Door handle

Bullet R1 Hacks
1

hello,
am i the only one thinking that the doorhandle and the tryer are a design fail? you can’t open the door completly without taking out the tryer…
some of you already modified this? would be nice if the door would stay open by itself, especially because the last few beans take an eternity to fall out of the drum…

Thank you in advance :slight_smile:

1 Like
2

Not sure if this helps but when I open the door I pull out the trier and use that the hold the door open.

3 Likes
3

that’s what i am doing, i was thinking to modify the handle to be on the side of the roaster.

4

This is what I do as well.

1 Like
5

By removing the tryer, I then installed a mic there to hear the FC loud and clear

20210813_085307
20210813_0853074032×2268 1.35 MB

5 Likes
6

I think that I get where you are going…a side swing, weighted door handle more like one would find on a more expensive professional roaster (Mill City, etc). It could be done on the Bullet and would just require the will to experiment and craft something. I’m thinking a piece of bent steel rod (in a Z shape) with threaded ends to extend the existing handle (left or right) could be done. It would take someone that is willing to invest the time to do it. :nerd_face:

I agree that having to use the Trier to hold the door open is not (in my mind) the optimal design. If I were roasting on the Bullet all day, every day design things like this would be more important to me as a user. For the occasional home-roast session (and more importantly at this price point), it is acceptable. I’ve found several things about the Bullet that I wish were more like the “big boys” roasters, but also realize this is not a $10,000 roaster.

1 Like
7

Completely agree with you, as i found out that the more expensive, professional roaster hast the side swing door. the modification doesn’t seem to be complicated, but i think that you would need to drill a bigger hole into the door, as i would not trust a M4 screw to hold the weight back. another thing is, you need to keep the weight in the right position, so you need to drill thru the door and use a screw from the inside. i did not want to “break” the door yet, because i can imagine a new door will not be cheap in case my idea would not work :sweat_smile:
Until now, i am still using the trier after about 25 roasts so far.

8

now your door will always be closed, without the trier to hold it open :thinking::sweat_smile:
just kidding, thats a good idea because the bullet is insulating sound really well. where did you connect your mic to?

9

What microphone and speaker/listening device do you use? Any regrets to not being able to use the truer?

10

“…where did you connect your mic to?”
Hi Ben,
The device come with a voice amplifier that you can connect to…

1 Like
11

Never use the tryer when I am roasting. I normally keep the tryer in place to block the hot air from leaking then plug in the mic around 190~195C before the first crack. The device I am using is from the local shop which you may not be able to get it. But there are plenty of the similar one you can find on Amazon. Here is an example…

Voice amp
Voice amp1500×1500 215 KB

2 Likes
12

Thanks! Will have to try this. Reasonably priced also.

What do you use for the tube part?

I have First Crack Miss Anxiety (FCMA) syndrome - afraid I won’t hear it! Based on the one seasoning roast I did, the FC was rather muted, subtle and equivocal, but SC was much easier to hear and longer.

Any acoustic analysis programs that make this easy to identify? Also, are there any visual cues (ala popping corn) that correlate?

13

I lost the link thanks to the recent death of my beloved Samsung laptop, but I recall that I found an acoustic spectrum analyzer on the Ornithology Dept web site at Cornell University. IIRC, they have versions for $$$ but I found a version that was $0 and was for limited distribution. There were licensing restrictions but it was too long ago to recall exact details.

It’s important to use an amp/speaker combo that someone has had success with. I couldn’t get the one another user suggested (out of stock) so I found something similar and discovered the metal speaker (yeah, really!) in that amp couldn’t reproduce the frequencies associated with 2C… it came out sounding just like 1C. The higher frequency components were missing.

And to reassure you, 1C is pretty easy to pick out. 2C, however, can be a challenge cuz of the softer nature of the sound and the higher frequency components. Using the Control panel temp display is a great guide.

Bruce

14

I agree with Bruce that FC is usually fairly easy to spot - the argument is usually, how many cracks per second counts as not an outlier. Combining the sounds with the temp on the display usually helps FC anxiety. You can also confirm with a vinegar smell in the trier sample if you want to add another sense.

As to SC, although I seldom travel there, when I think I’m headed that way by temperature, I pop the bean chute stopper off for a second to listen at the “keyhole” and then you can usually pick up the snapping pencils of SC. Don’t do it too long (don’t let all the heat out) or too close - “someone must be talking about me as my ears are burning…”.

I recall another thread where @jacob mentioned there was a mic input on the Aillio PCB and maybe some mad scientist could come up with something so Ms Bullet could announce the roast events…

OK, daydream over. Back to real.roast.world

15

Yeah, getting over-anxious to mark 1C throws off roast development times. Over a year ago Stuart convinced me to wait till about 3rd crack. Works better with higher pre-heat than I use as the progression is quicker but definitely more consistent than what I had been doing. I took “first” too literally.

