I went back to the HG/DB roasting method when my Gene Cafe had its little accident and after a couple of weeks went out and bought a bread machine. I've been very pleased with my roasting results with the bread machine,so much so that even though my Gene has been back from the shop for weeks I haven't bothered to crank it up. I know that some HG/BM roasters install a thermocouple in the bread machine bowl for monitoring roast temperature. I ordered one of the digital thermocouples that Tom sells and I'm wondering what the best way to mount it in the bowl is. Should I just drill a hole in the bowl, run the wire in, and fix it with a clamp or something? I'd appreciate any suggestions, or leads on where I can find pictures of such a setup. Thanks. Ken Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Ken, haven't had much of a chance to mess with it but I'm planning on the same thing. I think I read from someone over at homeroasters.org that he drilled a hole and found a brass tube that matched the size of the TC. The hole in the bread pan fit the brass fixture, then he ran the TC lead through it... I'm thinking of doing the same thing, but that won't happen til August. Life is about to get nice and interesting! Am curious what you do, Ken. Please keep us informed. they seem to be modding BMs more at homeroasters. peace bill in wyo On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 8:10 PM, K W Matley wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Bill and Ken, I haven't yet done anything towards adding a thermocouple to my HGBM, but what I've been pondering is... Using the brass tube as Bill referred to, bend it into a right angle (with a curved bend) and arrange it so that it goes in horizontally through the side of the BM, then turns vertically before it goes through a hole drilled in the bottom of the BM. The end of the TC sticks straight up into the bottom of the pan. This way, the pan can be pulled out after roasting without having to retract the TC. John On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 10:29 PM, Bill wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
I drilled a hole in my BM pan for the thermocouple from the SM digital meter. I put the hole in the corner so I could insert the thermocouple about an inch and still avoid the paddle. I put it about 1/2 inch above the bottom of the pad so it would be covered by the bean mass even when I roast a half pound. It seemed to work well for three roasts on Saturday, and made it easier to determine when to slow the roast as I approached first crack at just over 400 degrees. The blue tape on the end of the thermocouple melted a little, and rather than inserting a metal tube that would also conduct heat, I ordered some heat resistant tape to wrap around the thermocouple. With shipping, it came to $2.32 here:http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/heatprooftape.phpThe tape looks to be rather thick, and I will probably have to redrill the hole in the pan to accommodate it. I will let you know how it works when I receive it. I have only been roasting for a couple of months, first with a Poppery II and now with the HG/BM, but I'm having a great time. I have been getting some sour roasts when trying to hit City or City+, so I hope that stretching out the length of the roasts will help. My darker roasts have been great, but I am more of a medium roast drinker. Dave M |
I got some brass tubing, and in the course of fooling around with it got that brassy smell and taste all over my hands. Seems that I'm particularly sensitive to that taste and although I know that it will probably burn off in a roast or two, I don't want to risk having my coffee taste of brass. I saw a video from a link at homeroasters.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW_Ogv8FvLs)in which the thermocouple was just poked through a hole in the bread machine pan. A simple clamp screwed to the outside of the pan held it in place. I've drilled the hole and installed the thermocouple, but haven't tried it out yet. On Sun, 6 Jul 2008 14:13:29 -0500, John Grubbs wrote: <Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Weird, I thought I'd saved this to finish and post later, but I see it made it to the board. I roasted a batch with the thermocouple installed. The roast progressed a bit quicker than the temperature reading suggested--I got first crack at about 390 rather than 405--but I brought it to Full City without difficulty. I'll see how it goes for a couple more roasts and post my results.... On Mon, 7 Jul 2008 18:09:28 -0700, K W Matley wrote: <Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
" ...heat resistant tape to wrap around the thermocouple." -ro Congratulations, you win. Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |