What's an ammo can made out of
 

Howdy;

I have been searching for a metal box to build a coffee roaster out of.
The local military surplus store has ammo cans that would be an ideal
size and heft for this but I am concerned about whether the steel they
are made out of could be used for food prep.

Does anyone know what kind of steel those boxes are made out of or how
I could find out? Just for the sake of discusion let's assume that
they can be sanitized and stripped down to the bare metal.

I've looked at stainless and galvanized but the first is very expensive
and not nessesarily better and the second is obviously not acceptable
for food prep. Mild steel should be acceptable for food prep but some
of the harder steels with tungsten in them are not.

Just an FYI, too, a coffee roaster would need to be able to withstand
at least 600F and probably up to 750F while in operation.

Thanks,
Matthew Price

On 22 Feb 2005 11:26:15 -0800, wrote:
Howdy;

I have been searching for a metal box to build a coffee roaster out of.
The local military surplus store has ammo cans that would be an ideal
size and heft for this but I am concerned about whether the steel they
are made out of could be used for food prep.

I wouldn't worry about the steel so much as the paint. It seems like
it's oil based.

Does anyone know what kind of steel those boxes are made out of or how
I could find out? Just for the sake of discusion let's assume that
they can be sanitized and stripped down to the bare metal.

They're mild steel, and would impart flavor to food product. I wouldn't
do it.

Just an FYI, too, a coffee roaster would need to be able to withstand
at least 600F and probably up to 750F while in operation.

I'd fab something out of stainless rather than trying to force-fit
an ammo can into the deal. Can you maybe find a stainless steel
thermos, for instance, that'd work for you? If you're near Milwaukee,
I have one that's lost it's vacuum you could have.

Thanks for the quick reply. I need a box that is roughly 4"x12" with a
height of 2'+. Cylinders, although easy to come by especially in
stainless, create problems with trying to get heat to all the beans.
That's why the ammo boxes caught my eye in the first place. I would
only need to fab one piece and drill two holes to get to what I need.

Stainless is what I thought of first but I was floored by the price of
stainless sheet. I even thought about cutting an SS cookie sheet and
the pieces reassembled.

Perhaps you or someone else has some suggestion for materials that
wouldn't break the bank. I would like to keep this part of the project
under $75. I know that's not much and it's a one-off sort of thing but
I'm just trying to tinker and don't want to set the wife off on what
was supposed to be a cost cutting measure long ago.

On 22 Feb 2005 11:54:34 -0800, wrote:
Thanks for the quick reply. I need a box that is roughly 4"x12" with a
height of 2'+. Cylinders, although easy to come by especially in
stainless, create problems with trying to get heat to all the beans.
That's why the ammo boxes caught my eye in the first place. I would
only need to fab one piece and drill two holes to get to what I need.

Stainless is what I thought of first but I was floored by the price of
stainless sheet. I even thought about cutting an SS cookie sheet and
the pieces reassembled.

How about a stainless steel sink? Get 'em at home stores for less
than it'd cost to fab something.

Perhaps you or someone else has some suggestion for materials that
wouldn't break the bank. I would like to keep this part of the project
under $75. I know that's not much and it's a one-off sort of thing but
I'm just trying to tinker and don't want to set the wife off on what
was supposed to be a cost cutting measure long ago.

Ah, there's your mistake. Don't sell these projects on cost, because
SWMBO always knows better (based on previous similar projects). Sell
it on quality, or self-reliance, or something like that - not cost.
Cost is too measurable, when you sell it on something intangible, it's
harder for her to show you just how wrong you are.

Dave Hinz

Dave Hinz wrote:
How about a stainless steel sink? Get 'em at home stores for less
than it'd cost to fab something.

Hmm, I'll definitely look into that.

Ah, there's your mistake. Don't sell these projects on cost, because
SWMBO always knows better (based on previous similar projects). Sell
it on quality, or self-reliance, or something like that - not cost.
Cost is too measurable, when you sell it on something intangible,
it's
harder for her to show you just how wrong you are.
A true pro, I can tell :)


Thanks again for your help

How about a junk yard with a stainless steel section? I've been to one, and
although i didn't lok around in the ss section, they did have tons of stuff.
My dad bought some huge stainless (10-20 lb) pipe and hose connectors used
in a nuclear power plant that had to have cost 100s (if not more) of dollars
when new (pretty fancy machining, and nuc. plant reg.s are crazy) for about
$30. He works for Southern Company (GA Power, Savanah Power....) and figured
they'd make pretty cool paper weights. :)

-Will


"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...
On 22 Feb 2005 11:54:34 -0800,
wrote:
Thanks for the quick reply. I need a box that is roughly 4"x12" with a
height of 2'+. Cylinders, although easy to come by especially in
stainless, create problems with trying to get heat to all the beans.
That's why the ammo boxes caught my eye in the first place. I would
only need to fab one piece and drill two holes to get to what I need.

Stainless is what I thought of first but I was floored by the price of
stainless sheet. I even thought about cutting an SS cookie sheet and
the pieces reassembled.

How about a stainless steel sink? Get 'em at home stores for less
than it'd cost to fab something.