Yeah… listening at the bean chute while the fan pulls air past your ear instead of from the drum. There’s got to be a better way… @jacob ? Any truth to these ravings from @stuartmcknight ?

Bruce

16

“…First Crack Miss Anxiety (FCMA) syndrome …”
Hi fafcba,

Aren’t we all living in the same FCMA world! For me, I seldom roast my coffee reaching SC. And most of the time I will have to finish it within 40~60 seconds after the FC. So it is crucial for my kind of roasting to decide the FC timing more precisely. In my experience, many of the Ethiopian anaerobic beans have rather muted FC making FC decision very difficult. The traditional FC definition I am using is to hear 3 consecutive pops in a short period (1 sec). With the mic/voice amp , it helps me to identify some of the very subtle “pops” within the total pops. That to me is very helpful when it comes to a S-FCMA (serious-FCMA) patient like me. Since I have to drop the beans after 40 seconds and I can’t misjudge the FC moment.
If you, like me, are a S-FCMA, the only thing you need to be aware of is the :EcR 128 ( Dead man’s switch. No human presence for 3 min). Because the noise coming from the Voice AMP can be very loud. It is be very easy to miss the EcR 128 beeping and causing the Bullet to drop the temp dramatically.
Hope that will help you.

1 Like
17

silicone tubing 1/2" ID x 3/4 OD as an insulator

BTW, You can find more info on this thread

Good luck!

18

Yes, still struggling with FCMA syndrome!

The FC of my second seasoning roast was even more equivocal than the first seasoning roast. With these seasoning roasts, not intended for consumption, I’m roasting well past second crack - way more than I ever would for myself. Just coaxing out the oils to season the drum. It kind of hurts me to roast a bean this much - feels like looking at (most of) the beans for sale at Peet’s of Starbucks!

Next to try before buying an amplifier is a stethoscope. I really do want to preserve the tryer to look at the beans (at least for now - this desire is likely to fade with experience). Perhaps I can rig up something in the bean chute plug area?

Following trying a stethoscope, unless marvelously successful, I’ll go to an amplifier and acoustical analysis software.

Questions - what temperature range is classical for FC? SC?

What about the interval between yellowing and FC?

What to do if FC is equivocal? Use a temp range to say it must have occurred by XX, if I’m unsure ?

19

I am not an expert so take my word with a grain of slat. Usually I will use IBTS 198C~206C as the range for FC. But I can’t comment on SC
There are many experienced people here in this forum that can help you more.

1 Like
20
  • I choose to use 330°F as the Yellow Point for all roasts as calling color is too subjective (especially for decaf).
  • 1C is in the range of 400°F, perhaps 396°-402°F.
  • Interval between YP & 1C depends on Preheat; in general the higher the Preheat the shorter the interval.
  • Trust yourself. The current roast isn’t pivotal to your survival. If you don’t get it quite right it’s ok! Any outlier will show up in the data when you compare the roast to earlier/succeeding roasts. Being consistent is the more important action.

You didn’t ask, but you may find some help from a couple things here…

  • Hearing 1C isn’t hard once it starts. The issue is recognizing 1C with all the other bean noise.
  • As a guide, I wait till the 3rd crack. Trying to label the first occurrence is both futile and unnecessary. Better to allow a little development to that part of the roast before marking the event. Search for posts from @stuartmcknight that touch on this.
  • Pay attention to BT-RoR as a predictor/confirmation of 1C (it’s less helpful at 2C). I expect to see BT-RoR first rise ahead of 1C, then dive as 1C starts. I keep track of IBTS & BT-RoR to guide when to listen for 1C.
  • The shape of the BT-RoR curve around 1C is dependent upon your pre-heat temp.
  • Listening for 1C from the exterior of the roaster is difficult cuz of the noise as the beans crash around inside the drum.
  • When BT-RoR appears to be following the BT-RoR described above, I tip the bean chute plug to the side and listen thru the bean chute for a few seconds then close it again. Leaving the plug off to listen too long affects cooling (there is a low pressure area under the bean chute plug created by the exhaust fan; lifting the plug disturbs that and disrupts air flow thru the drum).
  • When you get a few roasts done, use the Roast Analyzer in R.W to super-impose the roasts. Outliers are the proverbial “sore thumb”… immediately apparent.
  • I believe you can use the roast analyzer on imported roasts as well as your own. It’s a good way to see how others have done relative to your own roasts. I don’t know if you can use the Roast Analyzer on other users roasts without importing them to your account… I think you have to import them first.

And yes I keep using 1C instead of FC to label first crack. FC is an ambiguous label as it’s also used to describe a Full City roast. 99.963% of roasters here have no issue with that. What can I say? I’m old!

Bruce

4 Likes