last minute details for TurboCrazy build

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Date: 27 Jun 2006 20:13:26
From: Robert Harmon
Subject: last minute details for TurboCrazy build

I'm putting together my TurboCrazy this weekend & I have a few questions.

1) Would heat from below as well as above serve any purpose? Since I'm
putting this together as a dedicated unit, and I don't need to worry about
keeping the popcorn popper functionality, I could wire the Stir Crazy
heating element to the Turbo Oven's thermostat? It just seems a waste not to
use the S.C. element.

2) I've read that 375F to 545F is the optimum temp range for roasting. The
T.O. has an upper temp limit of 500F. What about replacing the thermostat on
the T.O. with a higher rated one to give me more latitude in roasting temps?

3) Why not drill through the glass bowl on the Turbo Oven & mount the S.C.
motor & stirring wand under it?

4) I'm eliminating the timer in favor of an on/off switch.

5) Does anyone have a digital temp control scheme they'd like to share?

And lastly - what am I forgetting? I have the popper & oven, plus the
hardware & instructions from Biobug. It seems pretty straight forward so I'm
expecting the crap to hit the fan. Wish me luck!
--
Robert (what would MacGyver do in this situation) Harmon

http://tinyurl.com/pou2y
http://tinyurl.com/fkd6r

Date: 27 Jun 2006 22:09:01
From: Don C.
Subject: Re: last minute details for TurboCrazy build

Robert Harmon wrote:
> I'm putting together my TurboCrazy this weekend & I have a few questions.
>
> 1) Would heat from below as well as above serve any purpose? Since I'm
> putting this together as a dedicated unit, and I don't need to worry about
> keeping the popcorn popper functionality, I could wire the Stir Crazy
> heating element to the Turbo Oven's thermostat? It just seems a waste not to
> use the S.C. element.

The SC heat could be useful but you would definitely not want it linked
to the TO thermostat. The whole idea of this setup is that the TO is
the workhorse for the roasting process. The SC is just to keep things
moving. A lot of people do put the SC heat on a switch to help get the
bean mass up to drying temp quickly. Personally, I find that
preheating to 450 prior to dumping in the beans handles this process
perfectly.

>
> 2) I've read that 375F to 545F is the optimum temp range for roasting. The
> T.O. has an upper temp limit of 500F. What about replacing the thermostat on
> the T.O. with a higher rated one to give me more latitude in roasting temps?

To give a very general idea of the profile. (General but pretty
standard across most bean types and loads for me. I have two temp
probes. One at the base of the beans to give a good idea of bean mass
temp and one that rides about 3/4 inch above the beans for air temp. I
preheat to 450 drop in 12 to 16 oz of beans. Temp drops to between 320
and 340. I get a nice steady progression up to 400 (BM) 455 (AT) 1st
crack starts (Generally between 8 and 11 mins depending on batch size.)
425 (BM) 480 (AT) 1st ends. 435 (BM) 490 (AT) C+. 445 (BM) 500 (AT)
FC. 450-455 (BM) 505-510 (AT) FC+, 2nd crack just starting. I rarely go
beyond this point but go strictly by seconds into 2nd as my measurement
at this point if I do go further.

Some things I have noticed: If I don't play with the TO temp at all
from start of roast to completion it rises steadily and maintains
almost exactly at 55 above bean mass temp.

The TO alone throws out PLENTY enough heat to do the job. No need
whatsoever to amp it up at all.

The TO thermostat is meaningless and largely useless. I generally just
keep it set at 390 and the heat never cycles off. Even above 500
degrees by air temp probe.
>
> 3) Why not drill through the glass bowl on the Turbo Oven & mount the S.C.
> motor & stirring wand under it?

Aside from the difficulty of drilling through tempered glass. I would
think that the depth of the bowl would put the beans too far from the
heating element.

2nd. You would have no ability to expel chaff like with a Woz chaff
ejector or springform pan with the hinge sprung and a 1" gap to let the
chaff fly out.

3rd. It would require an additional hole to be able to run a temp probe
into it.

>
> 4) I'm eliminating the timer in favor of an on/off switch.
>
Why? The TO already has a very handy (no pun intended) On/Off switch.
Seems like unneccessary and redundant effort.

> 5) Does anyone have a digital temp control scheme they'd like to share?

Sunpentown does offer a digital version of the TO unless you are
referring to a PID.

> Wish me luck!

Good luck.

I upgraded to the SC/TO from a Whirly-Pop and a Poplite popper. One
thing I immediately noticed was that I had to be more careful in the
lighter roasts to make absolutely sure that I was completely through
1st. Otherwise I was in for some sour, grassy coffee. Another thing I
noticed was that my roasts required a lot more rest post roast than
with the Whirly. I was able to get very good coffee with as little as
an hour or two rest with the Whirly. With the SC/TO I don't even think
about trying a batch until it has had 48-72 hours rest. Even more for
City + roasts.

Have fun.

Don

Date: 28 Jun 2006 03:10:50
From: cschepers
Subject: Re: last minute details for TurboCrazy build

Date: 28 Jun 2006 04:38:43
From: Robert Harmon
Subject: Re: last minute details for TurboCrazy build

That's it, I forgot the cooler. Thanks! BTW, I'm expecting the cooler fan to
separate the chaff from the beans. Is that reasonable - I do have a chaff
catcher designed. I did talk to my glass supplier & he said he could punch a
hole for me. I'm pretty sure he realized it was tempered glass but I'll
check with him tomorrow. Cold weather isn't too much of a problem here along
the Gulf coast and since there doesn't seem to be a reason to use it I'll
pass on using the S.C. element for now.

