
I bought the 8 lb. drum from Shane about a year ago and since then I have easily put over 500 lbs through the beast! The drum is flawless! I had my learning curve of course, but after a handful of not perfect (yet very tasty) batches, I caught on. Now I never miss a beat. My roasts are flawlessly even across the whole drum. Shane probably wouldn't approve of this, but I cram 12 lb. into the 8 lb. drum, and 26 minutes later I have a perfectly even 10 lb. batch of Full City+. I also have a grill that could take the place of my furnace in a pinch;) When I do fairs/bazaars I punch 100 lbs through this beast without even a hiccup. AMAZING!!!!! I really can't say enough good about these drums. They are built like tanks and infused with a little piece of Shane's heart. Skip the cheap thin gauge junk on ebay. Once you buy one of Shane's drums you will never want anything else. It's worth the coin, plus it will outlive Armageddon;)
I also purchased the new "RK Model T" cooler and I love it! It looks good, runs like a champ, and, like the drums, is one solid piece of machinery!
What is really amazing is not just the drum... it's Shane! He made the process of transitioning into small batch commercial roasting easier for me. Not only does he stand unwaveringly behind his products, but he loves to help the novice overcome the learning curve. Thank you Shane... You Rock!
One RK Convert,
Justin
Hello All,
What I love about the RK drum is what I think scares most people away. At first look, an RK drum with a BBQ looks like you have no controls. The opposite is true! With a RK drum setup you have total control! It is the only home roast system that I know of where you have the power and control to roast from 4 oz to 4 pounds of coffee. Where people get in trouble is not realizing the flexibility of this system of roasting because they don’t go beyond the first look. After 20 years of homeroasting using every type of roaster from the new commercial home models to roasting over fire with an antique popcorn popper, I think I am qualified to say the RK drum is the best home roaster you can buy for less than $1,500.00. I have not found a limitation to my RK system yet. After spending $150.00 on a commercial machine a few years ago, it only took me a month to go back to my $3.00 popcorn popper.
The RK drum reminds me of roasting over fire with the popcorn popper except it gets rid of those dimensions that need to be consistent for a good roast every time. The RK drum moves the beans at a consistent rate. The RK drum keeps the beans at the right place to receive the heat they need to roast. The RK drum gives you a way to control the heat. So, instead of five dimensions to control, the RK takes care of three and leaves the roaster with the two most important dimensions to control, time and temperature. It lessens the
I've roasted about 300 pounds in my RK. I enjoy roasting the larger batches. I prefer 2 1/2 pound batches. When you start roasting with an RK you will find that a five pound bag of greens doesn't last very long. I really enjoy being able to roast coffee for my family and friends, with out having to spend hours of my time to do it.
Hey Shane-- just did my 50th roast last night. I am really excited about the outcome. The 1 and 2 lb roasts go a little fast, since my grill puts out a lot of heat. But the 5 pounds are going about 15-17 minutes and the flavor is fantastic. Great product.
Shane,
Got the drum up and running on the weekend here.
Eased into it with a 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) roast of Peru Ceja de Selva followed by 1.8kg (4lbs) of Bolivian Green Mountain.
Very happy with the results of the first 2.
A very short pictorial review of the first roast can be seen in:
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1323495861/
Brett.
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