Green Coffee Buying Club
Coffee Discussion boards => Hardware & Equipment => Topic started by: BoldJava on November 05, 2007, 04:30:49 AM
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This thread will be devoted to specific questions/answers, suggestions, experiences, tips on using the new Behmor 1600. Please limit the Off Topic discussion ... we will use this as a reference thread and by keeping the discussion on topic, future posters can glean the best of your insights. Thanks.
B|Java
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JonR10 Please post your set up as soon as you approve the poco fundo. I'll be starting with poco fundo also.
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No major tip nor trick here yet but I did roast up 8oz of the Lekempti from HarryHo. I used 1/2lb setting, time "C" and profile "P2". I did have to add about a minute to the end of the roast to push it into the beginning of 2nd crack. I think that might of been unnecessary because when I "stopped" the roast at about 5 sec into 2nd it kept snapping away till about 40 sec into 2nd!! :o So lesson learned - stop the roast several seconds before you want it to end. Looks like this will take some practice and good note taking to dial each particular bean/roast level in. I haven't brewed this up yet but it smelled awesome just hours after the roast.
Also, a question. What is the best way to cool the beans rapidly? SM's tip sheet and Chris's article recommend letting the roaster do it's cool down thing for 2 minutes before removing the drum. Is there any way to cool things down faster I wonder? I'm used to cooling beans down in less than a minute with my RK drum setup.
Dave
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... What is the best way to cool the beans rapidly? SM's tip sheet and Chris's article recommend letting the roaster do it's cool down thing for 2 minutes before removing the drum. Is there any way to cool things down faster I wonder? I'm used to cooling beans down in less than a minute with my RK drum setup.
Dave
I don't believe that is what is written. From Behmor's Manual, part V, para. 7:
"Never stop the system immediately after completing a roast to remove the cylinder and cool the beans. Doing a system stop before reasonable cooling could damage the system's internal electronic components."
You can crack the door after two minutes, but not stop the machine. Or so I believe.
B|Java
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Why is it that you can't crack the door before two minutes?
Received the roaster this afternoon and was, like others, impressed by the heft of it: this is no toaster oven! The tape used to hold doors shut wasn't the easy release kind of tape we're so used to these days, and leaves a bit of the adhesive behind--not a big deal.
I've done my initial heat/clean of the roaster, with a little bit of foul smelling smoke, as was expected. I did this on the range top and simply turned on the fan above the range to clear it out, and now I'm about to roast up a pound. Will report back.
Paul
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Well, I just answered my previous question re opening the door early (read below).
Okay, I just finished my first roast, so here are a few observations. I used 12 oz Poco Fundo (seemed to be the one others were running with) which roasted out to about 9.2 oz finished. After loading the beans I found that several small beans or fragments fell through the drum screen, so I held the drum over the counter, rolling it in my hands to get out as many as would exit before roasting. Another half dozen got stuck in the screen during the roast and I simply broke them off after the roast, easy enough.
I entered the 1# option for weight, P3 for the profile, and D for timing (23 minutes). I began to worry about the length of time it was taking, and was relieved when the first crack finally hit at 15:45. Second crack began three minutes later, with about a minute between end of first and beginning of second. I hit the cool down button then at 18:45 (since the digital time is a countdown, it read 4:15 remaining minutes in the roast). I'm typically roasting around 12 minutes, give or take, so it will be interesting how this compares for me. I think for my next roast I'll go for P1, which is a bit steeper ascent to peak heat which remains at a plateau. I'd like to experiment with
My instinct was to open the door after two minutes (suggested) to help speed the cool down. I think it did help, with two side effects worth noting. Some of the chaff sneaked out of the corners, and there was some smoke. Now, as home roasters I suspect we're all used to some smoke and I really don't mind it so much since I've been roasting on a screen porch and/or patio.
My first roast looks very even, about FC+. One thing I did miss was the smell during the yellowing/drying phase of roasts; in fact, most all the various smells that correspond to the stages were absent. I suppose this is because of the smoke reduction element of the Behmor, which is impressive, indeed. In fact, I don't think I would have seen much of any smoke at all if I hadn't opened the door to speed cooling. Alas, I roast almost as much by smell as by sight and sound, so this convenience will also be a handicap for me, one that I'll have to get accustomed to for this roaster.
All for now, the coffee has to rest. Me too (midnight).
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Okay here goes my first attempt (other than a cupping class at the Atlanta SCAA a few years back) at a more formal cupping, in this case from the Behmor roaster:
Coffee Name/Farm/Estate/Coop: Brazil Poco Fundo ORG/FT
Date Cupped: 10/26/2007
Rest Period: 18 hours
Cupper: pm
How Many Thumbs Up? one
Processed : WP
Roaster: pm
Method: Behmor (12 oz; Setting: 1# / P1 / D)
Level: FC+
Any Roaster Observations/Comments: See post above
Comments:
1. Dry fragrance/wet aroma ? Nice winey aroma, somewhat fleeting; dark chocolate; not overly complex
2. Brightness/acidity ? Medium acid, full body
3. Flavor/depth ? Dark chocolates, black licorice, hint of tobacco.
4. Body/mouthfeel ? Clean, straight forward. Balanced mouhtfell
5. Finish/aftertaste ?The finish is long very clean. The flavors I get in the initial taste are the same that stay on. Nice!
Forgive me my novice review here. I did both the sipping method followed by a pour over cup because I really needed both to get some more of the subtleties. I'm pretty undisciplined about resting coffees post roasting, unless it happens to be one that has some difficult points needing some relaxing. At any rate, I generally like to follow the shifts from next day through several days.
This Brazilian, which I got through a recent distro from Hariho, I believe, was super after just 18 hours rest. I know that I need more work on honing in on the subtleties of dry/wet aromas, acidity, body, finish, etc. This is a coffee I'd be hard pressed to place as a Brazilian, though it's clearly--to me--from the Americas. I recommend this as a SO, though it might benefit from some different angularity.
I'm pretty thrilled with the roaster, after all. I'd like to find the method(s) to shorten the roast by 25%, while still working with 12 to 16 ounces; nevertheless, I was not disappointed, and didn't get any bakedness from what was for me a longer time roasting than I'm used to with SC/GG.
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Okay here goes my first attempt (other than a cupping class at the Atlanta SCAA a few years back) at a more formal cupping, in this case from the Behmor roaster:
Coffee Name/Farm/Estate/Coop: Brazil Poco Fundo ORG/FT
Date Cupped: 10/26/2007
Unless I missed another cupping review, PM is the first Behmor buyer to roast, sip, tip, cup and post. He wins a pound of Panamanian Geisha La Esmeralda (Monito's distro this Spring).
PM, send me a PM offline with you postal and it will be on its way.
B|Java
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Wow, what a nice perk, Dave. Thanks a bunch! I was pretty surprised to find it was arriving yesterday instead of today, as was initially expected. Looking forward to reading many more reports from all who've bought this great little roaster. If someone notices some substantive threads on other CG or HR or some other forum, please post a link here if you can.
Tonight I roast another 12 ounces, this time the SM IMV. I'm going to try the roast profile P1, and I plan to...well, I'll report afterwards.
Cheers, Paul
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I'd like to add a couple of notes: First, I cross posted my first-roast and cupping notes over at CG (sorry if this bugs anyone, and no, I'm not one who does this regularly). Also, I really want to thank the folks at Coffee Project for making this buy possible, along with Bold Java, and for sending out the units the moment they arrived from China, evidently. I feel like a kid having gotten his toy bike before anyone else. Lucky. Anyway, I appreciate the work that some in the industry (like Coffee Project) do on behalf of the coffee growers, environment, roasters, etc.
Kudos to Dave da BoldJava and to Coffee Project for their good work.
Paul
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Thanks for sharing your experience Paul. Mine came in today and I just roasted my first batch (after the recommended dry run). First impressions are that I am very impressed. I roasted some Sumatra I felt I could sacrifice (maybe not the best choice since that is just about the only bean I like roasted dark, but hey, I'm experimenting), and on the recommendation of a local professional roaster who has been playing with the thing for awhile I used P3, C for 1/2 lb.
Got first crack around 11-12 minutes and a nice pause between first and second. Very similar to how I have my PID'd poppery set up. I couldn't agree more on how much "coast" there is. I suppose this is typical of drum roasters, but I have never roasted in a drum so this was news to me.
Anyway, I hit cool at 5 seconds after hearing first pops of second and the roast finished very even with a faint sheen. Very nice looking (and smelling) roast! Joe is very careful (and prudent) to say that this roaster is not designed for dark roasts, but I think by that he must mean very dark roasts: by stopping within his recommended "no more than 10 seconds into second crack" I ended up with a roast that is as dark as I would usually ever go anyway.
