I am SO done with my Behmor

[Mass. Wine Guy]

For what a Behmor costs I think it's worth saving a little more to buy a Hot Top, possibly used. Behmors just have too many little idiosyncrasies that soon become very annoying. I have a used early model someone gave me that is definitely better than the one it replaced. Unless it's extremely cold outsude, I can usually roast.

What about those Korean drum roasters on eBay?

[CrackedBean]

Sorry to hear about your problems. But to be clear are you also saying that the newer "Behmor 1600 plus" should not have these same problems? As that is the machine that one would likely purchase today.

I have a Behmor 1600 that is 4+ years old and I roast outside year round. Though I try to roast during the late afternoon on the warmer days of winter it not always possible to find a warm stretch so that occasionally that means roasting at near 40 degrees F.  So far it has worked pretty well and not shutoff like you are describing, though even on the warmest days I do not like needing to preheat, worrying about early cool down due to time running out, etc.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

My machine is the original basic model. I have the new board but haven't installed it. During this past winter I found that prewarming inside for two minutes then roasting on my porch usually worked. Unless it eas minus 10 outside.

[sonnyhad]

LOL @MassWineGuy I have the same thing! I roast with mine in the garage and warm for 2 minutes shut off and start the roast. I warm it with the beans in it.
All I can say is, so far so good!

[Ascholten]

I have tried that  several times, and am roasting in a temperatures probably in the  50's and preheat, it  didn't  matter, it still faulted.
What I found that did work was to run an empty batch on a short cycle, let the POS fault out, cool down enough to reset then do my batch(es) in it.
Eventually I just got a better roaster and don't have to play games anymore.

Aaron

[Paul]

Eventually I just got a better roaster and don't have to play games anymore.

Aaron

Which roaster did you get?

[kelppaddy]

The building I roast in can be below freezing in the winter when I first go in.  I keep a small hairdryer nearby, open the Behmor and let it blow inside for a couple minutes.  After that I never have any problems keeping it going.

kp

[Ascholten]

Hello Paul, sorry I did not see your post earlier.  I went to the Artisan 6.  It's a much larger roaster thats for sure, however they are coming out with a smaller model as well for those who do not want to put that much into a roaster.  I got mine without all the whistles and bells on it, I essentially am roasting outside, I don't need a chaff collector, the piping and fan etc and all that stuff that comes along with it so the unit was significantly cheaper that way.

I can reliably roast as little as 8 oz in the thing and I have done batches close to 8 lbs.  The unit is VERY responsive, being electric, in that if you want to make an on the fly tweak, you just turn the power knob and in a few seconds, your change is there, you are not waiting 5 minutes for the heat to go up, or down as it may be.  I love it it works really well. 

kelpdaddy thats the thing though, I don't expect to have to play games with my roaster to get it to work right.  In your case yes the temperature is a bit extreme, but in a room that is say 50 degrees? or a bit more to have it do the same thing, that's unsat.

Aaron

[drg02b]

I bought a new SC/TO from Amazon for about $70.  Only mods I made were to put a washer/nut on in place of the cap (which could melt) and threaded two small strips of perforated steel (usually used to secure pipes) to the stirrer to give it some paddle strength.  The TO came with a metal spacer and I cut it and tightened to the circumference of the SC which is slightly smaller than the TO top.

20 minutes with tin snips and a drill.  Have roasted 40+ pounds since I bought it and extremely happy with ease of use and durability.  I set it up outside and mess around in the garden while I wait for it to crack.

[Ascholten]

oh good job there drg, but be careful about wandering off and waiting for crack while doing something else.  As you get older and that CRS gene gets stronger, you will find it very easy to return to billowing smoke and a glowing pile of starbucks.

Aaron

[Paul]

Aaron, thanks for the reply. Nice roaster but a tad out of my price range. I'm using a Turbo-Crazy and I'm on my 2nd convection oven now, the first one having bit the dust. I started out with Popperys many years ago. I've begun to look at dedicated home roasters now in case I ever want to go that route. I'll check out the new smaller Artisan when it comes out. I just roast for my wife and me, nobody else, so a pound at a time is all I need.

[Ascholten]

The poppery was a good way to get into it, and was more of a 'see you can roast coffee this way too, type thing really.  It's really hard to control the heat on it and often you roasted too fast, but even then it was still tons better that store bought glop at 5 bucks a cup.

Aaron

[Paul]

Aaron, agreed. I haven't bought store coffee in 14 years and never will again.