Hi Henry,

Good to hear from you. (For anyone who doesn't know it, it's Henry's fault that many of have acquired these gas powered drum roasters. He brought his Mini 500 to a San Francisco H-B gathering at my house and we all got upgradeitis!) I've still got my day job. Janet has asked if I want to go commercial when she sees how much I like roasting and how much our friends love my coffee. Never say never, but for now I enjoy this as a hobby. To return to the topic of the thread, and the comparison of BC-600 to TJ-067 -- I like being able to efficiently roast a kilo (or more with an upgraded gas regulator) for friends who've succumbed to my coffeevangelism.

Hey Ken,

I was wondering your thoughts now you've been working with this roaster awhile. Looking to get one. Was going to get he Huky but stumbled across your review of the BC 600 and has changed my mind toward it. Thoughts?

Still love it, great roaster. So much more enjoyable to work with than the Huky. Much more power for larger batch sizes, less klunky and no beans lost in the chute. The size is perfect for me. I really wanted something bigger than the Huky but not as big as a North TJ-067. I roast for friends and family and can do two 10 oz bags per batch with ease, compared to just one on the Huky. Plus it is so much nicer for back to back roasts. It's very controllable but requires a little different technique than the Huky (only really an issue if you are switching over - as there will otherwise be a learning curve with either machine). Randy at Buckeye was a good guy to work with on the purchase. Happy to answer any other questions you might have.

FYI, there is another very similar roaster you may want to consider called the Arc Roaster. I think there was a thread on HB on this one as well.

keno wrote: FYI, there is another very similar roaster you may want to consider called the Arc Roaster. I think there was a thread on HB on this one as well.

Ken, it looks like the Arc roaster from Crop to Cup is very similar to the Buckeye BC-2 (fka BC-600), with some notable differences:

• Costs about $500 less
• Control panel is quite different
• The Arc has a fixed speed drum, while yours is variable

Could be the burners and other bits are different as well...but definitely looks like they're from the same manufacturer.

Couple of questions:

• Did you ever get the burner stop/start thing fixed, or are you still turning way down but not off?
• Were you able to get the airflow more graduated for better control?

Would be nice to see pretty detailed comparative reviews of the North, Santoker, BC/Arc, and other Chinese roasters in this size/price class, but perhaps at the end of the day, the most important thing will be the level of support and service available in the States (or wherever they're being acquired).

Looks like very similar to HB Roaster https://world.taobao.com/item/219585878 ... wEM#detail

Balthazar_B wrote:Would be nice to see pretty detailed comparative reviews of the North, Santoker, BC/Arc, and other Chinese roasters in this size/price class, but perhaps at the end of the day, the most important thing will be the level of support and service available in the States (or wherever they're being acquired).

At this level I'm skeptical about a detailed comparison. In the end roasters with good gas and air control and variable speed drum in this class would be controllable, so it comes down to capacity preferences where the person roasting makes the most difference.

Balthazar_B wrote: Couple of questions:

• Did you ever get the burner stop/start thing fixed, or are you still turning way down but not off?
• Were you able to get the airflow more graduated for better control?

I haven't tried shutting off the burners and reigniting in quite a while as I've worked out a routine and profile that works fine with just turning the gas all the way down. The burners stay lit and put out very little heat. If I charge a 700g batch at 380-400 F it turns around at about 190-200 F in approximately 1:10.

On the airflow the fan speed control sounds very similar to the North roasters with a limited range in which it is really functional. For instance, on mine it turns on somewhere around 20-25% and then it increases up to around 40%. Beyond 40% there doesn't seem to be much difference. I've learned to adjust the airflow mainly by sound. In any case it's much better than the Huky which seemed to be easily affected by chaff in the collector since it didn't have a cyclone.

Agree with Gary's comments that choice should probably be dictated mainly by size, price, and service since they are all fairly well controllable. Each is a little different and you'll need to experiment and learn on whatever you choose.

Thanks Ken for the review. I've been contemplating this roaster for a while now. Where do you think your roasters sweet spot is size wise now after using it for a while ? Also with the stock thermocouple position what do you think the minimum batch size could be while still getting a consistent BT reading. Thanks again.
Cheers

I think the sweet spot is in the 600-700 gram range. I usually do 700 gram batches. I haven't played around a lot with smaller batches but I do get reliable probe readings at 300-350 grams, but it is more sensitive to heat and air changes with smaller batches. I really haven't bothered trying to roast smaller batches than 300 grams so can't say for sure but I don't think 100 grams would give good probe readings. Which doesn't mean you can't roast smaller batches like that - you just need to roast by roast milestone (color change for dry, first crack, second crack) as many people do with sample roasters.

Thanks, Definitely seems pretty capable and not under powered what so ever.