The popper's motor is for fan, no need to stop things for that one. Get a dimmer for the heater, should be a simple job.

I've never modded a popper (but did my IR2, with a lot of help!) so can't say much about it. Just pick an enough powered popper and ask for help. . . plenty of people on CG have done so, I'm sure they'll help you get done with the mini-project.

. . . . that is if you don't go for this lovely thing and, of course, report back

It may be useful to read the thoughts of someone who bought one. Link goes over to CG thread.

The M3 is attractive and rugged. And manually controlled. And probably quite capable.

I was greatly encouraged by Arpi's recent purchase and the contribution he made in the CoffeeGeek forums, it made me feel more secure. Thanks Arpi for sharing your experience with us.

orwa wrote:What is the effect of being able to circulate hot air rather than to inject new hot air? does it help for example conserve the water content of the bean through roasting for example?

I am no expert here, but I've understood that it keeps beans from drying too much and circulating smoke back imparts some nice flavours on deeper roasts. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

orwa wrote:I am counting on the fan to cool the beans. I am unsure as to how effective this system of cooling the beans is.

In my opinion, as long as the roaster allows you to dump beans out right after the roast cooling is not an issue in home use.

I asked about the warranty and it seems that the manufacturer is pretty confident that their roaster is too rigid for the home use. They said that they don't provide warranty since they don't have a local distributor in my place but it was "no problem" to send me the parts "for free" within a one year of the purchase, which is similar to the assurance the HotTop provides to me.

Then, I asked about the possibility of damaging the element in case it was operated at the maximum power while the airflow is at its minimum, the answer was that the roaster has a 45-minute roasting timer, and that the element could withstand such a worst-case scenario for the longest possible roasting time allowed by the timer (45 minutes). Furthermore, what I understood of his message is that the minimum fan speed is not totally off, that is, that the fan has minimum operating speed that is safe to the heating element.

Hi

The drum motor for the Quest M3 roaster is this one:

TUNG LEE-ELEC Co M206
http://www.tunglee.com.tw/e-htm/all-p3.htm

2 = 60mm
0 = round shaff
6 = 6 watts

The heating element (8516) could be for cooking stoves or something like that. When I google it I get many hits for that number (8516). http://www.google.com/search?q=8516+Electric+Heating+resistor

I made a fast trial manual that will be improved with time. It can be download here:

http://questm3.googlegroups.com/web/q3manual.doc

Cheers

You have to love a manufacturer who suggests insulating the drum and adding PID as enhancements. Definitely playing to this market.

"Unofficial", ehm ehm...

another_jim wrote:You have to love a manufacturer who suggests insulating the drum and adding PID as enhancements. Definitely playing to this market.

Sorry, I may have gone too far and I should have call it 'Arpi's manual.' The manufacturer is not involved in this. I did all myself to help collect/gather information.

Cheers

Arpi, I just watched the youtube video of this roaster and 15 minutes into the roast it had not yet reached 400F on the temp probe. Is this consistent with your usage?