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Homeroasters - Home Roasting Coffee Community » BUILDING A ROASTER » Fluidbed Roaster

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Build a roaster with a forced air propane heater!
lucapinello	#1 Posted on 12/26/2019 3:25 PM
Newbie Posts: 6 Joined: December 26, 2019	Hi! Has anyone attempted to build a roaster adapting a forced air propane heater? Something like this: https://www.amazo...amp;sr=8-3 1) Probably the fan is not powerful enough. What would you use instead? 2) I am not sure if this is actually too powerful. I am looking to build a roaster for ~500gr Thanks for any feedback. Edited by JackH on 12/26/2019 4:48 PM


pisanoal	#2 Posted on 12/31/2019 6:19 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	Fan is definitely not powerful enough. I dont see any reason to go away from the standard vacuum motor. 60,000 BTUs is definitely too much for a 500 gr roaster, especially because I dont think it will turn down enough. Stated turn down is 30,000 BTUs. That's still enough to do around 5 lbs.


lucapinello	#3 Posted on 01/01/2020 5:06 PM
Newbie Posts: 6 Joined: December 26, 2019	Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I looked around and for example, the sonofresco model for 2 pounds is at about 40K BTU so 60K is def too much. For the motor, I was thinking to get this: https://www.amazo...&psc=1 Which burner do you suggest to use for propane? Thanks Luca


pisanoal	#4 Posted on 01/02/2020 9:49 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	That motor looks fine. Check out kleen-rite.com also. They have some inexpensive motors, should be able to find something a little cheaper. Any standard sized vacuum motor should be fine for 500 gr roaster. I used a small folding camp stove burner in my 1 lb roaster. Something like this https://www.amazo...NrPXRydWU=


lucapinello	#5 Posted on 01/02/2020 1:47 PM
Newbie Posts: 6 Joined: December 26, 2019	Thanks again for the info! I was worried that the flame was going out with so much air flowing. Do you have pictures and more info for your roaster? Probably I don't have to reinvent the wheel :)


pisanoal	#6 Posted on 01/02/2020 9:23 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	I dont have a build thread or anything for that roaster. I perused a lot of the pyrex bake a round build threads and pieced it together from that info. Im happy to take some pictures and help where I can. May be a bit on the pictures though. Out of town this weekend. A lot depends on your metal fabrication skills as far as what direction you might want to go in. Whats your experience there?


lucapinello	#7 Posted on 01/05/2020 5:16 AM
Newbie Posts: 6 Joined: December 26, 2019	Thank you so much! I have some experience with building things, programming skills, and basic electronic skills (soldering, raspberry pi/arduino). I have currently two roasters one is an freshroast sr700 but the capacity is too low for me (160gr) and one is a basic drum roaster that sits on top of a camping stove but it can roast easily 350gr but I prefer what I get with the fluid bed roaster. This will be my first build of a roaster, the ideal goal for me is to roast about 400-500gr of beans. There are several things in my mind right now and I would like to have your feedback on these points and see how you have approached them. 1) The first big decision is gas vs electricity: [GAS]: I have been looking around other burners and I found this one that looks very promising in addition to the one you have sent: https://www.amazo...&psc=1 [ELECTRICITY]: In my garage I have 20AMP 110V, now based on this, I don't think I can hook up more than one heating element. Now the question is, is one heating element of about 1600W enough to roast ~400gr in 11 minutes? I also noticed that some heat guns are rated at 2000w like this one: https://www.amazo...3LQPUPNXQM Maybe this can help in getting more power. 2) Size of roaster chamber. Is 5.5x12 big enough for 500Gr (https://www.amazo...8&th=1)? 3) I have a shopvac that probably is powerful enough (https://www.amazo...&psc=1) in my garage with air output, so I was thinking to try this before getting a dedicated blower motor. Now the question is, how can I enclose the gas burner and connect it to the output of the blower and to the glass chamber on the other side? Should I put it in a stainless steel enclosure? If so how big? Is there anything that I can easily order and adapt for this? I guess I need for sure an adapter to connect the blower output to this enclosure. For the glass chamber attachment, I saw that many here used a funnel. I have already one: 5.6'' (Width)* 2.3'' (Height)*1.6'' (Diameter) (https://www.amazo...&psc=1). This will fit perfectly the diameter of the glass chamber I was looking at. For the heat gun route probably this will be easier. In this case I was thinking I can just enclose the heating element in a metal pipe and insulate it. One side will go to the blower output and the other side to the funnel. What do you think? Thanks again for the guidance, I am so glad I have found this community :) Luca Edited by allenb on 01/05/2020 7:57 AM


