I went from a Hot Top to a North and was very worried about going for electric to gas.. I thought there would be this huge learning curve..
It was very easy change over and I found it much easier than using a Hot Top in a few weeks..
This was way before people started sharing numerous profiles online..
I think now it would be much safer buying for Mill City in case you have some kind of problem with the machine..
I'm hoping this may turn into an investment in the future..

I have read enough and talked to these guys enough that I too, am ready to take the plunge.

I want more capacity and control then my huky can give me and this seems like the logical choice. The machine combined with their greens business is a perfect fit for my needs.

Now to wait to August to get the roaster.

IMAWriter wrote:Why the criticism of the OP. His was an open and honest assessment of his situations, and YES, any item costing more than $500 dollars, considering how hard some folks work for it SHOULD be at least investigated.

Ah, I did not mean it as a criticism. More as genuine surprise. Allow me to explain:

I am currently working at a factory in China, and I to be totally honest I get a little defensive when people make assumptions about things over here. There was a thread a couple weeks back (something like "has anyone ever bought one of those Chinese roasters") where some posters implied that the workers were slaves and the roasters were made in sweatshops, etc. I held my tongue for that one.

Things have changed so fast in Chinese manufacturing, I think the narrative from the 80s and 90s (and even early 2000s) still lingers. In my experience, Tom is absolutely correct that things made in China run the gamut from junk to very high quality. Same as anywhere else at this point. Which is why, for me, it's sort of weird to lump all Chinese-made roasters together. Kind of like "I'm not sure about that guitar because it's made in Alabama." Alabama isn't the issue, it's the manufacturer that is the primary concern.

I think I was probably (over)reacting to the implication of apprehension of buying a roaster made in China, versus questions about buying a North roaster in particular. OP probably was asking more about the latter, which is totally fair.

It's very nice that the Asian-made roasters we home roasters buy (Huky, Quest, North, etc.) seem to be pretty well-supported, and the manufacturers seem to want to cultivate a good reputation within the community (which is important given that the community - their target market - is quite small). I'm basing this primarily on my interaction with Mr Li of Huky, but the comments on the others seem consistent.

Those 20 kilo roasters on Alibaba for like $5,000 weird me out, though. I've got a lot of questions about those things.

Anyway, apologies, I did not mean it to be a criticism, and I understand OP's concern about being able to get service and replacement parts. Whenever you're buying something expensive out of a relatively small job shop, it's good to know where it comes from and how it'll be supported, in China or elsewhere.

jalpert wrote:Ah, I did not mean it as a criticism. More as genuine surprise. Allow me to explain:

..And you did, most eloquently! Defending one's territory is natural, and in YOUR case most understandable.
My apologies for MY tone as well.

Where something is made has far less effect on the product than the support and the specs to which it was built.

I have had a Chinese table saw, large commercial one, a large planer and a joiner that were all made in China in 1982 and they are still running strong with almost zero trouble. A change of a starter capacitor was the only thing that went wrong with the planer in all those years and nothing else, zero, has failed due to poor workmanship.

The support for accessories and parts is the key and if you can get good support then you are golden. The last American made car I purchased was such a piece of (lets call it junk) that cost a considerable amount of monies almost killed us. A 3/4 ton 4x4 Suburban 1994 with all the bells and whistles and the brakes were total garbage. Total failure of the ABS system, randomly. In that case the Customer Service stonewalled us, and as it turns out thousands of other people, when complaints were lodged. You even needed 2 sets of wrenches to work on that vehicle, one metric and one S.A.E.

The power of big business strikes again. A smaller company would need to be more responsive to their product owners otherwise no business would ever be generated. Wherever the roaster is made it is the company that makes it and the reputation that the company in question is what matters, not the location of the company.

The only company I have heard about that the location made a difference with was a company owned by a man named Gerald Bull. He made cannon for the military and yet could not test his cannon in the USA so he made a factory on the border with Canada where he could test cannon. Built on one side of the fence and tested on the other. Pretty unique. If it was not the fact that he was selling a particular long range cannon to Sadaam Hussein he would probably still be alive today.

So for coffee a good roaster it is the customer support and the things that make the roaster fit your needs that are all important. The Quest, Huky, etc. all fill a niche that some of the larger roasters do not so that is why they exist. Quest realized that their heating elements were not working properly/robust enough and changed them. If they had been General Motors they would just have advertised more and ignored their existing customer.

So 3 cheers for good business, wherever it is located

Good post! I too am looking into several options.. just reading and soaking up as much info as I can... I have access to a 90 kilo AMBEX which is way over what I need for now so its just easier for me at this time to buy something for my personal shop...