My one complaint so far is that I am having a hard time removing the drum - that square peg seems a little tight - but I think I am getting the hang of it, and hopefully it will loosen up a bit after a few more roasts.
Now on to some Panama!
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Mine arrived today (Canadians-the PST+GST are 37$). I did one "break in" roast, without coffee ,in the house, and it gave off too much greasy smoke. I took it outside to do another one and it still stunk, but less so. I'll do one more before I put any greens in it. I noticed a nagging little squeek from the rotisserie style drum holder. I hope to god that that doesn't continue for long. There is no high temp grease that can handle roasting temps, as far as I know. I hope I don't have to make some custom graphite saddles for it, like I did with my RK...
Does anyone know what kind of ambient temps the Behmor can handle? I wouldn't mind roasting outdoors with it as much as possible.
Saludos,
Charly
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I finished my second roast, another 12 ounces (also ending with a touch over 9 roasted). I chose P1 this time, 1# and, again D (though this did not change the time as it had for the P3 profile). Timer started at 18 minutes. First crack was 13 minutes in, at which point I cracked the door a bit for about 30 seconds--my attempt at a personal profile, since P1 is a beeline to top temp with no variation once there. Second crack at 16 minutes (again, three minutes later), and cooled it immediately after the first sound of that. Roast this time went to FC, not FC+. Bean was Ethiopian Likempti. Again, such a nice even roast.
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I believe you can use simple mineral oil, which I believe never goes rancid, is food safe, and has flash points and smoke points higher than the roast temps in the Behmor IIRC. You can also use some cooking oils, but watch out for those with low smoke points or flash points, like evoo. Even if they don't start a fire, oils with low smoke and/or flash points seem to me more likely to gum up the works over time. IMHO the best cooking oil would seem to be grapeseed, which is the only thing I use for high temp cooking.
But I would still go with mineral oil if you can find it. The bottle I have came with some wooden salad bowls, and instructions to oil the bowls after every cleaning, so I am not concerned about the food safety of mineral oil, or at least the stuff that came with my salad bowls...
Cheers,
Paul
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I was thrilled this evening to arrive home and find the Behmor and four pounds of coffee on my doorstep. James from the Coffee Project sent mine right out and it arrived in two days in Seattle.
Let me also confirm the quality of construction. I am really pleased. I am quite the cook and have a large collection of various kitchen appliances. This is built to the level of a Cuisinart, Krups or KitchenAid product: solid and well constructed. It was impeccably packed. The warning sticker over the digital readout left quite a lot of adhesive residue, but that cleaned off with some Goo Gone.
I did the initial dry burn and saw no problems. Given that I am a very experienced roaster, I decided to do a full pound under close observation. I loaded up the drum with a pound of PNG Kimel peaberry from my sampler pack, and went for a P2 B roasting cycle.
Like others, I was pleasantly surprised by the even nature of the roast and how quiet it was. I could not hear the cracks with the door shut, but then again I have a profound bilateral hearing loss. I think in the future, I will open the door on occasion to listen. I did open the door once, and could hear that it was just starting second crack, so I hit the cool button. As per the suggestions here, I let it cool for about three minutes and then opened the door to accelerate the cooling cycle. It ended up with one of the most even City roasts I have seen. The chaff tray did a good job of collecting the chaff. Even though the coffee was a small peaberry, nothing fell through the drum mesh.
Smoke control was very good. I am used to one pound batches with the HG/DB or stovetop, so I routinely produce copious amounts of smoke. Suffice it to say that when I do a pound on the stovetop inside during the winter, the house smells of coffee for hours. This was a very small amount of smoke. I put the roaster on my stovetop (on a large cutting board) so I could run the hood fan. I don't think that was necessary and may use it on the counter in the future. The interior light is a nice feature and provides very good illumination.
So far, I think we have a winner here. I will be interested to see the observations of others.
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My squeak is coming from the right side of the drum. I suspect it is a gear or motor squeak. Lubricating the left saddle won't help.
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My squeak is coming from the right side of the drum. I suspect it is a gear or motor squeak. Lubricating the left saddle won't help.
I would give Behmor support an immediate call or email. That is what they are there for.
775.833.3363 email is sales at behmor.com
Hope it works out, B|Java
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Impressions (came late last evening and will get put thru its paces this weekend).
> Packaging - superb. Solidly double-boxed.
> Customer service - As I mentioned before, this machine was comp'ed to me for previous services renderd to Coffeeproject. However, I think it is fair to say on my part that James was very easy to work with from my end and I found him immediately responsive to all our members when a concern arose.
> Labeling - There are enough warning stickers deftly placed over roast commands to win any attn'ys case. No way anyone can say, "no one told me..."
> Machining - When something is $300 and an intricate piece of electronic equipment, I squirm wondering what the workmanship is going to be like. The tooling and finishing on the machine are very well done and precise.
> Simple - Grandma could roast with this thing.
> Complex as you want it to be - If you look at the variables that are under your control (roast weight, programs times, time increments up or down, profiles), this can be exponentially tweeked till the cows come home. If you start going in this direction, better take copious notes between the variables become immense very quickly.
> Basket is tighter than I anticipated. Can't imagine how tight the soon to be released Yemeni basket will be.
> Smaller than I remembered. I had an early beta pre-production model. This model seems smaller. Maybe it is just foggy memory. Size? Grandma's breadbasket.
> Pre-burn roast. Behmor recommends doing an empty roast to get rid of residuals from the manufacturing process. I cracked the window and 'roasted' under the range hood on low. Czarina said it smells like a 'new appliance' overheating. Some smoke for 6 minutes that vented and dissipated.
> QUIET. Maybe I am just used to hearing the IRoar and the Gene, but heavens, this is a quiet machine, even when the second motor kicks in to help the cooling.
Takeaways? Always, it's in the cup but the preliminary 'hands on' on my part took care of any anxieties I was having about workmanship quality.
B|Java
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After breaking mine in with two dry run empty basket roasts, (outdoors because the first try stunk up the house from machine grease burning off ) I brought it into a shed that I store my coffee in. It's cool in there but not outdoors cold, and there's a good vent fan in the ceiling. My first real roast was 1/2 lb of a nice Nicaraguan, and I pressed 1/2, start (P1).
Before long I noticed that some beams were falling out of the basket. Those beans started popping ahead of the rest, which might confuse a newby roaster. They also made a dark smoke which leaked, a bit, from the seal around the window. No biggy. First crack started with 6 minutes left on the timer so I took off 60 seconds and watched carefully. I hit cool with a minute still showing on the timer, opened the door soon after that and after two minutes stopped the machine and finished cooling the beans in a colander. There was enough smoke to set off the smoke alarm in the shed so I disconnected that. Nice even roast, but Full City instead of the City roast I'd hoped for. Tastes fine as I sip it right now.
20 burnt beans were in the chaff collector, and most of them not tiny beans. I put another 1/2 lb. of the same greens in the basket, adding an extra handful to slow the roast better, and I rolled the basket around and shook it to see where the beans were falling out. Some fell out that I couldn't fit back in through the mesh. Not even close. Odd... It took a minute or two of looking very closely but I found a break in the fine mesh. Any ideas on how to fix that, anyone? I'm afraid to try and solder it, the wire is so thin. I'll look around for some fine ss wire around the place. Should be some somewhere.
I bent the broken wire back to temporarily close the gap and did the second roast, with the extra handful over 1/2 lb, cooled the room to about 50 degrees F, and did P1 again. This time the roast went slower and I opened the door a little, every 10 seconds or so for a couple of secs,as first crack got rolling, and hit cool with only 30 seconds left on timer. Perfect looking city roast this time. Some beans did fall out of the basket but, strangely, this time most didn't burn, and in fact stayed green on the floor of the chaff collector.
The Behmore does a nice roast. I'm glad to have it for roasting the 1/2 lb samples I get from importers. The basket is quite delicate, be careful not to ever drop it. The little squeak mine has isn't very loud, I'll be ok with that if it doesn't get louder.
I'll be roasting some other greens and doing some 1 lb roasts later today.
Saludos,
Charly
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Charly..
Send me an address and I'll get you a new cylinder. Simple as that..
As to the smoke given beans are falling out of the cylinder it is extremely likely that is the root cause because they go to the oil level of smoke and the smoke suppression works best on the water based but limits the oil based..
