Posted Sun Mar 11, 2007, 3:57pm Subject: Whirley-Pop capacity?
Hi,
I just got my Whirley-Pop from SM. While SM suggests 8-9oz of beans to roast with this, has anyone tried more? There's one site I read says the WP can do up to 1.5 lbs. Would like to hear from roasters who have tried it.
I tried 1 lb w/o heating yet the WP, and it seems easy enough to stir. But I'm worried something may actually go wrong when roasting, and waste that much beans.
Posted Sat Feb 2, 2008, 3:21am Subject: Re: Whirley-Pop capacity?
Owlrayt! Another BisDak on CG!
My beans, I buy them online from US coffee vendors. But mostly they don't ship to 'Pinas, so I sometimes ship them to friends and relatives in the US, then they ship to me via USPS or via LBC's balikbayan box. Been getting beans from thecaptainscoffee.com mostly. invalsa.com ships internationally, and they have an ebay presence. But now I enjoy getting bargains from greencoffeebuyingclub.com, and most distributors there ship to 'Pinas in flatrate envelopes ($11) or boxes ($37).
I've been trying to source beans locally, but disappointed most of the time. Once, about a year ago, I got lucky with some Benguet beans. Tasted okay. But my next orders from that supplier, not good. We lack quality control, I guess. Farmers not choosing the ripe beans, picking all the red, yellow and green. And processed coffee not selected as to grades. Maybe coz we don't really have a large number of specialty coffee consumers. Most are happy with $tarbuck$ or Bo's. I haven't tried Figaro though. I also got some civet cat poop somewhere in South Cotabato. It may taste good for the unitiated, but for me, can't compare with my fav Yemen or PNG beans.
How about you, where do you get your beans? I heard there are some good beans in the Negros area, near Mt. Kanlaon perhaps?
Hey, Benson, we're shouting distance from each other. If you do get the chance to be near Iligan (Cagayan de Oro or Ozamiz), maybe we should meet. If I should go to Cebu one of these days, I'll bring some beans.
Kita ra unya ta! Lisud mangitag sama nato diring dapita ... :-)
I modified it a bit coz the plastic gears got deformed, after overloading it with beans or maybe using too hot a flame. Now I can overload it without worries. I can roast 1# with it. So far so good. Can't imagine myself spending a few hundred $$$ for a roaster. I'd rather buy more beans. :-)
coffeejn Senior Member Joined: 16 Feb 2005 Posts: 341 Location: Ottawa, ON Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale Vivaldi S1 Grinder: Mini Mazzer, Zassenhaus... Vac Pot: Yama Drip: BUNN BTX-B Roaster: SC/CO
Posted Sun Feb 3, 2008, 9:44am Subject: Re: Whirley-Pop capacity?
Are you roasting in a rent place or your house?
When roasting indoors you need good ventilation. If your using the hood vent, then be ready to change the filter more often. Also the smoke is not too good for you or the house (smoke damage similar to a heavy smoker).
For your capacity, well technically you could roast about 1/3 to 1/2 of the space (in green beans) in the whirley-pop. However, the more you put in the more smoke you will create... hence why you don't want to do that in the house. Also, as they roast the bean will get lighter and bigger, which makes it easier to rotate but takes more space....
BobbyTimonera Said:
Hi,
I just got my Whirley-Pop from SM. While SM suggests 8-9oz of beans to roast with this, has anyone tried more? There's one site I read says the WP can do up to 1.5 lbs. Would like to hear from roasters who have tried it.
I tried 1 lb w/o heating yet the WP, and it seems easy enough to stir. But I'm worried something may actually go wrong when roasting, and waste that much beans.
Smoke is going to be your issue with 1/2 lbs plus if you roast in house. I would recommend to use a side burner on a BBQ outside instead.
Keep in mind that chaff can catch on fire also and that the WP does not really have a ventilation system to get rid of it. I use a SC/CO combo, and often see the shaft burst into cinders. Not really an issue due the amount that actually catch on fire, but could be indoors....
Good luck!
- Life is too short to waste on unimportant things, now were's my coffee!
Posted Mon Feb 4, 2008, 1:21am Subject: Re: Whirley-Pop capacity?
Hi coffeejn,
When we were renting a house that was too small for us, I roasted outside. Since moving in to our yet unfinished house (interiors mostly done, still some work outside), I then roasted inside. My wife designed the hood so well smoke really isn't that of a problem. There's smoke, yes, but it's not that much my eyes don't even hurt, and the wife doesn't complain coz she loves the smell anyway. The only time there really was smoke in the house was when my roast just started 1st crack, then my son asked me he's already late for school, so I asked someone to do the stirring for me, and to watch the silence between the 1st & 2nd crack, and dump it to the cooler when the 1st crack disappears (although I like to stop roasting at the start of 2nd crack, I was aiming for light/medium roast just to be sure). The 10-second tutorial apparently went past the other ear, and the beans were already charcoal by the time I got back from school. :-(
Even when I was roasting with a open pan (I did it for almost a year), smoke still wasn't that of a problem. And I was roasting the same amount, 1/2 to 1lb.
I run outside to cool the beans with a fan, which does it in 2-3 minutes.
We now live in a yet sparsely populated subdivision some distance from downtown, so neighbors aren't complaining yet. We've got enough distance between the closest neighbor, so the smoke coming out from the hood isn't a bother to them.
But eventually, I plan to build a roastery outside the house, where the stove and cooling fan are placed beside each other. Once when rushing for the fan and holding the whirley pop, in my rush the container fell off, only the WP handle and cover left in my hand. I want to avoid that, so it'll be outside roasting eventually.
Fire hazard, I think there's very small chance. Our house is mostly concrete. That if ever a fire start somewhere, should be easy to stop.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
![BobbyTimonera: whirleymod.jpg](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/37257/whirleymod.jpg", 480, 559, "BobbyTimonera: whirleymod.jpg");)
= No New Posts since last visit 