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Revised My Heat Gun/Sifter Setup...
Spyderman24-7
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Posted on 12/07/2019 5:54 AM
I devised/built my original setup a little over 3.5 yrs ago and it has served me well a long time. Over time I have had to replace a few parts of the roaster, but that's surely to be expected. The heat gun/sifter setup I came up with worked so well from the 1st batch I decided to keep the same function and just add even more long term durability to it as well as being a bit more informative due to my hearing loss. In the past I relied primarily by 1/2C development as I could easily hear those, but now must rely on appearance, aroma and recently added two high quality thermal probes/dual meter to keep tabs on temp at the heat gun outlet and in the bean mass. Recent changes...

-Original setup was wood based and sitting on a stainless kitchen cart. Decided to make the stainless cart the frame of the setup and got rid of all wood.

-Original heat gun was the Master VT-750C and it served me well for a long time, but was showing signs of wear in the motor (armature/brushes) and surely the heating element would need to be replaced soon as well. Decided to invest in the new master VT-751D as it is surely as good as any heat gun could ever be. Has 27cfm air flow, variable temp setting dial from ambient to 1,200 degrees and many other improved features over the original Master I started with. The dial on these things is so repeatable/accurate I can change the temp as little as 5 degrees in either direction.

-New setup is fully adjustable in that I can simply loosen bolts and move any part if needed. With the original wood frame I'd have to drill/countersink holes, add/remove spacers, use longer/shorter bolts, etc. to make changes if needed. I will attach a few pics and if anybody is interested in building their own setup similar to this I will be glad to answer any questions.

https://imgur.com...
 
renatoa
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Posted on 12/08/2019 3:42 AM
Refreshing to see a break in this endless trend of roasting using solutions that waste power to levitate beans Grin

Did you considered an alternate heat source instead hotgun ? Like a turbo oven lid, producing a more uniform and wide distributed mass of hot air.
 
Spyderman24-7
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Posted on 12/08/2019 4:15 AM
Actually no as I've been extremely impressed with the results/consistency I obtain with this. From day 1 I installed a stainless canning funnel at the bottom to fill the void between the gun nozzle/screen so no heat loss there and the inverted stainless strainer hinged on top helps retain heat as well while allowing the heat gun to properly exhaust. Most similar setups are open at the top and bottom leaving the user wondering why they have to use a ton of heat for decent results. I roast outdoors year round and have roasted in as low as 15 degrees and had no problem keeping temps maintained. This setup is also so efficient/fast reacting I always start at ambient temp, no need to preheat as it comes up to temp rather quickly. The VT series of heat guns are awesome in that I can fine tune the temp for any situation whereas most heat guns have fixed settings. The temp control/consistency is outstanding and likely much better than you might expect.

Before I started home roasting I considered a Behmor, etc., but wasn't impressed with the common complaints regarding it and other home type roasters. I built this to be efficient, robust, modular in that any single component can be replaced quickly/affordably. In just over 3.5 yrs I've roasted over 300 lbs, which is well over 600 batches as I do 200 grams per batch. Could likely do more per batch, but that has worked so well there's no need to change things.

I've closely examined (online articles/pics) other DIY setups like the heat gun/bread machine, Stir Crazy/Turbo Oven (or whatever the name technically is), but not really impressed with the design or the end results I've seen users post. Whatever works for each of us is what matters though.
 
Doug Duncan
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Posted on 01/05/2020 8:59 AM
Spyderman,

I really like what you have here! Since my Turbo crazy system finally wore out, I'm looking at setting up something like this. What sifter and canning funnel did you use. It seems to be a good fit with the heat gun. Maybe it doesn't matter, but it would nice to buy the right parts the first time. Any info would be great!

Thanks,

Doug
dougdunc@gmail.com
 
wmc777
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Posted on 01/13/2021 2:25 PM
Spyderman, I am new to the idea of using a flour shifter and heat gun as a roaster. I am considering building a roaster like yours. My question is how do you cool the beans on your setup? Does your heat gun also cool the beans?
 
wmc777
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Posted on 01/17/2021 10:22 AM
Hey Spyderman, thanks for the update on the thread and the picture you included. I am still unclear on how you cool and dump the beans after the roast. I looks like the sifter is bolted down preventing you from quickly dumping the beans. I am very interested in this setup I am just trying to understand the end of roast process. Currently I dump my beans into a cooling colander that is fan cooled.

Thanks!
 
PacoTacoMeat
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Posted on 01/18/2021 2:13 PM
Cool with a leaf blower
 
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