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Homeroasters - Home Roasting Coffee Community » ALL ABOUT ROASTERS » Drum Roaster (Store Bought and Commercial)

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Kaldi Wide First Impressions
walt_in_hawaii	#1 Posted on 03/13/2017 1:17 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Just received my Kaldi Wide off the 'bay. At just over $520, great deal! ...about one third the price of a Fortis, which is what I originally wanted to try but saw this one... VERY well packed, single boxed but the box is double thickness, seems to have 2 corrugated layers so is the equivalent of a double boxed, plus serious foam inserts for additional protection. Stainless appears to be 304 through out, and most pieces are highly polished. Nice. The pieces are rather heavy, they use very thick stainless for a very robust, well built machine. I'm a little concerned that there is no forced air flow, but I've just ordered a squirrel cage Dayton to take care of that and will fabricate something for pull through ventilation as well as bean cooling post roast. The stock thermometer is surprising long and analog, so I can't do Artisan roasts with this until I can get some TCs in there. I do have a few 6" TCs lying around, and they are far too short; I ordered a couple 200mm ones and we'll see. Does anyone know where to order that long flexible gooseneck holder? Tried one seasoning roast so far, no airflow yet. The campstove I used (MSR Universal running white gas) does not have enough BTUs, the roast took waaay too long. I'll have to pick up a propane unit. Will report back in a few! But so far, very pleased with this thing; very nice quality at unbeatable price point. aloha, walt


snwcmpr	#2 Posted on 03/13/2017 2:50 PM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 925 Joined: March 03, 2011	MSR Universal? Try kerosene. 35K BTU compared to 25K. (Approximate) Try 1-K clear. Not lamp oil or kerosene alternative. Prime with alcohol, and I would prime away from the roaster. snwcmpr attached the following image: -------------- Backwoods Roaster "I wish I could taste as well as I wish I could roast." As Abraham Lincoln said "Do not trust everything you read on the internet".


jkoll42	#3 Posted on 03/13/2017 3:46 PM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 860 Joined: February 14, 2011	Awesome - glad it turned out to be a quality machine! Have you considered this or similar for heat? https://www.amazo...sic+burner It would double as a stand for roasting. I've used one for years for everything from canning to applesauce to frying turkeys and it's my main camping burner. It dials down enough to I can skillet cook essentially anything on it. I used a standard 20# tank for home use but have an adapter and as long as it's not on full blast it doesn't freeze 1# camp cylinders. As far as TC stuff I've been extremely happy in the past with stuff from http://www.omega....uples.html I would be surprised if you couldn't find what you need. Jon -Jon Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3


walt_in_hawaii	#4 Posted on 03/13/2017 5:14 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Yep, I have something very similar to that one, Jon; its about the same price as amazon, so I bought it from my local department store here in Hawaii, didn't want to wait. But now I have to wait for my TCs to get here :( So, its back to the old Poppery I for the next few days. Although I could still do seasoning roasts on the kaldi and not worry too much about quality and just watch the analog temps and my stopwatch and estimate the ROR... hmph. Depends how itchy my fingers get I guess. I got me a whole new learning curve ahead of me to learn drums, all my experience has been on the P1 and a P2. I'm gonna miss the near instant temp correction I can get on an air popper.... but curiosity got the better of me; I want to see if a drum can get better nuances and flavors out of the greens. Snwcmper, kerosene and diesel burn a little cooler on the MSRs. If you look at the specs, the boil times using paraffin, kerosene or diesel are usually a little longer on the same stove running unleaded gas or white gas; so there is actually less BTUs in kerosene. Yep, I always prime with alcohol, saves some soot scrubbing. The kaldi does fit on the universal MSR, but only just.... I keep worrying about it dropping off, there is like less than a quarter of an inch left on the brackets before the kaldi swallows the MSR (which is a tiny little ultralight campstove) and due to its weight, the kaldi seems like its teetering and swaying up there. Not the most confidence inspiring setup. The cast iron monster I got from the dept store is so sturdy I can jack up my car onto it, no problem. One thing I noticed is the rpm on the kaldi seems a bit low... I'll paint a white dot on the drum and shoot it with my tachometer and get a reading and rpt back in a little bit. Not that I care, I don't think its adjustable for rpm but maybe a variac is in order. Also, has anyone tried to install a heat isolation block on the rotisserie motor? I'm thinking of cutting up the wife's nylon cutting board... someone... stop.... me... before.... I get... in trouble!


