It lives! It's far from done, but I was able to coax an initial roast from R2D2. Here's how it looked during its trial run of 1/2 lb. First results aren't bad. This was a Panama roasted to about City or City+. While the roast looks somewhat uneven in this pic, in reality it was pretty evenly roasted.
Right now I'm using the base only for stirring... and boy, does it stir! Plenty of bean action, and I'd still like to put in a potentiometer or resister/switch to slow it down a bit. The heater is still installed, and I'm not yet sure if I'll need/want to use it.
I initially went with a big, heavy copper wire stirring rod (i.e. knot) but it's noisy as hell scraping against the side.
I've since replaced the copper wire with this thinner steel wire from a whisk. Looks crappy and I haven't tried roasting with it yet, but it's definitely quieter.
Next Steps:
- Install a switch and clean up the wiring
- Test at 1 lb
- determine if I need to use the BM heater and if that presents any problems
- Put the exterior shell back on to give it that R2D2 look
