Dear Readers and experts alike.

I am getting good simple roasts with 4-5 minute sometimes 6 for decaf.

My ? is am I doing this correctly, fill bin and then POP roast or does one bring the chamber up to heat, say 250 degrees then add the "beans."?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Start with the popper cold. Slightly reduce your load to get roasts in the 7 to 9 minute range (less beans = slower roast -- watch out for stalling, more beans = faster roast -- watch out for charring). This is the optimum time range for an unmodified popper.

another_jim is right, like always. Less beans to make it slow. I wonder why. I think the air is maybe blown faster, as when you change the speed of the fan, it has the same effect.

But I think the best is to separate the heating circuit from the motor of the fan so you can control the heating. The problem is that the curve of temperature from a popper without modification will look like something heating fast at first, and then slowing down to get to a maximum temperature whereas other roaster will look more linear. Loading differently with change the overall speed of roasting, but not really the shape of the curve.

Do not take my advice as very professional as I start as well. In practice I tasted the difference, but it may be flowed by the fact I am also learning the whole process in the same time.

Yeah, if you modify the popper, there are a bunch of different ways to go, and the sky is the limit.

But if you are just getting your feet wet; it's best to just roast and learn how the beans change. With poppers, people are tempted to load them up -- this gets faster roasts with more beans, therefore, really good throughput, what's not to love? The problem is that a four to five minute roast isn't all that good. But even with an unmodified popper, an eight to nine minute roast will closely approximate the basic Sivetz fluid bed profile an give you a very acceptable cup.

Valentin has it right: As you reduce the load, the air flows faster over the same heat source, so drops in temperature. This slows down the roast.

To have even more flow at the beginning and then to linearize (or flatten) a bit the curve of the profile, it can be a good idea to stir with a chopstick.

ValentinDavid wrote:another_jim is right, like always.

Ain't that the truth

ValentinDavid wrote:But I think the best is to separate the heating circuit from the motor of the fan so you can control the heating.

My feeling is it's better to keep the fan constant for constant agitation and control the power input for the heat. Jim

Dear readers and experts.

Jim is correct, I am using the plain old popper approach, no mods or add ins.

I do have a very long extension cord i will apply and yes I have been LOADING UP the beans in order to get in and out of the roast cycle. 15 min and i am done.

I am going to try .5 the dose of beans and the extension cord trick...one trick pony since that's all i have.

Thanks you again again and I am trying to get to the 7-9 min roast but to no avail.

$$$ and sense say sometimes good enough is enough.

I have great success with Green Uganda, Zimbabwe (sp??) and mixed with 1/2 Guatamalean hard bean decaf.

The decaf smokes quicker and is a longer roast profile.

I do aggitate the beans a lot during the shake cycle.

I tried the add the beans at the 250 degree mark v. cold and it makes little difference.

My problem is the popper gets to 300-350 degrees pretty quick read: beans dark to snap crackle pop 2nd crack at about 5-6 min...then I pull them.

7+ and they char.

Thanks again for the consult.

I suggest only making 1 change at a time. If you decrease bean mass and add an extension cord you may have trouble completing the roast. Start with bean mass and see how it goes. If it is still too short, then add the cord.

1/2 the dose probably won't fly (i.e. it will flym, right out of the popper). Instead of the beans hardly stirring at the start, they should be moving steadily, but with great deliberation. Usually around 20 grams less will do the trick. A cheap 500 watt lighting extension cord will also slow the roast. This is electrically unsound, since the cord should drop enough voltage to feel warm to mildly hot to the touch, otherwise it isn't working -- just make sure the plugs don't get smoldering hot.

cafeIKE wrote:My feeling is it's better to keep the fan constant for constant agitation and control the power input for the heat. Jim

I agree. I am sorry, if what I said made think I was doing the opposite. And specially if the fan is off and the resistor is heating... you might just burn your house.