After much wrestling with the crate, and the help of a good friend, I now have a USRC sample roaster sitting in my house. I honestly can't believe that I own this thing.

Peering into the crate:



Now we are getting somewhere:



And finally, set up in the roasting cave!



My first order of business tonight was to set up the exhaust venting, which is mostly done. (I just need an adaptor so that I can run the ducting out the window without letting all of Florida's insect population inside.) Tomorrow I will be off in search of a decent propane set-up. It is KILLING ME that I can't roast on it yet, but I guess it is good for me to practice being patient for a while.

It's beautiful! I'd have a hard time not sleeping in the garage tonight if I were you

BE SURE you get the right regulator. I ruined 2 gauges on my roaster with my first regulator... And congrats! You should enjoy that roaster for many years.

Nice color...

I know who to visit first in Tallahassee the next time I make it up! Enjoy.

If you don't already have a regulator, call USRC and talk to Dean or Paul (not Roger!) and ask for a recommendation. Get the real deal from a propane supply company as opposed to trying to make a BBQ regulator work. Propane supplies sell tanks and gas cheaper than big box stores, so you'll start making some of the money back for the gilt-edged regulator right off the bat and in five years or so...

In the meantime, congratulations and welcome to the madhouse!

Rich

Congrats!! You are there for a treat!

I talked with Dean while I was at the factory, and took a lot of notes. I asked specifically about the propane set up, and he gave me some specs to look for. My plan is to contact a local propane company and see if they can hook me up.

As much as I want to get roasting ASAP, I was able to resist the temptation to buy the sort of propane gear they had in stock at lowes. That looked like a disaster waiting to happen...

Sounds like you got it figured out. Get it going!

This is the one we recommend.

http://millcityroasters.com/shop/roaste ... regulator/

It's adjusted for 15" WC and 175k BTU.

I'm not suggesting you order from me, but it's the best we have found for small scale coffee roasting. We have them assembled specifically for our 1 KG roasters.

It is a very good idea to leave the tank and regulator outside, but I'm pretty sure everyone has beaten that horse already.

Google MEGR-291 and you'll find them easily.

Steve

Edit: BTW, the Lowes regulators aren't a disaster, it's just that they are fixed at 10-11" WC, have very small diaphragms and therefore are more prone to icing especially with small LP tanks. This was exactly the reason we went with a commercial quality 2-stage model. We quickly found out that the extra gas flow allowed us to recover from a mistimed drying or development phase (that would be pooched to you, Dave) with impunity.

To put too fine of a point to it, you buy a commercial drum roaster for capability and flexibility. You probably want a regulator that expands your options, not limits them.