Again if you get me an address you'll have a new cylinder in about 4 days..
sales@behmor.com
Thank you and best regards
Joe Behm
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I ran a dry roast and then followed up with my first batch of Poco Fundo after it cooled off. I roasted 12 oz on the 1 lb setting at p3 and stopped it with about 4 minutes left. Looks like a nice Full City +, and the beans roasted evenly. This roaster seems to be made very well, I'm also impressed with the craftsmanship that went into this. One minor annoyance was with the Warning sticker right on the LCD display, which left a gooey mess. Don't you just hate that tape resin that seems to be on 90% of products today? I was able to get it off easily with a paper towel and a tiny bit of alcohol, though so no biggie. I also noticed the roasting cylinder can be a little tricky to get out the first time, but it seems you don't have to shove the cylinder all the way in to the motor drive, so that makes it easier to remove when the roast is done. I can't wait to taste this tomorrow night...I have to give it some rest, though. Looks like I might be retiring my IROAST 2 soon, or maybe I'll keep it as a backup if I feel like smoking up the place.
Thanks again to Bold Java, James and Joe Behm!
Everyone, keep posting your results and we'll share our profiles.
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Charly..
Send me an address and I'll get you a new cylinder. Simple as that..
As to the smoke given beans are falling out of the cylinder it is extremely likely that is the root cause because they go to the oil level of smoke and the smoke suppression works best on the water based but limits the oil based..
Again if you get me an address you'll have a new cylinder in about 4 days..
sales@behmor.com
I'll do that--thanks!!! The squeak that was bugging me seems to have gotten milder instead of worse, just to let folks know.
Charly
Thank you and best regards
Joe Behm
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Charly..
Q tip... food grade oil (olive etc).. drop on the Q tip..
Swab the grooved portion of the round peg.. pressing into the groove... no need to go overboard on the oil..
As they use to say.. for us oldies.. "a little dab will do ya"
Should do the trick..
Joe
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PM
Why are you electing to use 12oz at the one lb setting instead pf either 8 or 16 oz at the proper setting? Especially for your lead off roasts?
Have I missed something in the instructions or in someones post?
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Mine arrived Thursday. Here are my initial impressions:
- Very solid unit. The weight alone gives that impression. Very good fit and finish.
- Very short learning curve. The users manual is good and gives great detail, and the unit is very user-friendly.
- Had the squeak on the initial hot burn-in, but it has disappeared.
- Also had a break in the mesh that allowed some beans to drop through. It is very difficult to see because of the bright finish on the wires. Joe got me the replacement already. Super responsive customer service!!! Thanks!! Threading a short length of stainless steel wire through the cell with the missing wire will probably work as a patch until Joe gets you the replacement.
- The square peg on the drum was a pretty tight fit into the motor. It appeared to be a few burrs on the square corners. A quick polishing with some emery cloth smoothed it out and it fits well now.
- First roast was 130g Bolivian. Settings 1/4, B, P2. First crack came with 2 minutes left on the timer. Second about 1:30 later. I let it go another 10 seconds or so. Let it run on cool for three minutes and opened the door for the remaining cool time.
- This thing is QUIET.
- No visible smoke, but the smoke alarm went off anyway ( roasting indoors by a weak vent fan ). I suspect that the "afterburner" does eliminate the smoke, but my smoke alarm actually responds to ions rather than visible smoke.
- Some chaff does get out with the door open, but is easily handled.
- I'm not capable of cupping the result, but after resting it for 12 hours, I brewed it up and my wife and I agree that this is one of the best, smoothest cups of coffee that we have ever tasted.
- Thanks and kudos to Joe, Bold|Java and CoffeeProject. This is definitely a winner..
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Finally got to do my first burn off today; couldn't do more, since I'm impatient, and wanted to try some beans. I used some of last year's Timor Maubesse Organic, put in 1/4 lb (all I had), hit P2 and B, since I read that in the manual and had no clue what else to put in. I've not done profiles, etc., before. I have FreshRoast+ roasters (4), a Zach and Dani's, and a Nesco (same as Z/D) which I am familiar with. I don't tweak. I just burn. It seemed as if it wasn't going to second crack, so I added 15 seconds. It looks kind of like a City+. Not really sure. Anyhow, it's a pretty roast, even, not a lot of chaff, a few unroasted beans in the chaff collector, and I'll taste it in the morning. Might taste like machine oil, since I only did one original burn off, but sho' smells good, anyhow.
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Merely a reminder...
I am perhaps the worst example of an individual and reading manuals.. be damned they are..
But.... I can tell you with 100% certainty by reading my newest revision of the manual especially Parts III, IV and V you will I guarantee find Behmor ease of use ..that much easier and understand better how get the most from it..
http://www.behmor.com/manual.html
Pay particular attention to the tips and maintenance section.. it will make using the roaster sooooooooooo much easier and is gleened from my years of testing it...
This revision is far easier to understand and much more concise in certain areas than what ships with the roaster...
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[url]http://www.behmor.com/manual.html[/url]
Pay particular attention to the tips and maintenance section.. it will make using the roaster sooooooooooo much easier and is gleened from my years of testing it...
This revision is far easier to understand and much more concise in certain areas than what ships with the roaster...
Joe, I mentioned to James at http://coffeeproject.com and will share it here again. It would be very helpful if the manual had a footer on each page, that said, "Revision 4, Nov 18, 2007." It is very confusing without a reference point to know what revision we have printed out.
Thanks for the consideration, B|Java
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PM
Why are you electing to use 12oz at the one lb setting instead pf either 8 or 16 oz at the proper setting? Especially for your lead off roasts?
Have I missed something in the instructions or in someones post?
Actually, I meant to roast 16 ounces, but the cup I was using turned out to be more accurately 12 oz. No other reason, but I'm pretty sure that this should not make much difference, as long as I use the 1# setting and am there at the ready to press the cool button, yes?
Paul
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BoldJava... you are right ...especially in the future
Right now however it is simple.. one version came with the roaster 1.0 and the newest is on my site and in some cases each distributor...master file V3.3..
But any changes in the future and I'll certainly reflect on every page a new revision code and date of the revision release...
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PM
makes sense to me especially since I missed the input sequence on the panel and my first 3 roasts defaulted to P1. And actually, slightly altering weights will allow one to fine tune even more than by just using the options afforded on the keypad.
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Bingo. Success. Roasted 1 lb of Costa Rican from PeechDogg. Used 1#/Program D/Profile 1. Gorgeous, even full city roast.
1C @ 15:25. Initiated cool at 19:00 (added 1 min) and got a couple of snaps of 2C during cooling. (guidance in the manual suggests 3:20 elapse from start of 1C to 2C with 1 1b. Very close).
Observations:
^ Again, quiet. Remarkably quiet.
^ Excellent cooling agitation of the beans. Wherein on the Gene, that tumbler is hot, on the Behmor, it is different. I had the door open at 15 seconds into the cool. The thermals dissipate very quickly and the rolling, tumbling of the beans in the hopper resemble the professional cooling trays of a large drum roaster. There just isn't any built up heat like there is in the Gene.
^ Extremely uniform roast.
Question: I just don't get the function of the "program" buttons. What function do they serve. I have read it 3 times and don't understand their purpose. Does A always go with P1, B always go with P2, C always go with P3...or can they be varied?
Answer: I did some reading on CoffeeProject this morning and Programs (a, b, c, d) refer to the length. Makes me think I did (Program A) since the readout counted back from 18:00. Time for some more work on it:
http://www.coffeeproject.com/pmwiki/index.php?n=Main.StandardStarts
B|Java
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Bold Java..
Part V... points 4, 5, 6..
Essentially A-D are short cut Program times to associated Profiles..
Yes you can go 1 --- B (no need to hit P1 as it is default) . Any other Proflie and the button sequence must be... weight... profile.... program(time)..
In some instance on P1 and P2.. C and D will be blocked because they exceed the maximum allowed time associated with the profile
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Bold Java..
Part V... points 4, 5, 6..
Essentially A-D are short cut Program times to associated Profiles..
Yes you can go 1 --- B (no need to hit P1 as it is default) . Any other Proflie and the button sequence must be... weight... profile.... program(time)..
In some instance on P1 and P2.. C and D will be blocked because they exceed the maximum allowed time associated with the profile
Thanks Joe. I see the sun rises early today in Incline Village.
Love having a roaster than can put out 1#, in the house, during these long Wisconsin winter. Thanks for the efforts over the last 9 years.
B|Java
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BJ you've got company in being baffled by the letters. I can't fathom what Part V #4 says either. I do know that if you put in the letter before the P# you will default to P1. I did this three times until Joe straightened me out.
