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Building a 6 lbs cooler
steves
best post



My goal is to build a 6 lbs cooler for beans from my RK.
I've looked through numerous cooler designs and got some good ideas, so I went to the local used restaurant supply store to see what kind of junk they had lying around. They know me well at this store, since I buy a lot of stainless parts for home brewing beer.

Well, I think I may have a cooling tray.
It appears to be about 12", maybe 14" inches in diameter and just might hold 6 lbs of beans.

He told me that I could have the cooling tray, the milk frothing pitcher and the vinegar jar for $5 or 2 of my homemade beer. The beer it is. Total cost to me was about 60 cents.
lh4.googleusercontent.com/-whYh78vYSNo/Tvy12hLBk-I/AAAAAAAABQU/-XXNijUKAT0/s100-p-k/20111229_122828.jpg

Now to see if the tray will fit into one of my buckets...
Edited by ginny on 11/14/2012 12:04 PM
 
steves
Well, it seems that it doesn't fit into my narrow bucket.

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ua2XbvKKhr4/TvzsXMVBg6I/AAAAAAAABQg/LaJhOZhKFZw/w150-h200-k/20111229_172757.jpg

I also have a wider bucket, but it's too wide. I haven't seen the lid in a while, but if I can find it, I'll cut a hole in it to fit the cooling tray.

Now that I'm home, I took a closer look at the cooling tray. I thought it was aluminum since it was light, but there's a label on it saying that it was 18/8 stainless. It's very thin, but stainless nonetheless. Dimensions on the cooling tray is 12 inch diameter by 4 inch depth.

I'm planning on heading back to the used restaurant supply store to see if they have any blowers in their parts boxes.
Edited by steves on 12/29/2011 4:53 PM
 
seedlings
That one was nearly a home-run. Restaurant Supply is a fantastic resource to have available locally! Take a few home-brews along with your 5gal bucket and you'll find the perfect topper.

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
steves
Finally got around to putting this together.
It was so simple that I should have done this long ago.

I used a utility knife to cut the top out of the bucket and a hole saw to cut a small circle out of the bottom of the bucket.
The I touched up the lid with the sanding wheel attachment on a dremel rotary tool.

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ecUsOKKfcr8/T4BSANzPgwI/AAAAAAAABaY/VQZ1pEDtTzI/s365/20120407_103424.jpg

I used the same sanding wheel to enlarge the small hole to get the perfect size for the vacuum.

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zwHOWoDVwXU/T4BRqbRBydI/AAAAAAAABaQ/qUCL9S4u7i4/s487/20120407_103459.jpg

Here's a shot of the completed unit.

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-snwvYtseATI/T4BRQ5gRdyI/AAAAAAAABaI/YdWYuwv1OgI/s487/20120407_103511.jpg

I've tried it out with a few 3 pound roasts and it works exceptionally well. I especially like that the chaff is cleaned up.

I haven't tried it with a 6 lbs roast yet, but I suspect that the cooling tray is a little undersized. It looks like it will handle 5 lbs, but with 6 lbs I doubt that I can stir the beans without spilling them.
 
coffeeroastersclub

Quote

steves wrote:

Finally got around to putting this together.
It was so simple that I should have done this long ago.

I used a utility knife to cut the top out of the bucket and a hole saw to cut a small circle out of the bottom of the bucket.
The I touched up the lid with the sanding wheel attachment on a dremel rotary tool.

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ecUsOKKfcr8/T4BSANzPgwI/AAAAAAAABaY/VQZ1pEDtTzI/s365/20120407_103424.jpg

I used the same sanding wheel to enlarge the small hole to get the perfect size for the vacuum.

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zwHOWoDVwXU/T4BRqbRBydI/AAAAAAAABaQ/qUCL9S4u7i4/s487/20120407_103459.jpg

Here's a shot of the completed unit.

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-snwvYtseATI/T4BRQ5gRdyI/AAAAAAAABaI/YdWYuwv1OgI/s487/20120407_103511.jpg

I've tried it out with a few 3 pound roasts and it works exceptionally well. I especially like that the chaff is cleaned up.

I haven't tried it with a 6 lbs roast yet, but I suspect that the cooling tray is a little undersized. It looks like it will handle 5 lbs, but with 6 lbs I doubt that I can stir the beans without spilling them.


You will be sucking alot of heat through that hose with 6 lbs. beans. How is the hose so far? Has it degraded at all, gotten soft/melted a bit? If so you may wish to look into some high temp hose at www.mcmaster.com

Len
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." ~Abraham Lincoln
 
Dan
I would be surprised if the hose got to the point where heat upset it. While beans are going to be over 400?, beans don't hold a lot of heat because they are dry and cellulose. And, the incoming air dilutes the temps. While I like to over-engineer equipment, in this case I'd wait and see if there was a problem before spending money.
 
steves

Quote

coffeeroastersclub wrote:

You will be sucking alot of heat through that hose with 6 lbs. beans. How is the hose so far? Has it degraded at all, gotten soft/melted a bit? If so you may wish to look into some high temp hose at www.mcmaster.com


I didn't notice the hose getting overly hot. I haven't used it enough yet though. In a few weeks after cooling 100+ lbs, I'll have a better idea.
 
steves
A couple more pics... Roasting 3 lbs of a blend (50% Brazil, 25% Costa Rican, 25% Sumatra).

