Dave Vanness > wrote in message . 9.81>...
> (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.

Hi,
Sounds like you found some nice parts to make up your grill roaster.
I mounted the roaster on 1/2" allthread with nuts and washers to stop
the slide issue. I have used mine asbout 10 times now and am very
happy. I changed from a 3 rpm "stock" rotisserie motor to a 13 rmp
motor. I am starting to think 13 or so to be the minimum rpm. With
the 3 rpm motor I would notice a few beans with small burn holes. That
problem is gone and the roasts seem much more even with the 13 rpm
motor. Thanks BuzzRoaster, I like the product.

Loring