About to pull the trigger

Roasting on the Bullet R1
#1

Hey all,

I’m about to pull the trigger on the Bullet. I know that I’m speaking to a crowd with a selection bias, but I just want to make sure that it’s possible to do multiple back to back roasts.

I just started a teeeeeeny tiny roasting business. Can I do 10 to 15 0.9kg roasts one right after the other?

And there is literally nothing else out there at this price point that can do larger batches? My diy $250 roaster can do 5lbs so I’m a little …sour… on the idea of spending $3.4K just for something that looks nicer than my jank rig.

#2

I did 20 kilos in two days. 12 back to back 800g roasts each day. No trouble!

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I stopped making adjustments after the fourth roast or so and ran the rest on replay without pushing buttons. Very consistent results.

1 Like
#3

@damon is a user that is getting everything out of his Bullet and producing income. I’m a home roaster that does six to eight 550 gm batches on my one roast day each week- just roasting for friends.

Equally important is decent support for the user. Your dealer is the first line of support plus you have access to the Aillio Support group in Taiwan via e-Mail- they’ve helped me on more than one occasion since Jan 2019.

Bruce

#4

Nah, for me it’s all giveaway. My employer paid for the 20kg, I made gift bags for the office.

#5

We’re in the same boat then… I should have said “sounds like…”. There are a number of folks here that are producing income- doing the same work we’re giving away! :slight_smile:

Bruce

#6

That’s great! Thank you everyone!

#7

You probably know this already, if you’re going to be roasting that many back-to-back roasts pretty much consecutively, make sure you’re in a very well ventilated space and that nothing is blocking the airflow to the bottom of the Bullet (where all those perforated holes are). The latter is important to prevent overheating of the board. Monitor the IGBT1 reading in the info panel. If you get a yellow do pay attention, when it goes red the Bullet is likely to shut off (see this thread and this thread)

2 Likes
#8

I will definitely pay attention to this.

Any recommendations on spare parts, accessories or diy material to purchase at the outset?

.

#9

One thing that I did to ensure good air flow around the bottom of the Bullet is to turn the cooling fan tray 90 degrees to the right and have the hot air from that go through a flex or semi-rigid (like the kind you’d use for a clothes dryer) to direct that hot air away (for me it is up closer to my range hood vent). I roast 1kg about 70% of the time now so this is a must for me esp as summer is coming up and the ambient temps are going to be hotter. I typically do 3x 1kg back-to-back. You can get a 3D printed attachment to the cooling fan that would allow you to slip in a 4 inch flex/semi-rigid hose more securely. the 3D print accessory files can be found on the Aillio website and through another post on this community board I found a reference by a poster to someone on Etsy who does 3D print as a business and his price is very good and he’s also a Bullet roaster.

#10

Awesome!

I just placed the order for the bullet.

I have a few 3D printers myself, so I’ll take a look.

#11

I keep a spare chaff filter for longer roast sessions.

#12

I’m US based and sweet Maria was sold out of every accessory except a cooling bin. Anywhere else to pick up something like that?

#13

Nope they are the only rep in the US that I am aware of.

I also get what is called Asian or Chinese colander to dump my roasted beans into one they are sufficiently cooled and leave it on my counter until I am done with the session then I bag them. These are big enough to hold 1kg. Or you can do as @damon did in his photo above.

#14

Docent Coffee in Atlanta also reps Aillio.

Try emailing the Aillio support address at SM to see if you can special order an extra chaff filter.

#15

Good to know about Docent :slight_smile:

#16

Oh dang. Should have ordered from them. Next day shipping and on my side of the country.

#17

I’ve done as many as 20 700g roasts back to back, but I do 12-15 on a fairly regular basis, No issues, and the ambient temp has been as low as 45F and as high as 95F. In the hot weather I use a little fan to keep the heat from building up. I’ve not had any issues, but do try to keep the machine clean, it helps a lot.

#18

That’s great to hear. I’d really like to stay in the garage.

I’ll probably move inside when it’s well below freezing though.

#19

Anyone have any experience with docent? I’m tempted to cancel my order with sweet Maria. I could have the roaster seasoned before they’ll even ship.

I’ve called a few times throughout the day without answer and according to their voicemail they check their email throughout the week but not necessarily every day. That annoys me. I stopped buying from them years ago because of how slow they were to process orders.

Now if sweet Maria has killer bullet customer service then I’ll happily wait. I emailed their bullet specific email early today and nothing from them either.

#20

I ordered accessories straight from Aillio , took a little extra time but not outrageous