Since the Blue Bell El Salvadorian Roaster on Ebay seems to leave a bit to be desired.
I wondered if any one here has played with this interesting looking contraption, also available on Ebay.
Looks a little more robust than the El Salvadorian, but looks can be deceiving.


Commercial Style Coffee Roasting Roaster Machine

Hand Crank 2.2 LB capacity, outdoor use, propane heat

Be sure to check out their Youtube Link


The commentary could use a little work.

Holy crap! 475 drop in, 10 minutes to get to yellow-green, and a beautiful briquet finish. Watch out Intelly, Counterculture, and all the rest of you top roasters, here's some real competition.

I'm in for one.

ken

Ι think it needs a motor to turn the crank,like the ones,that we have in Greece to turn Easter lambs,over fire.

Thanks to Dan for uploading the pictures.

Glad to see the video was at least good for a laugh.

Run ... don't walk from that bad boy.

Howard

howard seth wrote:Run ... don't walk from that bad boy.

Apart from what we've seen on the video - can you please explain this statement?
Do you have first hand experience with this roaster?

JonR10 wrote:Apart from what we've seen on the video - can you please explain this statement?
Do you have first hand experience with this roaster?

I guess it is possible that someone could have built a good roaster, while producing a video such as we saw to promote it.

On second thought, I kind of doubt it

ken

JonR10 - Okay, if you really want an explanation.

Does one need first hand experience of being twisted inside a tornado in order to keep ones distance?

1. You have that smoking machine there - that costs $500 + $85 (shipping) - and since there has not been user feedback yet - and because for that much, or less than that, (or a little more) there are roasters that have been tested, and which come with warranties, It strikes me as a dubious proposition to play Guinea Pig with this thing.

2. It looks really scary.

3. It also seems to play awful music when it is cranked.

Howard

howard seth wrote:Does one need first hand experience of being twisted inside a tornado in order to keep ones distance?

So you are comparing this machine to a natural disaster? Since there has been no feedback amongst folks we know then your fear is pretty much unfounded as far as I can tell. At least with tornados we have seen documented evidence of the danger from trusted sources.

Of course I'm not saying that I'm rushing out to buy one either

howard seth wrote:3. It also seems to play awful music when it is cranked.

LOL - I guess that's a fair reason right there.

I have come across the listing for this "roaster" in my travels around Ebay a few times.

$500 is a bit steep for an as yet completely unknown machine from an unknown source, however the El Salvadorian unit that has been "reviewed" here was originally marketed in a similar price range but did not appear as sturdy or come with a built heating element or any thought of temperature probes.
For all the things that make the Video the gem that it is, it does in fact show the roaster functioning, maybe not the way it should be to produce the best results.

While I nor it seem any one else here had any intention of purchasing a the Blue Bell Roaster at list price I am also not interested in being the tester of this unit, at least not at current price.

If the basic design was solid then I might consider it, then upgrade motor, better gages, and add curse control, might make for nice little hot rod.

The demo roast took 10 minutes to get the beans yellow (i.e. to around 310F), even with a drop in of 450F. The beans are dead as a doornail at any roast level after that. It could be the unit was demoed on a wimpy heat source, but it is a caution.

The El Salvador roaster that Ken had a poorly fabricated drum, which is why it leaked beans. But even if the drum had been bean-tight, the material was a paper thin aluminum.

I'm no expert in drum roasters. But it is difficult to conceive of a quality roast with such a flimsy barrier between the heat source and the bean. At least in my conversations with the roasters at Intelly, I got the impression that the heavier the drum, the better the roaster. Of course, they like the old monster cast iron Gothot roasters, so maybe there are lighter ways to design a high quality drum roaster.

The point is that the sort of information one needs to judge an unknown roaster (even for someone who knows exactly what to look for) is unlikely to be available in an Ebay auction.

Somebody buy this and tell me it was better than we hoped.

Andrew

nonopz wrote:Somebody buy this and tell me it was better than we hoped.

Andrew

Here's the deal; first you buy that El Salvadorian objet d'art from me, and I'll consider buying another experimental ebay roaster cobbled together in somebody's garage . . . .

This one looks like it is a modified turkey fryer.

ken

Ken Fox wrote:Here's the deal; first you buy that El Salvadorian objet d'art from me, and I'll consider buying another experimental ebay roaster cobbled together in somebody's garage . . . .

This one looks like it is a modified turkey fryer.

ken

I appreciate the sacrifice you have made for us all

My tax refund wasn't large enough this year unfortunately... Going to grad school doesn't really = home roaster gambles.

I think they look pretty interesting, the temps will be high neither gauge gives you a internal drum temp, and the fact that the beans look dark at finish gives some indication that a true roast rather than a bake is possible, plus at least there is a video showing it working.(should have bought it before he increased price and shipping fee) waiting to see if he posts another one for sale......