pisanoal	#8 Posted on 01/06/2020 11:01 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	1) The first big decision is gas vs electricity: [GAS]: I have been looking around other burners and I found this one that looks very promising in addition to the one you have sent: https://www.amazo...&psc=1 [ELECTRICITY]: In my garage I have 20AMP 110V, now based on this, I don't think I can hook up more than one heating element. Now the question is, is one heating element of about 1600W enough to roast ~400gr in 11 minutes? I also noticed that some heat guns are rated at 2000w like this one: https://www.amazo...3LQPUPNXQM Maybe this can help in getting more power. The propane burner you linked should work fine. Only concern is fitting it in a furnace chamber of some kind. I disassembled the single burner I had so it was just the burner and wind screen. I remounted the ignitor and ran an extension wire to the outside of the furnace so I could remotely mount the striker. I am going to lobby for propane because its what I use. There are pros and cons to both. Electric may be a bit easier because you could stick it inside a piece of pipe that's only as wide as your funnel neck and be perfectly fine. The burner you are going to need a larger furnace. You don't want air velocity to get too high around the flame or it will blow it out. Electric elements have the added circuit capacity potential issue. A 2000 watt heat source will draw 18 amps at max power (I=P/V 2000W/110V = 18.18 amps. So you will need a separate circuit for your blower. Also, I don't think 2000W is enough for 1 lb without some kind of flue gas recirculation. See link below 2) Size of roaster chamber. Is 5.5x12 big enough for 500Gr (https://www.amazo...8&th=1)? Too big depending on how you design it. That diameter is big enough to roast 3-5 pounds. look for a pyrex bake-a-round on ebay. Perfect diameter for your target roast capacity. 3) I have a shopvac that probably is powerful enough (https://www.amazo...&psc=1) in my garage with air output, so I was thinking to try this before getting a dedicated blower motor. Absolutely powerful enough. You will need a router speed controller to turn it down during the roast. On my 1 lb roaster, I had to put a valve on the inlet to cut air even more. Now the question is, how can I enclose the gas burner and connect it to the output of the blower and to the glass chamber on the other side? Should I put it in a stainless steel enclosure? If so how big? Is there anything that I can easily order and adapt for this? I guess I need for sure an adapter to connect the blower output to this enclosure. Do you have any metal fabrication experience? I welded a wind box with a 2" pipe thread to floor adapter to the side of a small metal box. Drilled holes on the top surface of it. Mounted the burner to the top plate, stuck a piece of 6" stove pipe on top and held it all together with some threaded rod. Does not need to be stainless. For the glass chamber attachment, I saw that many here used a funnel. I have already one: 5.6'' (Width)* 2.3'' (Height)*1.6'' (Diameter) (https://www.amazo...&psc=1). This will fit perfectly the diameter of the glass chamber I was looking at. I had a piece custom fabricated for an asymmetrical design. There are some advantages to the funnel design in terms of cost and ease of assembly. I don't have a lot of experience with piecing parts together like that. Most everything I have done has been some kind of metal fabrication and where possible sandwiching pieces between all thread which still required welding nuts on metal plate. There are other threads where people assembled already available parts. I think some have used cocktail shaker lids. For the heat gun route probably this will be easier. In this case I was thinking I can just enclose the heating element in a metal pipe and insulate it. One side will go to the blower output and the other side to the funnel. Provided you have 2 circuits or make sure you don't exceed the capacity of one circuit. What do you think? Some useful threads for you... Heat Requirements for Various Roaster Sizes https://forum.hom...post_41645 My Inspiration for my design - allenb's 1lb asymmetrical build https://forum.hom...ad_id=3174 A bit rougher pieced together build instead of custom metal fabrication https://forum.hom...ad_id=5505 A nice pieced together unit. Uses a cocktail shaker lid. https://forum.hom...ad_id=5402 Silicone Sheet Gasket Supplier - cheap, fast shipping (use either red silicone, or viton - you will have to email them for FDA viton) https://rubbershe...house.com/ Parts Suppliers List https://forum.hom...ad_id=2560 Thanks again for the guidance, I am so glad I have found this community :) Luca[/quote]


