# Should I buy this roaster?



## MikeHag

Having done some research I think I'm fairly convinced that it's a good way to go, but just wanted to check what the experienced roasters on here think.

It's the 1.25lb sivetz roaster shown on their website here (not the 30g one). Including the cooler. The fact that the final temperature and roast speed can be controlled seem very good to me, and from what I've read, final temperature readings are accurate with air roasters such as this. It's $3000 new but I'd be getting it 2nd hand and not paying anywhere near that much.

Thoughts?


----------



## CoffeeMagic

Do you know how it collects chaff? There doesn't appear to be a separate collector. Would you be able to arrange a demo of the operation? It allows an opportunity to ask questions and gain valuable knowledge of the operation (and how much smoke it may generate).


----------



## MikeHag

Thanks Ron.

The chaff collection question is already in with Sivetz... I had the same thought. Hadn't considered that the amount of smoke might by an issue... guess I just thought I'd install it near ventilation, but now I will delve deeper. Ta









Can't get a demo sadly but I may be able to run a test roast myself, so thanks for that idea.

Any more tips please?


----------



## MikeHag

Response from Sivetz is ...



> The chaff blows into the room. You vacuum it up at the end of the day. Some people place their roaster under a hood vent, like for a stove, and pull the chaff up that way.


 Surprising, and obviously not practical for inside the home but I guess Sivetz must know what they're talking about and perhaps it's ok in an outbuilding/commercial environment - which is where I'd be using it (but raises the issue of ambient temperature). I've seen people knock up a cyclone system to capture air roaster chaff with a shop vac and send it off to a chaff collector tin, so maybe that's a backup plan if the chaff and smoke are a problem.


----------



## CoffeeMagic

Instant confetti







With this type of roaster ambient temp can be another factor to compensate for when roasting. Another thing to be aware of is the power requirement. At 15A you will probably need a separate 20A circuit breaker and a 2pin + earth socket (blue).

Don't want to add anything to the mix but have you considered the Sonofresco air roaster. It uses gas as the heat source. It does have a chaff collector and works on the same principle - final bean temp. They do a 1kg I believe.


----------



## MikeHag

You're right Ron. They recommend that 2 separate circuits are used for it.

At the moment I'm only considering buying it if the price is right (2nd hand), ie a bargain, otherwise I'll just go down the domestic roaster route... Behmor etc. I'm after a small, cheap machine to start learning on with a view to getting perhaps a 2-5kg one later. The fresco is perhaps too expensive for now but thanks for suggesting it.


----------



## CoffeeMagic

Excellent. If you can get it at a good price, so much the better since Sivitz are a good make. With it being 2nd hand it may also be a good idea to find out about support and whether there are any agents in UK.

That's a sensible approach to take and hope you get up and running (and roasting) soon, then you should begin to see why my answers are sometimes airy-fairy


----------



## MikeHag

Haha! No, your answers always make perfect sense even when I don't understand them









Sivetz have already said there's no support in the UK, but I'll take that with a pinch of salt. I'm sure there are ways and means to get hold of things like new heating elements etc. and there's always Neuhaus-Neotec in Germany. But as long as it lasts 6-12 months without needing any further spend on parts etc then I'll be happy I think. Either way, I need to get cracking (no pun intended).


----------



## coffeebean

Hi Mike! Have you looked at the Fracino Roastilino?


----------



## MikeHag

I hadn't, Andy, but I have now









It's a beautiful looking little thing, isn't it? Typical of Fracino to produce something so attractive.

I've done some reading on it now... there's a test/discussion on a german forum... and although I could see it being great for some folks, it's not right for me. Here are the things that stick out as not ideal for me.

£960.

Only 200g capacity.

4 minute roast time, too fast.

Not sufficiently manually controllable.

I may be wrong (and please chip in if you disagree... I'm a compete noob learner in this), but I think that a roaster (machine) needs flexibility so that the roast can be adapted to get the best from the particular bean. With a drum roaster that means ability to adjust the roasting chamber temperature to indirectly control the bean temperature and hence roast duration. With an air roaster that means ability to control the strength of the blower to indirectly control the bean temperature and hence roast duration. As far as I can see the Roastilino doesn't have that feature, and is really more of a tarted-up poppery roaster. Not that a tarted up poppery is a bad thing, but £960 is too rich for that in my view.

But if money wasn't an issue and I wanted an easy, clean machine for the home where I could just select a program and watch it go, this would be great!


----------



## coffeebean

I agree, you do need flexibility to get the best roast for the bean you are roasting. The £960 one is the standard machine but you can get one with a temperature control feature for an extra £165 which does give you a lot more control.


----------



## fransg

I found this (somewhat aged) thread. I hear that the current Roastilino's all have PID standard.


----------



## 4085

My view is, that the Roastallino is more for a coffee shop environment where it sits on the counter and becomes a talking point. I do not think it is really a serious home roasters bit of kit. It is expensive, no doubt well made but is it worth nearly twice the price of a Hottop or nearly 4 times the price of a gene cafe?


----------



## ronsil

A pretty eye catching 'shop' machine. Not necessary for home use when their are machines available equal/better at the job at a much more reasonable price level - Hottop, Quest M3.

Not everyone agrees that a PID controlled roast is the best.


----------



## aphelion

Askari said:


> Ohh these roasters are very amazing and also accessible in the reasonable prices so you should definitely buy them...


Which one would you recommend we buy?

Not sure my wife would let me buy all of them....


----------



## 4085

Askari said:


> Ohh these roasters are very amazing and also accessible in the reasonable prices so you should definitely buy them...


And who do you work for/sell for Askari!


----------

