In the theme of the song "Riding Dirty". Dude is "Roasting Nerdy", (lyrics) Hey see me rollin' They hatin' Patrolling and tryin' to catch me roasting' nerdy Tryin' to catch me roasting' nerdy... I love it!! You totally rocked this project!
Thanks for your response, Joseph. I will be starting my mod today with a 1500 watt unit. Since I have a rheostat, I'm planning to use that and see if I need a fan speed control since I'll have 12.5A at 120VAC; 1500 watts max. I really like your ideas of tilting the chamber initially to increase the angle of repose at the bottom and thus achieve fluidization prior to drying and density reduction. I saw in a previous comment that you said adding the extra holes and widening the fins made a big difference in airflow, so I will definitely keep that in mind. Also, thanks very much for the second video detailing the wiring with respect to the heating coils !!! Based upon your results, I'm really looking forward to this project.
When we lived on Oahu, Hawaii from 2008 to 2011 I got particularly interested in cappuccino and roasting my own green beans (grown on Oahu) in a popcorn popper. At the time, I thought they tasted rather good, but then decided that coffee beans need a rather long roast (at least 13 min.) to develop the sugars in the beans that is not possible using an unmodified popcorn popper. I eventually began buying fresh-roasted beans at the Whole Foods on Oahu.
Just wondering Joseph, I see this was in 2012, so would be interested to hear if you have made any updates to your project. Are you still using it? Your project is far more ambitious than mine. All i done was remove the outer casing for better airflow and bypassed the switch for the fan. The switch only supplies the heating element. To switch the whole "roaster" off, (heating element & fan), you just switch it off at the wall (I'm in UK with 3-pin switched sockets).
i have heard differently on the degassing. The only reason people let it degas for a day is when vacuum sealing it so it does not explode the pack. Fresh roasted easily tastes the best.
Your correct. One never stops learning about coffee. Hand brewing or drip coffee can be brewed immediately that is why you have your 30 second bloom. However, for espresso I still believe that it needs to rest, but I've never read anything using scientific methods to prove that either. So it could very well be myth as well.
nice, im put off the popcorn popper because of the lack of control but this setup is awesome. do you know any resource that shows how to wire up such a system? right now the stove and saucepan works but might be moving somewhere with an induction hob.
I liked your mods; nice to have separate control of air speed and resistance heaterl temperature. the video didn't show adjustment of the resistance heater or the fan motor, but I presume you were doing that. I would think that the fastest fan speed would be best with perhaps some level of control on the heater current
Joseph Collins also, sometimes I need more heat and not so much flow. The best scenario would be full fan (more movement = more even roasts) and more heat. However, sometimes I need more heat when the heater is full blast, so I can get a little more heat by reducing the amount of heat lost via slowing down the fan. This popper is 1200W, but the mod works better on the 1500W models, however they are much harder to find.
I'm interested in how much coffee you used in the video. I have the same setup as yours only, being the control freak that I am, I made it computer control. I have been using 1/3 cup of beans. This seams to allow a ton of airflow but the temperature stops rising at about 385 degrees unless I turn the fan speed down or occlude the hot air exit exhaust. Did you have this problem? Did you modify the fan in any way or are the high number of beans slowing the airflow enough to allow the higher heat?
I haven't roasted in a while, but I think around 1 full cup. I DID have some issues with getting up to temp. However, once the temp starts slowing down, I do turn the fan speed down to get the temp up and because the beans are lighter at this point it doesn't take as much air to get them to move. There is a magic number as far as amount of beans. The problem is that the number is different with different types of beans because the variance of density and moisture content. Too few beans and they dont get hot enough, too many beans and they won't tumble enough and you get uneven roasts. As for modifying the fan, the only mod I made was the holes for airflow (this made a big difference) and I used a flat tip screwdriver to pry the fins on the chamber open slightly wider.
Yeah, so that is where the dimmer comes in handy, when the beans are dried out more, they spin around better and you can lower the fan speed so that you are not sucking in so much cool air.
Thanks for the video. I too use popcorn popper and 3.5 min into roasting i get a very oily dark roast. No idea why, even at 2.5 min. Anyone has any idea?
Roasting too fast. Getting oils on darker roasts is normal, but you shouldn't have beans that dark in 2 or 3 minutes. You need to increase the fan speed, the airflow, and throttle the heating element down. You want to dry\toast the beans first. Then you want to start warming up and you want to draw out the process so that the heat can reach the center of the bean and develop the natural sugars. If you go too fast, it's like cooking a burger on a 600-degree griddle, you burn the outside and the middle is still raw.
I don’t remember the amperage of the heating element, but the reason I used the rheostat instead of another dimmer was because I couldn’t find a dimmer that could handle the amperage of the heating element. So, if you can find a dimmer capable of the amperage, it would work.
