Hi all,

I've been roasting coffee for about 7-8 months now. Thanks to forums like this and great knowledgeable people I've really learned a lot, and I am drinking some really good coffee. (for now brew only) I thought I'd post this question here as I believe there are quite a few of you roasting with the Quests. Hopefully some of you went from a popper to a Quest?
I currently have a modified P1 with a router speed controller, Kill-a-watt meter to monitor voltage going to the heater, a fan dimmer, and a Fluke TC. (BT only). I've been reading a lot of the posts about the Quest and trying to learn as much as I can about it before I make the plunge. I would like to be able to do slightly larger batch sizes than what I'm currently doing (120g is my max). Is there a definitive answer to what the Quests max batch size is? I keep reading about people going way higher than 200g. The popper is pretty finicky when it comes to following a profile...I've gotten pretty good at controlling it but its still a bit of a pain. I've never roasted on a drum roaster or seen one in action. Basically, I would like to know what I can expect in general going from a P1 to a Quest?

Also I have a room in my basement that I'm going to start running electric to, insulating, drywalling,etc that will be my "roasting room". There's no issues with running the Quest indoors right? Any thoughts on running a duct out of the roaster to an exterior wall? Able to be done (on the Quest) ? Even needed? Is a dedicated 20amp circuit a must?

Thanks so much for any input/advice you can give me

So, just a number of thoughts in list(ish) form.

- Most people roast 110-125g in their quest. I'm considered a tad unusual by roasting 200g at at time and based on my experience with the Quest, I wouldn't roast more (but I also wouldn't roast less).
- If you're only doing 1 roast at a time, you can get away without venting to the outside, but you're basically cutting yourself off from one of the biggest advantages of the Quest which is back-to-back roasts. This doesn't need to be anything fancy (see my not-fancy vent pictured below. It sits in the window and I store the contraption in the basement when I'm not roasting).
- You can roast just fine on a 15 amp circuit. 20 amps is only needed if you think you'll want to play around with a lot of profiles and really want to crank up the heat. Then again, you're already running new electric and I think you'll find the cost difference between running a 20 amp line and a 15 amp line to be negligible.
- Fluid bed roasting (poppery 1) and drum roasting are totally different beasts. You'll basically be learning from scratch and you'll find the learning curve is much larger, but the consistency you'll gain will be very rewarding. I can attest to this because I went through that exact process. Normally, this is where I'd link my Quest M3 Cheat Sheet for you, but I chose not to renew my website. Send me a DM with your email address and I'll gladly send it on to you. It was my primary resource as I got comfortable with the Quest.

I roasted 150 to 200 gram batches all the time. No problems with the Quest.
I made a vent attachment for dryer pipe for my Quest. I vented it via a dryer vent in the basement.

Hi there, I recently wrote my thoughts on my 2014 Quest in this thread Huky 500 or Quest M3 Redux

Cheers

I have zero problems roasting 180g, and I might be able to roast 200g but I am lazy and use a paper cup that holds 180g measured/weighed so sometimes it is over and some time it is under. Very easy to roast with as long as you do not make big changes. Going from 200g to 150g is noticeable in the roast times.

I can do 250g in under 9 minutes (if I chose). The best thing a potential Quest buyer could do is to hit up Steven and get a better tryer handle made up, or make their own. The small sphere handle is not ergonomic at all, and you'll likely hit the hot faceplate a few times, and being slow and careful isn't fun, your focus should be on the data points, sensory input of the roast, not carefully tweezing the tryer out of the front of the roaster.

And it certainly has it's own particular learning curve, being that the electric elements are not nearly as immediately responsive to MET targets as a gas roaster, but these aren't hard to overcome. It's a tank of a roaster, build wise, well designed, portable and very accommodating to several modification options. Mine's as rock solid as the day I bought it a few years ago with no sign of slowing. EricS and Marko (MaKoMo) are great resources on probe options and fittings, so the Quest is easily supported, with modern day Ford Mustang like modular customizing options available. Of any hobby I've ever had, of single thing I've ever bought for a hobby, I'm happiest the most with the Quest. Bang for the buck, I think it's unbeatable.

I'd imagine someday soon, someone will build one that has a nearly identical design of all the small details of the Quest, but with a gas burner, with airflow characteristics similar to Probat style (or other large commercial) roasters. The Quest is quirky in that the fan has a greater impact on MET than channeling heated, convective energy thru the drum in the same way a commercial roaster does (the rear of the drum is solid, the drum is solid) so on some roasts, you'll find the fan is actually easier used just as a chaff remover and little else.

Hello,
I roast 300g of green coffee with my M3 (blackened drum and 1/2 inch ceramic insulation). I charge between 205-215°C and drop at 215°C in about 12 minutes total roasting time. I have the fan at max for all the roasting time. I pay attention to MET not to go further than 265-270°C. During the drying phase, I am dialing to 900-925 Watts, ramp up to 1200-1250 Watts and decrease to 900 Watts at 1st crack. By doing so, I get the 1st crack to 75-80% of total roasting time.
Regards
Martin

Thank you all so much for helping me out. Alastair I really appreciate you sending me that cheat sheet of yours. I'm sure it will help me out a lot. I think sometimes I get hung up on batch size when it's really not that important (for what I do). 200-250g is about double what I'm able to do now and will be just perfect. I love playing around with profiles and learning as much as I can. I keep throwing around the idea of just getting a sample roaster but that would just be nuts....I think the Quest is perfect for what I do. I'm going to order one one soon.

When you do get a Quest you might want to get the probes from EricC. Also make a loading funnel to get the beans past the top air tube.
I am also working on a cooling tray and chaff removal system, which will require another fan and vacuum.

I switched fro a P1 to the Quest. There is no real change in roast quality or capacity; but the Quest is a lot more comfortable to use. The P1 is well built, but the noise and attention level required makes doing a lot of roasts in a row a bummer.

You have people talking about roast quantity, The Quest is built as a sample roaster, this means low capacity (100 to 225 grams) and the ability to do, say, 20 roasts on a row without going nuts. If you are thinking of doing fewer roasts at higher quantities, consider a higher capacity gas roaster.