I just wanted to let you know that everything worked out great for the shipping.
We christened the roaster this evening, and all went well. I am looking forward to my first cup tomorrow!
Many thanks for all your coordination.
Mike
Hello All,
I just wanted to take a moment and explain to you my experiences with the RK Drum. I am currently using a Fiesta 36,000BTU setup. I also have Ron's Gear motor setup as well. I must tell you that the combined setup does extremely well. I have now probably roasted two 70 Kilo sacks of coffee through the RK Drum and I always get consistent reliable results. The coffee always cups very nicely and my customers are pleased. I am actually starting out as a roaster and found the entry level costs on roasters to be quite prohibitive. I would recommend this solution to anyone. Due to our increasing volume, I am thinking about building another setup. The only drawbacks I can think of is that it is slightly cumbersome removing the pin from the drum door when it's hot and you're trying to cool the roast in a hurry. However; it only takes a couple of roasts to get the hang of it and you can usually pull the roast, get the pin out and get it into the cooling tray within about 10 seconds. As to construction, the drum is really a very fine piece of work. Not a single complaint on its reliability or sturdiness or design. It really should last a lifetime. Highly recommended!
Shane Lewis
Old Spanish Main Coffee Company
Flowery Branch, GA
Hi Shane,
I love my RK drum - I think I've probably roasted 100 pounds in it by
now. As bad weather begins to creep into Northern Indiana I have a
little more time on my hands and I realized I neglected to let you know
that a friend of mine wrote an article about my roasting. If you go to
www.thebeacher.com - go to past issues for 2011, select October 6 and
you'll get a pdf version of The Beacher. If you scroll down to page 36
you'll find Charley's article. The RK drum gets honorable mentions
there. I hope you enjoy it.
Dick Coffee
I've only been roasting coffee since June of this year (09). I needed to get a larger roaster, seems like every week I roast more and more. I did alot research and just did not want to pull the trigger on a $3500.00 plus roaster.
I contacted Shane and talked to him about a drum. I ended up ordering the 4# roaster, bought a new grill and did the sheet metal mods. Shipping was fast and correct. The drum is built to last a lifetime, the only thing that I should have done different was to get the 6# drum for $90.00 more. (Shane should have talked me into getting the 6# roaster.) LOL
It was simple to set up and get it going. I've more than maxed it out a couple of times, beans came out great. You can see the mods i've made to the grill and the simple bean cooler I built on Shane's web site.
Bottom line is that the drum is top notch, works great and is well worth the money! Shane is also a great guy to talk to and will treat you right.
Dale
It’s been a while since I bought my roaster. Great work, have been having good times & roasting plenty of coffee. I have even had it reviewed by the crew at Royal NY, who loved what I sent them.
Got the new clip, and pop riveted it on. Must have taken me all of 2 minutes!
Just completed roasting 20 pounds of various beans, and I LOVE the new clip!!!!
No more fiddling around with the pin, just pop it out, flip the clip, dump the beans, and on to the next batch.
As you mentioned in your review, a bit less noise, and much faster turnaround times between roasts.
Still regret not going with the 6 pound drum.
Best Wishes,
Jay Michels