Perhaps you or someone else has some suggestion for materials that
wouldn't break the bank. I would like to keep this part of the project
under $75. I know that's not much and it's a one-off sort of thing but
I'm just trying to tinker and don't want to set the wife off on what
was supposed to be a cost cutting measure long ago.

Ah, there's your mistake. Don't sell these projects on cost, because
SWMBO always knows better (based on previous similar projects). Sell
it on quality, or self-reliance, or something like that - not cost.
Cost is too measurable, when you sell it on something intangible, it's
harder for her to show you just how wrong you are.

Dave Hinz

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks for the quick reply. I need a box that is roughly 4"x12" with a
height of 2'+. Cylinders, although easy to come by especially in
stainless, create problems with trying to get heat to all the beans.
That's why the ammo boxes caught my eye in the first place. I would
only need to fab one piece and drill two holes to get to what I need.

Stainless is what I thought of first but I was floored by the price of
stainless sheet. I even thought about cutting an SS cookie sheet and
the pieces reassembled.

Perhaps you or someone else has some suggestion for materials that
wouldn't break the bank. I would like to keep this part of the project
under $75. I know that's not much and it's a one-off sort of thing but
I'm just trying to tinker and don't want to set the wife off on what
was supposed to be a cost cutting measure long ago.

You need to find a good scrapyard- it's like a candy store. I think I'm
paying about 40 cents a pound for stainless, about 70 cents for aluminum.
They don't mind me rummaging through the bins and picking out what I want.
Copper with insulation on it is a great deal- I've found practically brand
new three phase extension cords, bundles of patch cords, reels of CAT5,
1000' of 10/3 romex, all cheap. Today I found a bunch of new 1/0-400 MCM
connectors and a new 3" stainless flange. Recently got a nice 14' Al loading
ramp for my box truck for $70.

On 22 Feb 2005 11:54:34 -0800, wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply. I need a box that is roughly 4"x12" with a
height of 2'+. Cylinders, although easy to come by especially in
stainless, create problems with trying to get heat to all the beans.

How about rotating the cylinders while they are being heated?

In article , p
wrote:

On 22 Feb 2005 11:54:34 -0800, wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply. I need a box that is roughly 4"x12" with a
height of 2'+. Cylinders, although easy to come by especially in
stainless, create problems with trying to get heat to all the beans.

How about rotating the cylinders while they are being heated?



He probably would have to install internal baffles to stir the beans.

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/

In article .com,
wrote:
Thanks for the quick reply. I need a box that is roughly 4"x12" with a
height of 2'+. Cylinders, although easy to come by especially in
stainless, create problems with trying to get heat to all the beans.
That's why the ammo boxes caught my eye in the first place. I would
only need to fab one piece and drill two holes to get to what I need.

Stainless is what I thought of first but I was floored by the price of
stainless sheet. I even thought about cutting an SS cookie sheet and
the pieces reassembled.

Perhaps you or someone else has some suggestion for materials that
wouldn't break the bank. I would like to keep this part of the project
under $75. I know that's not much and it's a one-off sort of thing but
I'm just trying to tinker and don't want to set the wife off on what
was supposed to be a cost cutting measure long ago.


Home-Roasting coffee in a popcorn popper seems to be the hot tip in
some circles. You need to pay attention to the model you use and
people crawl the garage sales and Salvation Army stores picking them
up for a buck or two.

Google for "roast coffee popcorn popper" comes up with thousands of
hits.



--

a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 22:18:39 +1300, the inscrutable Roger_Nickel
spake:

wrote:
Just an FYI, too, a coffee roaster would need to be able to withstand
at least 600F and probably up to 750F while in operation.

Thanks,
Matthew Price

Try Google--- "heat gun dog bowl coffee roast" will get you going

AT LAST! The picture gives us solid proof that God was, indeed, a
coffee drinker. http://www.homeroaster.com/heatgun.html


-----------------------------------------------------------------
When I die, I'm leaving my body to science fiction. --Steven Wright
----------------------------
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

In article .com,
wrote:

Perhaps you or someone else has some suggestion for materials that
wouldn't break the bank. I would like to keep this part of the project
under $75. I know that's not much and it's a one-off sort of thing but
I'm just trying to tinker and don't want to set the wife off on what
was supposed to be a cost cutting measure long ago.

You might want to start by looking at the design for production coffee
roasters. I did some work for a custom coffee roasting company a few years
back and got a good look at the machines. They're basically a circular
drum; inside there's a big rotor that stirs the beans and keeps them from
getting burned. The inside space is like a donut; the beans ultimately get
poured out throught the "donut hole" for packaging.

In addition to the big production roasters, the coffee man showed me a
small "test roaster" that roasted a few pounds at a time for test batches.
If you can get a look at one of those, you could probably build your own
simplified version. Maybe you can find a coffee roasting company in your
area and visit with them; or google up the manufacturers of these machines
to get some ideas.

The coffee man also gave me some green coffee beans, which I managed to
roast satisfactorily using a cast iron frying pan on a gas range. So that
option will cost a lot less than $75.

--
Jedd Haas - Artist
http://www.gallerytungsten.com
http://www.epsno.com