FAQ
- Frequently
Asked Questions
Many of the emails I receive ask the same questions over and over.
It only means I haven't explained myself properly.
Therefore, below are some of the recent questions I have received and
the answers I have provided:
Q:
I just bought a Poppery, and am interested in how you did your
temperature control mod...
A: I did not do a temperature control.
Although I tried with a stove control, it was not successful.
My means of some control is the increased air flow modification.
There are many sites, some are linked here, that have elaborate
temperture controls.
Q: Is there a need to
modify the thermostat? I have rewired the switch to control the
heater only....do I need to "break off the ceramic nipple" as you have
described elsewhere?
A: Where did I say I broke off the ceramic nibble?? The
thermostat has a screw adjustment which is sealed and needs to be
broken and adjusted so the contacts will open later. However,
watch for dirty contacts or
corroded/pitted contacts and use a point file to clean.
Q. I have an original
Poppery and was wanting to separate the fan and the heater to gain
control of each. I have a variac for the heater and a dimmer set up for
the fan, do you have any instructions or insights as to what I need to
do to wire the fan and
heater ( I would like the heater to still be controlled by the on/off
switch
if possible) with separate cords?
A: I do not advise on heater modifications. As
for seperating the fan from the heater, my web page has a picture of
the bottom of the popper wired for an always on fan and a switched
heater. Since this is two seperate circuits, you should now be
able to proceed with your modification. But a question for you:
If you can't figure this simple mode out yourself are you sure
you are the one that should be modifying with variacs and dimmer
switches???
Q:I was thinking about buying an original Poppery at eBay. My question
is: is it a decent/good roaster, if left unmodified? I am not very
mechanically inclined, so most of the modifications I've read about at
alt.coffee, or like the one's I see that you've done, I don't think I
could perform. Are there "lesser" modifications that you might
recommend for mechanically challenged folks like me?
A: Glad you asked. An unmodified popper may
very well produce decent /good coffee. Since you know the level of your
own
incompetence, you should see if a friend can help you through the
simple
mods. You only need the ability to take the darn thing apart and change
the
wires over. Switching the heater only allows you to terminate the
roast
immediately and start cooling. You can follow some of the other
cooling
methods some have suggested.
Q: Do you have any poppers for sale?
A: No
Q:I
just got a poppery II from a friend and tried to do some
roasting.
However, after 17 minutes, the beans were only a light brown. I
stopped
the roast because I had less important things to do (go to work).
Any ideas? Could it have a heating element gone out on it?
A: No doubt the thermostat. Some
people
by-pass the thermostat. I don't like to recommend that however.
A
thermostat is a safety device. Some of the links will lead you to
how
it has been done. However, too little beans would maybe be the
reason.
Use a full half cup of beans and try again if you have not already done
so.
Q: Could you suggest a remedy to bypass the thermostat for the poppery
1?
My popper was just barely getting the first crack. I have
attempted
to keep the points closed, however it no longer heats up at all.
I
have more ambition than skill in this project, and I am afraid the
points
are now damaged...the ceramic nub (mentioned in a prior post) is still
intact.
Any suggestions?
A:I wouldn't recommend bypassing the
thermostat.
It is a safety device to prevent the popper from burning your house
down.
The screw adjustment is the only one that should be necessary to
increase
the temperature. The contacts could be burnt or corroded and if
so
a point file or emery cloth should be used to polish them up. If
however
the thermostat is beyond repair, you now have a nice cooling device for
the beans after you have roasted them in your newly acquired popper.
Q:Armed
with my new coffee roaster (for me it was new), I went over to Whole
Foods and purchased a small amount of green beans. That
afternoon, I had my maiden run. With about 3 ounces of beans I
arrived at a roasted state that I found visually agreeable in 18
minutes (something that looked like a French Roast). I ground and
brewed some coffee the next day and then again Tuesday and was fairly
satisfied with the results.
So with some degree of success under my belt, I bought more green beans
(from a different vendor) and tried roasting some tonight. This
time I measured out 4 ounces. After 51 minutes I didn't quite
achieve the same darkness/oily condition that I did on Saturday.
After letting the Poppery II cool off, I tried again with a different
green bean variety (also 4 ounces). However, this time I went for
92 minutes until I called it quits.
So my question is this would I be right in assuming that the heating
element in my Poppery has lost some effectiveness since my first trial,
or is it possible that different beans can require that much more
roasting time?
A:
Wow! 51 minutes and 92 Minutes definately is not good and I am
surprise you even allowed it to go that far. You have a defective
Poppery II.
Tim Baynes has
offered the following roasting experience:
I absolutely agree that the limit is
1/2 cup of beans. It can be
a slightly rounded 1/2 cup, but no more. However, there is more
to it
than that.
I have found that the PII has problems
consistently roasting the
beans. With the 1/2 cup quantity, some beans will be much darker
than
others, and some will actually still be fairly light.
The roasting inconsistency is
magnified with larger beans!! The
larger the bean, the more inconsistent the roast. As an example,
the
Brazil Estate Peabody from Sweet Maria's is a very small bean and
actually roasts pretty well in the PII. I give it 6.5 to
7.25
minutes, and it's wonderful. However, just about anything else
I've
tried, and especially large Kona beans, is so inconsistent that I can't
find a way to avoid a "green" taste to the cup. No matter what I
do,
larger beans always end up tasting slightly like hay or grass.
Not
good.
I tried to counter this issue by using
very small quantities of
beans, down to 1/4 cup. This doesn't always work because the
beans
don't get hot enough - too much airflow??? Depending upon the
bean, I
sometimes can't get to 2nd crack with very small quantities, even with
very long roast times (10 minutes-plus). This just results in
baked
beans - also not good.
So, the bottom line is that for
someone using the PII, smaller
beans appear to be a must. Larger beans are out of the question,
in my
opinion. Mid-to-smallish beans are mostly doable, using smaller
quantities, maybe like a rounded 1/3 cup, but depending upon the bean
might have trouble getting to 2nd crack.
A:
Interesting. I haven't had anybody comment on the size of the bean
before. I wonder if your poppery is just a shade cooler than it
should be. Check it out with a thermometer. In my opinion,
the temp should rise to at least +420 F.
Commentary: You will find a lot of coffee garus on the internet,
each
very sure they are an authority in fluid bed roasting.
Some are, can you tell for sure who they are? I am not one of
them. I can stand being corrected and admit I only know what I
only know. I have roasted with a poppery for 5 years. I have
tried everything the
garus suggested. Slow roasts, pulsing the switch, controlling the
temp
one way or another. Trying to use the profile of a drum roster to
use
on a fluid bed roaster in my opinion is a waste of time. What it
amounts
to is what you have found works for you; what pleases your pallet. I
roast
for drip coffee. For espresso, you may not find my way suitable
(nor
for drip coffee either ;-) I now have it down to a simple quick
roast.
I preheat the popper to at least 300F. I drop in a brimming half
cup
of quality beans. The temperature will drop, naturally and raise again
to
300 and higher. Around 420F the first crack sets in. At
this
point, I allow more air to flow as an attempt to keep the roast from
going
over 460F. If it does--too bad, but no big deal. When I have
reached
the level I like, usually a minute into heavy second snap. I cut the
heater,
and dump the beans into a second popper that has no heater, just the
fan.
After the beans cool sufficiently, I leave them in a metal open dish
for
12 to 24 hours before sealing them. This produces a wonderful
aroma
and a great tasting coffee--for me.