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Bold..
My office is in Incline..but I'm still in San Diego until sometime next year... No benefit to move up there until then... Have someone sharing the office minding the store as it will until then...
But I'm up early in SD...
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Last night I roasted 1/2lb half poco fundo the other half peru, guat, sulawessi, in equal proportions wnd a little MM. My setting was 1/2 P4 D -- andI needed ++++ at the end to get to the 1st pop of 2c,. The roast was a FC+. Tonight I did the same blend 1/2 P4 D ++++ and barely made it out of 1C . I guess I would have been better to add the ++++ after the roast started in order to force the additional time at full power.Comments please.
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Last night I roasted 1/2lb half poco fundo the other half peru, guat, sulawessi, in equal proportions wnd a little MM. My setting was 1/2 P4 D -- andI needed ++++ at the end to get to the 1st pop of 2c,. The roast was a FC+. Tonight I did the same blend 1/2 P4 D ++++ and barely made it out of 1C . I guess I would have been better to add the ++++ after the roast started in order to force the additional time at full power.Comments please.
What was your idle line voltage & full power line voltage for both roasts?
If you do not have a Kill-a-Watt or similar, get one, along with a 20 amp Variac. Any electric home roaster will benefit greatly from this investment, mainly in the form of repeatability for yourself, and the ability to share with others profiles that have actual meaning.
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P4 and P5 are really meant for lighter roasters... they were designed to come in that way...
If you are looking for a gentle rise but more towards FC.. P3..
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Last night I roasted 1/2lb half poco fundo the other half peru, guat, sulawessi, in equal proportions wnd a little MM. My setting was 1/2 P4 D -- andI needed ++++ at the end to get to the 1st pop of 2c,. The roast was a FC+. Tonight I did the same blend 1/2 P4 D ++++ and barely made it out of 1C . I guess I would have been better to add the ++++ after the roast started in order to force the additional time at full power.Comments please.
What was your idle line voltage & full power line voltage for both roasts?
If you do not have a Kill-a-Watt or similar, get one, along with a 20 amp Variac. Any electric home roaster will benefit greatly from this investment, mainly in the form of repeatability for yourself, and the ability to share with others profiles that have actual meaning.
Chris, could you point me in a direction to better understand what these two pieces of equipment do? Something to read, or your own explanation. I think I understand the kill-a-watt (sav-a-watt?) measures the current, and the Variac actively adjusts it, yes? In order to arrive at a consistent flow?
THanks in advance, Paul
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Last night I roasted 1/2lb half poco fundo the other half peru, guat
187,
I claim no expertise on the Behmor. I would suggest that part of the problem comes from roasting the Brazil with hard beans. The only blended beans I roast together are a Red Sea Blend, when the beans are all from the same relative growing elevation.
When I want a Brazil in a blend, I have always roasted it separately.
B|Java
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Bingo. Success. Roasted 1 lb of Costa Rican from PeechDogg. Used 1#/Program D/Profile 1. Gorgeous, even full city roast.
1C @ 15:25. Initiated cool at 19:00 (added 1 min) and got a couple of snaps of 2C during cooling. (guidance in the manual suggests 3:20 elapse from start of 1C to 2C with 1 1b. Very close).
Observations: ...
Sipping on the Costa Rican from the Behmor this morning in a press pot.
Joe, you built a fine roaster, my friend. Thank you. The coffee is full of individual nuances; no 'baked' beans here at all. I think the Behmor and I have a future together.
B|Java
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Did 1/2 lb of Peechdogg's Costa Ricican P4 D . It was fantastic. Life is good.
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What settings might you recommend for Sweet Maria's Monkey Blend? Perhaps P2 or P3? Any suggestions? Maybe you, Joe?
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Last night I roasted 1/2lb half poco fundo the other half peru, guat, sulawessi, in equal proportions wnd a little MM. My setting was 1/2 P4 D -- andI needed ++++ at the end to get to the 1st pop of 2c,. The roast was a FC+. Tonight I did the same blend 1/2 P4 D ++++ and barely made it out of 1C . I guess I would have been better to add the ++++ after the roast started in order to force the additional time at full power.Comments please.
What was your idle line voltage & full power line voltage for both roasts?
If you do not have a Kill-a-Watt or similar, get one, along with a 20 amp Variac. Any electric home roaster will benefit greatly from this investment, mainly in the form of repeatability for yourself, and the ability to share with others profiles that have actual meaning.
Chris, could you point me in a direction to better understand what these two pieces of equipment do? Something to read, or your own explanation. I think I understand the kill-a-watt (sav-a-watt?) measures the current, and the Variac actively adjusts it, yes? In order to arrive at a consistent flow?
THanks in advance, Paul
Check these:
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/07/behmor-tutorial/
http://ineedcoffee.com/07/iroast2-guide/
The Variac allows you to feed the roaster the same line voltage, and the Kill-a-Watt allows you to accurately set that (and read it) with an accurate digital display (which my Variac does not have). Though the KaW does read all sorts of things, voltage is the important one here.
A typical Variac will not actively adjust the voltage, but if you set it before roasting, usually you are safe for the 15-20 minutes it takes for the roast. I see voltage shifts over a period of time, and at certain times. Middle of a weekday in Fall is pretty high voltage coming out of the outlet, whereas a Sunday afternoon in August is pretty low.
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Marlyece .....P3..
I'm huge fan of that profile.. P2 many others like but I find it a tad sneaky on how it migrates from 1st to 2nd..
reminder ... Newest manual revision 3.3 http://www.behmor.com/manual.html
Parts IV and V...
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A chemist friend did a a quick test on the effects of acetone to clean the goo left from the sticker..
His conclusion.........................
DO NOT USE acetone or nail polish remover on the control panel or digital display to remove the stickum... the panel showed no real negative effect but he felt the display took on a cloudy look...
While I've personally not used WD-40, some state it does a great job whereas I know goo be gone works really well.
My sincerest apologies for the extra effort required to remove the ugghhh..
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Anybody tried decaf yet? I'm familiar with decaf in my FreshRoast things. I have a nephew who has requested decaf for Christmas, and it would be nice to do a whole pound. I'll take any suggestions as to profile. I have a Mexican decaf and a Honduran. Both last year's, but hey! He wants decaf, gave me preground coffee once, and I don't think it will matter to him if it's from 1925.
;)
Gatewood
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I roasted my first decafe today,Sumatra it was 4 years old .Used P3 C 1C came and went on schedule and it appears just fine. I don't think any adjustments will have to be made for decafe
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A chemist friend did a a quick test on the effects of acetone to clean the goo left from the sticker..
His conclusion.........................
DO NOT USE acetone or nail polish remover on the control panel or digital display to remove the stickum... the panel showed no real negative effect but he felt the display took on a cloudy look...
While I've personally not used WD-40, some state it does a great job whereas I know goo be gone works really well.
My sincerest apologies for the extra effort required to remove the ugghhh..
Try that handy little bottle of hand sanitizer you bought for traveling on the airplane to Aunt Minnie's place last summer. That works great on stickers, pitch from most trees, and a bunch of other things.
Curtis
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I've been roasting with the Behmor now the last 3 days since it arrived. I can tell already that this roaster will help me become a better roaster.
After two outside break-in sessions, I roasted up 1/2lb P2 OFT Timor Maubese. Nice, even roast. There was minimal chaff; 3/4 was in the chaff tray with little collections in the back corners of the roaster. I still detected the plastic smell during the roast, so I dumped these over the fence to the birds (did you know that wild turkeys will eat roasted coffee beans??).
The next roast was 1.2lb Rwanda Bufcafe Gkongoro Bourbon - I wanted to go darker so I tried 1/2 P3 B (I think - doing this from memory). 1st crack seemed to come at the end of the cycle, so I added a little more time to the cycle. 2nd came soon after that so I hit cool - gotta watch extending the roast time. I'm drinking this right now - it is deep and rich and wonderful.
I went ahead and did a cleaning cycle outside again since I could still smell electronics. After this, I set the roaster on top of the stove and hit the downdraft. I tried some of the '06 Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha using a lighter profile but more weight - 1lb P2 A. At around 9 mins, the smoke alarms went off. I opened the windows and deck doors, but I'm afraid that the kitchen smoke alarm is going to pick up any stray smoke and scream. I added a little more time to the roast to take it what I think is mid-way between 1st and 2nd crack.
