Behmor 1600 Profiles / Q&A / Tips & Tricks

[kelppaddy]

I have two of them and although they don't have all the features I would like, it has made roasting a lot easier for me, especially when I am run both of them at the same time.  Seeing as the warranty will run out soon on my 1st one, I am thinking of hacking it and running the heating elements off a variac.  This should give me more of the control I'm looking for during the roast.  I still pull the chaff screen and leave the door open as soon as it enters the cooling cycle on a roast.  Besides cooling the beans faster, the machine is completely cool by the time it shuts off, which allows me to do back-to-back roasts.  Of course this creates a little mess, but I have a small shop vac nearby to handle this.


kelppaddy

[d-alex-l]

I have a gene cafe, I tried all sort of roasting profile, I find now that it doesn't give me better result than constant temp. At first I was following the advice of Eddy Dove web master of http://www.homeroasters.org who own a gene cafe roaster. But the best way I find is to never change the temp backward that destabilize the bean some how and I can tell you that the coffee I make that way is the best I ever had. Sweet to a new level, strong note of caramel that reside in most type of bean. But if you decrease the temp because you see smoke your not going to have the full flavor. here's what I do I preheat the roaster for 2min without the beans then I pour them in and set the temp to 471 For a small bean berry and 475 for a larger bean like the Kenya aa My roaster will slowly get to this temp within 10 min the 4 or 5 minute remaining are crucial toward the end you will see smoke of course that's normal let it. Soon after the second crack you can start seeing oil on some been one here and there. That is time to hit the cooling cycle for only 40 sec tumbling inside the roaster after witch you poor the whole thing into your been cooler that the vacuum is hooked up to.

The bottom line is yes profile looks fancy and artistic but they are not the right science, coffee the way I describe is always good and give steady result.

[John F]

The bottom line is yes profile looks fancy and artistic but they are not the right science, coffee the way I describe is always good and give steady result.

Science and personal taste are not the same thing.

A steady ramp up taken into rolling second crack is the profile you prefer. 

John F

[staggerlee]

The bottom line is yes profile looks fancy and artistic but they are not the right science, coffee the way I describe is always good and give steady result.

Science and personal taste are not the same thing.

A steady ramp up taken into rolling second crack is the profile you prefer. 

John F

Much of what you read on homeroasters.org isn't science, but is presented with such authority that it may give a false impression. There are lots of comments declaring one profile or another undrinkable, for example.

I admire their passion though.

[peter]

Much of what you read on homeroasters.org isn't science, but is presented with such authority that it may give a false impression. There are lots of comments declaring one profile or another undrinkable, for example.

I admire their passion though.

I agree with you Dennis.  However, I have had some of Eddie Dove's roasts out of the GeneCafe, and they were very, very good.  Which is the only reason I haven't totally discounted the Gene... I have had plenty of roasts from Genes that seemed a tad flat.



Leave it to John to bring words of truth;

Science and personal taste are not the same thing.

A steady ramp up taken into rolling second crack is the profile you prefer.  Wink

John F

True dat.

Oil on the beans may not be the target most members shoot for... 

[nisiar]

Mark Prince opened the thread at CG for reviews on the Behmor.  http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/accessories/behmor1600roaster

I find myself with mixed opinions at this time and want to wait on the review.

Pro's:
Love the plug and play
Repeatability
Easy to share profiles across the miles
Good cup
Excellent value/price involved

Con's:
Very minimal control
Struggle with results on smaller roasts
Machine (operator?) issues with large beans - ie, JBM, pacamaras.  Does not do them justice.
Not convinced that radiant heat makes the bean shine like it potentially can.

B|Java

Just can't get the Hawaian beans to roast all the way through...

[thejavaman]

I use my Behmor several times a week and I am pretty meticulous about keeping it clean.  The other day while roasting a batch of coffee, a little squeaking noise coming from the rotating part of the roasting chamber started bothering me, so I whipped out a can of WD40 and gave it a little shot and it fixed the problem right away.  I starting reading the information on the can of WD40 and it says that it "cleans and protects", so I thought "what the heck" and lightly sprayed down the entire inside of the machine and wiped it clean.  It did a pretty good job of getting rid of the accumulated coffee oils and an added benefit was that after roasting, the chaff didn't seem to "stick" in the places it did before - it was bascially much easier to clean after the WD40 spray down (and this has lasted even after several roasts too).  I guess my question is; can the WD40 cause any damage by way of chemical burn off and can that somehow transfer to the coffee being roasted?  I am drinking a cup of coffee from a batch roasted after the cleaning with WD40 right now and it doesn't have any "off taste" at all.  I was hoping our resident chemist (AHEM, BW) could chime in and give me some kind of scientific thesis saying everything will be okay...   

