Hello, I’ve been roasting on a RK since 2018. Up till last year it was great and most roasts were very consistent to what I wanted. I’m using a nexgrill 5 burner with 55000 btu with rear vents mostly blocked, 6lb roaster. I moved from the Arizona Desert to Michigan and had to adjust the roasts with the climate. At first it was fine but I ran into some issues starting last summer. The main issue is that my roasts are inconsistent in color. It mainly impacts medium roasts and happens across bean varieties although natural/honey processed beans seem the most inconsistent, also lower batch sizing doesn’t help. At first I had a leveling issue, once I corrected that it improved but still wasn’t perfect. I started temp checking each burner with a laser thermometer. Temps tend to swing from burner to burner, sometimes quite a bit during the roast and I hate opening it every few minutes which allows in cold air (much of the year). I have added a piece of sheet metal over the heat shields which helps some. I also changed out each burner, and drilled the jets to try to even the heat. That didn’t do much positive. Everything looks and appears fine from a roast perspective until I pour the beans and generally have to pick out an ounce or two from each batch. I thought it was time for a new grill although I can’t find anything wrong with the current one. Upon getting it (same nexgrill) each burner will temp all over the place, pretty similarly to the older grill. I haven’t set it up yet with the drum but I don’t have confidence this will fix my issue. Any and all help appreciated.
Originally posted on the RK Drums bbpress forum on 2023-04-10.
Source: Inconsistent Roasts - RK Drums - Professional Batch Roasters