Oh, and that part about the beans? Great idea & that's the first time I've
seen it anywhere.

Robert

"cschepers" <cschepers@yahoo.com > wrote in message
news:_qmog.1046140$xm3.798492@attbi_s21...
> Robert Harmon wrote:
>> I'm putting together my TurboCrazy this weekend & I have a few questions.
>>
>> 1) Would heat from below as well as above serve any purpose? Since I'm
>> putting this together as a dedicated unit, and I don't need to worry
>> about keeping the popcorn popper functionality, I could wire the Stir
>> Crazy heating element to the Turbo Oven's thermostat? It just seems a
>> waste not to use the S.C. element.
>
> A switch would be a good idea. I cut the wires to the SC on mine.. it was
> a mistake. I'd say the roasts turn out a little more even, but I have
> trouble in colder weather.
>
>> 2) I've read that 375F to 545F is the optimum temp range for roasting.
>> The T.O. has an upper temp limit of 500F. What about replacing the
>> thermostat on the T.O. with a higher rated one to give me more latitude
>> in roasting temps?
>
> The thermostat shouldn't be a problem. I have more of an issue with the
> getting the heat up quickly enough, more than the max temp.
>
>> 3) Why not drill through the glass bowl on the Turbo Oven & mount the
>> S.C. motor & stirring wand under it?
>
> As Steve said, probably not a good idea. Ever seen what tempered glass
> does when kissed by a drill bit? :-)
>
>> 4) I'm eliminating the timer in favor of an on/off switch.
>
> That'd be handy, if you really feel like messing with it.
>
>> 5) Does anyone have a digital temp control scheme they'd like to share?
>>
>> And lastly - what am I forgetting? I have the popper & oven, plus the
>> hardware & instructions from Biobug. It seems pretty straight forward so
>> I'm expecting the crap to hit the fan. Wish me luck!
>
> Buy some semi-cheap, decent-tasting-but-nothing-you'd-feel-bad-for-wasting
> beans. Couple pounds worth. Also get a digital kitchen scale, if you
> don't have one yet.
>
> Also, don't forget to build a cooling rig, if you don't have one yet. And
> get a nice, heavy extension cord; I use one with three outlets on the end
> (SC, TO, cooler).
>
> Chris Schepers

Date: 28 Jun 2006 05:45:13
From: RBeech
Subject: Re: last minute details for TurboCrazy build

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 20:10:50 -0700, cschepers <cschepers@yahoo.com > wrote:

> And get a nice, heavy extension cord; I use one with three outlets on
> the end (SC, TO, cooler).
>
> Chris Schepers

I made a cord that has a nice feature...

Take a duplex outlet and split it as you would when wiring it for a
kitchen, ie one circuit for each plug/recaptacle. Now use a three way
switch to distribute power to one or the other, not both. Now plug the SC
into one socket, and the cooler into the other.

In use it works like this:

get everything going, turn on cooler (vacuum in my case) but it won't be
running, because the switch is in the SC position.

When roast is ready, lift CO off, the handle switch shuts it down... flip
the switch on your box which will shut of the SC and fire up the cooler in
one quick motion.

This is nice beacuse it makes for one less thing to deal with just as you
are needing the most focus on the beans.

R

Date: 27 Jun 2006 19:00:00
From: Steve Ackman
Subject: Re: last minute details for TurboCrazy build

In <Gjgog.13517$o4.3992@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net >, on Tue, 27 Jun
2006 20:13:26 GMT, Robert Harmon wrote:

> 3) Why not drill through the glass bowl on the Turbo Oven & mount the S.C.
> motor & stirring wand under it?

If it's tempered glass, you don't want to try to
drill it.

Date: 27 Jun 2006 22:20:15
From: RBeech
Subject: Re: last minute details for TurboCrazy build

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 13:13:26 -0700, Robert Harmon
<r_h_harmon@Zhotmail.com > wrote:

> I'm putting together my TurboCrazy this weekend & I have a few questions.
>
> 1) Would heat from below as well as above serve any purpose? Since I'm
> putting this together as a dedicated unit, and I don't need to worry
> about
> keeping the popcorn popper functionality, I could wire the Stir Crazy
> heating element to the Turbo Oven's thermostat? It just seems a waste
> not to
> use the S.C. element.

If you have the base wired to the top, then you are going to have trouble
when it comes time to dump the beans in the cooler... you would need to
figure out some sort of quick release wiring.

Some people put an on/off switch on the SC for roasting in colder weather.

> 2) I've read that 375F to 545F is the optimum temp range for roasting.
> The
> T.O. has an upper temp limit of 500F. What about replacing the
> thermostat on
> the T.O. with a higher rated one to give me more latitude in roasting
> temps?

Most people just run the TO @ full tilt (500�F), and don't worry about
using the thermostat to control temps. I don't think my element ever turns
off in this scenario, and therefore a higher rated thermo would make no
difference. I don't think the thermo is all that accurate anyways.

> 4) I'm eliminating the timer in favor of an on/off switch.

The TO probably has an on/off switch. Mine does, when the handle is lifted
up the unit turns off. All you would have to do is by pass the timer.

R