Hank.....I enjoyed your comment about cleaning when the drop door becomes difficult to close!

I still think Jim Schulman is onto something in leaving the drop door open during the roast but it is going to change control of ET and BT. It is the coffee oils mixed with the steam generated from the beans that is creating the crud that's difficult to clean. I am at the point now where I am consistent with all roasts except the first one. I need to preheat the roaster longer for the first roast.

Although the cooling bin does an effective job in cooling the beans I believe if my time was focused on roasting and the beans were in an outboard cooling apparatus I could get 4 roasts per hour.

The Hottop is an excellent roaster but chaff containment on the Quest is a huge factor. The construction quality of the Quest is first class and the easily installation of thermocouples is a huge plus. I don't think I ever got more than two roasts per hour with the HT. Haven't tried 300g's yet but I will get to it.

I think having a backup fan on hand would be wise.

Thanks for the reply.

I found it hard to cool more than 200g of beans. I've tried 240g batches and it took some time to cool the beans. Maybe it would be better to make a cooler with some cardboard box, a mesh and a fan to spread the beans and let them cool while you prepare/start another roast.

But about the topic, I'm using it without too much worry about cleaning, as the drum is clean, only the exhaust parts get too dirty, but I'm too worried about the fan cleanness - and it seems hard to get clean.
Márcio.

Marcio.....your comment about the difficulty cooling more than 200g's could be a factor for me as well. I consistently roast 227gms.

I am going to look for a source of a small bean cooler that will contain chaff as well.

I am finding that denatured alcohol cleans the fan blades quickly and when it dries a vacuum will clean the rest of it.

Here is a handy thread for ideas on external bean coolers -

http://www.homeroasters.org/php/forum/v...orum_id=67

They are designed for cooling upwards of 4 lbs. of beans in a very short time period so they might be overkill.

To clarify, the Quest M3 is the best roaster I have ever used.

I also use denatured or isopropyl alcohol for the fan and tight areas. When you purchase, check the percentage. Walmart sells 70% it sucks. Some pharmacies sell 85%, 90%, and 98%. 90% works well for me out of the bottle.

This stuff is a GREAT cleaner for this type of application. It will not leave any aftertaste. It sanitizes through evaporation. As a general rule it is safe for the surface you are cleaning. When I had my Behmor I used alcohol to clean the inside. It did a quick great job. It would cut the goo fairly quick.

I have just began to use the dryer sheet under the chaff screen, I am not sure just how effective this is. But it does catch some of the sticky goo.

Cooling with 300g is a issue for me too. I am looking to construct a bean cooler as well. I am thinking a small fan and a colander. place the fan over the colander turn it on let it blow. Stir. I have also considered taking a box fan and mounting a fine screen on the suck side with wood sides. lay the fan blow side down on blocks of something, pour the beans in turn it on. This may be overkill but I expect it would shut down a roast quick. I do agree a external bean cooler will allow the roaster to focus on roasting.

Denatured does work better than isopropyl and what I like about it is that after it dries the vacuum will pick up the remains. I am running out and will try to get some 90%.

Dryer sheet? Under the chaff screen. When you say that you place one under the chaff screen I assume you are just laying it flat below the screen. I would have to get ones without scent to try it. The one's we have smell like a perfume factory? Jim(Another) had an excellent idea of fabricating a screen to fit over the hole where the pipe opens into the drying chamber. I think this would remove a large amount of the crud that goes into the drying chamber.

I just got a note from Shane Lewis of RK Drums. He stated he was working on a smaller bean cooler. I don't have the patience or the space to make a cooler so buying one would work better for me. It's the chaff that concerns me as much as the cooling.

Thanks for the note.
\Bob

USED dryer sheet. One out of the dryer. Even if you use a new one the scent will be blown out the vent not into the coffee. They do hold up to the heat well.

I take the screen and wrap the sheet around the screen chaff cup and drop it back in. Not very elegant but it does collect some goo. I think the was a suggestion I read from Apri.

I did 4 300g charges this morning. It took about 1:30 from firing up the roaster to shutting the roaster off. A bean cooler would have cut that time by close to 20 minutes.

Nik wrote: It's the chaff that concerns me as much as the cooling.

20 seconds into 1C run your fan up to full blast. run it there for 60-90 seconds. No chaff in the coffee.

For me this is one of the Quest's best features. I also cut the power to the elements at this point. This also drops the rate of rise a bit and allows the flavors which develop between C1 and C2 to develop a bit better.

Why1504 wrote:20 seconds into 1C run your fan up to full blast. run it there for 60-90 seconds. No chaff in the coffee.

Also a good way to drop the drum temperature if you are doing a slow finish profile. If you are finishing fast and do this, also remember to crank the heat at the same time, so the drum temperature stays high.

I picked up a box of fragrance free dryer sheets. They were 6 x9 in size and cost $1.99 for 40. I laid one over the removable plate from the drying bin and cut around the hole where the basket is inserted. I also place one under the basket and cut around the hole where the fan is. Probably an overkill but I would do anything to reduce the frequency to clean this bugger,

I think you are right that a bean cooler you could have gotten 6x300 gm loads in an hour and a half.