Thanks to the many huky owners here who have contributed so much. I'm just putting together my order for mr. li. I intended to keep it pretty simple without a lot of extras, thinking I would use my Wolfe gas stove as a heating source with one drum option (solid). But I'm not entirely certain that the huky will work well with my stove, so I thought I should buy his lpg stove as a plan B with the extra perforated drum as well, since this is what he actually recommends. Then, an extra tray, motor, fan, thermocouple with thermometer and usb and suddenly I'm up to about $1800. It's still less than half of some of the other roasters I've seriously considered, but I'm wondering if I'm going overboard on the 'keep my options open' front.
Any suggestions/advice from other huky purchasers would be appreciated.
Thanks, Barry.

Hi Barry,

Most of the people on Hukyforum use only one drum type. There is very little switching, because it's hard enough to learn how to handle one. The solid drum seems to be easier to handle than the perforated. People like it. And with more Huky owners out there, it's getting easier to find parts for sale (say you wanted to buy a perforated drum). So if you just go with the one drum and motor, that'll save you a couple hundred bucks.

Extra tray and fan are mandatory. Monitoring more than 2 temperature readings is not. A cheaper 2-input thermometer will work fine. Save that money and get a Variac from Amazon ($60) for your exhaust fan.

I really like the IR stove. My concern with using a cooking range is that you'll have to bring your whole setup into your kitchen whenever you want to roast, which is a hassle and is messy. Also, unless you install a gas pressure gauge on your stove, you won't be able to repeatably set your heat input, and you won't be able to implement the advice of other Huky users who will be quoting you gas pressure values for their IR stove.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. That advice makes a lot of sense, and it will save me some costs. I've registered for the huky owners forum but am still waiting for the moderators to approve me.

there is a used one for sale on the huky forum with everything you listed and more.

+1 for only one drum, you'd have to be a Jedi to master both. Also, make sure it is clear in the email you want the BT and ET (MET too if you ordered it) to be thermocouples. Much better for logging than the analog thermometer.

Also, where do you plan to roast? If indoors, equipment for ventilation is a must have. (That would include the base bowl fan attachment from Mr. Li as well as ducting you have to purchase elsewhere.) You would be surprised how much smoke this machine kicks out on some 1lb batches.

bgn wrote: I've registered for the huky owners forum but am still waiting for the moderators to approve me.

There is no one currently awaiting approval, so check your spam file if you haven't received your notice....

As someone who originally thought she wanted both drums and both motors, and decided that was too many, I am the poster child for Jeff's comments. I have decided to stick with the perforated/slow motor. Although it appears to be true that the solid/fast configuration is easier to control (or maybe because of that???) I find the perforated/slow configuration more appealing. It is in fact how the original HUKY was designed.

Enjoy the journey.

P.S. I just went back and read something Jeff said, and I disagree slightly about the need for thermocoupling. Having three is just better....more....more fun. And using a Phidget 1048 with Artisan is a pleasure. I vote for getting the whole picture of what is going on inside your roaster. It's true that it isn't necessary, but it makes it more educational and more FUN.

Yeah I'm biased because i already had a TMD-56 and didn't want to shell out another $100 for the Phidget. I'd monitor MET if I could (it's a little weird having an extra thermocouple just dangling there), but I get by with just ET and BT.