I just wanted to let you know that everything worked out great for the shipping.
We christened the roaster this evening, and all went well. I am looking forward to my first cup tomorrow!
Many thanks for all your coordination.
Mike
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
Hello All,
I just wanted to take a moment and explain to you my experiences with the RK Drum. I am currently using a Fiesta 36,000BTU setup. I also have Ron's Gear motor setup as well. I must tell you that the combined setup does extremely well. I have now probably roasted two 70 Kilo sacks of coffee through the RK Drum and I always get consistent reliable results. The coffee always cups very nicely and my customers are pleased. I am actually starting out as a roaster and found the entry level costs on roasters to be quite prohibitive. I would recommend this solution to anyone. Due to our increasing volume, I am thinking about building another setup. The only drawbacks I can think of is that it is slightly cumbersome removing the pin from the drum door when it's hot and you're trying to cool the roast in a hurry. However; it only takes a couple of roasts to get the hang of it and you can usually pull the roast, get the pin out and get it into the cooling tray within about 10 seconds. As to construction, the drum is really a very fine piece of work. Not a single complaint on its reliability or sturdiness or design. It really should last a lifetime. Highly recommended!
Shane Lewis
Old Spanish Main Coffee Company
Flowery Branch, GA
Brian Bircher
I've been meaning to write but I've been too busy roasting! The drum is working great and you were right, once it gets seasoned and "settled in" it just keeps getting better. I've also become more adept at controlling the heat and of course the movements of getting the drum in and out
quickly become more second nature as you go along. I've been turning out some excellent roasts and have been able to hit the roasts just where I want them whether it's for a dark roast or a beautiful City+ or Full City on an island coffee.
Taking the ceramic briquettes out madeall the difference in the world as far as being able to reach roast temps faster, bring my roast times down to where they should be and to better control temps during the roast. It's funny since I had thought it would be easier to do all that with the briquettes. I haven't gotten the steel plate made yet and am still using the cookie sheet. It's working fine so I may just leave it.
Hi,
I whole heartily agree! I bought a motor off of Ron and what a difference it makes. the shipping was super fast and all questions were answered promptly. I am really enjoying BBQ roasting!
Your drum is awesome! I just roasted my first batch of beans on my new
RK drum and they came out great. I feel like a kid at Christmas! Oh
yeah, it is Christmas and this is my present to myself! I roasted 1 1/4
pound on my first try and chose a bean that I do not really care for so
that it did not matter what happened. My grill did a great job of
getting to temp fast and I was able to maintain temps even in the 45
degree weather with a little breeze blowing. I hit first crack at 9:11,
cranked back the heat some and
