Very well said drgary...I forgot how frustrating it was to roast a few lbs of coffee in one setting...Took forever...Even trying to roast small batches of different origins took forever...I can't possibly think of one positive reason where the hottop is better than the Huky...In my opinion the hottop was priced high even before the increase...Now it's just ridiculously overpriced and not on par with the quest and/or the Huky.

johnny4lsu wrote:Yes.. Full power and full control...I understand your limits but being that these 2 roasters are much closer in price I'd figure out a way to vent. Just my opinion from owning both.

ETA: using the ir burner that comes with it works great for your heat source.

Could you tell me a bit more about the IR burner that comes with it? Is it electric or does it need an LP source?

One area that I could place it is in our spare room with windows. Very easy to set up a folding table. Place a window fan for exhaust/vent, perhaps even in the winter. When done, break it down and put away. Could this plug and play scenario work with the Huky?

Thank you all for helping me explore the different options. I really appreciate it.

The IR burner is the stock stove that you can order with the Huky.. It really works well.. I'll grab a pic for you in a few...It does need a propane source.

ETA:

Here is my setup with the IR Burner


Here you can see both of my heat sources...I use both the stock IR and a direct flame...Both work well

So to understand, this post is about which roaster to buy as your first roaster, correct? While I'm certainly no pro and have only been roasting for about 1.5yr, if I'm being honest, it seems a little odd recommending someone get a Huky or Quest or something else that will allow you to burn your house down as their first roaster.

There are so many variables in roasting, and the full manual roasters give you control over all of them while logging those variables in real time. I feel like if I didn't know what I was looking at, it would be overwhelming. Unless I had a mentor or took classes or something.

After 16 months going from popper > modded popper > Behmor > Behmor +, I just now feel like I'm finally at a place where I am ready for the full manual control of a Huky.

Perhaps as a simple alternative, something like a Freshroast might be best suited to the needs of a beginning roaster? I will also say that the Behmor with the + panel allows you some degree of control over the roast, particularly with small batches. I feel like I've learned a ton on it. It also has a smoke suppression system that works quite well for indoor roasting.

That's a good cautionary note on safety and smoke output. With home roasting there is the possibility of chaff fires or worse, if the roast goes too far the beans can ignite. Lack of thorough cleaning can create another fire risk. Even with the equipment just recommended, you at least want a fire extinguisher on hand, very adequate ventilation and a safety plan if the chaff or beans ignite.

My early roasts were outside and far enough away from the house that even if things got out of hand a fire would be isolated and ventilation was a non-issue.

I invite others to chime in about the learning curve of starting to roast and essential safety precautions.

I agree to an extent...My popper, behmor, hottop stage was a complete waste of time and money...I learned very little about roasting.

It may be wise to supplement his new machine with a popper to use to get his feet wet for 15-20 roasts.

I wish that I would have went that route without going behmor and hottop.

jalpert wrote:So to understand, this post is about which roaster to buy as your first roaster, correct? While I'm certainly no pro and have only been roasting for about 1.5yr, if I'm being honest, it seems a little odd recommending someone get a Huky or Quest or something else that will allow you to burn your house down as their first roaster.

There are so many variables in roasting, and the full manual roasters give you control over all of them while logging those variables in real time. I feel like if I didn't know what I was looking at, it would be overwhelming. Unless I had a mentor or took classes or something.

After 16 months going from popper > modded popper > Behmor > Behmor +, I just now feel like I'm finally at a place where I am ready for the full manual control of a Huky.

Perhaps as a simple alternative, something like a Freshroast might be best suited to the needs of a beginning roaster? I will also say that the Behmor with the + panel allows you some degree of control over the roast, particularly with small batches. I feel like I've learned a ton on it. It also has a smoke suppression system that works quite well for indoor roasting.

You bring up valid points. Even thinking about the Huky has me thinking outside the box as far as where I would put it. Invention and solutions born out of necessity. I have a small shop in my walkout basement where an extinguisher is no more than an arms length. Plenty of light, clean, lots of outlets and even an overhead, very fine particle dust collector which is rated for a room twice it's size.

Setup aside, does Mr. Li provide setup instructions and more importantly, some general guidelines to get a roaster started? In other words, could a complete newbie buy this roaster and learn how to use it effectively and safely? Maybe this would be a great question in a new thread?

Doubtful that Mr. Li would provide instructions, but you could probably start off with the FAQ that's sticky-linked at the top of the forum and spend a few hours there before you roast. There are lots of other posts about using the Huky as well.

I mean honestly the Huky would probably be fine for your first roaster, if you're the kind of person who is willing do the trial-by-fire thing (no pun intended). There's some merit to starting slow, learning, and upgrading. But another part of me has been thinking "why the hell not." If you're absolutely sure you want to learn about photography, buying a $1500 DSLR and a copy of Photoshop and then going out and taking a bunch of photos isn't an awful idea. So why not get a Huky?

The only issue with roasting on a full manual machine is that you have to plan ahead of time what you're trying to achieve (this is not really true with an entry-level consumer machine, which typically is far simpler and has presets). With a Huky or Quest, you'll need to set a target drop temp, a target time to end drying, target time to 1Cs, target 1C length, and target end temp/time. And you'll need to adjust your inputs (gas pressure, fan, damper) on the fly to hit your targets. So if you're willing to read up and put in the work beforehand, the Huky could be a pretty awesome way to learn to profile because it has so much control.

jalpert wrote: With a Huky or Quest, you'll need to set a target drop temp, a target time to end drying, target time to 1Cs, target 1C length, and target end temp/time. And you'll need to adjust your inputs (gas pressure, fan, damper) on the fly to hit your targets.

With the exception of adjusting gas pressure & a damper this is exactly what those of us doing manual roasts with a Hottop B do for every roast. If someone owned a Hottop B, was interested enough to install BT/ET thermocouples & learned nothing about roasting it wasn't the fault of the equipment. The nice thing about starting out with a Hottop is that you can use the built in features to get an idea of the process before jumping into full manual mode. Once you have some experience the machine is easily modded to improve roasting performance.

That said I bought an HT-P as a return for $550.00 in late 2008. Used it for a few months & swapped to the B panel. With the current price being twice what I paid for mine it makes the decision of what to buy in that range much more difficult. How much does the Huky cost with the recommended accessories/spares? Both motors, spare motor housing, both drums, better stove, propane set up? $1500? More?

JohnB. wrote:With the exception of adjusting gas pressure & a damper this is exactly what those of us doing manual roasts with a Hottop B do for every roast.

Oh yeah, sorry, forgot about the Hottop. Same deal there on the B, obviously. Although honestly, I have to say I have trouble with the price/value of the Hottop. If you can get a Huky for $1300-1500, or a Quest for $1350, the Hottop B at $1100 isn't quite as attractive.