JoseP	#5 Posted on 03/13/2017 7:32 PM
Newbie Posts: 22 Joined: June 09, 2016	throw a thermocouple in there and roast away! The motor gets hot, but it can take it. I used to do a handful of batches back to back. First few roast will tastes weird until it's seasoned a bit. The airflow is adequate, but I found that it prohibited longer finish times.


snwcmpr	#6 Posted on 03/13/2017 7:59 PM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 925 Joined: March 03, 2011	I had a typo on my post. 135K for kerosene and 125K for gasoline. Ken -------------- Backwoods Roaster "I wish I could taste as well as I wish I could roast." As Abraham Lincoln said "Do not trust everything you read on the internet".


jkoll42	#7 Posted on 03/13/2017 8:20 PM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 860 Joined: February 14, 2011	Nothing wrong with the P1 - a ton of roasts went through mine before I moved on. Heck it's been loaned to a number of people that got them into roasting. The value in that $20odd dollar popper was great. Now it's having a nice retirement in a bin in the garage -Jon Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3


walt_in_hawaii	#8 Posted on 03/14/2017 3:16 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	OK, I took out the ol sharpie pen and colored the little collar that sticks out the front of the unit (the drum's center ring that rides on the 2 bearings on the front face of the unit) all around except for a little clear space, so there's some color and nice registry for the tach to register on. Turned it on... and it clocks in at exactly 48.8rpm, + or - about 0.1 rpm... hmm, it looked slower when I was watching it. but this is close enough to 50rpm not to matter, so we are good. I haven't even checked the internals yet, don't know what kind of mixing vanes are inside the drum....


walt_in_hawaii	#9 Posted on 03/14/2017 3:25 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Just checked the inside of the drum and there are 3 mixing vanes inside, running the full length of the drum longitudinally. They are spaced 120 degrees apart and are roughly 3/4" high, simple L shaped brackets running at a slight angle, they are not exactly square to the axis; angled very slightly to push the beans forward toward the exit. But the helix is nowhere near as tight as in a huky... you'll remember this unit does not have a dump door, you have to lift it to dump the beans out. The rear face of the drum is solid, no vent holes. I have to close off the side holes in this thing, I don't want hot air escaping out the side of the unit... want to channel all the airflow out the front to catch the chaff and aerate the beans/remove smoke but control heat.


walt_in_hawaii	#10 Posted on 03/27/2017 1:44 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Sorry, having issues with downloading pics off my camera... will sort it eventually! This wkend I was able to mount the 200mm TC into place formally occupied by the stock analog thermometer. As a caution to others doing the same, the stock thread is weird... it is a tapered thread, so I thought it was 1/4 pipe thread; its close, but not. Some kinda metric equivalent... the 1/4MPT fitting I got will thread in about one turn then stops. You can get by with it, probably, but I ran a 1/4MPT thread tap about 4 turns into the mounting hole; can't go more, as these fittings are simply tack welded into place and it started to twist when cranked on them too much... The Kaldi is not fully welded because it doesn't need to be; only the corners are tack welded together. Next, I drilled a hole in the center of the brass plug fitting I bought at Home Depot (the 200mm TC is about .117" diameter, I used a #31 drill bit, .120"; a #32 bit is .116" diameter so might fit, but you'll find the TC stem is actually just a thin walled tube and not always exactly the same size... I just added a little perpendicular hole and mounted a grub screw to hold the TC tight, although probably not necessary. Will post pics later when I figure out why I can't download them! First roast with thermometry... boy this thing gets hot fast! difficult to control the heat... roast went waaaaaaaaaaaay quicker than I planned. I preheated to 400F, then cut back heat to idling and dropped the beans; held heat back until just after turnaround, maybe 1 1/2 minutes into roast.... then full throttle until 4.5 minutes, at which point I cut by 1/2. note to self; next time cut back at 3 or 3.5 minutes!! I got only about 15% development time, it just zipped through FC. Propane control is VERY problematic, would you believe I can see BREEZES that come through my porch!? they show up the graph and really wreck havoc with heat control. I think I will have to rig a windshield or windbreak of some sort. I went straight back online and ordered a low pressure guage and auxiliary 1psi needle valve for fine control of the propane feed... won't try too much more until I get these controls installed.


jkoll42	#11 Posted on 03/27/2017 4:01 PM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 860 Joined: February 14, 2011	What did you end up using for a burner walt? As far as heat shield even cardboard is fine. It's ugly but works. I use it on windy days if I'm cooking/canning applesauce, tomato sauce etc -Jon Honey badger 1k, Bunn LPG-2E, Technivorm, Cimbali Max Hybrid, Vibiemme Double Domo V3


walt_in_hawaii	#12 Posted on 04/12/2017 5:22 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Jon, used a cheap $20 cast iron burner reminiscient of the cajun ones off amazon. Here is a roast I did last night... still figuring it out! lots to learn and steep learning curve initially.... Thermometry is in place, but still building my chaff collector/bean cooler. aloha, walt


