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Permalink Reply by Lisa G on October 18, 2011 at 6:53pm

Hey "Cosmo" I have a wonderful 5kg roaster for sale Profiler, I think this would be good for your shops.  You can see it under classifieds, 5kg US Roasters with picture there.  Let me know...Lisa

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Permalink Reply by Mike McGinness on October 19, 2011 at 9:26am

I can vouch the USRC 5k is a solid roasting platform and $12k is a fair price with PLC profile system. Easily capable of 35+ pounds roasted weight per hour.

 

Be aware that does not include an afterburner, depending on your local air quality codes you may or may not be required to have one. (another $10k or so, plus installation expenses).

 

Of course the roaster is but tool. In the right hands it can make beans sing, in the wrong hands... It's easy to turn beans brown, it's a lifetime Journey learning to make beans sing.

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Permalink Reply by James "Cosmo" Cramer on October 19, 2011 at 12:30pm

Thanks Mike for the advise and you are very correct about making beans sing.

Mike McGinness said:

I can vouch the USRC 5k is a solid roasting platform and $12k is a fair price with PLC profile system. Easily capable of 35+ pounds roasted weight per hour.

 

Be aware that does not include an afterburner, depending on your local air quality codes you may or may not be required to have one. (another $10k or so, plus installation expenses).

 

Of course the roaster is but tool. In the right hands it can make beans sing, in the wrong hands... It's easy to turn beans brown, it's a lifetime Journey learning to make beans sing.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa G on October 19, 2011 at 12:37pm

Hello Cosmo,  do you need some more information? Regards, Lsia

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Permalink Reply by James "Cosmo" Cramer on October 19, 2011 at 7:33pm

Lisa thanks for the info I took a look at the clasified as well as took a look at the specs from the manufacturers web site.  I am still in the info gathering stage but will keep your info and check back with you when I am ready to take the next steps.

Lisa G said:

Hello Cosmo,  do you need some more information? Regards, Lsia

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Permalink Reply by Lisa G on October 19, 2011 at 8:43pm

ok I forgot to mention the machine would include the manual. I saw two hours ago on EBay a 15 year old US Roaster manual 5KG for $7,000.  The reason we offer this nice machine is that it does not fit our needs anymore as far as capacity.  I think it is good for your two shops.  It has a beautiful drum and great air flow.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Eckert on October 21, 2011 at 10:31am

Sounds like you are in the education phase, so here are a few things I would say learn about before diving in:

Before you do anything, talk to your local air quality department and figure out what is allowed/required to roast and what permits are required. (can add $ fast, so plan it in your budget)

Figure out you projected volume.  The price between a 5 and 10 K is fairly minimal compared to buying a 5 k then buying another larger roaster a year later...

Most commercial machines in the current market are either fluid bed air roasters or drum roasters.  I am not a fan of the fluid bed, one of many reasons is that moisture control is an important part of developing a roast profile and fluid bed roasters will blow all the moist air out early on. 

Drum roasters all operate in a similar fashion, with different heat sources: infrared heating on Diedrich's will give you a steady air temp flowing into the drum throughout the roast (in theory) and the drum temp is controlled by the IR burner setting; atmospheric burner machines change air and drum temp dependent on how high the flame is set. 

A majority of the machines on the market are atmospheric drum roasters, although the infrared machines are gaining in popularity every year.  Many drum roasters have little or minimal airflow control, others are built to give you complete airflow control. 

Automation is another option.  Develop your roast profile, program the computer, and the machine takes care of the rest (ok, probably not that easy).  These systems can be extremely expensive, so take note.

Hope this helps a bit.  Just remember every salesman will tell you their machine is best.  In reality, most out there are quite capable of roasting a great coffee.  It is the knowledge, judgement and skill of the roastmaster that can make a coffee sing. 

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Permalink Reply by James "Cosmo" Cramer on October 24, 2011 at 3:36pm

Keith thank you for the great advise and information.

Keith Eckert said:

Sounds like you are in the education phase, so here are a few things I would say learn about before diving in:

Before you do anything, talk to your local air quality department and figure out what is allowed/required to roast and what permits are required. (can add $ fast, so plan it in your budget)

Figure out you projected volume.  The price between a 5 and 10 K is fairly minimal compared to buying a 5 k then buying another larger roaster a year later...

Most commercial machines in the current market are either fluid bed air roasters or drum roasters.  I am not a fan of the fluid bed, one of many reasons is that moisture control is an important part of developing a roast profile and fluid bed roasters will blow all the moist air out early on. 

Drum roasters all operate in a similar fashion, with different heat sources: infrared heating on Diedrich's will give you a steady air temp flowing into the drum throughout the roast (in theory) and the drum temp is controlled by the IR burner setting; atmospheric burner machines change air and drum temp dependent on how high the flame is set. 

A majority of the machines on the market are atmospheric drum roasters, although the infrared machines are gaining in popularity every year.  Many drum roasters have little or minimal airflow control, others are built to give you complete airflow control. 

Automation is another option.  Develop your roast profile, program the computer, and the machine takes care of the rest (ok, probably not that easy).  These systems can be extremely expensive, so take note.

Hope this helps a bit.  Just remember every salesman will tell you their machine is best.  In reality, most out there are quite capable of roasting a great coffee.  It is the knowledge, judgement and skill of the roastmaster that can make a coffee sing. 

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