Which roaster to buy (12kilo)?

trickwheeler

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So I am setting up a roastery with limited roaster experience but a lot of coffee knowledge. Budget is around 40k and we do not need an afterburner. I am leaning toward the probat p12, but I have heard that this roaster needs modification of the fans to more accurately adjust air flow as well as additional probes installed. Does anyone have experience with modifying these? Also is the Probat Pilot software worth getting or should I forgo it and go with cropster? Other roasters I am leaning toward are San Franciscan, Diedrich or US Roaster Corps. Any thoughts or tips much appreciated!
 

Musicphan

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Hey trick... it sounds like you were in the same spot I was about 3 years ago. I looked at or tried to look at the 4 brands you mentioned. To me, buying a new machine had value for the support and ease of repair (also wanted US made). What i discovered is there are a lot of the parts are pretty standard industrial gear (at least the USR is when it comes to fans/motors/etc). I had absolutely no luck engaging with Probat, multiple inquiries with no response. So they pretty much eliminated themselves from the pool. Out of the three remaining, the USRC is probably the least polished. I found lots of little things that could have improved my experience - better manuals, etc. And the gas module is super sensitive... we had to make a slight mod for better control. Overall I feel it still runs a bit hot when doing large loads, but I have no comparison roasting experience to really know. I'm pretty happy with where my roasts - but still strive for more consistency. Support overall has been pretty good with USRC... sometimes a bit difficult to get ahold of but solid people when you get to them. San Franciscan's appeared to be probably the best made machine... nice sales guy/owner. Overall I really like them, but If memory serves me right it was out of my budget. So it was down to Diedrich/USRC.. Dan (owner of USRC) simply sold me more. I did two visits to his locations in OKC before i made the purchase (a nice advantage of only being a 6 hour drive away).

Currently I use Artisan - for my volume it does me fine. I found the actual roast profiling is sufficient and fairly feature rich. Cropster has some real advantages if you can utilize the inventory / batch management, etc. It get's expensive fast. Hope this helps.. I don't know what your volume dictates (and how flexible the budget is).. but make sure you get a good sample roaster. I have a Quest and it does a good job.. but I would like something a little better.

Mike
 

wmark

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plunking some money down on a new P2/12 tomorrow.
having a debate on the pilot software myself and am leaning to coughing up the extra $2500 as a friend always says, better to have it and not need it than to need/want it and not have it.
 

trickwheeler

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Thanks Mike, i understand the general concept of sample roasting. What would be the big differences between a great sample roaster and a middle of the road unit.
 

Musicphan

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Thanks Mike, i understand the general concept of sample roasting. What would be the big differences between a great sample roaster and a middle of the road unit.

Well... most important IMO is gas vs. electric. I find that I sample roast more than I thought I would. For example I just did this year's crop of Guat and I think I had 10-12 coffees to sample roast. Often times I wish I had a multi barrel for times like that. Other times I wish I had a small 1K or similar roaster to dial in roast profiles w/o a bunch of waste. Maybe get 3 roasters... barrel, small profile roaster, production roaster! :) Ha...
 

chast

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I have two US Roaster Corp Roasters and have always had great luck with the customer service. I am looking to purchase a 12kg and my mind is all made up on a SF-25 from San Fransican roasters. Bill Kennedy is the owner and a great guy. He has a sales manager named Dimitri. Both companies welcome you to visit and try out a roaster and when yours is complete you can also visit and learn the controls. Both made in the USA.
 

trickwheeler

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I have two US Roaster Corp Roasters and have always had great luck with the customer service. I am looking to purchase a 12kg and my mind is all made up on a SF-25 from San Fransican roasters. Bill Kennedy is the owner and a great guy. He has a sales manager named Dimitri. Both companies welcome you to visit and try out a roaster and when yours is complete you can also visit and learn the controls. Both made in the USA.

What makes the SFR better?
 

chast

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They have a few items that I like, plus the design. If they manufacturing I would go back to a USRC. Thought about a Probat but they are not as good as the older ones and they have poor customer service
 

wmark

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I have a USRC also. Gotta agree with the less than stellar customer service from Probat. I read alot of good comments about San Franciscan roasters
 

expat

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Joper is a great roaster. Also take a look at COFFED - Producent pieców do palenia kawy. These guys have been refurbing roasters for years and recently started making their own. They look nice. Haven't visited them yet but we're in the market for a 25 - 30kg roaster so will be taking a look soon. And if you're looking at Probat why pay all that dough for the name when the above mentioned roasters are out there. Also Geisen makes a very good machine. Notice all these roasters use cast iron drums which I'm particular to. But if you're plunking down $40K don't forget all the other stuff too. I'd think if you're spending at that level you're expecting to make a serious business out of it so what about the MPE grinder at $7k or so? And the pack and fill machine at $5 - $7k. And the bag sealer? And all those other bits and bobs you're going to need? Oh, and that initial load of green beans. Even if you're starting small a pallet of coffee is going to cost you about $3k. And the bags? Are you going to get them preprinted? Then that's another chunk of change as minimum quantities are somewhere around 5k bags.

Of course an MPE and a pack and fill aren't prerequisites to starting a roastery, or a very expensive roaster, but food for thought and it all adds up. Insurance? Rent? It never ends.

All that said - super best wishes on your start-up!!! Keep us posted on how it goes. And remember what Toper posted awhile back -- roasting coffee is 'bust ass hard work' so get ready for it.
 
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