I have been reading  a little about the convection oven and stir crazy
roasting set ups.
Can someone point me to a how to on this set up?
I'd like to know what is currently being used now for the oven, stir crazy
etc.  I have seen notes about springform pans and others and don't
understand the setup.
I would like to get some roasts with a little more body.
Thanks for your help.
Gary

Gary,
The SC/TO setup is pretty easy.  At least for an =
electrically/electronically
challenged guy like me.  And there are some variables you can choose to =
do
if you want.
Basically, it's the bottom half of a Stir Crazy popcorn popper (a =
shallow,
teflon dish with motorized stirring arms and heating element) and the =
top
half of a "convection" resting on top of the Stir Crazy.  You put the =
beans
in the bottom of the Stir Crazy, plug it in, then put the convection =
(aka
turbo) oven top on top.  You can put a springform pan between the two so
that the springform pan rests on the Stir Crazy (positioned so the beans =
are
inside the springform and so that the stirring arms don't bump into it). =
 Or
not.
The Stir Crazy has a heater in the bottom.  You can disconnect or add an
on/off switch for the heater of the Stir Crazy if you want.  
The heat to roast the beans is controlled by the thermostat dial on the
convection/turbo oven.  
The ovens I've seen most often mentioned are the Sunpentown SO-2000
(available from newegg.com) and the Galloping Gourmet (no longer made =
but
can be found at thrift stores, etc.).  The ovens are, basically, an =
electric
heating element with a strong fan to move the hot air around.
Peter Bishop has a great introductory site about roasting in the SC/TO =
and
some photos.  His website is here:http://www.bish.ws/coffee/TurboCrazy.htmlI started out with poppers and after a couple of months just wanted to =
roast
a larger capacity.  Have been using the SC/TO setup ever since and =
really
like it.  You can put the whole thing together for under $100.  The =
turbo
oven is probably the most expensive part.  It's around $50/$60.  Closer =
to
$50 if you wait for a sale.
Hope this helps.  
Brent
Roasting in an SC/TO
For drip/moka/presspot brew
<Snip>

Thanks Brent,
That's exactly what I was looking for!
Gary

Agreeing with what everyone else has said, here are the three
modifications I made to my Stir Crazy / Sunpentown TO setup:
1)  Put a copper cap over the bolt in the middle of the stir crazy.  I
cut small slots on each side of the cap so that it would fit over the
SC stirring arms and then lightly pinched it shut so it wouldn't slip
around/off.  Cost:  $1.00
2) Bought a 2 foot length of 3/8 inch copper tubing, cut it to length
of stirring arms, slipped it over arms, and then crimped  it flat so
the stirring arms became adjustable angle paddles instead of just
wires.  $1.50
3)  Bought an aluminum yardstick.  Drilled a small hole every inch. 
Gently shaped it into a circle and use as a 1" wide spacer between
Turbo Oven top and Stir Crazy bottom.  Holes let chaff and excess heat
out, but not beans.  1" spacer gives me ability to roast 1 lb. of
greens with ease in about 15 minutes. $1.50
I personally don't even have a desire to investigate other roasting
options at this time.  I have great control over the roasts - they
come out even and without divots, great batch size, short roasting
times, and very easy to setup, use, and store.
Good luck with it...  and - NewEgg is an excellent vendor.  I've 
bought lots of items from them and I've  never been disappointed with
their service.
LarryD
On 6/25/05, Gary  wrote:
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Larry Dorman wrote:
<Snip>
Has anyone heard of a way to vary the heat from the Stir Crazy's heating 
element, for example with a rheostat?  I know many people simply 
disconnect the SC heater but I know I won't do it immediately and it 
seems like a waste of a resource that might make for better roasts (if 
only it could be controlled)
Thanks.

hazzmat wrote:
<Snip>
My good friend Peter installed a switch for the Stir Crazy heating
element. I use it on almost every roast. I turn on the bottom heat
for a certain amount of seconds each minute to get first crack
happening when I want it to, depending on the profile, bean and
quantity. It would be nice to have control over the temp of the
heat though and not be turning it on and off. I've had no problems
with scorching as long as the bottom heat isn't on more than :20
seconds per minute.
Oh and I also use the bottom heat for preheating which really
improved my roasts. As per the Dietrich roasting notes that have
been posted, it's good to flash a little moisture out of the
beans right away. I preheat even for longer profile roasts.
JeffO