(Thomas Reat) wrote in
om:

Is the Alpenrost a good roaster, or is the $250-$300 better spent? Is
the HotTop worth the $600? Is a Zach and Dani's so much worse (at
about $150, though infomercials make me suspicious)? I don't care how
big a batch it makes, but I do want a very good one.

I have used Popperies, whirly-poppers, the Hearthware Gourmet and the
Zach and Dani's. Of those, I liked the Z&D best -- mostly because its
catalytic smoke converter works pretty well for indoor roasting. After
upgrading my espresso machine, I was finding myself going through a lot
of beans -- and the Z&D's volume was just too small.

So, I took the BBQ roaster plunge, and I'm thrilled with the results.
Here's the setup:

1) The 2lb Buzzroaster (www.buzzroasters.com) drum at $125 is very nice,
2) driven with a Bodine 1/8 hp, 34RPM right-angle gearmotor
(www.surpluscenter.com $60, including shipping); plus about $10 for a
power cord, switch and boxes to hold the switch and starting capacitor;
3) a Kenmore gas grill (33K BTU with cast iron burners -- really nice
quality grill) on sale now for $199 from $349;
4) a $4 4' 1/2 inch cold rolled steel rod for mounting the roasting drum.
The whole unit turns very nicely in the grooves on the sides of the grill
bowl; but you do need to drill a small hole for a setscrew (see power
coupling below) and grind a couple of flat spots where the 2 ends of the
drum are attached to the rod. The Buzzroaster uses compression fittings
to mount to the rod, and they tend to slip on the round rod once heated.
Once I ground flat spots on the rod, I haven't had any slippage since;
5) a $20 3-piece flexible power coupler by Woods (one side is 5/8" with a
keyway for attaching to the motor's shaft, the other side is 1/2" with a
setscrew for attaching to the plain round steel rod, and there's a wide
rubber insert between the two of them, which mate the two ends together
nicely, but allows for minor misalignments that would be a PITA with a 1
piece rigid coupler). You can probably also use a 3 piece Lovejoy claw-
style coupling from surpluscenter.com (same principle -- you choose the
two ends to mate with your motor and the drum-rod, and an insert -- the
lovejoy inserts don't look to be as flexible as the Woods, but would
likely work just fine) total cost about $6 -- order it with your
gearmotor to save shipping $$.

So, the whole deal can be had for about $400 (half that if you already
have a nice gas grill). I love how I can control the roast profile with
the burners -- accelerating through first crack, and stretching out the
time to second crack. I also love the volume (2 lbs fits very easily; I
believe I could stretch to 3 lbs if I had to), and I believe that I am
achieving better body/mouthfeel for my espresso blend and a more defined
caramel-sweetness in my press-pot roasts.