I have this model grinder and love it.
I use a simple whirling blade grinder and run my coffee through a Mr. Coffee everyday. It is very much still worth doing, to me at least, over just dumping in Folgers. Like brewing equipment, it doesn’t have to be fancy to be good.
Paul
I have a starbuck burr grinder that was on ebay for $50. That’s like a $100 off IIRC.
The MrCoffee can be adjusted to do a fine grind if you open it up and tinker with the gears.
Even a cheap burr grinder will be better than a whirling blade. A decent grinder is the best coffee-related investment you’ll make.
Buy a good grain mill and repurpose your corona mill as a coffee grinder. That is what I did.
Roasted my first batches last night in a snow storm while sipping a martini.
Awesome. Ground some this morning.
I jumped the thermostat today, too, so now I can get darker roasts.
Yes that makes quite a difference. Just be careful you don’t melt it down. 
No doubt.
It’s frickin cold today though, so I’m not so worried right now.
Roasted my first couple of batches today. Ordered up some Colombia Finca Buenavista from Sweet Marias and roasted it in the popcorn popper. I think I’ve roasted it up to about Full City. Maybe a little dark for the bean but we’ll see tomorrow morning.
I’ve found the suggestions made by most for the roast level don’t suit my palate. Plain and simple I like a Vienna roast at 465F (IIRC)…YMMV
Yeah, I really have no idea at this point what I’ll like. This will be the first of what I’m sure are many experiments. But I ordered 4 lbs to start so I have some room to play around
Maybe I missed it…but what did you use to roast the beans?
Nah, I didn’t post what I used. I used a West Bend Air Crazy Popcorn popper. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036WS1GY/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details
It worked nicely.
That’s affordable for sure.
Thanks!
Did it roast fine out of the box? I cut the thermostat out of mine, but I was roasting in a snow storm and below freezing temps.
This weekend, in mid-40s, it roasts to first crack in just under 5 minutes, which is much improved.
Yeah, it worked fine out of the box. I did it indoors though. First crack only took about three minutes. After my first pot of it this morning I definitely need a darker roast on it. It’s good, and the character of the coffee really comes through, but for my tastes it’s too light.
I think I’ll roast another batch to a darker level tonight and blend it with some of the lighter stuff.
Indoors? :-[
Hopefully not in the house! I get a lot of smoke from mine and have never needed to bypass the thermostat. First crack in about 2-2.5 minutes.
Yeah, I did it indoors. There was some smoke but not too bad. Didn’t set off any alarms or anything and my wife didn’t complain which is a good indicator. But since I’m going to be roasting darker I might move the operation out to the garage for the next batch.
When I want darker I just leave the popper on longer-I promise you it will get your coffee as dark as you want it. I had something distract me for a couple of minutes last month so I put the popper down. When I came back there was thick black smoke pouring out and the beans looked like tiny charcoal beads.
Sounds like we got ya, I hope you enjoy the coffee that you roasted. Roasting consistantly with a popper takes alot of effort. good one ya!