I wanted to roast IDIDO MISTY VALLEY Grade 1 FT Organic Yirgacheffe, because I have a lot of Ethiopians. I did this outside on the deck. The first was 1lb P3 (I think I like this profile best), C (I think - I should be taking notes!!). First crack came just at the end of the cycle - I added a few more seconds until I heard 1st end. The roast looked good and even - not typical for my IMV roasts, and smelled very good (this is vintage BW's IMV that is still sooooo goooood). There is a good deal of chaff in the tray, a few shakers (kinda of interesting that these fell out and stayed pale) and a few burned beans in the bottom and caught in the drum. I did read the manual about high-chaff coffees. I thought I'd roast another IMV 1lb'er, and this time I used 1lb P3 D because I wanted to go a little darker. Everything progressed as before, but this time after 1st crack had finished, 10-12 seconds later 2nd started. I hit cool, but could already see and hear that the roast was coasting into a rolling second - fast. So I opened the door a bit (I know, I can hear you all saying DON'T DO THAT) and the chaff that was collected on the corners of the tray smoked and burned to ash. After the cool down, the roast looks OK - just a bit darker and uneven. The finish on the chaff collector is a bit marred, but overall, no damage to any part of the roaster, but I will be really careful of "D" in the future, and whatever you do, don't leave the roaster unattended. I haven't - there are noseprints on the viewing window of mine, but I find it interesting how quickly you can go from crack1 to crack2. In all the roasting I've done in poppers and SC/CO's I haven't had it ramp up like this, but I think this is a good thing; I've never had a great degree of controlled temp. like the Behmor has.
So this would be my first roaster fire - tiny and controlled as it was on the little piles of chaff in the corners. So this leads me to a question: could the chaff collector somehow spread the chaff out more evenly so it doesn't pile up in the corners? Maybe as it drops out of the drum onto the collector, there could be separators in parallel, like little trays that would help even the distribution of the chaff. Would this impact the design of the airflow in some way?
Overall, I'm very satisified with the Behmor. I will have to find a way to roast inside since this is one of the reasons I wanted one, and the only draft fan I have is a downdraft oven, and it looks like the exhaust on the Behmor vents up. That would be another design consideration or modification, not a high priority but something to consider.
Thank you Joe for a great product!
Woody
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If I were to highlight any one point in the entire manual, other than the basic how to use, that will help control roasts and undertstand when to anticipate start of 2nd etc it would be # 3 Part V..
3) The following time spans are good set of guidelines to better anticipate a roast hitting 2nd crack. The times shown are approximately what it takes from start of the first crack/snap of 1st crack to the start of 2nd crack. This guideline is especially important to know when using Profile 2/ P2. We have found over the course of many tests using P2 it will give you only a few 1st cracks then go silent, moving gently into 2nd crack in the times shown below. We suggest adjusting times as close to the following once you hear the first cracking sound of 1st crack. This should allow you to more accurately control your roast.
a) ? lb - 1:40 minutes
b) ? lb - 2:20 minutes
c) 1 lb? 3:20 minutes
If you follow the above I guarantee you'll be far better at knowing when to get ready to cool... It could vary slightly but it's a damn good barometer..
For me.. I hear the first crack of 1st.. I adjust the times up or down ( + or -) to those listed above or close to... and sit back ready to press cool if I'm off a little..
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a) ? lb - 1:40 minutes
b) ? lb - 2:20 minutes
c) 1 lb? 3:20 minutes
I have found them excellent barometers with which to gauge. I am in the midst of roasting and the Colombian Patron (P1) and Orchid Estate Kona (P5) are just beautiful, even, full city roasts. Love the quietness and having just a window cracked and the stove vent on low.
Nice machine, Joe.
B|Java
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One thing I would wish for in a version 2 would be the ability to roast a full pound in the time/profile similar to 1/2 or 1/4 pound (for example, to be able to roast a full pound and hit first crack at 11-12 minutes).
Is there a way to ramp up the 1# roast somewhat to approximate the profile for 1/4# of the same bean? perhaps by preheating the roaster?
Is this where a Variac/KaW combo can come in handy?
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Darn! I just stepped out to start a roast and have gotten an "Err1" message (thermostat damaged). ??? It has been our on the screened porch and the temp dropped down to mid-twenties last night, but I hope that wouldn't affect it. I'll try turning it off and then on again, see what happens.
One minute later:
...phew! I unplugged it, waited 15 seconds and then plugged it back in and pressed 1 and it displayed 18:00. Hmmmmm....
Roast now in progress :D
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I am showing a idle line voltage of 118 and it drops to 115 with the element on. Thats the root of my long roast times. Is a 3 volt drop normal and when I get a variac do I set it high enough to deliver 120 with the element on or do I set it at 120 which will give me 117 with the element on?
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I am showing a idle line voltage of 118 and it drops to 115 with the element on. Thats the root of my long roast times. Is a 3 volt drop normal and when I get a variac do I set it high enough to deliver 120 with the element on or do I set it at 120 which will give me 117 with the element on?
You can experiment.
I like to have my Hottop at 120VAC with element on (which is ~123VAC at idle, and a little overpowered), but I would rather start with a little "hotter" unit, and adjust profiles down, because you can never go the other way with much success.
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thanks Chris
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Can anyone tell me what the actual wattage reads when the element is full on? My y kill a what meter arrived today and I am reading 1063 at 1 minute into P1 with both elements on.
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A chemist friend did a a quick test on the effects of acetone to clean the goo left from the sticker..
His conclusion.........................
DO NOT USE acetone or nail polish remover on the control panel or digital display to remove the stickum... the panel showed no real negative effect but he felt the display took on a cloudy look...
While I've personally not used WD-40, some state it does a great job whereas I know goo be gone works really well.
My sincerest apologies for the extra effort required to remove the ugghhh..
Well, I tried denatured alcohol. It removed the goo just fine. No damage to the panel at all. The only issue is that I now have a 'no name roaster'. Sorry, Joe. You may want to change your logo to something other than black lacquer.
On the other hand, I adore this machine. My 'no brainer' roasts are near perfect. I have fiddled a little with times during a couple roasts, but that's it. One last item..... I find the absolute need to have a kitchen fan on during the end of the roast cycle and well into cooling. It's a very powerful fan. In fact, idf the house doors aren't latched, the vacuum from the fan opens them very quickly. I find fulll blast is just adequate to roast in the house.
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We have found over the course of many tests using P2 it will give you only a few 1st cracks then go silent, moving gently into 2nd crack in the times shown below.
Why/how does it do that?
John F
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Just roasted 8 oz of Panama La Esmeralda Geisha. P2/14:45 min
Exquisite, uniform full city roast. Two pops of second when it kicked into cool. Very little chaff.
The Behmor roasted 6 pounds of Breakfast Guest Blend (3/2/1, Braz/Sum/Malawi) yesterday without flinching. I marvel at the uniformity of the roast. I roast with the window cracked, with the Behmor under the hood fan, with the screens off. Close the kitchen door. You can not smell the roast in other rooms. This is critical in that the Czarina's asthma would get set off by the Gene Cafe.
No more.
B|Java
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We have found over the course of many tests using P2 it will give you only a few 1st cracks then go silent, moving gently into 2nd crack in the times shown below.
Why/how does it do that?
John F
I've noticed that too. What I've been doing is a 9oz roast on the 1lb setting and I get a more developed 1st crack before the roast levels off and coasts to the second crack. I've been trying to manipulate that timing of roast legs, but I don't quite understand that of the machine. I have gone 9oz 1lb roast P2 b or c and then maxing out the minutes. If I'm understanding correctly I'm adding time to the second leg of the roast, therefore effectively developing the roast of the coffee.
dbcoffee
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I would guess that p2 tends to dry out the beans more before they approach first crack. Not saying that this is right or wrong (I don't know, and there are arguments both ways), but would attribute the nominal first crack to the beans having given up much of their moisture by that point (due to a very successful "drying phase").
Again, I don't know what is best. But fwiw I have been using P3 with very good success for half pound roasts using 1/2, p3 and an extra minute or two.
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I can say from experience that when I slow ramp my beans with my variaced heating element poppery I, I will not get a first crack. But it has to be a very slow ramp. I have done this several times.
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I can say from experience that when I slow ramp my beans with my variaced heating element poppery I, I will not get a first crack. But it has to be a very slow ramp. I have done this several times.
Now I'm super curious.........
What happens after that, do you pass by sans first crack but still go into an audible second?
How did those roasts turn out in the cup?
John F
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I can say from experience that when I slow ramp my beans with my variaced heating element poppery I, I will not get a first crack. But it has to be a very slow ramp. I have done this several times.
Now I'm super curious.........
What happens after that, do you pass by sans first crack but still go into an audible second?
