Curtis Scheelke

I've roasted about 300 pounds in my RK. I enjoy roasting the larger batches. I prefer 2 1/2 pound batches.    When you start roasting with an RK you will find that a five pound bag of greens doesn't last very long.   I really enjoy being able to roast coffee for my family and friends, with out having to spend hours of my time to do it.

Hard to believe I've been using my RK drum since 2004 and it is still as great as day one. In looking for information for a friend and having been away from the site for several years I was amazed to see the progress made. I saw the new drum latch and had to have it. It arrived last week but only got around to installing it today. I had to roast some almonds for some Custom Crafted chocolate I make. 

Hello All,

What I love about the RK drum is what I think scares most people away.  At first look, an RK drum with a BBQ looks like you have no controls.  The opposite is true!  With a RK drum setup you have total control!  It is the only home roast system that I know of where you have the power and control to roast from 4 oz to 4 pounds of coffee.  Where people get in trouble is not realizing the flexibility of this system of roasting because they don’t go beyond the first look.  After 20 years of homeroasting using every type of roaster from the new commercial home models to roasting over fire with an antique popcorn popper, I think I am qualified to say the RK drum is the best home roaster you can buy for less than $1,500.00.  I have not found a limitation to my RK system yet.  After spending $150.00 on a commercial machine a few years ago, it only took me a month to go back to my $3.00 popcorn popper. 

 The RK drum reminds me of roasting over fire with the popcorn popper except it gets rid of those dimensions that need to be consistent for a good roast every time.  The RK drum moves the beans at a consistent rate.  The RK drum keeps the beans at the right place to receive the heat they need to roast.  The RK drum gives you a way to control the heat.  So, instead of five dimensions to control, the RK takes care of three and leaves the roaster with the two most important dimensions to control, time and temperature.  It lessens the

It's been a week since I received and put together my new 6Lb DIY combo and in short, I'm thrilled!  I had a few small challenges with the installation but engineering the solutions was part of the fun.
With this 10 year old Weber grill, the square tubes were about 3/4 inch too low for the base plate-motor mount combo at the highest position so I cut a pair of 1x2 shims to sit between the base plate and the tubes and got some 3-inch bolts for the muffler clamps--just right!  The rotisserie cutouts in this grill were tiny and wanting to avoid using the Charbroil mounting brackets, I used my Dremel to cut those slots in the grill deep enough to accomodate some extra bearing-bushings that I bought at a grill parts supplier.  Now the rotisserie spit is strongly supported on each side of the grill and I think it makes the motor's job easier since the spit and drum aren't hanging on the coupler.  By the way, the motor , motor mount and baseplate is very well made and I especially appreciate the holes being pre-threaded for the electrical boxes.  I chose to mount an unswitched duplex outlet on the back position to give me a place to conveniently plug in a fan to blow on the motor when I start doing big long roast sessions.  To make the grill more efficient on gas, I blocked off about 70% of the rear vent with a piece of carpet threshold that fit perfectly and already had a slight bend which makes it press against the grill base nicely when the hood is closed.

Enough tech-stuff--forgive me, I'm an engineer--the drum is a work of art and the motor and mounts are terrific and the whole kit is well thought-out and it makes GREAT COFFEE!  I've done several roasts using your
suggested profile for 1lb batches and I'm getting the hang of it!  I will graduate to larger batches when I decide what kind of beans I want to order in quantity.  The only bad thing about this setup is that I want to roast all the time and you need lots of beans in your inventory to have all that fun!  The picture attached is Guatemala--Villa Herminia at a very even roast...delicious.

Thanks for your great products, and even more for your superb customer service!  Keep up the good work!

I owe you a big thankyou for your advice Shane! That drum is really starting to work for me. Some time in the future I will have to send you a documented time and temperature profile on what is working for me with that srum. One of the bigger hurdles is the barbeque. It doesn't regulate it's heat very well but I have put a bank of 4 thermometers on the front of my barbeque that I use to moniter the heat. This helps me keep an even roast along the full length of that long drum. Your suggestion of preheating the barbeque to 600 has really helped, I also am preheating the drum a little. What really has helped is the times that you projected for me. When I followed those times I started learning when the second crack was happening. this has made the difference. -Jason