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Dan's Direct-Flame Roaster
Dan
Top  #176 Print Post
Posted on 06/15/2012 10:23 AM
Here's the completed drum with vanes, hurricane, and drive hub. I was going to fabricate a hurricane from sheet metal, but decided to just use a collander instead. I removed the base and handles, and drill out all the holes to 1/2". It's a cludge, but it should work.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr12.jpg

With the drum finished, I've move on to the cooling tray. It is made from two, 24" cake pans with their bottoms cut out except for a 1/2" lip all around. Perforated steel makes the new bottom. It has 5/32" holes. These three parts are bolted together. The agitator and its gearmotor will be installed above the tray, while the 20" cooling fan will be inserted into the bottom cake pan. This morning I worked on the little gate and chute that will be used to empty the tray.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr13.jpg
 
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Dan
Top  #177 Print Post
Posted on 06/16/2012 3:24 PM
Finished up on the cooling tray gate and chute today. Also, pictures of the vanes, there are 8.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr15.jpg

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr14.jpg
 
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allenb
Top  #178 Print Post
Posted on 06/17/2012 10:12 PM
Very nice cooling tray! Love the dump gate design.

I like the fact you're using more drum vanes than typical. Should create nice fluid bean movement.

Allen
1/2 lb and 1 lb drum, Siemens Sirocco fluidbed, presspot, chemex, cajun biggin brewer from the backwoods of Louisiana
 
Dan
Top  #179 Print Post
Posted on 06/18/2012 9:44 AM
Thanks, Allen. The cooling tray is made from two cake pans. They come in many diameters, 2, 3, and 4" deep; often used for wedding cakes, so anyone could make one of these with some perf metal from our usual sources. I used two pans, but you only really need one. I used the second tray to house the fan blade and make it a little stiffer. These are 24" pans, very large, but so I could cool 5# very fast. Here are the patterns I used for the gate, chute, and vanes.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr16.jpg
 
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JETROASTER
Top  #180 Print Post
Posted on 06/18/2012 2:35 PM
Really like the cake pans! I've been messing around with spring-forms lately. ...cheap and versatile.
Nice machine! -Scott
 
Dan
Top  #181 Print Post
Posted on 06/23/2012 12:43 PM
The best location for the dasher motor, which stirs the beans during cooling, is under the perf screen. However, on my unit, that's where the cooling fan resides, so mine hovers over the top. Luckily, I had one of those hardware store paint pigment motors. It has a nice domed cover that protects it from falling beans. Here's the pivot mechanism. From bottom left to top right they are:

1. Base, bolted to center of perf screen with three screws, acts as the lower bearing.
2. Rotor, two dasher arm at 180? onto which I'll attach the dasher blades or sweeps. The pin on the left is the axle, it also goes into a hole in the base. Note the groove milled in the top of the rotor.
3. Coupler, this connects to the gearmotor shaft. Two pins engage the groove in the rotor to turn it, while allowing for shaft misalignment.
4. Gearmotor, 30 rpm.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr17.jpg
 
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Dan
Top  #182 Print Post
Posted on 06/23/2012 1:50 PM
Moving right along, here's the completed assembly. Note the oiling port on the side of the rotor.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr18.jpg

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr19.jpg
 
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allenb
Top  #183 Print Post
Posted on 06/24/2012 1:48 PM
When I was working for a commercial roaster one of our least favorite chores was routine cleaning underneath the cooling tray and lube of the sweep arms gear motor. This required crawling inside the base and contorting to reach the lube fittings.

Overhead mounting of the drive is ingenious! Nice design and if I ever need to build one it will be similar to what you've done.

Allen
1/2 lb and 1 lb drum, Siemens Sirocco fluidbed, presspot, chemex, cajun biggin brewer from the backwoods of Louisiana
 
Dan
Top  #184 Print Post
Posted on 06/29/2012 9:33 AM
And here's the flip side of the cooler. I turned this image upside down since that would be its orientation on the machine.

The fan was scavenged from an industrial three-speed fan with high quality parts and bronze bushings. The motor is 1/3 Hp, the blade 18".

You can see the 1/4" bolt that will become the pivot so that the cooling tray can dump the load. The shrink-wrap wiring harness will go to the control box.

The fan originally pushed the air the wrong way, away from the motor. The motor was not a reversible type. Of course reversing the blade does nothing, but I figured out a way! I took the motor apart and reversed the stator winding. I have it permanently wired to high speed. I also reversed the fan blade, but that's because it was assymetrical.

Finally, I added a chaff protector to keep the motor from becoming clogged.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr20.jpg
 
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seedlings
Top  #185 Print Post
Posted on 06/29/2012 11:53 AM
Genius.

See, I would have tried some cock-a-mimi gear mechanism on the cooling fan to drop rpms to the stir vanes in order to 'save' the 'hassle' of mounting a separate little motor.

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
Dan
Top  #186 Print Post
Posted on 06/29/2012 2:01 PM
Chad, Ideally, I would have found some neat dual axle gearmotor where one end is high rpm for a fan and the other geared down for the agitator, but none where compact, powerful, and cheap enough. Luckily for me, I had both of these motors.
 
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Dan
Top  #187 Print Post
Posted on 07/03/2012 6:23 AM
Tiny update: I'm laying out the space frame to hold all the pieces together. I'm doing it full size on a half-sheet of plywood so I can take dimensions directly from it. The frame will be 1" square steel tubing. There will be LOTS of mitered corners welded together. I bought an abrasive cut-off blade for my miter box saw, I hope it works!
 