Great Video! I am currently using a Presto poplite popcorn maker for my roasting, I really like your set up. Can you respond to me on FB and give me directions on how to modify the popper like yours? Have you had your most success with the Popery I & II? Have you tried the Presto?
Joseph, I tried to modify my popcorn pumper using the directions that you have linked (I found the link on my own a while back), but did something wrong because I blew that sucker up! It would be awesome if you could show how you did it! Thanks!
4 months ago, I said I would make another video and I didn't follow through. I really need to do so and I will try to make a video this week of opening up the roaster and showing how it was done.
@Daphnadillia Next time I order some beans from sweetmarias, I will get some shipping bags that contain the one way valve, and if your really interested, I'll send you some in a small sample bag (enough for a pot of coffee). Do you own a coffee grinder so I could send whole beans? Respond to me on FB as to not create a personal chat thread on youtube.
Your modification does not appear to be the same as in the first part of the mod. I am having a little trouble sorting out what you did. Could you give a better schematic and pictures to show what you did. It looks as if it is a genius at work and should be share with us slower folks in the roasting community. Thanks for the video!
That would be great! I look forward to it. If I can help let me know. I just did an article for ineedcoffee.com that should be posted soon on Hacking a Presto Pop Lite Popper.
In the theme of the song "Riding Dirty".
Dude is "Roasting Nerdy",
(lyrics)
Hey see me rollin'
They hatin'
Patrolling and tryin' to catch me roasting' nerdy
Tryin' to catch me roasting' nerdy...
I love it!! You totally rocked this project!
Thanks for your response, Joseph. I will be starting my mod today with a 1500 watt unit. Since I have a rheostat, I'm planning to use that and see if I need a fan speed control since I'll have 12.5A at 120VAC; 1500 watts max. I really like your ideas of tilting the chamber initially to increase the angle of repose at the bottom and thus achieve fluidization prior to drying and density reduction. I saw in a previous comment that you said adding the extra holes and widening the fins made a big difference in airflow, so I will definitely keep that in mind. Also, thanks very much for the second video detailing the wiring with respect to the heating coils !!! Based upon your results, I'm really looking forward to this project.
When we lived on Oahu, Hawaii from 2008 to 2011 I got particularly interested in cappuccino and roasting my own green beans (grown on Oahu) in a popcorn popper. At the time, I thought they tasted rather good, but then decided that coffee beans need a rather long roast (at least 13 min.) to develop the sugars in the beans that is not possible using an unmodified popcorn popper. I eventually began buying fresh-roasted beans at the Whole Foods on Oahu.
Just wondering Joseph, I see this was in 2012, so would be interested to hear if you have made any updates to your project. Are you still using it? Your project is far more ambitious than mine. All i done was remove the outer casing for better airflow and bypassed the switch for the fan. The switch only supplies the heating element. To switch the whole "roaster" off, (heating element & fan), you just switch it off at the wall (I'm in UK with 3-pin switched sockets).
Great contraption 👍
hello from Argentina mate ! is it possible for you to share how you did all the mods ? i would like to do those to my popcornmaker
i have heard differently on the degassing. The only reason people let it degas for a day is when vacuum sealing it so it does not explode the pack. Fresh roasted easily tastes the best.
Your correct. One never stops learning about coffee.
Hand brewing or drip coffee can be brewed immediately that is why you have your 30 second bloom.
However, for espresso I still believe that it needs to rest, but I've never read anything using scientific methods to prove that either. So it could very well be myth as well.
john hancock yeppers.
The beans seem to vary in color. Is that a problem of the beans not moving enough? Just curious.
Look very funny coffee roaster machine i've ever seen! But great job!
Are holes in the body really increase air discharged by fan?
nice, im put off the popcorn popper because of the lack of control but this setup is awesome. do you know any resource that shows how to wire up such a system? right now the stove and saucepan works but might be moving somewhere with an induction hob.
Nice set up and great video. Which thermometer are you using?
Can you tell me how far up from the bottom of the chamber you drilled a hole for the temp probe for optimum results? Thanks.
I liked your mods; nice to have separate control of air speed and resistance heaterl temperature. the video didn't show adjustment of the resistance heater or the fan motor, but I presume you were doing that. I would think that the fastest fan speed would be best with perhaps some level of control on the heater current
ChicagoJohn Correct, A full explanation of how the mod was done is listed in another video, ruclips.net/video/S4KXvGZOivA/видео.html
Joseph Collins also, sometimes I need more heat and not so much flow. The best scenario would be full fan (more movement = more even roasts) and more heat. However, sometimes I need more heat when the heater is full blast, so I can get a little more heat by reducing the amount of heat lost via slowing down the fan.
