There's a reason US Coffee Roaster started actively selling their 1 pound roaster to home users, instead of restricting (or at least trying to restrict) them to professionals as they once did. It's because... y'know... money.

But despite the fact that manufacturers of roasters in the 500g to 1kg are selling to home roasters as much as they are to professionals with small dose needs, they fail to understand the market. In addition to performance, there are two things that home roasters want more than anything else from machines in the large home/small professional size range.

Those are:

• A cooling tray with a motorized stirrer; and
• The ability to plot BT and MET (or at least ET) on a computer.

For whatever reasons a lot of makers regard a stirrer as superfluous. Whether or not it's more vanity than necessity, it's extremely desirable. And I know for a fact that it forms the basis for many buying decisions.

I may only be a hobby roaster, but I damn well want my roaster to look like a roaster, and I'm by no means alone. Appearance -- stirrer and all -- is as or more important to vanity coffee-shop installations.

In terms of plotting, most of us would be ecstatic with manufacturer installed BT and MET (or ET) J or K thermocouples and standard datalogger mini-plug connectors. No doubt, computer control will also become an important feature for manufacturers who wish to compete for the market segment.

Regarding the thermocouples, computer plotting and analysis, and computer control: If we can do it at reasonably low cost with (for example) thermocouples from Omega, Amprobe dataloggers, Artisan software roaster manufacturers can certainly come up with some reasonable solutions.

BDL

You missed a big one. A usable trier that can pull an adequate sample at one time, like 9 grams, for profiling.

God yes. A decent trier is beyond important.

BDL

The big issue, probably the biggest, is the price. $6000-$13000 for 1-2 LBS roaster to use at home is outrageous. I know that lot of people buy GS/3, Speedsters and Synessos but I think for most home roasters spending that much is out of question. Even $3000 is pushing it...

If you are willing to spend, I am sure that US-Roasters will make any modifications you request, in some cases maybe even free of charge. Just ask.

On bean cooling, I have seen very effective cooling that my friend with Huky is using and to me that is super efficient and cheap way to cool beans quickly.

I agree on larger trier.

ds wrote:The big issue, probably the biggest, is the price. $6000-$13000 for 1-2 LBS roaster to use at home is outrageous. I know that lot of people buy GS/3, Speedsters and Synessos but I think for most home roasters spending that much is out of question. Even $3000 is pushing it...

This is why the onslaught of Chinese roasters has become a disruptive force. This, and the fact that home roasters are not running a business, but rather are hobbyists who can put up with the longer, iffier, and intermittent distribution and support that these channels typically entail... all in the name of good deal.

A cooling unit with stirring and all is more expensive, and to be honest it does the same job as a well engineered cooling unit without stirring. But with that said, I believe in modul based engineering. Giving the costumer a robust platform to customise the product within the giving limits of the system.

Whether you want stirring or not would be your choice, as well with usb interface and size of the chaff collector. The trier would come in a standard version and a more exclusive version where you could choose the type of wood for the handel etc. Who has not upgraded their tamper?

The hopper would be available in two different versions, full size and half size.

With a module based roaster, you could customise the roaster to meet your needs. The main base of roaster would be the same, making it possible to compare results and profiles through forums like HB.

Hopefully, I will make this happen!

TomC wrote:You missed a big one. A usable trier that can pull an adequate sample at one time, like 9 grams, for profiling.

That is really important. Bean stirrer not so much if the cooling tray is designed well. In any case, I've never felt I needed one with the IR-1 or IR-2.5.

I've got the cooling tray with separate fan and stirrer and honestly could live without it. But having a dedicated drum blower is another matter and would rather have than then share with the bean cooler. Let's say I'm ending a roast at 209c, then have to cool down to 180c for the next roast. I don't want to divert the fan for bean cooling when getting to drop temp. is more important.

A bigger trier would be nice on the 800n, there's a cast iron hub in the front of the drum preventing a longer bean sampler. What about a dedicated exhaust vent? I'm totally spoiled with that.

I have not found the need for a separate motor for a stirring or a second fan for cooling on my 1kg. My beans are room temp in under 3 min and by cutting gas to the burner I am ready to drop the next load in less then 1-2 min. Diedrich obviously knows how to make large roasters and while I at first was upset that my ir1 did not have a stirrer or a separate fan for cooling it has become a moot point now that I have actually used the machine for a few years. The IR 5 and 12 have the extra motor for stirring but understand that that is a lot of beans to draw air through, 1-6 lbs is not much surface air that an apropriate fan can pull air through for quick cooling, a company like Diedrich and USRC actually know a thing or two about roasting coffee while the more I read about many of these Chinese roasters seem to lack. The IR 5 and 12 still only have one fan for drum and cooling with only 3 settings, same as their 1 and 2.5, I don't see many small company professional complaining about this but home roasters that want their machine to be just like 50kg roasters seem to think they need all these extra motors and fans. If you really want them then the mini 500 has them as well as their 1kg on up roasters.

I even thought I wanted graduated air flow through the drum when I began my research for a commercial roaster but I know now this would only make repeatable roasts more difficult for a home roaster. While Hanks point about cooling the roast chamber quicker with a separate fan makes sense for a pro I have the extra 2min needed, I do a post weigh of my beans before being putting back to finish cooling, then I drop the next batch. When moving efficiently I do 3.5kg an hour, when being relaxed I do 3kg an hour on my 1kg roaster.

My belief of why Diedrich is now selling the IR 1 and 2.5kg roasters for much more then they used to is that it was not worth dealing with us home roasters and having to answer questions that a pro would never ask since they already have the experience to know the answers. I can't say for certain but I think the added price includes Diedrich's data logging which is capable of sending its profile to any of their other roasters, so if I had the data logging and did a roast on the IR 1 I could send it to an IR 12 that had automated roasting. I am assured from Diedrich's IRs all work in a close enough range that this info is able to go from any one roaster you have to another, not something home roasters care about but is very nice for roast masters that have multiple machines.

As for cost of 1lb-2.5kg machines that are commercial I have come to understand the cost involved, its not like Diedrich is making 10,000 ir1 a year, they are building them to order and the quality is very high on all parts. I can't speak for USRC but they where very high on my list, I just wanted a 1kg and not a 1lb. Last time I looked it looked like a quest cost $1400 for a machine that does 200g, so I needed at least 3 of them to meet my needs and honestly I am not capable of running 3 roasts at one time. The money I spent on a Diedrich was well worth it, I roast 10-20lbs a week and I do not sell a single bean. I am on vacation for the next two weeks and I roasted 35lbs for the 35 friends and family I am with. I don't even like to remember how many hours I spent getting ready for this yearly trip roasting on my HotTop. However I do think a home roaster that needs a 1kg machine is a bit nuts, I do not deny that I am. If thinking about making some money with a roaster then 2kg is the minimum to consider unless you can sell a pound for $20 or more and if you can get that I would still get a 2kg machine, lol. If thinking about a machine to install in a home that is ove 2.5kg be sure to find out gas pressure requirements before purchase, a home only delivers 7mbars to the source through the home gas lines while commercial applications can deliver more pressure, this is info I found most commercial roaster companies did not know about or if they did where not up front about. Diedrich will not honor their warrenty for the IR 2.5 or larger unless copies of the local permits are sent to them for installation.