Ron,

Wow, thanks for the amazing drum. It's so strange to
me to go from an inconsistent 1/2 pound of dog-bowl
roasted beans to 2 lbs of a consistent roast!

Since I manage a BBQ store, I was thinking I'd serve
free coffee samples on the weekends. I'm just gonna
brew a pot or 2 and put out some 4/6oz cups. I would
really like to show people that I roasted on a BBQ, so
how do you feel about supplying me with either
business cards or flyers if you have them? Or if you
just sent me a p.o.p. 4x6 or 8x11 I'll just put it in
a plexi stand!

Let me know if you need parts/supplies
traegergrills.com makes a great thermometer for people
to mount in the center of grill hood!

Brian

Hard to believe I've been using my RK drum since 2004 and it is still as great as day one. In looking for information for a friend and having been away from the site for several years I was amazed to see the progress made. I saw the new drum latch and had to have it. It arrived last week but only got around to installing it today. I had to roast some almonds for some Custom Crafted chocolate I make. 

Hi Shane,

 From: "Mike Smith" 
 Subject: My first run with my RK Drum BBQ Roaster
 
 
 First off, I'm in no way connected to the production or manufacture of this
 fine product.   Although, I wish I were. What follows is a description of my experience
 setting up for  my first roast with my RK Drum, that I received...yesterday.
 
 Upon opening the well packed box, I was impressed with the heft, and build
 quality of this  all stainless drum. Anyone that has worked with stainless steel, knows what
 a bear it is to  work with. All of the cuts are clean, no burrs, and all of the welds have
 been ground and  smoothed. A very well executed construction. The height of the stirring
 vanes kind of  surprised me. All of the other drum designs I had seen, as on my Alp, the
 vanes were a  fraction of an inch tall. On this drum they are at least a full inch high.
 They stir a large load 2 pounds or more very well. For the grill, I purchased a I was having to look into the bottom of the grill from underneath to see the
 burner so that I  could adjust it down as low as possible to maintain 435, and still have a
 flame.  At 10 minutes  first crack started and I could tell by how " all at once " it was, that
 second was going to follow  very rapidly. I was right, by 11 minutes I was into one heck of a rolling  second crack. I cut the heat, grabbed the spit, and dumped and cooled the beans.
 
 I had sort of mélange roast, with most of the beans a very full city, with
 slight oil showing, and some french, with about 10 % city. I had observed
 the good mixing action of the vanes, and knew that this unevenness was not
 due to poor bean movement. I surmised that it was a result of too rapid of a
 bean temp rise.
 
 I decided to load up a larger batch. I loaded up 1 and 1/2 pounds of La Manita, and started again.
 This time the temp recovery after drum insertion was much slower. I think that the larger load
 actually made the temp more stable, and a lot less ticklish. This time first crack started at about 14 minutes, and started much more gradually. Second crack followed after a
 little added heat at 17:30 and I pulled the roast immediately upon onset of second. I usually like LM right before second.
 Anyhow, this roast was MUCH more even, and easier to control. I really like a more mellow taste,
 hopefully this won't be TOO mellow. 

 I am thoroughly pleased with the drum, and it will make my roasting much less involved than 6 or 7 Alpenrost roasts a week. I think I will look at putting a cast iron griddle in the bottom of my grill, to more evenly distribute the heat and flame, and to act as sort a thermal mass. I think that a load of about 1 pound is as small a roast as a beginner BBQ roaster should try. That
 1/2 pound roast was just too hard to control. The larger batch tracked along a profile almost
 exactly like my Alpenrost.
 
 The drum is by far the best investment in my roasting that I have ever made, and I am grateful
 for such a quality product. The drum is easily worth the price of an Alpenrost.This thing is built as well as anything I've ever seen. I have fabricated a few gadgets in my life, as I have been a
 homebrewer. It is much like coffee roasting in that you have to build everything
 if you want a nice setup without spending thousands.
 
 To replace my BBQ roaster would cost $6000 for a San Francisco sample roaster, and the end result is every bit as tasty. Until someone decides to sell a computer controlled, commercial style drum roaster for under $2000, I've got THE best setup out there for us that don't like being tied to 3 hours of 8 oz roasts once a week. 
 
 Mike Smith
 flyin' hillbilly BBQ RK Drum roaster
 just a satisfied customer