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Dan
Top  #188 Print Post
Posted on 07/20/2012 5:23 PM
Here's the finished space frame ready for bondo, primer and paint. It's mostly 1" square steel tubing. If I get a chance, I'll take another picture with the drum and cooling tray installed.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr21.jpg
 
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JETROASTER
Top  #189 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 8:34 AM
Really nice. How do you secure the work to remain true during welding?
I can't imagine the hours, but it looks great! -Scott
 
Dan
Top  #190 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 8:49 AM
Actually, the grinding took more time than the welding. Like most welders, I use whatever method I can. I have one of those magnetic 90? / 45? holders, plus all sorts of clamps. The trick is to make a few spot welds, true the piece, and then weld. What really helped was buying one of those auto-darkening helmets. In order to not burn through the 1/16" tubing, I had to make 12 spot welds at every joint. The helmet let me weld, pause, weld, pause, weld, etc., all without having to lift the helmet. It was a fun project, perhaps my largest and most intricate welding job to date.
 
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coffeeroastersclub
Top  #191 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 11:04 AM

Quote

Dan wrote:

Actually, the grinding took more time than the welding. Like most welders, I use whatever method I can. I have one of those magnetic 90? / 45? holders, plus all sorts of clamps. The trick is to make a few spot welds, true the piece, and then weld. What really helped was buying one of those auto-darkening helmets. In order to not burn through the 1/16" tubing, I had to make 12 spot welds at every joint. The helmet let me weld, pause, weld, pause, weld, etc., all without having to lift the helmet. It was a fun project, perhaps my largest and most intricate welding job to date.


Dan, what are you welding with? TIG, Mig, Stick?

From what I see, are you going to put the roaster at the very top, and the cooler under it?

Looks like you are making quite a rig there.

Len
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." ~Abraham Lincoln
 
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Dan
Top  #192 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 12:01 PM
I'm using one of those home shop MIG flux core welders. It splatters, but is a good solution for light duty welding.

Here's the unit with drum and cooling tray installed. Note the little silicone bogey wheels under the drum. These were the first parts I made for this roaster.

The drum tilts and dumps the roasted beans into the cooling tray, and the cooling tray tilts and dumps the cooled beans into a container.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr22.jpg
 
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tamarian
Top  #193 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 12:13 PM
Dan, this looks so cool and unlike anything I've seen. Very masterful! Is there an airflow? Is it needed?
Wa'il. 1 Kg PID'ed gas-fired fluid bed roaster, GS/3MPS, K10F
 
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coffeeroastersclub
Top  #194 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 12:25 PM

Quote

Dan wrote:

I'm using one of those home shop MIG flux core welders. It splatters, but is a good solution for light duty welding.

Here's the unit with drum and cooling tray installed. Note the little silicone bogey wheels under the drum. These were the first parts I made for this roaster.

The drum tilts and dumps the roasted beans into the cooling tray, and the cooling tray tilts and dumps the cooled beans into a container.

claycritters.com/coffee/bollinger_flame_roaster/bfr22.jpg


I can't wait for the roasting video on this! Wow.

Len
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." ~Abraham Lincoln
 
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Dan
Top  #195 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 1:22 PM
I'm hoping that convection current is sufficient to prevent heat build up in the drum. The back in is open, but protected from drafts by the hurricane shield.
 
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RoasterRob
Top  #196 Print Post
Posted on 07/21/2012 11:35 PM
Hey Dan very cool roaster. Very interested to see how this roasts.

Rob
VBM Minimax 2gp, 1gp Reneka Techno, 2 gp la Pavoni Pub, la Cimbali M28, SJ Maz, FB 6kg HM roaster and other stuff
 
allenb
Top  #197 Print Post
Posted on 07/22/2012 9:30 AM
I love it! This has got to be one of the coolest portable roasters I've ever seen.

I'll bet Whitmee never envisioned a direct flame on wheels.

Looking forward to video's.

Allen
1/2 lb and 1 lb drum, Siemens Sirocco fluidbed, presspot, chemex, cajun biggin brewer from the backwoods of Louisiana
 
Dan
Top  #198 Print Post
Posted on 07/22/2012 9:41 AM
Thanks, everyone. Because of the propane tank and smoke I knew this had to be an outdoor roaster. Moving it in and out of the garage meant it would have to be on wheels. Saving space in the garage meant a small footprint, which resulted in stacking the components. The end result was a dolly format. It sorta reminds me of Robby the Robot!

www.bigbadtoystore.com/images/products/out/medium/MED10402.jpg
 
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coffeeroastersclub
Top  #199 Print Post
Posted on 07/22/2012 4:19 PM

Quote

Dan wrote:

Thanks, everyone. Because of the propane tank and smoke I knew this had to be an outdoor roaster. Moving it in and out of the garage meant it would have to be on wheels. Saving space in the garage meant a small footprint, which resulted in stacking the components. The end result was a dolly format. It sorta reminds me of Robby the Robot!

www.bigbadtoystore.com/images/products/out/medium/MED10402.jpg


Brings back memories of Forbidden Planet (I think it was Robby's debut), and also an episode of Lost In Space. If you have never seen Forbidden Planet it is a must see for all sci-fi fans. Ahead of its time in special effects, starred Leslie Nielsen (when he did serious roles). The movie had lots of groundbreaking innovations.
http://en.wikiped...den_Planet

One of my all time favorite Sci-Fi movies. ThumbsUp

Len
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." ~Abraham Lincoln
 
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Dan
Top  #200 Print Post
Posted on 07/22/2012 4:49 PM
Right, Robby was built for Forbidden Planet. It was scary. I first saw it on the late, late show, back when movies weren't considered suitable for prime time television.

There is an interesting biography of Robby at WP:
http://en.wikiped..._the_Robot
 
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