After all the studies about seasoning roasting drums we still have many wondering. I know ten or fifteen years ago over on HR there were several studies and always pointed toward big advantages of seasoning.

Slickrock said:
[quote]For the solid drum seasoning the outer side of the Huky drum, it made a huge measurable difference with my testing. /quote]

My Huky T left Jamaica NY yesterday heading my way. First step is assembling it followed by lots of seasoning of the perforated drum. Bring it on!

Could someone pls point me to info on drum seasoning, tried searching on HR but no thread with seasoning in the title popping up...

Slickrock linked the thread earier on in this thread, but here it is again: Drums with metal finishes are a poor choice for thermal radiation

Oops, but thanks! Confirmed what I also found on my Illy can roaster (just finished two 3oz roasts, both came out quite nice..think I'm starting to be able to predict how the result will be after a couple of days rest) the browned outside transfers heat a bit better than the aluminium shinyness did.

slickrock wrote:Lot's actually, that's germane to your proposed setup. I fully documented my adventure of integrating the Huky with a stove cooktop burner here, way back on the Huky early-adopter days. Turns out for most Huky adopters, this approach was more the exception than rule, as most seem to use the stock IR burner. If you want to take up cooktop integration, take heed to the challenges I chronicled in the linked review, namely the height of the cooling fan and lake exhaust pipe adjustment (though I think some of this may now be solved with the new t-coupling apparatus and with what now looks like an adjustable collar setup ).

Let us know how it works out.

Hey Joel thanks a lot for stepping in here. I have actually seen your post few weeks ago and I must tell you it was after reading it that I made up my mind and decided to get the Huky.

Regarding the height issue, I have questioned again Mr Li, as he initially mentioned to me it wouldn't be an issue, and I'm still waiting to see what his reply will be.

Also, I wanted to ask your opinion about operating the Huky without a Heat diffuser (the shutter you have installed in your unit). When questioned about that, Mr Li replied:

Mr Li wrote:The heat diffuser you mentioned is actually a test version 3~4 years ago,
the effect of making shutter as a heat diffuser is limited since the thickness is not enough,
it is no longer producing for solid drum anymore.

Do you think this will cause me any issues (direct flame without a heat diffuser/shutter)?

slickrock wrote:For the solid drum seasoning the outer side of the Huky drum, it made a huge measurable difference with my testing. If found similar results with outer-seasoning my TJ-067 drum (didn't do similar experimentation as with the Huky, so I don't have any graphs to show). I have found that coconut oil is ideal for this purpose (and smells nice during the process!).

After reading a bit about the seasoning, I'm inclined to go ahead with it. would you have any recommendation on how to do it? Basically I understand I'll have to sand the outside of the drum with 100 grit sandpaper, then coat it with coconut oil and let it spin for a good hour (or until no smoke is produced anymore). Is that it? How many times should I repeat the process?

Thanks!!!

When mine arrives plan to take our canola cooking oil and burn in til it smokes really good. Have several pounds of old green beans from my stash. Plan to take them above vienna/french. Above this plan to let them get extra dark to point of being black(the tryer is our friend).
Don't want much fan here but have to be cautious and stay below combustion. Now will let them set for half hour and sweat a brown patina onto the drum surface.
Will use rest of old beans to learn the machine.

edtbjon wrote:If you put the Huky on a normal gas stove which is usually just about level with the area around the burner, the exhaust pipe will be too long and you have to lift or tilt the while apparatus just to empty the sieve from chaff (which is a good idea to do in between every roast, to maintain a consistent airflow).

Hi Bjorn, as I've mentioned above, this right now (the height issue) is my biggest concern. Do you know for a fact I'll have to lift/tilt it between roasts, have you experienced that? As I've mentioned, Mr Li says it's not a problem, but I want to be sure and ask for a modification to accommodate for that.

Thanks!

If you get a standard length (i.e. height) exhaust pipe, it will be very close to the sieve. But my experience is with the IR burner, where there's 1/8-1/4" play for emptying the sieve if everything's level. But I don't mind being wrong.

wayneg1 wrote:I went with the 500T, perforated drum, slow motor and all 3 digital TC's installed. I ordered all of the standard extras except the drum. I ordered the 72 rpm motor as an extra. I will order the Phidget and use Artisan. Mr. Li will angle the trier 10 degrees and install the angle piece in the chute so the beans don't hang up. I was overwhelmed with info so I hope I did Ok.

Wayne

Hi Wayne, Johnny, others,

Have really enjoyed reading your posts as i work out which figuration of the Huky 500T to go for.
I'm new to roasting so plan to order most of the extra accessories so i can maximize future opportunities and play around with different configurations.

How is your set-up working Wayne? You said you planned to order the "trier 10 degrees and install the angle piece in the chute so the beans don't hang up". Would you recommend this?

If i plan on using Artisan, is it worth ordering all three digital thermometers? Assuming this gives more accurate drum/aim/bean temperatures? (This is the quotation i received from Mr. Li: a.Center 300 Thermometer(Single input)-----66 USD; b.Center 301 Thermometer(Dual input)-------78 USD; c.Center 304Thermometer(Four input)-------112 USD). Would i need to order the extra probe also?

He also talks about an "Extra motor set (Motor,Box,Switch) for 78 USD". Anyone have any idea what the box and switch are for? If not, i plan to just order the solid drum and faster motor as extras.

Final question, anyone living outside the US had to pay large import taxes when their Huky arrived. I live in Bogota, Colombia.
Thanks for any suggestions you may have!
A

Everyone has their preferences on thermocouple set-up. My personal thought is that if you are going to use artisan, then get all 3 thermocouples installed and log all the information you can. Even though I mostly use BT and ET to control the roast progression, the MT gives me an indication of how much heat energy is in the system on my solid drum set-up. As for the Center 300, 301, and 304, they are just the meters used to read the temperature of the thermocouples and can connect to a computer and artisan. If you go with all 3 thermocouples installed on the roaster you will probably want the Center 304 since it accommodates up to 4 thermocouple inputs. I do not use the Center 304, I chose to use a Phidget to connect to my thermocouples to my computer and Artisan. I am very happy with this solution.

As for the Motor, if you order just the motor, you will have to disassemble the motor box, unscrew the motor, and unsolder the motor wires to change the motor. If you are mechanically inclined and have soldering skills, it is very easy to do. If you do not, the Motor Box Set includes the whole housing along with the switch and motor already installed. This allows you to easily switch the whole assembly without requiring soldering skills. If you plan to switch back and forth, I recommend getting the whole Motor Box Set.

Hope that helps.