I'm considering a new roaster and would appreciate the thoughts of the HB hive mind.My previous experience roasting is as follows:

- Stovetop - 2 or 3 attempts, messy and annoying.
- Freshroast 540 - I used this for a year or so. Occasionally decent results, inconsistent and tiny capacity were big limitations.
- Gene cafe - I think that I used this for around 5-6 years. Mostly decent results, but a couple of issues - it was very tough to tune a roast, not much variation was possible. No data, meant that replicating roasts was impossible. Capacity was also on the small side.
- Hottop 2k+ - mostly pretty good results, but a couple of significant problems. Capacity is too small at 250g. It feels very underpowered at the best of times, and really not good in the winter (I roast outdoors in New England).

I drink 1-2 pounds per week, and would like to be able to do back-to-back 500g batches. I'd prefer to roast outside (screened in porch), but could set up in the garage if necessary. I have no plans to sell, but like to be able to gift coffee. Budget is somewhat flexible, and I'd much prefer to be able to buy a full setup - no DIY required. I'd also like to be off the upgrade roundabout, and have something that will last 10+ years.

My current shortlist is as follows:

- Kaldi Fortis Plus: 500g sweet-spot, integrated cyclone for chaff. Looks like it would be user maintainable. Is the build quality good? $2650+shipping
- Cormorant CR600 - sweet spot maybe around 500g? Very well built, user maintainable. Cost seems to be ~$2800 shipped to me, including a phidget setup. Is chaff collection good? Is the waiting list 1 year long?
- Arc 800 - bigger capacity, heavier duty all around. Includes everything for ~$4500 shipped. quality appears to be very high. Would this be a useful upgrade? Appears to have some proprietary electronics in the integrated sensors, but could be pretty easily converted to a phidget setup in case the company went down.
- Aillo Bullet - Good capacity, and I like the idea of an induction roaster. However, it has a lot of proprietary electronics etc., and I'm not convinced that these things won't fail at high rates in an extreme temperature environment. Is the chaff collection good? Not having to deal with propane and propane accessories would be nice. Price is again ~$2800.

I also considered the Huky (seems like more of a hassle to build a setup than the Kaldi or Cormorant, with lower capacity); Buckeye BC-2 (seems no much of an upgrade over the Arc 800, but significantly more expensive).

Any recommendations? Anything that I should have considered, but missed?

Cheers.

Too bad you don't live near Reno NV - the Buy/Sell section has a Buckeye BC-1 for sale in Reno for $1800. Maybe you could message him and see if he'd change his mind and ship it.

Your short list looks good. I used a Behmor 1600 for about 11 years, and upgraded to a BC-2 last winter, and really like it. More roaster than I need, but not too much overkill either.
Cormorant wait time - last spring it was ~10 months. He responds to emails in a day or 2, so send him an email with any questions. Lots of owners really like the Cormorant. Like you said, the integrated design is nice.
ARC 800, another nice option - was on my shortlist too. I talked to the company, and they were very helpful. More capacity, and steel mass, than the others on your list. But very little discussion about them on this forum or anywhere else. The company said they have their own forum for their customers.
Good luck with your search, and keep us posted on your journey.

Thanks for the info. I saw the buckeye in Reno, might be just the thing if it were closer.

How do you find the warm up time in the bc 2? I wonder if something like that, or the arc 800 would be good for me, or if it's just trading off warm up time for capacity that i don't really need.

Quest M6?

Yea, that BC-1 could be a good match for you. At $1800, adding shipping and more for packaging might be a good deal. I know Fastenal fastener stores will ship via freight. Don't know if they would have a wood crate to strap the roaster into.

I just did a roast tonite. I warmup at 2.6 kPa on the propane gauge to 450F, then set about 1.7 kPa and hold 450F for one minute. Then I set .6 kPa and let temp coast down to 400F which is my charge temp. From starting the roaster to charging it with beans is 11-12 minutes. Then 9-11 minutes for the roast. Beans cool in about 2 minutes. For roaster cool down, I empty the chaff, then run the air at full open until the BT probe is below 100F. From roaster on to off for this one roast was about 50 minutes. But once its cooling down, I don't stay at the roaster if I have something else to do. This was for one roast, and doing multiple roasts will be quicker per batch.

Quest M6 would be interesting, but has a couple of fatal flaws for me: a 15A outlet at 110V AC only outputs 1.5kW, which is less than 1/2 of most equivalent gas roasters, in addition to the slower response. This will be a big issue for me in the winter. Also, it appears that there is a total lack of chaff collection, external cooling etc. and the heat and air monitors only show current rather than power, meaning that control will not be repeatable. For the price, it doesn't seem like a good deal to me.

I also wonder a little about the capacity of the bc1 - is it really a roaster with a 1lb sweet spot, or a 1lb capacity under ideal conditions...

I can only speak to the Bullet, as I have no experience with the others. I've had mine since Feb 2021 coming off a propane fluid-bed roaster. I roast in a workroom off my garage and wanted to get away from propane bottles in the workroom, so short of running natural gas (which I may do at some point) I wanted electric.

I'm not overly concerned about the electronics. The bullet has been out for a few years, and there have been some who are using it in a cafe environment, so it seems to hold up well. I have not had a need at this point, but I have witnessed the excellent customer service the folks from Aillio provide. They are very responsive, and I believe that should I need a part they would be able to source it for me.

I bought mine from Sweet Maria's and they have always provided great customer service as well, though I have not had a need from them either.

I tend to roast 3 600g roasts back-to-back and have been extremely pleased with the results. I have a lot to learn and each session is an opportunity to experiment.

Chaff collection is, in my opinion, very good. Cooling is also very good. Build quality is excellent. .

If you want to talk Huky and ARC call Showroom and they will give you some good insight.

Thanks for the info guys. Maybe I've been too harsh on the bullet? Is cleaning a relatively simple procedure? I have an induction range and love it - more powerful and responsive than any gas range that I've used. I'm an electronic engineer by day, and appreciate the machine, but would much prefer reliability and simplicity over automation. Jimbo - did you try roasting in relatively low ambient temps, say below 50F/10C?

The huky doesn't really appeal did to it's diy kit nature, and a slight lack of capacity. Showroom seem like a good outfit, another positive in the column of the ARC 800.

I wouldn't say you were too harsh at all. Your reservations are understandable. But following the Aillio forum and seeing the response from the guys at Aillio gave me enough assurance that they would be there should I need them.

I am about due for the first deep clean which looks very straightforward and easy. At this point the cleanup after each session is cleaning a filter (actually after each roast) and pulling the chaff collector to clean. I stick the end of my shopvac hose in the collector after each roast, and pull it after the session to make sure it is completely empty. All of this is easy and takes very little time.

I have a small heater in the room as well as an ac for summer so while I roast in winter it is above 50f/10c. During the coldest months it's probably around 65f/18c. Takes a bit longer to preheat, but that's it.