How did those roasts turn out in the cup?
John F
Great. The slow ramp allowed the flavors to develope. I hardly ever (accidently happens occassionaly) take mine beyond city + to full city. I never go to second crack for myself. Only if someone requests a dark roast do I go that dark. I like to taste the origin flavors. And when you put enough coffee in the press pot, it will be strong enough to taste anyway.
A lot of times I roast with a thermoprobe in the roast chamber and roast only by tempature. And for me that means I don't roast above 235-240 and usually to 225-230 Degrees F.
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As a quick aside on P2..
The basis for this profile was recommended to me by Ted Lingle who at the time was Exec.Dir. of the SCAA...and whose family has been roasting coffee for generations..
Merely an FYI...
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As a quick aside on P2..
The basis for this profile was recommended to me by Ted Lingle who at the time was Exec.Dir. of the SCAA...
Did he recommend the profile as in "the ramp" or actually muting the first crack?
Ted Lingle is the man in my book no doubt, but there is very little information I can find about muting the first crack (in progress) and that is the crux of my question.
John F
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When we met he just asked... "is there anyway to... std up... then drop for a length of time... then up the final 10%..."
He saw gen 1 had dial timers etc.. so when I digitized everything.. his request was honored..
I think the minimal 1st crack is merely a byproduct of the profile...
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Joe, thanks so much for posting here. I have a question: Is it possible now, or might it be possible in a future version, to have the profiles remain constant (time wise) between different weights? In other words, can I get that same 15 minute roast profile for the full pound that I get for the 1/2 pound? As it is now, it adds several minutes (3-6) to the roast profile when I up the weight.
Paul
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I think the minimal 1st crack is merely a byproduct of the profile...
Yeah, I agree with ya on that point.
I think it is a very interesting topic but I'm just not sure right now where to look or who has the coffee science/chemistry information in their head to offer many solid answers.
Maybe later........ :-\
John F
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Just tried a couple batches last night!!!!
I love it!!!!!
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Just tried a couple batches last night!!!!
I love it!!!!!
Hey there SeeGars!
New roaster eh?- What did you roast on before?
P.S. Welcome to the GCBC...how did you find us? make your self at home, feel free to intoduce yourself (http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php?topic=231.0), make sure you ask lots of questions, lotta good people and a whole lotta info to read and learn about.
Congrats on the new espresso machine as well as the new roaster!!
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I think the minimal 1st crack is merely a byproduct of the profile...
Yeah, I agree with ya on that point.
I think it is a very interesting topic but I'm just not sure right now where to look or who has the coffee science/chemistry information in their head to offer many solid answers.
Maybe later........ :-\
John F
Well, what concerns me is that the roast is stalling before or during first crack. If P2's roast profile is 100% for the first leg of the roast and isn't getting a complete first crack before the power decreases, wouldn't that "bake" the beans?
I don't think I've seen that. Today I roasted some Peruvian beans with the P2 profile and I didn't hear signs of first crack at all, unless is was muted and shortened.... It smells fantastic so far...
~dbcoffee
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I think the minimal 1st crack is merely a byproduct of the profile...
Yeah, I agree with ya on that point.
I think it is a very interesting topic but I'm just not sure right now where to look or who has the coffee science/chemistry information in their head to offer many solid answers.
Maybe later........ :-\
John F
Well, what concerns me is that the roast is stalling before or during first crack. If P2's roast profile is 100% for the first leg of the roast and isn't getting a complete first crack before the power decreases, wouldn't that "bake" the beans?
I don't think I've seen that. Today I roasted some Peruvian beans with the P2 profile and I didn't hear signs of first crack at all, unless is was muted and shortened.... It smells fantastic so far...
~dbcoffee
FWIW, on the advice of a local professional roaster who had been playing with one of the earlier models for awhile I have been using 1/2 lb., P3, C for 1/2 pound of beans, sometimes adding some time (less than a minute) near the end, with good results. Looking at the profiles in the manual I was originally inclined toward P2, but I don't plan to change my method for awhile. Again just FWIW.
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FC+ and beyond...anyone going there?
Curious what you are doing for espresso roasts...amount, profile, bean, origin, etc. I took some Monkey Espresso Blend from S/M to FC+ last evening without issues, window open, hood stove on. Wnated to hit Vienna but I quit while I was ahead.
B|Java
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I think I have a problem with the P2 profile also. In BW's earlier writings about temperature profiles, he suggested a ramp up to 300* and then a hold there to allow most of the water to evaporate from the beans. After that a ramp to the 350-370* range with a hold at that point to allow good caramelization of the sugars. From there an increase in temperature to bring in the first crack and then a further increase in temp for the start of second crack if wanted. If the ramp in temperature is too fast, it favors the formation of chlorogenic acids that cause bitterness, instead of the caramelization of sugars that gives a sweeter character to the coffee.
My rough calculation of a 1# roast using the P2 profile shows a rise in temperature from ambient to 482* in 4 minutes. Then a hold at 482* for 7 minutes, followed by a decrease in temperature to 356* taking approx. 1 minute. The roast then holds at 356* for 5 minutes before ramping back up to 482* in 1 minutes time, and holding there until completion. It seems to me that this profile would lead to 1st crack starting at around the 10-11 minute range and then the roast stalling for 5-6 minutes when the temperature is backed down to 356*. When it goes back up to 482* for the finnish of the roast the 2nd crack probably comes in pretty fast.
I have been using the P3 profile with very good success when anticipating when the start of 2nd crack will begin, and hitting the manual cooling 10-15 sec. before this point. I sometimes will get a snap or two of 2nd crack in the first 30 sec. of cooling.
I actually think that P5 most resembles the guidelines that BW has referred to but the center leg of the roast seems to be a little long. I am going to experiment with shortening this leg by adjusting the profile with time additions and subtractions.
kelppaddy
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FC+ and beyond...anyone going there?
Curious what you are doing for espresso roasts...amount, profile, bean, origin, etc. I took some Monkey Espresso Blend from S/M to FC+ last evening without issues, window open, hood stove on. Wnated to hit Vienna but I quit while I was ahead.
B|Java
I've been there, accidently and on purpose. Beans with more chaff can be a problem, namely smoke and smoldering chaff. A pleasant suprise was the Kenya Karabuta peaberry. Plenty of chaff, but at a City roast was better than out of the RK drum. I had to straighten all the wires in the basket to keep the small screen size from falling through (I don't know if anyone else had wires slightly bent ).
Curtis
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I think I have a problem with the P2 profile also. ...
I have been using the P3 profile with very good success when anticipating when the start of 2nd crack will begin, and hitting the manual cooling 10-15 sec. before this point. I sometimes will get a snap or two of 2nd crack in the first 30 sec. of cooling....
I actually think that P5 most resembles the guidelines that BW has referred to but the center leg of the roast seems to be a little long.
kelppaddy
I have used P2 for high grown beans and have had success getting them right to the edge of or a couple of pops in the second crack as it cools. (I use 400 grams, about 14 oz rather than a pound).
P3 has been perfect for Brazils and espresso blends.
P5 has Kona written all over it and some Orchid Isle Kona came out beautifully. Much nicer roast than my Gene was putting on it. I don't blame the Gene. That merely suggests I was going hotter in the Gene. When I break it back out this Spring/Summer for outside use, I will try and mimic that Behmor roast profile on the Gene.
B|Java
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As a new member of this forum.... WOW!
Thanks for sharing all the info on this roaster. I received mine on Monday and will be having lots of roasting fun this weekend.
Thanks for the tips!
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FC+ and beyond...anyone going there?
I had a fire in my roaster, full blown. :violent5: Before I could hit cool it shut down and proceeded to ventilate. Good thing I was roasting in the garage, because, oh my goodness, their was a lot of smoke!!!! :o I've tried my darndest to clean it out, but I still can't get 100% of the awful smell associated with the fire. ??? So far, I can't tell a difference in my roasted beans.....
~dbcoffee
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You had a fire in your Behmor? Whoah. I've been roasting FC+ nearly every time and haven't had anything like that happen. Is your machine functioning at all?
Marlyece ???
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You had a fire in your Behmor? Whoah. I've been roasting FC+ nearly every time and haven't had anything like that happen. Is your machine functioning at all?
Marlyece ???
As far as I can tell and I've roasted about 7lbs since everything is working fine.