This popper is 1200W, but the mod works better on the 1500W models, however they are much harder to find.
I'm interested in how much coffee you used in the video. I have the same setup as yours only, being the control freak that I am, I made it computer control. I have been using 1/3 cup of beans. This seams to allow a ton of airflow but the temperature stops rising at about 385 degrees unless I turn the fan speed down or occlude the hot air exit exhaust. Did you have this problem? Did you modify the fan in any way or are the high number of beans slowing the airflow enough to allow the higher heat?
I haven't roasted in a while, but I think around 1 full cup.
I DID have some issues with getting up to temp. However, once the temp starts slowing down, I do turn the fan speed down to get the temp up and because the beans are lighter at this point it doesn't take as much air to get them to move.
There is a magic number as far as amount of beans. The problem is that the number is different with different types of beans because the variance of density and moisture content.
Too few beans and they dont get hot enough, too many beans and they won't tumble enough and you get uneven roasts.
As for modifying the fan, the only mod I made was the holes for airflow (this made a big difference) and I used a flat tip screwdriver to pry the fins on the chamber open slightly wider.
+Joseph Collins I was going to drill holes in mine too but I am thinking it may loose more heat that way too... But fan speed is nice!
Yeah, so that is where the dimmer comes in handy, when the beans are dried out more, they spin around better and you can lower the fan speed so that you are not sucking in so much cool air.
I added a new link in the description for you.
Is there a minimum wattage required? my popper is 1100w.. will this be sufficient?
Hı This fans how much watt or amper&volt
Stainless Steel K-Type Thermocouple Insertion Probe 3" from amazon.com
And a multimeter from Harbor freight.
Thanks for the video. I too use popcorn popper and 3.5 min into roasting i get a very oily dark roast. No idea why, even at 2.5 min. Anyone has any idea?
Roasting too fast. Getting oils on darker roasts is normal, but you shouldn't have beans that dark in 2 or 3 minutes.
You need to increase the fan speed, the airflow, and throttle the heating element down.
You want to dry\toast the beans first. Then you want to start warming up and you want to draw out the process so that the heat can reach the center of the bean and develop the natural sugars. If you go too fast, it's like cooking a burger on a 600-degree griddle, you burn the outside and the middle is still raw.
very cool. .I like to hand roast my coffee.. Here's my demo;
Jiffypop Coffee Roaster
I am wondering if you could use the another dimmer to control the temperature of the heating element?
I don’t remember the amperage of the heating element, but the reason I used the rheostat instead of another dimmer was because I couldn’t find a dimmer that could handle the amperage of the heating element.
So, if you can find a dimmer capable of the amperage, it would work.
Great Video! I am currently using a Presto poplite popcorn maker for my roasting, I really like your set up. Can you respond to me on FB and give me directions on how to modify the popper like yours? Have you had your most success with the Popery I & II? Have you tried the Presto?
Joseph, I tried to modify my popcorn pumper using the directions that you have linked (I found the link on my own a while back), but did something wrong because I blew that sucker up! It would be awesome if you could show how you did it!
Thanks!
4 months ago, I said I would make another video and I didn't follow through.
I really need to do so and I will try to make a video this week of opening up the roaster and showing how it was done.
Joseph Collins
Awesome! I have a new(ish) Poppery II headed my way. Thanks.
Jeff Preston ruclips.net/video/S4KXvGZOivA/видео.html&spfreload=10
@Daphnadillia Next time I order some beans from sweetmarias, I will get some shipping bags that contain the one way valve, and if your really interested, I'll send you some in a small sample bag (enough for a pot of coffee). Do you own a coffee grinder so I could send whole beans? Respond to me on FB as to not create a personal chat thread on youtube.
Your modification does not appear to be the same as in the first part of the mod. I am having a little trouble sorting out what you did. Could you give a better schematic and pictures to show what you did. It looks as if it is a genius at work and should be share with us slower folks in the roasting community. Thanks for the video!
I think the easiest way to explain it is to open it up and show it. I might make another video showing the mod in more detail.
That would be great! I look forward to it. If I can help let me know. I just did an article for ineedcoffee.com that should be posted soon on Hacking a Presto Pop Lite Popper.
TheTroutDoc ruclips.net/video/S4KXvGZOivA/видео.html&spfreload=10
Great job. What Rheostat is that exactly? Thx!!
That is the "Router Speed Controller" from Harbor Freight Tools. Item#43060
The metal can used to be from what?
I don't remember where the can is from. some kind of vegetables most likely.
the easy way i do it out side, i do it by color not by time . i use a pan to water to cool the beans. Let dry and de= gas wheelchair larry
K.I.S.S!