Thanks to help from Peter, and loads of information I found here, I did my first two batches in my SC/TO today! I learned some things, and discovered "opportunities" for improvement. Having only previously roasted in an iRoast2, the very low volume was much appreciated, but it will take me some work to get the consistency of results I had with the iR2.
From what I read here, I decided to start with the TO warmed up at the 420F setting (the new temperature probe for my thermometer didn't arrive yet, so I'm flying blind!). After a 3-minute warm-up, I dumped in the beans and waited expectantly. Within a couple of minutes the beans were browning, and 1C started really fast. I turned the temperature down to 380F. Things happened so fast I didn't have time to record exact times, but I think 1C started before 6 minutes, and came out of the gate roaring. It roared right into 2C, without any noticeable transition, and I dumped the smoking beans around 10 minutes. The roast was uneven and darker than I intended, the darker beans approximating a French Roast, the lighter ones closer to the FC+ I would normally aim for (did I screw up the abbreviations?).
After cooling my first batch, I decided to do a second. This time I warmed up at 380F for 3 minutes and dumped in the beans. 1C started slowly just before 7 minutes, and slowly ramped up until it was rolling at 8 minutes. Again it transitioned into 2C without any real pause, at around 9:30, but it was much slower than the first time. I dumped the beans around 11-12 minutes. This second batch was a whole lot more consistent, and also was pretty close to FC+ I normally aim for, although maybe slightly darker.
I attach pictures of the two batches. It should be apparent that the second roast was much better.
During these initial roasts, I learned that the spacer that I made out of an aluminum yardstick (1" wide) needs to be attached to the SC, as the weight of the TO kept pushing it down during the first roast. The second time I sort of expanded it so it would maintain some outward pressure, and the TO didn't push it down. But I need to attach it so I won't burn holes through the thumbs of my gloves when I dump the beans.
I also learned that I needed a somewhat larger gap to allow the chaff to escape, and I bent it a little more, but I'm reluctant to bend it a whole lot before I can monitor the temperature. I learned my TO has a counter-clockwise rotation.
My cooling system can use a little work, but it worked reasonably well. I bought a $20 8" round fan at Ace Hardware, and initially put a steam basket (like a flat-bottom colander) on top of the fan. But it didn't seal against the top of the fan, and not much air was going through the beans. After fiddling a bit, I realized that the diameter of the steam basket matched that of the fan, and I just put the fan face-down on top of the basket. This worked great, except that I had a tendency to shake it so that beans hit the fan blades). It would be somewhat more convenient if I could just drop the steam basket in the top of a bucket, but this system works pretty well.
I'd appreciate advice on what to do differently next time. While I might have a thermometer probe, I might not. If I can fasten the spacer ring to the SC, then I won't need to spend my time making sure the spacer stays in place, and I can pay more attention to the smell and sound. I plan to drill small holes in the SC and strip, and screw it on (unless someone here convinces me that's a terrible idea!). The rest of my system seems to work fine, so I think I need to focus on controlling the temperature to slow down the roast somewhat. I think I need advice on:
1) Temperature of warm-up.
2) Time of warm-up.
3) Initial roast temperature
4) Is a change of temperature needed at 1C? If so,
5) To what temperature do I change at 1C?
6) Do I need to make any other temperature adjustments during the roast?
I'd appreciate any advice you can give.
Chuck
