Hi Shane,
I have a few more questions about the 2 lb Drum.
What is the standard hole size in the drum cylinder that you ship if the customer does not specify any changes?
It looks like all of the drums use the same 304 Stainless 16 gauge… from the 2 lb on up. Do I have that right?
If I’m right about that than I’m trying to make sense out of the price on the 4 lb drum being more than 2X that of the 2 lb Drum. It seems like I’m missing something. Can you help clarify that?
The 2 lb Drum is referred to as a “sample drum.” Does this name imply only that it is for smaller roast sizes or does it imply some other differences in the 2 lb Drum relative to the others?
Is the shaft size on the RK motor 3/8 diameter or ??
Do you sell couplers that will adapt other shaft sizes?
I look forwards to hearing from you on this and Thanks for your help!
Ed
On the 4LB, you’re not missing anything. The 2LB drum is…really a promo item…we pretty much use it as an entry level item to get people interested in drum roasting and it’s not really a sustainable product at the 2LB price. Thus the 4LB seems higher, when in fact it’s the 2LB that is lower. The 2LB should really be at a higher price.
The 2LB drum is…exactly the same design and methodology as all the other drums. It’s just used for smaller batch sizes, typically used for testing various roasts and roasting very small volumes such that might be sent from a green supplier. But there is no reason that you can’t just go roast like crazy on it. Though I would think it difficult to run an efficient “for public consumption” business with it. So we had many requests for a sample drum, thus its name. Though, to be fair, it is roughly 4X the capacity of a Hot Top… so some might not interpret that as a sample at all… rather on larger commercial roasters, it would definitely be a sample drum. With that said, the 4LB can also roast 1/2LB or 1/4LB just fine. If you ever plan on moving to a business model, I would definitely look towards the higher volume drums, as the difference in cost is minimal compared to the amount of profitable coffee they can produce. We estimate the entire roaster can pay for itself in approx 10-12 roasts.
The shaft size on the motor is indeed 3/8"
We do not sell other coupler sizes. Our current business model, to keep things manageable targets three kinds of people:
-The inventor (Drum only) (This fellow buys a drum only and installs it into a beer keg then pedals it with his bicycle coming up with his own build and sourcing his own parts to design the machine of his fancy)
-The Do it yourself handyman- (Do it Yourself Kit) This fellow can certainly find his way around a hardware store and can source all the common items in our kits..we supply all the hard to make or hard to find items, he saves some money by doing all the leg work at the hardware store.
-The Everything Guy (Everything Kit) - This guy hasn’t the time to go mess around the hardware store, doesn’t know a screwdriver from a tire iron, or ..yes doesn’t want to leave his house. (We had a few of those… :-/). In this case we supply everything turnkey to get your roaster up and running save for the grill and drop it on the doorstep.
Why do we only stock certain items…
Administratively it’s just too much inventory and labor to manage every part under the sun for every possible idea..that in the end only comes up every blue moon, so we find that for the vast majority, these kit approaches work well for almost everyone. The kit we provide, or rather the platform we provide is tried and true and if protected from the weather should last you 15+ years. My two roasters are 12 and 13 years old respectively (4LB and a 6LB) and I’m yet to replace the first thing. It gives us an unbeatable reputation and it makes it manageable for me to troubleshoot roast quality issues as I know what equipment I’m/you’re working with. So if you wish to build your own custom machine, you’ll be on your own for that part. Once you’re up and running, I can assist you as much as you need. Minimizing all the inventory and running around, instead allows us to focus on supporting and educating customers in the art of roasting and achieving a better roast, which is where we prefer to spend our time.
We do provide all of the kit pieces a la carte. typically for replacement items, or if someone wants a kit +1 piece for example. But we don’t support custom builds…beyond giving advice on how to improve roasts, etc…teaching how to roast with this method..etc.
Thanks for the questions and let me know if I can answer anything further.
Shane
