have a nice horizontal low loss termination (looks like a 45 deg angle exhaust) that keeps rain out. The guys at Diedrich thought a short run would be OK. Heat rises so the top of the pipe might be a bit hotter I know. Either way I have to get a thru the wall or ceiling mount to be sure I don't set my shed on fire. I think Selkirk makes something for that. Do you think the horizontal run will be OK? Any recommendations? Thanks

 

[chast]

Here are a couple of pics if they make it thru[attachment=1:1by4a33j]Twinroasters.jpg[/attachment:1by4a33j]

stand is being replaced but that is a lateral T

 

[chast]

The 1" insulation is a C1 series. Can't go wrong. I picked up a Selkirk Cap on Ebay for 40.00 that works great.
I run 22' of 6" C1/C2 pipe. My setup is based in a US Roaster for dimensions. The Selkirk C1 which you are thinking of getting, will never have fire issues if installed correctly. as far as routing that is something that Diedrich has to assist with. Selkirk suggests using a sealer between pipes but after talking to the rep, it was agreed that it wasn't needed. Talk to your local Selkirk Rep and they would be a better reference to talk to.
Charlie

 

[topher]

I have a question about that. Who uses a sealer on their pipes? I break each of my roasters down bi weekly to clean the pipes. How hard is it to clear out the sealant? I understand that it will cut down on smoke escaping...but after a couple of batches it basically seals itself. I would like to hear if anyone does use the sealant and what they think about it.

 

[chast]

I have talked to a couple of roasters who used a sealer and they seemed ok with it. Of course they are not r & r 'ing their system. From what I have read the sealer is used when the pipes are connected to high pressure systems. The sealer would be a real pain to break away and clean every time it was disassembled. The first thing I did was check for leaks and there were none.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

The 1" insulation is a C1 series. Can't go wrong. I picked up a Selkirk Cap on Ebay for 40.00 that works great.
I run 22' of 6" C1/C2 pipe. My setup is based in a US Roaster for dimensions. The Selkirk C1 which you are thinking of getting, will never have fire issues if installed correctly. as far as routing that is something that Diedrich has to assist with. Selkirk suggests using a sealer between pipes but after talking to the rep, it was agreed that it wasn't needed. Talk to your local Selkirk Rep and they would be a better reference to talk to.
Charlie

Nice pics. So you're 2" insulation at the roaster and then C1? Do you remember what the C1 costs per 60" length. I was thinking about going with C2 right out the side wall so it would only be a 30" run but now I'm reconsidering and thinking about something like you did but straight up thru the roof. I've seen the fittings online to penetrate a pitched roof like I have and I only have about 4 feet and I'm out. Still I bet this is going to cost at least $500 even if I do the install myself, which I plan to do. Thanks again, the pic was helpful.

 

[debbiej]

I know different states have different codes, but generally, what did it cost to vent your roasters in commercial locations? some of the prices I'm getting make me want to take my roaster back to the shed at my house! research is being done, however.