Hi,
I'm probably going to upgrade from a GC to the Bullet soon, and would love to hear from owners if you experience any big differences in roast times based on ambient temps. The only place I can roast is in a utility room that can swing between 12-27C (54-80F) depending on the season. I now use a couple of space heaters in the winter and run them a few hours to get the ambient up, but still get very different results - not surprising given the GC doesn't have an outer enclosure. What affect are you experiencing with the Bullet?

Thanks!

3gcoffee wrote:Hi,
would love to hear from owners if you experience any big differences in roast times based on ambient temps. The only place I can roast is in a utility room that can swing between 12-27C (54-80F) depending on the season. I now use a couple of space heaters in the winter and run them a few hours to get the ambient up, but still get very different results - not surprising given the GC doesn't have an outer enclosure. What affect are you experiencing with the Bullet?
Thanks!

You should have no problem reproducing results with ambient temperatures between 50 and 80 *F. I roast in a garage with the door open and in temperatures ranging from the upper 20's to 90*F. However, there is an issue that must be addressed in your profiles with changing ambient temperatures. The fan takes air from outside the roaster and circulates it through the drum. Unlike some gas roasters where the incoming air can/is heated by the gas flame, the bullet will not do that. Accordingly, increasing fan speed in different seasons can have different affects on the profiles. Adjust accordingly. You mention heaters in your roasting space. Now that winter has hit us here in NY, I was contemplating using a space heater in the area by the back of the roaster to (potentially) preheat incoming air. I believe this could work and I am going to try it.

Good luck. The bullet is a great roaster with a learning curve that is not insignificant. After 15 months and well over 100 roasts I am beginning to feel comfortable. There are several members here on HB that have been really helpful. BradM helped me a lot during my initial learning curve and he came from a GC. I was coming from 10 years with a HotTop.

That is very encouraging! I'm probably approaching 100 on the GC and not even close to getting any consistency, so at least I'll have some data this time around.

I acquired a Decent XL in October, and having extensive data during the brew process has helped a lot - looking forward to it during the roast process!

Thanks