I'm with several others here: on the verge of pulling the trigger on a Huky 500. I've been spending the last couple of weeks brainstorming about how I would want to set it up. The adaptability is one of the beautiful things about this roaster!

I've been thinking about power sources. Right now I'd be going with the supplied LPG stove. (I had a chance to try it out with a 1 pound load, and it had no problem bringing the coffee to 1st crack in 8 minutes at less than full power.) But, I got to thinking, what about an electric heating element? I know response takes a hit, but electric is just a little more convenient than burning fuel and having to fill an LPG tank. I looked around but didn't see any mention of this idea. Has anyone thought about it? What kind of wattage would a 1 pound batch require with power to spare? Would performance take a big enough hit that it wouldn't be worth the hassle? Anything else to consider?

I would suggest getting a roaster designed for electrical heat source, like the Quest, if you want to go electrical. The Huky is not exactly an efficient roaster, rather, relying on abundant heat from gas as part of its design. You would have to throw a lot of wattage at it to make it hum at large batch sizes. It's not impossible, but you investment would climb into a territory nearing some of the larger larger electrical roasters being discussed on the forum.

Thanks Joel for the reply. You bring up the roaster's efficiency. Do you think this could be increased by covering up some of the side vents and insulating the case? This is pretty hypothetical at this point. I guess I'm looking for, what would it take to be successfully accomplished and how would it work compared to using the recommended stoves.

i haven't been using the Huky for very long (review soon! promise)

but, i'm using what is considered a 'weak' power source (the LPG IR stove that is provided).

i've found it to be more than ample and i've actually been having problems with 'too much' power! (this is with a charge of ~450g) rarely do i exceed 2.5kpa on the needle valve gauge, and i constantly find myself backing off to maintain my target RoR.

if you have a way of getting electric heating elements in decently close proximity to the drum, i have high confidence that it would perform very well with the perforated drum / shutter setup.

Jonny: the lpg may seem like an inconvenience, but, in a properly ventilated area, not really. I went almost 100 roasts before I had to swap it out, and that included a couple grilled steaks in the mix.

Not sure whether this is unique to my area, but, you could also check into swap services. For about $0.13 less than the various blue rhino sources, there's a storage company here that also does propane delivery. As long as I call them up in the morning and make sure to leave the tank in an easy-to-access spot, by the time I get home, I've got a new tank.

Chris: happy to hear you're having success.