Brett H wrote:
Which would be cheaper to run over the long-term Jeff? I'd have to imaging gas is a more expensive setup be gas is better heat control and more cost effective long-term. Am I way off the mark?
Brett, I think that long term cost of ownership is complicated to calculate and subject to so much possible change. You can offset electric with solar arrays (assuming you roast during sunlight or have batteries) but with gas you can't really offset.....and with the way gas prices have jumped recently (especially for large business users) it makes the modelling shaky at best. Compliance costs are also variable, depending upon how close the platform is already to the standards....some are far closer than others. Gas has a different latency than electric, so you may find that depending upon the roaster and the operator, gas may use a lot less overall fuel as you can turn down and then ramp up very fast versus managing the lag on electric. Many of the electric roasters are also fire traps with combustible chaff potentially finding its way near the elements. This problem does not affect every brand. I have a gas 1.5 and it's a sensational unit to drive....just like my larger 15kg and twin 30kg systems. This little unit is the benchmark in that segment and unfortunately it's design is often ripped off by those dodgy manufacturers that disrespect and ignore the basic laws of copyright.