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nCYnRZARodI/T4GkrWUuVDI/AAAAAAAABbU/40nDHYOVGbw/s322/1.jpg

lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qjru4eWeNDU/T4GkwSIYT2I/AAAAAAAABbk/0DtXp1zRMOI/s322/2.jpg

lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e8wgNMV9IoU/T4GkssXNRAI/AAAAAAAABbc/KW0lPCU_Wv0/s322/3.jpg
 
John Despres
Very nice!! I use one very similar but with an electric stirrer so I can walk away. I'll post pictures sometime

You may notice the hose getting warm, but that's about it.

Don't step on any hot beans!:up-late:

John
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
coffeeroastersclub

Quote

steves wrote:

Quote

coffeeroastersclub wrote:

You will be sucking alot of heat through that hose with 6 lbs. beans. How is the hose so far? Has it degraded at all, gotten soft/melted a bit? If so you may wish to look into some high temp hose at www.mcmaster.com


I didn't notice the hose getting overly hot. I haven't used it enough yet though. In a few weeks after cooling 100+ lbs, I'll have a better idea.


I've had the regular vacuum hose collapse from the heat and suction, and also melt, when doing 4 pounds and up. Maybe the hose you have is thicker; however it looks like your typical vacuum hose, correct? Just plastic, no wire reinforcement throughout the hose?

Len
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." ~Abraham Lincoln
 
steves

Quote

coffeeroastersclub wrote:

I've had the regular vacuum hose collapse from the heat and suction, and also melt, when doing 4 pounds and up. Maybe the hose you have is thicker; however it looks like your typical vacuum hose, correct? Just plastic, no wire reinforcement throughout the hose?


You're right that the hose is quite flimsy, and I haven't tried a larger batch yet.

What kind of hose are you using?

I noticed in someone else's been cooler thread, they used ABS pipe from the vacuum to the cooler tray.
That might be an option for me as long as I can still swap between the ABS and the stock hose. I still want to use the vacuum to clean out the roaster.
 
JETROASTER
"Ashvac" part # M150. Saw them on-line for around 45.00$
Standard 1.25" cuffs.

I found it with one of my vendors for just under 30.00. Waiting for a confirmation.

......If it actually becomes an issue.

-Scott
JETROASTER attached the following image:
metal_hose.jpg
 
coffeeroastersclub

Quote

steves wrote:

Quote

coffeeroastersclub wrote:

I've had the regular vacuum hose collapse from the heat and suction, and also melt, when doing 4 pounds and up. Maybe the hose you have is thicker; however it looks like your typical vacuum hose, correct? Just plastic, no wire reinforcement throughout the hose?


You're right that the hose is quite flimsy, and I haven't tried a larger batch yet.

What kind of hose are you using?

I noticed in someone else's been cooler thread, they used ABS pipe from the vacuum to the cooler tray.
That might be an option for me as long as I can still swap between the ABS and the stock hose. I still want to use the vacuum to clean out the roaster.


Washing machine type hot water hose.

Len
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." ~Abraham Lincoln
 
steves

Quote

coffeeroastersclub wrote:

[quote]
Washing machine type hot water hose.


Well, I think I'm going to have to try the hot water hose.

While doing back-to-back 6 lbs roasts today, my hose melted.
I moved the bucket slightly while cooling the second 6 pound roast so move it over a foot to be less in the way. The small movement with the hot hose ended up splitting the hose. I ended up grabbing a towel and wrapping the hose to finish chilling the batch of beans.

The hose lasted for several hundred 1-3 lbs roasts, and several dozen 6 lbs roasts.
The hose is probably durable enough for someone roasting a couple pounds per week, but not 15+ pounds in a day.
 
Dan
Several hundred uses is probably a good return on the investment.

If you replace the hose, make sure its ID is about the same or larger.

Why a hose? It's not like you need movement. Why not 1.5" PVC drain pipe? Just put Furnas connectors to attach to the bucket and vacuum.
 
steves

Quote

Dan wrote:
Why a hose? It's not like you need movement. Why not 1.5" PVC drain pipe? Just put Furnas connectors to attach to the bucket and vacuum.


When I'm done cooling the beans, I use the vacuum to clean out my roaster.
A flexible hose would definitely be my preference, but I'll consider this option as well.

What are those connectors you're talking about? I googled, but didn't find them.
 
Dan
They are a short rubber connector with a hose clamp on each end. They are used by plumbers to repair broken drain lines or to connect two different materials, say a 3" cast iron drain with a 4" PVC. You can find them in any hardware store. Furnas is the brand name, but it is also becoming the generic name, too.
 
Lylabrown
"Fernco" is the brand that I usually come across. Most hardware stores have them.
 
steves
Last night I had a quick trip to the hardware store and was able to plumb a new cooling hose.

i.imgur.com/55QXc.jpg

Did a 3 roasts and it worked great.
 
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