EDIT:  I forgot to add that I did two separate "dry burns" of the machine with no coffee in it after the WD40 cleaning before roasting a batch with coffee in it too....

[Pyment]

I am thinking, for safety, You should have used a food grade oil.

Thinking out loud, a silicone spray may have been safer.

[thejavaman]

I am thinking, for safety, You should have used a food grade oil.

Thinking out loud, a silicone spray may have been safer.

You're probably right Pyment - I did consider that before doing it, but I thought that doing a couple "dry roasts" after the cleaning would burn off any residue.....

[ira]

I put the HB link so you can get the background info before you choose to download the program, called BehmorThing.  The link to the app is on that thread. I've just started using it today, and have only found 1 bug in loading up previous roast history - so back up your DB early and often (no corruption as of yet).

I'm the author and was quite recently pointed at this site. As some of the others around here will tell you, I really don't like bugs in my code so if you have the newest version and it's still there, let me know what it is and I'll see it goes away.  And for that matter if theres some new feature you think it needs, tell me and I might grant your wish.

Ira
www.extrasensory.com

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

And for that matter if theres some new feature you think it needs, tell me and I might grant your wish.

Ira
www.extrasensory.com

Ira the code Gene... I like that 

[winchestercoffee]

So I have been roasting with my Behmor for the past couple weeks now and have been really impressed. I had a faulty drum to start with but they sent me a new one at no charge with a pretty quick turn-around.

I am having some MAJOR trouble with this Flores bean though... It has gotten to the point of frustration. I can not seem to find a good setting for this. Its the Indonesian Flores from SM's and I can't get this thing to second crack no matter what I try. Normally I run a P3/D on my beans but after reading a bit more it seems that P3 is really supposed to be paired with C... So I am trying P1 right now its in the cooling cycle and went in about 1:30 after first crack... still a little light for my likings.

Any ideas? I've gotten 1# batches to FC++ before but for some reason this bean does NOT want to go.

[zoneahead]

So I have been roasting with my Behmor for the past couple weeks now and have been really impressed. I had a faulty drum to start with but they sent me a new one at no charge with a pretty quick turn-around.

I am having some MAJOR trouble with this Flores bean though... It has gotten to the point of frustration. I can not seem to find a good setting for this. Its the Indonesian Flores from SM's and I can't get this thing to second crack no matter what I try. Normally I run a P3/D on my beans but after reading a bit more it seems that P3 is really supposed to be paired with C... So I am trying P1 right now its in the cooling cycle and went in about 1:30 after first crack... still a little light for my likings.

Any ideas? I've gotten 1# batches to FC++ before but for some reason this bean does NOT want to go.

If you can't reach 2nd crack with 1lb on P1, try .5lb or .75lb on the 1lb time settings and make sure to keep an eye on the roast.

[draagoth]

So I have been roasting with my Behmor for the past couple weeks now and have been really impressed. I had a faulty drum to start with but they sent me a new one at no charge with a pretty quick turn-around.

I am having some MAJOR trouble with this Flores bean though... It has gotten to the point of frustration. I can not seem to find a good setting for this. Its the Indonesian Flores from SM's and I can't get this thing to second crack no matter what I try. Normally I run a P3/D on my beans but after reading a bit more it seems that P3 is really supposed to be paired with C... So I am trying P1 right now its in the cooling cycle and went in about 1:30 after first crack... still a little light for my likings.

Any ideas? I've gotten 1# batches to FC++ before but for some reason this bean does NOT want to go.

It has been my experience that Flores beans show lighter coloration for the degree of roast. I like to hit them hard in the last stage. I use 10.6 oz Flores then use the 1# pound setting. P1/B before I start I subtract 3 min and then after starting the roast add 2 minutes back on.

This seems to work good for me

Good Luck
Rob

[kelppaddy]

Well the DC motor on one of my Behmor's finally bit the dust today after having performed over 200 roasts during the last year and a half.  It died with the "error 6" message which the manual indicated was the death knell for the motor.  I popped her up on the bench and pulled the end panel off to have a look.  The motor looked pretty easy to get at but I figured it might be a good idea to call tech support before plowing ahead.  They were very helpful and told me that if I went online and sent them my address, there would be a motor in the mail tomorrow.  Included with the motor would be pictures and instructions for changing it out which I was assured would only be a ten minute job.  I was further informed that the total cost would be $20 that I could send in when I had a chance, but the motor would be sent out the next day.
These days I would say that is pretty good customer service!

KP