453811 Wed Oct 24 15:49:24 -0700 2007 6 41 Cookware 0 3064378 I recently starting roasting green coffee beans at home. The roaster that my vendor sells (the only roaster they have) is the FreshRoast Plus 8. I've had it just under two months and the machine has cracked. It is under warranty so I'll get it repaired. However it has me thinking that I may want to consider another manufacturer. Any recommendations on home coffee roasters? Wed Oct 24 15:49:24 -0700 2007 136194 Deborah B 1 3064821 Chowhound has it's strengths but for this,here is where you should search. http://coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/homeroast Wed Oct 24 18:35:58 -0700 2007 3064378 11003 chipman 2 3072629 Thanks for the recommendation. My husband and I have just started doing this home coffee roasting and the site is just a vault of information! Sat Oct 27 13:01:44 -0700 2007 3064821 136194 Deborah B 1 3065045 Deborah, what part cracked? The base of the roasting chambers are notorious for cracking from the heat. If that's the case it's easy to fix with some RTV 500 silicone sealer. This is a known problem with all the FR roasters. After you fix it, it will last longer than from the factory. The FR roasters are a good start but the down side is very rapid roasting and very small batch size. They are really just modified popcorn poppers. There are a few popular roasters like the I-Roast and the new Gene. I use the Stircrazy/turbo oven combo. Lots of information on all these at coffeegeek.com. Mine rig cost about $125 all said and done and I've been using it for a couple of years without issues. If it's too Mr. Gadget for you then the I-Roast or Gene maybe more what you're looking for. I've been homeroasting for about 6 years now. Once you start you can't go back. Wed Oct 24 20:18:37 -0700 2007 3064378 89493 scubadoo97 2 3073040 I've been roasting for about two years now with an old hot-air popcorn popper. It does a great job, and I feel no need to upgrade to something fancier or more expensive. I've picked up a couple of backup poppers at thrift shops for a buck or two each, but so far the first one is going strong. The original West Bend one called "The Poppery" is the one I'm using. Jim Sat Oct 27 16:49:44 -0700 2007 3065045 11307 Jim Washburn 1 3073874 I've been roasting about 2 - 3 years now. I started with the FR+8 (sort of a "starter" roaster) and then moved to the iRoast2. The iRoast2 is much louder so the listening skill you aquired using the FR+8 will help. Once you get a good program worked out for it, you're going to love it. In the winter, sometimes I use a Sunbeam bread machine with a heat gun on my outside patio. I know it sounds crazy but you can really control the roast and do much larger amounts. Another good resource for information is the Sweet Maria's website: http://www.sweetmarias.com/ Sun Oct 28 08:09:49 -0700 2007 3064378 14160 Carole 2 3074351 I can vouch for the heat gun method. After moving on from my FR+ roaster, I did the heat gun routine for about a year before moving on to the stir crazy/ turbo oven combo. Sun Oct 28 12:42:31 -0700 2007 3073874 89493 scubadoo97