Do I need a KKTO?

Muscles

Cheers Borat, I hadn't forgotten but was waiting until I decided on a Vacuum until chopping the hole. I hope to be able to NOT chop the steel length on the vacuum though so I can still use it as intended outdoors... might have to hunt for a second spare part. I have to go into Good Guys today to pickup another Smart Grinder for the wifes decaf so I'll look at the vacs there and will finish it off tonight. Do you find the same port works well enough as an exhaust hole Borat?

Brett_H

Nice work Marc... be interesting to see what price they offer you on the Smart... I may grab one for plunger duties at school. The old Lux is getting to be quite noisy. Kelsey may be selling his Smart cheaply due to some low-life giving him a bum home roast after a KKTO incident between 1 and 2 crack with a loose agitator and a minute or two's inattentivness 😡 BUYER BEWARE!!!

borat123

Muscles wrote:

Do you find the same port works well enough as an exhaust hole Borat?

Yes, it works fine. I usually start the initial rapid cooling with the vac, then pull it out and switch on the fan to finish it off. I used some pvc pipe from bunnings, and fitted the inside with rubber to match the diameter of the vac pipe that goes into it. cheers.

askthecoffeeguy

I can tell you that even before I upgraded my heat source on my KKTO it was still producing amazing coffee I have no problems roasting up to 1kg at a time - but I'm usually perfectly happy with 800g The quality of the roasts are second to none, the equipment is hassle free and completely customizable, and the quantities that you can roast on a KKTO are more than enough for home use But mainly it's the quality and consistency of the roast that appeals to me most - easily on par with cafe quality IMHO Enough said ...

Brett_H

askthecoffeeguy wrote:

I can tell you that even before I upgraded my heat source on my KKTO it was still producing amazing coffee I have no problems roasting up to 1kg at a time - but I'm usually perfectly happy with 800g The quality of the roasts are second to none, the equipment is hassle free and completely customizable, and the quantities that you can roast on a KKTO are more than enough for home use But mainly it's the quality and consistency of the roast that appeals to me most - easily on par with cafe quality IMHO Enough said ...

I completely agree. I was skeptical until Paul demoed his unit at a meet and greet and more importantly I got to sample the results. Now I only use the Behmor for small batches.

Muscles

So I have built my KKTO and have a question re the kit. The kit comes with the 2 pieces of silicone tubing. Has anyone found that using the lower one (smaller diameter & joined) that the shaft doesn't seat properly/deep enough? Doing dry runs with green beans I found that if using the lower silicone ring the shaft jumps lifting the perforated pot with it. Without that lower silicone ring I don't have that issue but do find that perforated pot turns with the agitator arm. So far, with my limited testing and DIY skills I have found that I get a better result using the larger diameter tubing slipped over the lip of the lower, outer pot. This keeps the perforated pot stationary and seats it low enough to engage the shaft properly. Hope that all makes sense... Hopefully my Turbo Oven will arrive by courier tomorrow so I can start roasting on the weekend. Another question, would the weight of the TO be enough to hold down the perforated drum and shaft and hence stop it "jumping"? Also finished my bucket cooler 😃 Got an Ozito shop blower/vac that I have mounted on my BBQ to aid with the cooling and it appears that it will work a treat.

Koffee_Kosmo

The kit comes with the 2 pieces of silicone tubing. Has anyone found that using the lower one (smaller diameter & joined) that the shaft doesn't seat properly/deep enough? Doing dry runs with green beans I found that if using the lower silicone ring the shaft jumps lifting the perforated pot with it. Without that lower silicone ring I don't have that issue but do find that perforated pot turns with the agitator arm.

Try pushing the perforated pot down to seat it The lower tube can be replaced with a fine layer of high temp silicone gel/paste (from the tube) where the two pots join Its purpose is to seal in the heat or to put it another way not let heat escape

Hopefully my Turbo Oven will arrive by courier tomorrow so I can start roasting on the weekend. Another question, would the weight of the TO be enough to hold down the perforated drum and shaft and hence stop it "jumping"?

This is very possible However there are a few easy tweaks to fix anything as all the parts need to marry up & once done its permanent, I am only a PM or call away KK

Muscles

Thanks Paul, I'll try with the T/O first i guess...

Muscles

Okay so I am a few hours away from my maiden voyage with the KKTO. Any last minute sage advice?

