Chaff remaining on the beans after I drop them remains a problem. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could eliminate the chaff prior to dropping my beans? Even coming up with some kind of fixture I’m open to any ideas. Or a good way to get the chaff off after the beans have been dropped.
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It doesn’t solve the issue completely but try winnowing the beans after they cool. A little breeze helps a lot just take care about wind speed. I bought 2 cooling bowls with the Bullet 3 years ago cuz I could see myself dropping one, damaging it and have nothing that fit the cooling tray. That didn’t happen but it did work out to use the 2 bowls to poor the beans back and forth outdoors. 2 colanders or 2 sieves out to do just fine so long as they have holes for the chaff to get thru. 2 pans won’t be as good without some wind to help carry away the chaff. Shaking the cooling tray before winnowing will get rid of some of the chaff and I believe it loosens what’s still on the roasted beans.
As a side benefit, Larry Ayers, owner/roaster of Ohori Coffee in Santa Fe, NM says chaff is high in nitrates so it can actually add some green to the plants in the flower beds. When they clean their collector they set the chaff out in bags and local gardeners carry it away to mix with mulch as soon as the bags are set out.
Bruce
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Stirring the bean while blowing with a fan…the chaff is going to be everywhere
but at least not with the bean
Here’s another idea. This bean cooler and chaff separator work exceptionally well on batches up to 400g. The fan is very powerful and cools in less than 2 minutes while collecting chaff for easy removal later. Less capacity but it is more effective than the stock tray.
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Have you had the opportunity to use this ? I’ve seen this cooking tray for sale online and always wondered how well it works.
Yes, I use one. I always roast 3 x 600g batches of the same local Thai bean but washed, natural, honey for a blend.
I’m pressed for time, so I want to dump and get back to temp as quick as possible for the next batch.
The cooling tray is very effective at cooling, but not at chaff removal.
The chaff is my biggest hate, I roast lights to mediums so it is always there. Drives me mad. The fan idea and tray to tray does work but quite frankly I’d rather staple my testicles to a piece of wood.
I have no patience… sigh 
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when cooling the beans take a fistful of beans and squeeze them in your hand and rubbing them together gets rid of quite a bit of the chaff . Wear gloves at first, those beans are wicked hot when first dropped from the roaster. Bare hands are best when the beans get cooler .
Yeah it’s super frustrating. I have miniature box fan I used back in my popcorn popper days. I’ve been using but to no avail. I’m like you roasting mainly mediums roasts. It’s frustrating. While my roaster is cooling I’m still turning my cooling like a coal miner over that little box fan. 
Thanks I am definitely going to look in to this. 
I do that a little bit, but still takes forever.
I will try it out, see if it’s any better than what I am already doing.
My old roaster is a Behmor, and the mesh drum is pretty good at taking off the chaff. You just shake vigorously and the mesh is effective at peeling off the excess. I might even order a drum to replace it after I sell the machine (they’re readily available as a stand alone item).
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