Are current NESCO's different from descriptions?

[gfrnd]

Ok, I am a real newbie here, just got my first roaster from Sweet Maria's a Nesco
First batches, run at 21-22 minutes (by the clock so subtract the 5 min for cooling) may be over roasted..?
Hard to hear the first crack but it seemed to be occuring around 11-12 min in; that left 8 more minutes in the initial 20 min cycle
Some spots of oil on the outside;
Seemed to cool (for 5 min) rather effectively
When I dumped the beans into a wire stainer there wan't much chaf - it was mostly in the chaff cup

None of these experiences seem consistent with what I have read about the roaster.
Has it been updated? Has anyone else had these experiences? Am I confused about the system versus the instructions?

So far happy with it, still learning.

Thanks much

[russel]

I agree.

My Nesco arrived a few weeks ago (late January 2010). I am getting what I think is a FC+ in 18 to 20 minutes depending on the bean. The chaff collections seems very effective. Though there isn't any kind of visible smoke, I do have work extra hard to ventilate the area where I am roasting to avoid irritating the albeit sensitive eyes of the rest of my household.

I am currently happy being a noob who is now even more excited for my morning and evening coffee.

-Russ

[gfrnd]

Russ-
Thanks; I have continued roasting with the NESCO and the faster roasting compared to what I expected continues. I tried some Sumatra from the sample for 24 min; it was very very dark, shiny with oil. This is not what I expected (nor what I was looking for) I am re roasting at 22 and 20 min to see what happens.

Thanks
Cy

[TopJimmy]

I received one of the Nesco's for Christmas this year and I've been using the roast times on the pink "tip" sheet. I prefer the lighter/medium roasts so most of my times has been around 21-24 minutes on the timer. Seems to working just like the top sheet says it does. So far my favorite roast is the Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca la Maravilla at about 22 minutes total.

Interestingly, I think the thing to watch is voltage. I have one of those "killowatt" units that tell you the voltage, amps, watts and freq of what an electrical device uses when on. One one side of my kitchen the voltage reads 119 with nothing plugged into it and the other side reads 122 volts. They are on different circuits. Same coffee with the same time on the different circuits result in a different color. They both read the same amps and watts when running but the voltage drops about 3 volts. Weird,huh?

I have read some reviews (Amazon, etc) on it and I'm a bit concerned about the "fire hazard" they claim it to be. I clean mine after every roast as per the instructions so I hope mine won't burn the house down.

[BoldJava]

I received one of the Nesco's for Christmas this year...

I have read some reviews (Amazon, etc) on it and I'm a bit concerned about the "fire hazard" they claim it to be. I clean mine after every roast as per the instructions so I hope mine won't burn the house down.

Sure, all roasters are fire hazards. So is the use of my stove and getting into my auto. I find it extremely important to emphasize never to leave a roast anymore than I leave the stove with oil in a pan. I always have the fire extinguisher within arm's length while roasting. Better safe than sorry.

B|Java

[martin]

Dunno how I missed this topic. For a longer narrative, see the Nesco Notes topic if you haven't already, just going to add a few remarks and a summary of my results so far.

Two things that seem to me to be quite different thant the old Z&D branded one that SM has pictures of. in the Z&D the chaff basket seems to be (and, I think, is described as) being held by the gasket, and the gasket by the top. IME neither of these is true - in order to get a picture of the basket in the gasket in the top like that I'd have to lay the top down, place the gasket into the well (and there's be only gravity holding it), then drop the basket into that well - there's some slight interference/friction from the ribbed sides, but those are for sealing to the outside of the chamber, not the cup. There is absolutely no way to "seat the chaff collector in the top end" in the unit I have.

The other thing that seems quite different... the photo captioned "Looking down into the glass roast chamber..." makes it look as though the glass chamber narrows at the top, while the one I have is a simple cylinder. I can't really picture how the parts would go together if that's the case, but it does seem to make a fuzzy sort of sense - if the top were smaller, and necked, then the cup and seal would have to attach & seal differently. So these visible differences seem to go together, anyway. I keep wondering if the chaff cup/filter might be a little larger in the current version...

Oh, one other difference is that there's drastically much less chaff left in the chamber after cooling (it's hard to judge the amount present during the roast except to say that it's more than remains after cooling).

The other big difference is that, with the 4 oz charge that Tom recommends, the roasts are heading towards FC and beyond much more quickly than suggested by the tip sheet or other sources (except some of these remarks). Talking about the roasting time only (excluding cooling), I've done three batches. The 15 minute one appears to be out around FC+ or Vienna; the 14 minute is at least a C+ with the emphasis on "or FC", and the most recent, at 13 minutes, is the only one I'm pretty sure is still in C+... and these were all normal wet-processed beans. AC line checks in at 123, dropping to 121+ when the Nesco is running - this is the hotter side of our service by a few volts, nothing out fo the ordinary.

[oldgearhead]

When talking about Nesco roasts, I think its important to state the actual heat time. The way the Nesco timer adds 5 minutes cool time to the end of every setting is confusing. I have been doing this:
1) Pre-heat unit for 5 minutes.
2) Quickly adding the beans. (don't forget the gloves)
3) Cook until the color and expansion looks right.
4) Run 1 minute of 'cool' cycle.
5) Remove the beans and cool them externally.
6) Let the Nesco run a 5 minute cool cycle without beans.

Since doing the pre-heat my Brazil Cerrado roast times have all been 12 and 13 minutes..
I can get the same look (Milk Chocolate, rough surface, leather-like, a few oil flecks show up after 24 hours), without pre-heat, with a 16 minutes roast time. However, I like the flavor of the pre-heated batches better.

I will probably never hear a 'crack'. Too many shots at clay targets have dulled my hearing a bit. I must rely on sight and time..