Koffee_Kosmo

Muscles wrote:

Okay so I am a few hours away from my maiden voyage with the KKTO. Any last minute sage advice?

Have fun ;D And relax - let the roaster do all the work KK

mycuppa

Best tip = do it when there is nobody around. It's surprising how easy you can be distracted when someone else is there ....even if they are just watching. I love talking to people and can talk your head off about all things coffee, but when I'm roasting I even hate it when my staff are nearby as they are bound to ask me questions that can distract me. Good luck Marc and well done taking a leap onto the successful KKTO platform.

Muscles

I completed my first KKTO roast and reckon I did pretty well. I couldn't be bothered trying to figure out why the CS Roast Monitor would not detect an input HID so I proceeded manually. I'll try Roast Logger instead, at least it detected the Victor DMM. I reckon the roast went well albeit a bit slower than I'd like and I pulled them a bit earlier than I would have with the Behmor, oh and the cooler got them down to 25C in around 3mins so they are a bit lighter than usual for me. Anyway, here is the result 🙂 1kg of Nicaragua Matagalpa by way of Green Bean Coffee. Can't wait to try em out!

Brett_H

They look great Marc! Welcome to the KKTO club! Look at all those browns.... The best bit for me with these new volumes is that I can finally have a batch last long enough to drink them over a couple of weeks and enjoy their development. Great job mate... first of many!

Koffee_Kosmo

You did a good job as a first roast What do I say in the instructions 😉 Start with small roasts and get familiar with your roaster and work up to larger roasts You went to the deep end first up ;D Very rarely do I roast 1kg with standard TO The sweat spot is 500gr to 650gr, - & for 99% of the time I roast 700gr Welcome to the KKTO club KK

Brett_H

How small can these roasters go without the Insert? I have been too afraid to go under 500g. I use the Behmor for my 300g roasts but would prefer using the KKTO!

Koffee_Kosmo

Brett H wrote:

How small can these roasters go without the Insert? I have been too afraid to go under 500g. I use the Behmor for my 300g roasts but would prefer using the KKTO!

You can roast 100 grams "but" with care to keep an eye on the heat On the KKTO due to clearance to the side, the current agitator blade will mix 300 grams but if one puts a dog clip at the end of the blade it can roast under 300 grams KK

Muscles

Yes KK, I know you said start smaller but I couldn't help myself. If you'd said start with 250g I would probably have started with 500g - just for the challenge. All was not lost anyway, actually far from it but I did see the value in Borat's SSR mod as thermostat turned off the element a few times unnecessarily. While I have some fine tuning to do I am already VERY glad I made the transition to the KKTO. I found I kept tripping the power board when I turned on the TO element meaning I had to run a separate extension cord to the power pack for the agitator motor so I'll have to find my heavy duty one in the garage. For those who have used the solid and the halogen TO's - Do the Halogen elements get up to temp easier than the solid elements? ie is the heat more "instant"?

Brett_H

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

You can roast 100 grams "but" with care to keep an eye on the heat On the KKTO due to clearance to the side, the current agitator blade will mix 300 grams but if one puts a dog clip at the end of the blade it can roast under 300 grams KK

Again great advice and great ideas, for free and and with no guarded jealousy or eye-rolling for my noobish inquiry. What a place the world would be if there were more KK's! Thanks Paul and keep us up to date on your progress Marc!

Lacehim

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

You can roast 100 grams "but" with care to keep an eye on the heat On the KKTO due to clearance to the side, the current agitator blade will mix 300 grams but if one puts a dog clip at the end of the blade it can roast under 300 grams KK

I also found a few got stuck in the middle. I used a BIG bull dog clip for the middle, and a little one at the end on one side. Worked a treat, and I roasted a few batches of 100gm for my syphon. I also used the extension ring (not sure what KK calls it) at the top to add more volume and extend the roast time.

Muscles wrote:

For those who have used the solid and the halogen TO's - Do the Halogen elements get up to temp easier than the solid elements? ie is the heat more "instant"?

I have both. I found roast times where very similar, but the light is a bonus. I can now roast at night too! 🙂

coffeehorse

Comparing Tiffany (older, S/H) to Kmart Homemaker (halogen, new) Tiffany didn't switch on/off problematically Homemaker with guard on switched too much Homemaker got up to temp quicker and had a smaller dead band.

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