So I started roasting a few weeks back with a pop corn popper I got in a gift exchange.



I was finding that the machine ran to hot to allow for an even roast and, wanting control, went ahead and rewired the thing like most people seem to.



I have the heating element on a push-off/dimmer switch so that I can control the heat input through the roast and kill the heat with a click. I went ahead and put the fan on a dimmer as well, so I also have airflow control.



The cool thing about my popper body is that I was able to fit all of the electronics inside the body for a streamlined look. I also installed a mirror and light (so that I can watch the beans change while sitting down.)



I'm working on improving my chaff collection, but am really in need of a way to monitor temp to graph more data. I'm considering a thermocouple thermomotor, nestled in the beans and was wondering what other options there are to watch temperature. What did you do to track temperature curves?

I used one of these for many years and logged data manually.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/roast- ... ouple.html
Now I use the RoastMaster ipad app with iCelcius BBQ thermometer.
http://rainfroginc.com/roastmaster/data-logging/

There are several other data logging solutions as well, but I will leave that for others to explain.

To address another issue, if that is a standard light-switch dimmer to control your heating element, you may be in for a meltdown. I'm no electrician, but it is my understanding that those cannot handle the wattage of a popper heater. I and others use a router speed control, which you can get at Harbor Freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/router-spe ... 43060.html

Thanks for the quick response Andy. I've been using the Roastmaster app and manually entering data, but the iCelsius looks cool. I'm struggling with the idea of spending more on a thermometer probe than the roaster though and will probably end up building a drum roaster from scratch soon. The heating switch is a dimmer used for lighting and I was unaware that it couldn't handle the voltage. I thought that the only other option would be purchasing a variac somewhere, but I'll definitely look into what you posted as its not incredibly expensive. Thanks for the tip.