walt_in_hawaii	#13 Posted on 04/12/2017 6:24 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Oh, by the way, that load was 250g of Ethiopian Adado. The preheat on the graph says around 300F but actually, the preheat was 400F, I just forgot to hit the button on Artisan quick enough (too busy watching the temp and on the kaldi there is a lot to keep track of... you have to remove the trier or it will clog your bean drop and you cannot remove the 'box' on the front of the unit as that contains the funnel that your beans are dropped into... at the end you remove this 'box' entirely and lift the roaster to dump your beans but the box also holds the funnel and your TC so you need it during the roast). On other roasts I have done, the very end is slowed down with less temp rise... but with propane this is difficult to control, more difficult than the electric heating on, say, a P1 where I can get very fine control of how fast that last little bit comes up and can stretch it till you can see through the bubble gum. The Kaldi has more thermal inertia, so adjustments have to be dialed in far in advance and take much longer to move the curves. The low pressure gauge helps, now I can put a number onto the PSI of propane I'm dialing up and replicate it. "idling" is just under 2.... I think the gauge is registering inches of water, not PSI. Full blast is about 14 or 15 in/h20. I'm experimenting with reducing heat at 3.5min vs 4 min, and again at 6min vs 6.5min.... and another reduction just before 1C. Its a work in progress. I will post pics of the thermometry install when I get home. aloha, walt Edited by walt_in_hawaii on 04/12/2017 6:35 PM


walt_in_hawaii	#14 Posted on 04/12/2017 7:22 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	hmmm, I "flame on" and come off idling at around 1:30 but the first part of the curve looks a little lackluster. Should I come on at, say, 1:00? I think that will sharpen up my bottom turn and give a faster ROR for the first minute...


walt_in_hawaii	#15 Posted on 04/13/2017 3:00 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	This is the 'box' on the front of the Kaldi, which holds the thermometer, the tryer, and the neck that the funnel fits into for loading beans: After unscrewing the analog thermometer, I thought it was a 1/4 NPT pipe thread, so bought a 1/4 NPT brass plug: The plug only went in about 1 turn, so the Kaldi's thread must be a different thread (but close)... so I ran a 1/4 NPT pipe thread tap into it...it would only go in a small amount, about 4 turns, which I figured would be enough: The plug is then center drilled for the thermocouple, which is .117" diameter; I used a number 31 drill bit, .120": Here is the setup with the TC in the plug and plug inserted into the Kaldi, with a small setscrew inserted into the plug to hold the TC from moving: I initially experimented with a long 'gooseneck' holder to just hold the TC, but it seemed a bit too difficult to set up each time you have to add beans. The current setup is easier since its part of the 'box' and doesn't require setting up each time.


walt_in_hawaii	#16 Posted on 04/13/2017 3:31 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Starting on my bean cooler/chaff collector sort of like the ones I see used with the Huky... I found a mixing bowl at the dollar store, and a 4x3 conduit adapter from Home Depot (in the ducting section): The adapter was cut and the edge slotted: The bottom of the bowl was marked using the cut adapter as a template, then a hole drilled so I could start a jigsaw blade: The hole is cut and the adapter is pushed into the hole: Here is the bowl flipped over, the sleeve tube has been slotted at regular intervals: ...so that the little fingers can be pounded down using a wooden block: The joint is then siliconed to make it a bit airtight and cohesive. I also siliconed the joint from the inside, as I didn't want shavings of metal to find their way into the cooling beans. Next, a 4x5 adapter was found in the same ducting section that just by chance is a pretty good fit for the kaldi's funnel Again, the excess is cut off and little slots cut in the rim so it can be bent over: The joint is then siliconed similarly: That's it for now. I now have 2 ends that will fit up nicely to a standard 4" semi stiff aluminum dryer duct/tube. I have to start on the box next, which will hold the air pump and hold the cooling baskets/chaff collectors.


JackH	#17 Posted on 04/14/2017 5:08 AM
Administrator Posts: 1809 Joined: May 10, 2011	Walt, Thanks for posting this! Good information that I am sure will help others. ---Jack KKTO Roaster.


walt_in_hawaii	#18 Posted on 04/14/2017 1:08 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 133 Joined: August 24, 2016	Thanks Jack. I'm hung up for a little bit, the low pressure gauge I got works good, but it just failed after about 3 or 4 days and maybe 2 uses. Not sure why.... it cost close to $50 on amazon, so its not cheap. It goes down to about 5 in/h20 and hangs there... and appears to be reading way off now. Have to return it :( The Artisan curves I got during my half dozen roasts were on a good day, I really lucked out....no wind. I tried another half dozen roasts last night and they were all over the place, one roast the wind actually blew out my flame! and there was still a lot of daylight, so I didn't notice the flame had gone out until I couldn't revive my delta T line.... argh. I think I will have to move the setup to a very protected area if I want any kind of consistency. The wind really plays havoc with the heat retention on this roaster (made NO difference with the air roaster).

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