Hi all, first time that I've checked out this sub forum. I'm an avid home coffee roaster, and I see some interest here in this hobby. So for my show-and-tell session I'll present my roaster, which is a PID'd bread machine roaster. This is a very common DIY setup in that you use the bread machine's pan & mixing arm to hold and agitate the beans, and a heat gun to roast them.
Most folks stick with this simple combination and manually adjust the heat gun to control their roast profile. I took it a step further and use a PID controller to control my roast profile. I'm currently using a programmable controller (by Auber instruments) which lets me automate the process by programming in a time vs. temperature plot.
This page shows the basic build:
http://www.tracezero.net/Beer/2008/12/21/bread-machine-coffee-roaster-version-2/
This shows an updated chaff collector / lid:
http://www.tracezero.net/Beer/2009/02/12/coffee-roaster-chaff-collector/
Most folks stick with this simple combination and manually adjust the heat gun to control their roast profile. I took it a step further and use a PID controller to control my roast profile. I'm currently using a programmable controller (by Auber instruments) which lets me automate the process by programming in a time vs. temperature plot.
This page shows the basic build:
http://www.tracezero.net/Beer/2008/12/21/bread-machine-coffee-roaster-version-2/
This shows an updated chaff collector / lid:
http://www.tracezero.net/Beer/2009/02/12/coffee-roaster-chaff-collector/