Anyone own or use the Diedrich #1 electric roaster? Specification fact sheet I have that is old states 110volt, 13.6 amp. Opinions?

narc wrote:Anyone own or use the Diedrich #1 electric roaster? Specification fact sheet I have that is old states 110volt, 13.6 amp. Opinions?

I am not the first one to say this, for that amount of money, buy a gas operated roaster.

No natural gas or LP lines where I live. Only gas option would to be purchase #20 or larger LP and have a gas unit converted to LP. Costs start adding up. IR-3 would be real nice. But at ~$8,000 vs. ~$4000 for roaster alone it's way out of my budget.

Curious about the Pounders time, temp and air controls. How effective, practical these controls are? At #80, 110 volt/13.8amp, 2 1/8" exhaust duct a simple modification of my current exhaust vent would allow the unit to be placed on my current roasting bench.

Catching a plane to Venezuela in couple hours. Will not be able to respond to any feedback. Minimal chance for internet access there. Hasta mes!

narc wrote:No natural gas or LP lines where I live. Only gas option would to be purchase #20 or larger LP and have a gas unit converted to LP. Costs start adding up. IR-3 would be real nice. But at ~$8,000 vs. ~$4000 for roaster alone it's way out of my budget.

Strongly agree look at gas 1 pounder! The USRC .5k model gas (NG or LPG from factory) will run circles around the Dietrich electric and not cost more but less. I know two people that have them. I don't, I have the USRC 3k, which will run circles around a Dietrich IR3 easily doing 8# greens 15 minute roasts. I have to be careful with the USRC and not roast too fast. Excellent variable burner and variable airflow control. Per roast cost wise with the USRC 3k setup LPG get 40+ roasts per 20# tank fill.

miKe mcKoffee wrote: I have the USRC 3k, which will run circles around a Dietrich IR3 easily doing 8# greens 15 minute roasts.

Is your normal practice to roast at maximum capacity? What kind of repeatability are you experiencing?


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Matthew Brinski wrote:Is your normal practice to roast at maximum capacity?

No. Right now don't need 8# roasted at a time of everything I roast or it would be around too long. For one of the 6 elements of my Ohana blend and for our house press pot to air pot coffee yes do 8# batches. And while a number of the Ohana blend elements are also roasted for whole bean SO sales use different profiles for all of them for use in Ohana versus whole bean SO sales. And all 6 Ohana elements using different profiles so none of it is pre-roast blended. Two of them using very similar profiles but with slightly different EOR temp (2f) and different 1st to EOR stretches (30sec), tried combining them pre-roast once to save time but just wasn't quite satisfied. More work roasting all elements separately but better results IMO.

Matthew Brinski wrote:What kind of repeatability are you experiencing?-

For a given bean, given batch size, given drop temp, given burner valve and given fan air flow settings at given points in a profile very repeatable results. For instance the 3# batch of IMV for Ohana yesterday I ran full automated PLC control targeting 1st at 10, end of roast 15:30. 1st right on schedule, auto-dumped 15:26. Oh gee, 4 seconds off target! Which isn't to say I have all my automation profiles fully worked out yet, some better than others. For instance the 8# Brazil automation profile batch for Ohana may need a bit more tweaking, targeted EOR 16 ran 16:25. But funny thing is when programming the profile parameters vasilated between 16 and 16:30 target and while I chose 16 the roaster decided I was wrong. When I knew the profile was running a bit behind I almost bailed on the auto-profile switching to manual roasting but decided not to.

narc wrote:Anyone own or use the Diedrich #1 electric roaster? Specification fact sheet I have that is old states 110volt, 13.6 amp. Opinions?

The amperage quote is accurate at 110 Vac. But, if your service provides a more standard 117 to 120 Vac - you'll find the actual draw to be about 12.7-12.9 amps.

The difference in use between this roaster and a gas fired roaster is the hysteresis associated with the temperature change due to the electric IR heating elements needing time to respond versus the instantaneous heat application available with a gas fired roaster. With a gas roaster, you have a "4-minute window," meaning what you did two minutes ago affects the roast now, and what you do now will affect the roast in two minutes from the time you've made the change.

The HR-1 has about a 5 minute window (2.5 minutes on either side of the change). So, you have to setup your roasting profile to the machine's response.

You can help the machine by using a Variac and keeping the voltage constant as you'll find a line voltage drop as you switch between low, medium, high. Keeping the voltage at a constant 120 Vac, makes the heating elements work much better, giving better control of the entire process.

There's no doubt that a gas fired roaster will give better control of a roast because of the ability to apply more heat faster (if needed) - but, if small size is a consideration, and a gas connection (propane or natural) is not readily available, the HR-1 is the closest you'll get to a full size drum roaster.

Would the Diedrich HR-1 be preferable to a HotTop? Of course, the price is a lot more, so I would also expect the build quality to be considerably better.

roblumba wrote:Would the Diedrich HR-1 be preferable to a HotTop? Of course, the price is a lot more, so I would also expect the build quality to be considerably better.

Preferable is a personal choice or value judgement. The HotTop is delivered via UPS or like package delivery service. The Diedrich weighs 85lbs, comes bolted to pallet, and is inside of a plywood box. The HotTop is a volume product. The Diedrich is custom built to your specifications (color, trim, cooling tray type, etc.).

Having used both, there is no way to make a comparison between the roasters - they're very different machines, although they both result in the same end product - roasted coffee. If you want total hands-on control of the roasting process - that's the Diedrich. If you want a more automated approach, then the HotTop or Behmor is the answer.

narc wrote:Anyone own or use the Diedrich #1 electric roaster? Specification fact sheet I have that is old states 110volt, 13.6 amp. Opinions?

This thread, Diedrich Home Sample Roaster; reflections on larger home roasters, from about a year ago provides some reading on the subject.