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YIKES!!!! :-X
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Fire...WOW!! While I don't roast to FC+ and beyond in the Behmor, I have had a small issue once or twice. If beans fall through the basket wire, they can be a problem. They char and produce quite a bit of smoke. The ones that stick in the wire and char don't cause a problem. If a few beans fell in the back, near the lamps, I could see them going up in flames. I have an easy solution to that problem. I put the greens into the basket with a few extra grams. Simply run the cool cycle. The small beans will drop to the floor of the roaster. Just sweep them up for roasting later in the popper. I find that this works perfectly, even for the Ethiopians. There are only a few that fall through. The notorious Oromia Harar, for example dropped about 3gms. per pound of greens. That's about .7%. A pretty small amount. No more fell during the roast.
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Good suggestion! John, do you know when the basket for smaller beans will be available?
Thanks,
Marlyece
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john, I like that idea. I have about a pound of Yirgacheff and a couple pounds of Yemen Mokka San'ni that has all different sized and broken beans....
As far as the fire went, the Behmor did exactly what the manual said. The lamps shut down, and it started it's cooling cycle automatically. But the inside of the roast was coated with a black tar and it smelled awful. The roaster is functioning fine now, but I'm worried that I've damaged the lamps and they will fail sooner than others that weren't in a fire. Note to self, never ever walk away from a roaster while it's running.... :violent4: Learned my lesson the hard way.... ??? :BangHead:
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I've started doing a "pre-shake" of the drum after I fill it with DP coffees. I have a huge stainless steel bowl I hold it over, and shake to see if any fall out. As you say, you can drop a lot of Harrars. The Harrar roast was one of the most even I've ever done; not one shaker.
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Joe Behm kindly replied to my inquiry and told me the small grid cylinder will be available from distributors around the first week of January. This should be good for those smaller beans that slip through the square grid. This should resolve these issues.
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The issue is resolved for me already. It seems "penny foolish" to spend even $10+shipping. We know it will certainly be(h)mor. Joe is a great guy, but I suspect he will have to charge much more. For the few pennies of cost, it makes sense to toss the 'tinies' out. For the differences in costs, I would just as soon buy more, quality greens. My two cents worth.....
Phil
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The issue is resolved for me already. It seems "penny foolish" to spend even $10+shipping. We know it will certainly be(h)mor. Joe is a great guy, but I suspect he will have to charge much more. For the few pennies of cost, it makes sense to toss the 'tinies' out. For the differences in costs, I would just as soon buy more, quality greens. My two cents worth.....
Phil
Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. :violent4:
Curtis
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comptguru-
the smaller grid makes sense for peaberry size greens and other small beans and also helps to avoid potential fire so it does make sense for those who are roasting smaller size beans.
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Marlyce,
You seem to have missed my point completely. By simply running the Behmor in cool mode, you reduce or actually eliminate 'bean drop' just as effectively (or more so) than using the new drum will. It makes more sense to me to simply pitch the few beans that fall through the current grid. The Harar is by far the worst drop that I have experienced. I ran 5 full pounds of Harar through now. It confirms what I said earlier. The total drop was about 0.6%. I have tried 5 other DP's and 2 peaberries. The drop is even less. At say, $6/lb., the total bean drop for 5# of Harar greens would cost 18 CENTS!! It would take a long, long time to make up even a total of $20 for a new basket. In fact that would be over 100# of JUST the Harar, remembering that coffee is the most 'wasteful'. One last ditty. The openings in the 'new' baskets will only be 10% smaller than the current. Joe B. saz it's small enough to solve the issue. Looking at the dropped material from the Harar, I think there might be significant drop (well, a few 1/10's of a %) with some of the DP Ethiopians, anyway. A number of the 'drops' were broken beans. The new basket simply won't catch these. I'll take my chances with my method. I believe that it poses a FAR less chance of catastrophy than even the smaller grid basket......at mere pennies.
Phil
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No, I understand what you mean, if you're ever roasting a bean that is very small in general the grid will actually help with this if you're roasting small beans often, rather than having 1/2 the beans slip out during a cool mode session. Your method is great for those stray beans but not quite as effective for a bean that is half the size of an average bean. :)
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Hey all--I haven't posted much here, and not for a long time, but I think it is very important to point out that UPS Ship Notification is reading "Out for Delivery." Those are sweet words!
Have been reading the manual and this thread very carefully in anticipation.
I like lighter roasts and like to do a pound at a time, so this machine looks ideal (I've been using an iRoast for the last few years and a FreshRoast before that).
Would slightly less than a pound (14 oz.) at P1/A be a reasonable place to start learning this machine?
thanks,
scott
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Would slightly less than a pound (14 oz.) at P1/A be a reasonable place to start learning this machine?
thanks,
scott
Yes, that's how I roast my Kenya's. I'm still trying to figure out the other roast profiles. Oh, I roast 9 oz on the 1lb setting. I think my voltage out of the wall is a little low. I tried 9oz of a Papa New Guinea on the p5 profile and brought it up to about 20 seconds in 2nd crack... I think that roast with the cool cycle took 35 minutes or more....
dbcoffee
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I must say that I hate my Behmor because despite lots of smoke and a small fire, it never got beans into third crack.... ;D
:D
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I must say that I hate my Behmor because despite lots of smoke and a small fire, it never got beans into third crack.... ;D
:D
Just blast 2 heat guns into the roast chamber via a hole you cut with a Dremel tool.
Easy fix. 8)
John F
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Has anyone tried to roast the lovely Maui Moka in this? I wonder if even the new small screen will hold them?
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First, let me apologize to Marlyece. I blame my inadequate abilities to communicate succinctly. From you responses to my posts, I can see that you don't have a good grasp on my points. Please, for safety sake, pre-roll all your DP greens before your roast....small grid basket or not. That may very well help prevent a fire...or worse. I'm going to go on with my post. Because the following is based on my previous posts, you may want to skip them to avoid further confusion.
I've included a pic of the ~14gm of Harrar that went through the Behmor large grid screen. This is the sum total for ~2282gm of green coffee. This is about 0.6% dropped beans. As you can see, many of these beans are very small or broken. The current grid size of the Behmor basket Is .080". The new grid will measure .071" A spot check of the beans pictured here indicates that over 25% or at least 4.5gm are small enough to pass the .071" grid. That means that a 1lb roast will still drop about 1gm of beans with the small grid basket. In my mind that is significant enough to warrant concern. Joe B. seems to be under the impression that .071" is small enough to prevent bean drop. I don't think so. I doubt that the roaster could utilize a much smaller grid than .071" and operate properly. The thermal mass would increase significantly and the bean exposure to heat would be less. I believe that such change would require significant re-programming to be utile. That might not even work. This all becomes mute if one simply does a pre-roast 'dry roll' to drop undersized beans and fragments. Especially for DP, decaffe and robusta beans. In support of Joe B. , I feel that this machine is very well thought out and engineered. Personally, I still see no need of smaller grid baskets.
I did make one more very alarming discovery. It's potentially fire and even serious injury producing. I noticed a rather large quantity of fine dust among the dropped beans. The 5# of Harrar produced about 3gm of fine dust like material. Microscopic examination showed the material to be nearly all organic in origin. I surmise that most would be berry, chaff and bean dust. I wondered about flash-over volatility. I tested the powder like one would test lycopodium powder, over an open candle flame. The powder was nearly as volatile as lycopodium powder. In other words nearly explosive. I would worry that this dust could, under a rare circumstance, concentrate near the quartz lamps and flash-over. This would be similar to a mini coal mine dust explosion. The resultant explosion could blow the door open thereby releasing flame and heat. I have heard of similar mishaps among commercial roasters. Again, this scenario could be easily reduced or eliminated by simply pre-rolling the greens and vacuuming the resultant dust before the actual roast. For me, I will never roast a DP bean without doing this first.....with any size grid basket.
Phil
(http://www.classycarat.com/fakes/Harrar%20roast%20drops.jpg)
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I've roasted at least ten roasts of decafs, Brazils and Harrars averaging 14-15oz. each and haven't had a fire problems yet. There has been quite a bit of chaff build up in the front two corners and some dropped beans, but no fires. I think it is important that you don't open the door during the first 1 1/2 minutes of cooling so the hot chaff doesn't get a fresh blast of oxygen. Also you don't want to leave the roaster unattended. In a longer roast the beans could get to a point past 2nd crack where they might catch on fire.
kelppaddy
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Thank you for that clarification, Phil. Your points are very helpful...I can see how people have a concern for potential fire. I will keep this in mind when roasting. Perhaps I'll use my IR2 for the really small stuff :)
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I think it is important that you don't open the door during the first two minutes of cooling so the hot chaff doesn't get a fresh blast of oxygen.
Oh man, really?
