jim_schulman Senior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 3,772 Location: Chicago Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Tue Dec 9, 2003, 2:57pm Subject: Re: Indoor Roasting
Any sidevent popcorn popper or airroaster on the market can be used under a good kitchen exhaust fan. If your exhaust is very good, even the smokier drum roasters will work, as will woks, heat gun, and stircrazy/turbo-oven roasters.
If you don't have good exhaust there's two ways to go. The Z&D roaster, which has a catalytic smoke eliminator that actually works. Second, you can buy a laundry dryer vent, and jury rig an exhaust system by making a tinfoil hood or skirt at one end and fitting it over the roaster's air outlet, and running the other up to an exhaust vent our out of a window. The airpressure and temperature differences between the two ends of the hose will keep the air flowing in the right direction. This only works with airroasting devices.
Hi Jim... Techinically the Alpenrost is not an air roaster, but your described method works with it too, because the smoke just steadily drizzles out the end under a bit of pressure till the cooling cycle, and then a major exhaust fan kicks in and forces large quantities of air and smoke out the vent for the next 5 minutes.
Several people have posted good reports with the Alp using a 6 inch dryer vent hose clamped over the end of the chaff collector and vented out a window.
Posted Tue Dec 9, 2003, 3:13pm Subject: Re: Indoor Roasting
I think you have to define good. Also safety is a relative thing. You can hurt yourself real bad with a kitchen range, especially some of these newer gas ranges which do not relight if the flame gets blown out.
With coffee roasting as with any other cooking you have to use common sense and be careful.
The small air roasters can be used inside if you provide enough ventilation. If you are going to use a larger roaster you probably better plan on a spot outdoors.
I have been roasting indoors for about two years with first a Poppery corn popper then with a Hearthware Precision.
I haven't injured myself or developed resperatory problems yet, although my wife suspects that I am getting some hearing loss from the roaster. For that reason and the fact that the smoke is causing havoc with my range hood I have ordered a Zack and Danni's roaster.
Phil
Eno Said:
Is there any good roaster that can be used indoors, safely?
jim_schulman Senior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 3,772 Location: Chicago Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Tue Dec 9, 2003, 6:17pm Subject: Re: Indoor Roasting
ljguitar Said:
Hi Jim... Techinically the Alpenrost is not an air roaster, but your described method works with it too, because the smoke just steadily drizzles out the end under a bit of pressure till the cooling cycle, and then a major exhaust fan kicks in and forces large quantities of air and smoke out the vent for the next 5 minutes.
Several people have posted good reports with the Alp using a 6 inch dryer vent hose clamped over the end of the chaff collector and vented out a window.
Posted Tue Dec 9, 2003, 8:40pm Subject: Re: Indoor Roasting -have no vent
Thanks guys, am afraid this adventure will have to wait coz i have no indoor vent (live in a high rise); but do have balconey -will the cold weather in the balconey matter?
ljguitar Senior Member Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 2,450 Location: Cheyenne Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Expobar Pulsar Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly, Solis Drip: Bunn Roaster: iRoast2
Posted Tue Dec 9, 2003, 9:11pm Subject: Re: Indoor Roasting -have no vent
Eno Said:
Thanks guys, am afraid this adventure will have to wait coz i have no indoor vent (live in a high rise); but do have balconey -will the cold weather in the balconey matter?
Depends on the roaster, and how cold the balcony gets. I roast in a garage all winter with both my FR+ and Alpenrost units. Air is down to 40s and they do fine.
One can preheat the roaster empty for a few minutes to get the chamber up to temp and then load it and just start the roast over.
If I lived in a high rise I'd be on the balcony roasting regularly.
Posted Wed Dec 10, 2003, 11:56am Subject: Re: Indoor Roasting -have no vent
My two cents...
I don't understand why this is a big deal and must be done outdoors (I'm not against that). Any of the 'home roasters' on the market are safe to use indoors if used properly. I have always roasted indoors, either in front of an open window or (more usually) on my range between burners with the hood fan turned on. It produces no more smoke (IME) than searing a good steak on a hot iron pan (I've smoked up the entire kitchen with my kitchen exploits, and not by burning my food).
You do have to used good sense... think about it.. the machine doesn't get hotter than your stovetop or oven, but that is plenty hot! You don't want to roast on the kitchen table!
Hi Tarik... If one attempts roasting indoors with an Alpenrost, he/she better have the best venting system in the world or a dryer hose vented to an outside source directly.
No home stove hood I've encountered could ever handle the explosion of smoke that the Alp emits when the cool cycle is activated...even worse if any smaller sized beans have been used and are charring in the drum which is at 2nd crack.
I have several friends who can attest that FR+, Alps and HTW will set off smoke alarms despite stove hoods...the latest smoke alarms are really sensitive.
One friend has been banished to the basement and his FR+ fits between the window and the outside screen, and the other to his garage work bench. The third went voluntarily outside. Safety was not the issue, aroma and smoke alarms.
Posted Wed Dec 10, 2003, 12:23pm Subject: Re: Indoor Roasting
I haven't used an AlpenRost, so I'll take your word for it. I do use a HotTop and it does have a pretty decent filtering system I wouldn't want to roast without. If I had the Alp, I might have to roast in the garage or something, who knows.
As for fire alarms... I set mine off EVERY time I cook on the stovetop, fan venting or not and the smoke alarm is perhaps 12-15 feet away slightly around a corner from the kitchen. So setting that off is not a great indicator to me of whether or not I should roast in my kitchen. Smoke alarms are a tough problem, because you can't really mandate turning them off (my wife is a firefighter), but frankly, they are useless when too near the kitchen. I won't tell you what I do with mine. :-)
Now aroma.. wow.. I just can't imagine being banned from the kitchen for producing cooking smells.. but that's obviously a personal choice. Fortunately for me, I do the cooking and even more fortunately, my wife loves the aroma of roasting and doesn't mind if it lingers (although it doesn't linger long in our household).
I notice that dry processed beans produce a lot more smoke.. I imagine it's chaff charring and burning.
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