Posted Sat Dec 1, 2007, 4:57pm Subject: Wasted coffee - popcorn popper
I bought a popcorn popper last weekend from the local thrift store, but I find that when I roast my beans, quite a few of them fly out of the popper. I'm guessing it's because they don't weigh enough to counteract the fan that's blowing the hot air threw them.
Anybody have a suggestion for keeping the beans in... but letting the chaff out? I might go to a hardware store and look for some metal mesh where the holes are big enough for chaff, but small enough to keep the beans in... and make some kind of cage around the top of the popper... beans go up... and fall back it... but chaff flies out.
How do you guys take care of it? Not bother? Other ingenious inventions?
CoffeeRoastersClub Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2005 Posts: 2,506 Location: Connecticut Expertise: Professional
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Posted Sat Dec 1, 2007, 5:01pm Subject: Re: Wasted coffee - popcorn popper
ryanakca Said:
I bought a popcorn popper last weekend from the local thrift store, but I find that when I roast my beans, quite a few of them fly out of the popper. I'm guessing it's because they don't weigh enough to counteract the fan that's blowing the hot air threw them.
Anybody have a suggestion for keeping the beans in... but letting the chaff out? I might go to a hardware store and look for some metal mesh where the holes are big enough for chaff, but small enough to keep the beans in... and make some kind of cage around the top of the popper... beans go up... and fall back it... but chaff flies out.
How do you guys take care of it? Not bother? Other ingenious inventions?
Some people just put a soup can with the bottom cut out, stuck in the chamber a bit, so that it acts as an extension to stop the beans from coming out. Even better is a bit of perforated aluminum, fashioned into a cylinder that will be a bit lower than the top of the popper when it is put on. I see this as better than the soup can; the perfs allow the hot air to escape, and you still get the control of the top of the popper to direct chaff.
Posted Sat Dec 1, 2007, 5:10pm Subject: Re: Wasted coffee - popcorn popper
Hmm... I think that the perforated aluminum would be the best bet... I've tried the soup can idea, but the cans here are either a) too big, or b) too small... And for the too big ones, well, the top of my popper (just above the popping tube where the coffee goes) is a lopsided/uneven bowl, so I'd have to cut / file in order to get contact between popper and can all around.
So, basically, get a sheet of aluminum (Maybe those cheap pie plate type ones), cut it so that it sticks up a bit over the top of the popping tube, make some holes in it... then roll in up, insert it into the popping tube and let it unroll type thing?
thomzilla Senior Member Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 75 Location: Atlanta, GA Expertise: I love coffee
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Posted Sat Dec 1, 2007, 5:41pm Subject: Re: Wasted coffee - popcorn popper
Hi Ryan,
There is a simple solution that might work better for you. I use a glass hurricane lamp top. You'll probably need the one with a smaller base, not the regular large one. Just measure the opening in your popper and make sure the base of the lamp top is small enough to fit within that. You can get them at most any hardware store pretty cheaply. It offers you the advantage of being able to see through it as long as you keep it clean. The downside is that of course it's glass, so you may need to buy a couple so you can have one as a spare.
aqfaber Senior Member Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Connecticut Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: Solis Maestro Drip: basic pour-over Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Sat Dec 1, 2007, 5:59pm Subject: Re: Wasted coffee - popcorn popper
My ultra-low-tech solution to this problem is to tilt the popper backwards a bit. I have a shim that I put under the front of the popper, and, if beans still seem to be escaping, I tilt the popper back still further (with my hand firmly ensconced in an oven mitt).
andrechuk Senior Member Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 28 Location: Utah
Posted Sat Dec 1, 2007, 7:45pm Subject: Re: Wasted coffee - popcorn popper
A Chaokoh coconut milk can fits my Poppery fairly well. If a can is too tight, just snip it along its length an inch or two and it will fit better. Perforations aren't strictly necessary if you remove both ends of the can (top and bottom).
Posted Sat Dec 1, 2007, 7:49pm Subject: Re: Wasted coffee - popcorn popper
A cutting of the bottom side of the soup can gives enough flex to have it stay snug inside the chamber. Cheap and fast. Leaning the popper back helps some as well. Having control over the voltage (Variac, Powerstat) is vital, imho, if you want to gain consistency and better quality in your roasts as the hobby consumes you.
But for starters the popper is THE way to go. A lot of us have done a lot of learning going down that route.
Aha! Thanks, I'll try that with an opened-at-both-ends soup can... As for the glass lampshade, I'll be roasting outside in -10°C (maybe -7°C in the garage), wouldn't having hot glass and cold air be rather dangerous?
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