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Date: 28 Nov 2006 06:04:57
From: nosnhojn
Subject: Cold weather roasting
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I do all my roasting outside in a modified popper. This will be my
first winter roasting and I'd like to figure out a setup that would be
suitable for the outdoors on the not-quite-so-unbearably-cold days.
I've seen a couple sites that suggest recycling the warmed air from the
popper by putting the popper in a box and having the lid blow that
heated air down and back into the box so it can sucked back in the
bottom of the popper. That seems pretty simple though I'd probably
filter the intake of the popper somehow to keep the chaff from getting
sucked in and lighting up.
Other ideas? If I can build a setup that's good to around -10C I'll be
quite happy.
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Date: 28 Nov 2006 20:07:08
From: I->Ian
Subject: Re: Cold weather roasting
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On 28 Nov 2006 06:04:57 -0800, "nosnhojn" <neil.johnson@vmmuser.org >
wrote:
>I do all my roasting outside in a modified popper. This will be my
>first winter roasting and I'd like to figure out a setup that would be
>suitable for the outdoors on the not-quite-so-unbearably-cold days.
>I've seen a couple sites that suggest recycling the warmed air from the
>popper by putting the popper in a box and having the lid blow that
>heated air down and back into the box so it can sucked back in the
>bottom of the popper. That seems pretty simple though I'd probably
>filter the intake of the popper somehow to keep the chaff from getting
>sucked in and lighting up.
>
>Other ideas? If I can build a setup that's good to around -10C I'll be
>quite happy.
Outside roasting has its problems regardless of location. I'll be
damned if I'm going to get up at 04:00 to roast at 70F in SoCal in the
summer.
It takes very little air flow to remove the roast aroma. I used to use
a 4in dryer vent hose above the HWP and FR that hooked on to the stove
top vent. I now have a large 'hood' that covers the HotTop or FR. With
the vent fan on low, there is almost no odor and the airflow does not
affect the roast profile. The hood is made of .040 SS and cost $175.
http://www.ielogical.com/coffee/Roastery.JPG
Jeffery Pawlan has a similar hood with different venting to his
downdraft vent.
http://www.pawlan.com/ccr.html
If I had no outside stove vent and I'd try to rig up a Y to the dryer
vent.
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Date: 28 Nov 2006 09:48:28
From: Ken Fox
Subject: Re: Cold weather roasting
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"nosnhojn" <neil.johnson@vmmuser.org > wrote in message
news:1164722697.326457.14160@14g2000cws.googlegroups.com...
>I do all my roasting outside in a modified popper. This will be my
> first winter roasting and I'd like to figure out a setup that would be
> suitable for the outdoors on the not-quite-so-unbearably-cold days.
> I've seen a couple sites that suggest recycling the warmed air from the
> popper by putting the popper in a box and having the lid blow that
> heated air down and back into the box so it can sucked back in the
> bottom of the popper. That seems pretty simple though I'd probably
> filter the intake of the popper somehow to keep the chaff from getting
> sucked in and lighting up.
>
> Other ideas? If I can build a setup that's good to around -10C I'll be
> quite happy.
>
Cold weather roasting outside is a huge PITA, something I used to do and
would not willingly do again if you paid me.
I live in a rural area without access to good locally roasted coffee. As a
result, I bought a 1lb sample roaster which I used to operate in my garage
with the garage doors open in cold weather. Subsequently I had a smoke hood
put in with the help of a friend, which allows me to roast in the heated (to
maybe 50F) garage in mid-winter. This is certainly not a cost-effective
solution and had there been a decent roaster in the vicinity, I'd never have
gone to this much trouble and expense, because 8 or 9 months of the year I
can roast in reasonable comfort with the garage doors open.
The length and severity of winter is highly variable depending on where you
live, obviously.
There are other creative solutions such as the venting arrangement Jim
Schulman designed and uses in his Chicago apartment; you could search for
his posts on this topic with google groups.
Another option, one espoused by Richard F., is to roast outdoors in warmer
weather and to buy roasted coffee in the winter.
Another possibility would be to carefully pick your days, and load up your
freezer with very freshly roasted coffee in late fall, supplimenting the
stash on those few unseasonably warm winter days that come along.
Barring an arrangement like mine or Jim Schulman's, results are usually
going to suffer because you will not be able to get the sort of roast
profiles you are used to in cold and or cold/windy weather.
It all comes down to how much you value your time, your comfort, and
miniscule savings by continuing to roast in unpleasant conditions outdoors
in very cold weather. My advice to most people would be "don't do it."
ken
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Date: 28 Nov 2006 08:19:18
From:
Subject: Re: Cold weather roasting
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nosnhojn wrote:
> I do all my roasting outside in a modified popper. This will be my
> first winter roasting and I'd like to figure out a setup that would be
> suitable for the outdoors on the not-quite-so-unbearably-cold days.
> I've seen a couple sites that suggest recycling the warmed air from the
> popper by putting the popper in a box and having the lid blow that
> heated air down and back into the box so it can sucked back in the
> bottom of the popper. That seems pretty simple though I'd probably
> filter the intake of the popper somehow to keep the chaff from getting
> sucked in and lighting up.
>
> Other ideas? If I can build a setup that's good to around -10C I'll be
> quite happy.
If you can block the wind, -10C should not be a challenge for the
popper inside a box. I would not even bother trying to filter the
recirc, just dump out the box after every batch and you should be fine.
Here in Chicago I usually end up doing a few -10F - notice the unit
change - roasts in my tool shed without too much effort.
Safety becomes an even bigger issue when you are using a popper inside
of a small box. I would keep a long stem thermometer in the air space
inside of the box to keep an eye on the environment. Use the flaps to
try to maintain a moderate temperature inside the box. Run the popper
empty inside the box to preheat the air to 20-30C and try to hold to
that once you've dropped the charge.
Again, blocking the wind is the big element to being able to roast in
the cold with any kind of machine.
Matthew
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