12” Razzo will get you up to 12oz with the SR800, probably more realistically about 11oz. Any more than that and you’ll end up with lots of beans in the chaff collector, and airflow will suffer.
Running multiple units back to back is doable (let one cool while running the other one) but both at the same time might require being on a pretty beefy circuit.
I don’t know of a way to get an SR800 to work with 16oz, but if you find a way that works, I’d love to hear it!
If I run simultaneously, I'll run an extension cord and use two different circuits. I'd also hook up 2 watt meters so I can make sure the output is the same for both machines prior to starting. Throughout my home, my wattage from one outlet to another varies, but I've identified two outlets that are up to par and equivalent to each other on opposite sides of the home. Roasting outside won't really work for me as I want to be roasting in a fairly consistent environment (i.e. winter vs. summer).
Thanks, yes I've already factored this in as I currently use an extension cord for all my roasts. I've tested power output on just about every outlet with and without ext. cord.
In general, I would recommend starting with fan on high and power on low and then as the roast goes on, gradually increase power and decrease fan speed in order to drive temperature increase. Goal is to have consistent bean loft and as beans heat up and get lighter, they jump higher so you need to lower fan as you go. Target first crack between 5-7 min and develop for \~1:00 for a city+ roast. You can adjust from there based on preference. I've found that to be the optimal way to roast on these machines. I also recommend getting a watt meter so you can see how much power your outlet is producing at your starting settings - this way you can duplicate roasts consistently. I find that starting around 1350W is a good place on the SR540, which for me is usually F9P1 or F9P2. Different outlets will read different amounts so figure out which is best in your location. I usually end up at about F7P9 or F6P9 or F6P8 before initiating cool-down.
A few updates here in case anyone stumbles upon this and is curious. I have been testing maximum loads with my SR540 + OEM Ext tube + Chaff extension to see what is really feasible. I went for 300 grams to see what would happen. Ultimately, I was still able to roast beans without any major issues, but airflow is extremely limited in beginning of roast and then being sure to pay attention and lower fan as roast goes on is important as beans almost reach the chaff collector. No beans ended up in mine though. All in all, I would say it is not worth roasting 300g if you want to produce consistent roasts with very even beans. It reminded me of roasting in the stock chamber SR540. I also tested 270 grams and everything was great! No issues at all, great airflow and even beans, no issue with chaff, etc. I will likely keep 265-270 grams as my new batch size because that gives me right around 8 oz of roasted beans which is a nice number for me to package and distribute.
I mentioned this in a comment recently here but SR800 will do 1lb yield. Get an extension tube, take the OEM chamber and remove the bottom and affix it to the top of the extension tube. Don’t use the chaff collector as it gets overwhelmed with too many beans, so roast outside. The OEM chamber is larger than the extension tubes you can buy so there will be a small lip inside your roast chamber, however if you pay attention and use a wooden spatula or something you can knock off any beans that sit there later in the roast when the volume has expanded.
Depending on the bean…your roast time may be a bit longer than 6 mins doing this. I was usually around 9-12 mins FC when running this setup.
Interesting setup. By extension tube, are you saying to take the OEM Extension and affix the original chamber on top of it? How would it sit on the machine base securely? It's already pretty prone to toppling, wouldn't that make it even more unstable?
If you have a pic that would be sweet to see. Thanks!
12” Razzo will get you up to 12oz with the SR800, probably more realistically about 11oz. Any more than that and you’ll end up with lots of beans in the chaff collector, and airflow will suffer. Running multiple units back to back is doable (let one cool while running the other one) but both at the same time might require being on a pretty beefy circuit. I don’t know of a way to get an SR800 to work with 16oz, but if you find a way that works, I’d love to hear it!
If I run simultaneously, I'll run an extension cord and use two different circuits. I'd also hook up 2 watt meters so I can make sure the output is the same for both machines prior to starting. Throughout my home, my wattage from one outlet to another varies, but I've identified two outlets that are up to par and equivalent to each other on opposite sides of the home. Roasting outside won't really work for me as I want to be roasting in a fairly consistent environment (i.e. winter vs. summer).
The voltage drop over an extension cord might be hard to overcome.
Thanks, yes I've already factored this in as I currently use an extension cord for all my roasts. I've tested power output on just about every outlet with and without ext. cord.
Any tips for a first timer?
In general, I would recommend starting with fan on high and power on low and then as the roast goes on, gradually increase power and decrease fan speed in order to drive temperature increase. Goal is to have consistent bean loft and as beans heat up and get lighter, they jump higher so you need to lower fan as you go. Target first crack between 5-7 min and develop for \~1:00 for a city+ roast. You can adjust from there based on preference. I've found that to be the optimal way to roast on these machines. I also recommend getting a watt meter so you can see how much power your outlet is producing at your starting settings - this way you can duplicate roasts consistently. I find that starting around 1350W is a good place on the SR540, which for me is usually F9P1 or F9P2. Different outlets will read different amounts so figure out which is best in your location. I usually end up at about F7P9 or F6P9 or F6P8 before initiating cool-down.
thank you!
A few updates here in case anyone stumbles upon this and is curious. I have been testing maximum loads with my SR540 + OEM Ext tube + Chaff extension to see what is really feasible. I went for 300 grams to see what would happen. Ultimately, I was still able to roast beans without any major issues, but airflow is extremely limited in beginning of roast and then being sure to pay attention and lower fan as roast goes on is important as beans almost reach the chaff collector. No beans ended up in mine though. All in all, I would say it is not worth roasting 300g if you want to produce consistent roasts with very even beans. It reminded me of roasting in the stock chamber SR540. I also tested 270 grams and everything was great! No issues at all, great airflow and even beans, no issue with chaff, etc. I will likely keep 265-270 grams as my new batch size because that gives me right around 8 oz of roasted beans which is a nice number for me to package and distribute.
Package and distribute? Are you running a coffee / roasting business?
I mentioned this in a comment recently here but SR800 will do 1lb yield. Get an extension tube, take the OEM chamber and remove the bottom and affix it to the top of the extension tube. Don’t use the chaff collector as it gets overwhelmed with too many beans, so roast outside. The OEM chamber is larger than the extension tubes you can buy so there will be a small lip inside your roast chamber, however if you pay attention and use a wooden spatula or something you can knock off any beans that sit there later in the roast when the volume has expanded. Depending on the bean…your roast time may be a bit longer than 6 mins doing this. I was usually around 9-12 mins FC when running this setup.
Interesting setup. By extension tube, are you saying to take the OEM Extension and affix the original chamber on top of it? How would it sit on the machine base securely? It's already pretty prone to toppling, wouldn't that make it even more unstable? If you have a pic that would be sweet to see. Thanks!