JackH	#9 Posted on 01/06/2020 12:17 PM
Administrator Posts: 1809 Joined: May 10, 2011	Pisanoal - Thanks for taking the time to post a really great response! ---Jack KKTO Roaster.


lucapinello	#10 Posted on 01/07/2020 6:01 AM
Newbie Posts: 6 Joined: December 26, 2019	Pisanoal, thank you so much! This is super helpful and I truly appreciate the time you have spent in writing this detailed response. Quote Do you have any metal fabrication experience? I don't have metal fabrication experience but maybe I should learn :) Quote I welded a wind box with a 2" pipe thread to floor adapter to the side of a small metal box. Drilled holes on the top surface of it. Mounted the burner to the top plate, stuck a piece of 6" stove pipe on top and held it all together with some threaded rod. Do you have a picture of this assembly?


pisanoal	#11 Posted on 01/09/2020 12:55 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	The bottom silver portion is the windbox. The furnace is made of 6" stovepipe cut to the height I wanted it. Its held together with the threaded rod and a steel plate. That plate was too small, so I had to have a larger one cut with a hole in the middle. The roast chamber sits on top of that and is held together with 4 spring clamps that are easily removed for dumping the roast. You don't have to make the windbox out of metal as long as it is insulated from the furnace and you don't recover heat. pisanoal attached the following image:


Scorchy	#12 Posted on 01/12/2020 1:05 PM
Newbie Posts: 12 Joined: January 12, 2020	Pisanoal- great information there, thank you. I for one would like to see a build thread, if you can muster the time for one. I have the exact same burner and will be using it in my build, but I have a question for you- are you using the little canisters that the burner uses, or have you adapted it to a larger propane tank?


pisanoal	#13 Posted on 01/12/2020 6:31 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	Quote Scorchy wrote: Pisanoal- great information there, thank you. I for one would like to see a build thread, if you can muster the time for one. I have the exact same burner and will be using it in my build, but I have a question for you- are you using the little canisters that the burner uses, or have you adapted it to a larger propane tank? If i get the time and motivation, I may put a build thread together. Until then, I'm happy to try to answer questions. As for the burner, I adapted it to 20# cylinders.


Scorchy	#14 Posted on 01/13/2020 3:57 PM
Newbie Posts: 12 Joined: January 12, 2020	Fantastic! That's exactly what I want to do, but I'm stuck on it. I'm not imaginative enough to know what fitting/etc. to use there, safely. Can I pick your brain on the specifics of that, and were you able to retain the needle valve operation of the burner? To the OP- I hope you will not view this as hijacking the thread, but an augmentation to it- as it could potentially relate to your project as well if you go the same route. I will take zero offense and happily create a new thread though, if you wish.


pisanoal	#15 Posted on 01/13/2020 6:47 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	There are adapters to go from lindal valve to 1lb cylinder, then a 1lb cylinder refill adapter that will go from the 1lb to 20lb fittings. Needle valve operation is maintained. Lindal valve adapter Kbrotech Camping Stove Adapter 1LB Propane Small Tank Input and a Lindal Valve EN417 Output Outdoor Cylinder LPG Canister Convert (Brass) https://www.amazo...hEb3QV7P0Y To go from that fitting to a 20lb cylinder it really depends on what you from the cylinder. You can get a 1lb refill adapter that goes to NPT, then go NPT to flare if you have a hose/regulator combo. Or they make hoses that go from 20lb cylinders to 1lb cylinder input. DOZYANT 4 Feet Propane Adapter Hose 1 lb to 20 lb Converter Replacement for QCC1 / Type1 Tank Connects 1 LB Bulk Portable Appliance to 20 lb Propane Tank https://www.amazo...hEb9PBY4KP My regulator is maxed out so that might work to go straight from the 20ln cylinder Edited by JackH on 01/14/2020 6:42 AM


Scorchy	#16 Posted on 01/13/2020 7:00 PM
Newbie Posts: 12 Joined: January 12, 2020	Wow. I'd seen that adapter before and I even ordered pretty much that exact same hose. So the solution was under my nose the whole time. I sure appreciate your input on this. It got so frustrating for me at the time (over a year ago) that I hung it up, and tried returning several times, only to be similarly frustrated. Thank you. You've just made my world better (and hopefully others on a similar journey).


pisanoal	#17 Posted on 01/14/2020 8:32 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 97 Joined: October 11, 2019	No problem. Glad to help! I definitely understand the frustration. I spent hours going between different fittings trying to find the adapter combination when I first built this thing.

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