is there someone else who has fortis with solid or perforated drum?

I just purchased one with perforated drum via E Bay. I will share my experiences once it arrives.

OldmatefromOZ wrote:You said you are surprised they are using a dryer vent for forced ventilation? What do you mean by dryer vent? as in a clothes dryer?

I use one of these chaff collectors / coolers, it has a very powerful centrifugal fan with infinite adjustment.

I think it's the dryer vent ducting, which seems odd to me too. It doesn't look like it is even metal.

Yes thanks, I ended up working out what was being said and from what I can compare it to here it seems slightly more robust (thicker) aluminium flex style ducting, compared to a standard clothes dryer vent kit from hardware store.

My ET do not go much over 200 degrees Celsius, so it is probably borderline ok. Hundreds of roasts without a problem, as mentioned earlier I think if roaster / batch size is larger it could be getting risky fire hazard.

The vent hose is all metal, flex aluminum. No danger of fire. It's a bit tight and difficult to fit to the ports, but a little patience pays off with a clean fit.

I'm still getting used to the roaster, so no real reviews to post yet.
Briefly: They trier doesn't turn well in the trier port, so I'll have to sand/file things to fit a little better there. The damper underneath the roaster could slide a little better, but it works okay. Other than those relatively minor issues I really like the roaster. Seems to be working well, and I'm slowly figuring out how to roast with this as I like.

Next upgrade will likely be a gas burner and propane tank with pressure/flow monitoring.

DanoM wrote:The vent hose is all metal, flex aluminum. No danger of fire. It's a bit tight and difficult to fit to the ports, but a little patience pays off with a clean fit.

It must be aluminum foil to be able to crinkle like that? I did look up a bunch of these ducts last night to understand more, but I found none that were rated to coffee roaster ETs/METs even though they are aluminum foil, so I'd be reluctant. I'm about to take the plunge on a roaster so I'm absorbing like a sponge here, trying to figure out what is important to me and what isn't.

Best of luck with the new roaster adventure.

I received my Fortis today in California. It was well packed and there was no damage. I purchased the perforated drum model as well as the chaff collector/bean cooler. It got here within 4 days of ordering it via UPS and so far, I have not been billed for taxes, customs duty or tariffs. I did not receive the bean cooler bowl which I believe I should have. I have contacted the E-Bay seller to inform them of this. The communication from the seller in Korea has been excellent to date. I have not heard back yet on the missing part but it is the weekend there.

I was expecting a Center 301 but it came with the 306 and the usb pc interface cable. I had it running on artisan to see if i could and it it seems to be connected. I have never used artisan so I still need to learn how to configure it.

I also received 4 ac plug adapters so I can plug it in to U.S. power supply. There are only the drum motor and the chaff collector to plug in so I have 2 extra. Everything powered up ok and it is a lot quieter that I had expected. Also, the videos and pictures I have seen online of the Fortis make the chaff collector/bean cooler look a lot bigger than it actually is. I suspect it is because of the dryer vent hose that I am used to seeing is much larger in diameter than what is needed for the Fortis (2" and 3"). I have a propane burner on the way and all the connections, regulator, needle valve and pressure gauge so I can control and monitor the gas. I also need to build a window vent and room exhaust as I will be setting it up in my downstairs office.

One thing that I noticed on my Fortis that is different from the pictures shared by the originator of this thread is the oval vent holes at the base of the unit where it sits on the stove are not there on mine. Any speculation from anyone as to why they would change that? (As a side note, the original thread/review here was a major influence on my decision to purchase this particular roaster. Thanks pcivic!). I had been dreaming of the Mill City TJ-066 because it seems like a very fine roaster but the price tag was holding me up. I had been searching for a less expensive option that had the control and features that I want when I finally found this review.

That is about all that I have to share at the moment. I hope to have everything up and running next week and I will try to at least get some pictures posted or I might get ambitious and capture some video.

DanoM wrote:The vent hose is all metal, flex aluminum. No danger of fire.

You: I thought it was ok, you understand right?

Insurance Company: was the product rated for how you used it?

You: That matters?

IC: Make your check out to: ____________________.

I ran a couple of seasoning roasts and then this 500 gram Mokka Java blend yesterday.
I am still tweaking my settings in Artisan. Everything on the Fortis seems to be working the way it should.\
I'm very impressed with this roaster so far. I have a lot to learn yet. Pictures coming soon.

Tonefish wrote:It must be aluminum foil to be able to crinkle like that? I did look up a bunch of these ducts last night to understand more, but I found none that were rated to coffee roaster ETs/METs even though they are aluminum foil, so I'd be reluctant.

The previous owner of my roaster (2.4kg) found that the cheaper ducting melted - at one hardware chain we have access to there is flexible aluminium ducting rated from 80c (resembles the OPs pic) all the way up to 200C, which is quite a bit more rigid.