One of the things we did when testing it was to open the door immediately and blow a fan in there to cool faster. :o
John F
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I drilled a hole into the top and ran the hose from this Zimmer Machine into it. It delivers -34oC air into the roasting chamber whenever it hits the cooling cycle... Top that one.. ;D
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Ok, I went back and checked the manual and it states to keep the door closed for the first 1 1/2 minutes. The one time that I did accidently open the door right after going into cool, the two chaff piles in each corner of the chaff tray started smoldering and burning. I can see where this might not occur if you hit it with a blast from a fan instead of the chaff being undisturbed from just opening the door.
Do you think there would be any chance of the quarz heating elements cracking if they were cooled too quickly?
kelppaddy
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The manual and several posts by Joe Behm indicate that the roasters electronics could be damaged by cooling to quickly. I would be concerned about thermal cracking the quartz heaters also. It doesn't seem worth bypassing the extra couple of minutes of recommended cooling.
Phil
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The manual and several posts by Joe Behm indicate that the roasters electronics could be damaged by cooling to quickly. I would be concerned about thermal cracking the quartz heaters also. It doesn't seem worth bypassing the extra couple of minutes of recommended cooling.
Man....
I am officially very confused about this roaster. :-\
I think I'll move myself to the "read only" status in Behmore threads and just watch as everybody learns the ins and outs of this machine.
John F
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A chemist friend did a a quick test on the effects of acetone to clean the goo left from the sticker..
His conclusion.........................
DO NOT USE acetone or nail polish remover on the control panel or digital display to remove the stickum... the panel showed no real negative effect but he felt the display took on a cloudy look...
While I've personally not used WD-40, some state it does a great job whereas I know goo be gone works really well.
My sincerest apologies for the extra effort required to remove the ugghhh..
Well, I tried denatured alcohol. It removed the goo just fine. No damage to the panel at all. The only issue is that I now have a 'no name roaster'. Sorry, Joe. You may want to change your logo to something other than black lacquer.
On the other hand, I adore this machine. My 'no brainer' roasts are near perfect. I have fiddled a little with times during a couple roasts, but that's it. One last item..... I find the absolute need to have a kitchen fan on during the end of the roast cycle and well into cooling. It's a very powerful fan. In fact, idf the house doors aren't latched, the vacuum from the fan opens them very quickly. I find fulll blast is just adequate to roast in the house.
I used lighter fluid on a paper towel, it worked perfectly on mine.
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Ok, I went back and checked the manual and it states to keep the door closed for the first 1 1/2 minutes. The one time that I did accidently open the door right after going into cool, the two chaff piles in each corner of the chaff tray started smoldering and burning. I can see where this might not occur if you hit it with a blast from a fan instead of the chaff being undisturbed from just opening the door.
Do you think there would be any chance of the quarz heating elements cracking if they were cooled too quickly?
kelppaddy
Been ?lurking? for a while, this is my first post, hi all! This post prompted me to respond because the ?fire? situation is an important topic. I have about 20 roast on the Behmor so far. Many include several different High Chaff producing DP Brazils, including a ? # roast tonight of the Brazil Stubbie is distributing. (Thanks Stubbie for getting them out so fast!). I have yet to have a fire or even a smolder. I have always waited at least a minute before opening the door. Is that why I haven?t had a fire? I don?t know, but it seems to work for me. I have read on another group that one has gotten a small fire admittedly by opening the door right at the end of the roast. I believe that by opening the door too soon with a large roast, with a high chaff bean, could increase your chance of a fire; especially in darker roast. I think if most use common sense when using this roaster, that there will be no problem, but if the limits are pushed, you take a risk of problems, and that?s ok, if you are willing to accept any bad consequences. However, I seen too many ?break the rules? or not use common sense, and then fault the manufacturer. I think the key is knowing there are risk associated with roasting, know the limitations of the roaster, and most important, just use common sense to reduce risk. One problem is, this roaster makes roasting so easy, once you know the roaster well, it can tempt some to just ?set it, forget it? and walk away, but that would be a bad idea, a very bad idea.
I?ve been keeping up with most of the threads on Coffeegeek, and I have not seen (although I could have missed it) that cooling too soon will damage the unit, However, I do remember Joe saying that the unit should not be turned off early, so the unit can thoroughly cool . This came up when there was talk about turning the unit off right after the roast, to pull the drum early to cool by other means.
One tip that seems to be working for me is; I do wait minimum of 60-90 seconds before opening the door. I then use a small shop vac for a short time above the chaff tray to suck out the hot air. It must be helping somewhat, cause the hose gets pretty warm. Of course the shop vac makes clean up a breeze afterwards.
One final tip, I now use a rag to clean the window before every roast, it cleans off very easy, and you have a clean view every roast. It seems that the longer you leave that crap there; it just multiplies the work getting it off.
Merry Christmas all!
Bud
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The manual and several posts by Joe Behm indicate that the roasters electronics could be damaged by cooling to quickly. I would be concerned about thermal cracking the quartz heaters also. It doesn't seem worth bypassing the extra couple of minutes of recommended cooling.
Man....
I am officially very confused about this roaster. :-\
I think I'll move myself to the "read only" status in Behmore threads and just watch as everybody learns the ins and outs of this machine.
John F
NAHHHH!!!! Keep after it John!!! I love this roaster because of the different profiles. Of course, I am sure I will have some beans I will throw away, but learning on this baby ought to be fun. But, then again, I am a nerd/geek!!! ;D
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I feel the same way. I have an awful lot of beans to experiment with and I'm having a great time putting the Behmor through it's paces. Of course friends and family seem to be pretty happy also with the recent influx of roasted beans! :)
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NAHHHH!!!! Keep after it John!!!
I see why you would say that, but if you knew me better you would know why it's such a bad idea. :icon_scratch:
John F
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I've had trouble today. Trying to do a PNG roast, and the roaster has stopped on me twice. I'm letting it cool for a while now, but I'm afraid I'm in deep trouble. I've had about eight very successful roasts, and desperately need to do more. Hate to go back to the old roaster, but I will have to, it seems. I've had the squeak, too, and haven't worried about it. But I think it has something to do with the roaster stopping, now. I lose a lot of beans, too. I've not found a hole in the mesh, but I think maybe they are slipping out the top. Anyhow, it's Christmas, and I'm sure I can't call about it today, but I'm bummed out over it. I've promised coffee to all my family, and now I can't produce it! If anybody has any ideas, I'm certainly open to them.
Thanks,
Gatewood
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What size are the beans? Is it the PNG Peaberry? You might try using more standard size beans, from my experience the smaller peaberry beans tend to work thru the drum and fall to the bottom of the roaster more than others.
At what point does the roaster stop?
Dave
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The beans weren't peaberry, but they were too small, anyhow. The roaster stopped within the first two minutes. Because it stopped while it was still cool, I opened it, cleaned out the beans that had dropped out, repositioned everything very carefully, and started again. It stopped after about one minute. I could have cried.
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Gateway.. actually I have been monitoring my tech support emails all day...
Did the roaster show an error message?
Email me ..
Joe Behm
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Yes, I got an error message. Not sure what number because I thought it was a zero, but I don't see a zero in the Troubleshooting part. I will email you.
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Two excellent tips in the thread recently:
1> Clean the window with a very lightly moistened rag after each roast - yes
2> Dry Processed beans - run thru a cooling period to shake out the smaller beans. Just finished a couple of batches of Lekempti. I first ran them thru a cooling period a had probably 25 small beans that would have been sitting on the chaff pan, burning the entire roast. Instead, DPs worked fine after the running the cooling period.
Finally, while many have posted re: 'fires' in the Behmor, I haven't even had the chaff flare up. Regardless, I think safety always needs to be emphasized, whether you are using a Gene Cafe, a Hottop or a Behmor. I think we easily forget the massive amount of heat and energy build-up in 16 oz of beans.
1> I have a fire extinguisher right at the finger tips. Should the roaster flare and not self extinguish, it will get a bath from the extinguisher
2> I never, ever leave the room with a roast going. Plenty of reading, cooking, and laptop work I can do.
B|Java
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Your suggested tips and recommendations in using the Behmor?
I will be doing some writing for James at the Coffeeproject and would be glad to include any items that you have learned along the way and that you would suggest be included.
B|Java
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My problem is being dealt with in a most gratifying way by Joe. The tech support on this roaster is fantastic.
How do you run a cooling period, BoldJava? What do you punch in to start? I've been shaking the cylinder manually to get the small bits out.
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My problem is being dealt with in a most gratifying way by Joe. The tech support on this roaster is fantastic.
How do you run a cooling period, BoldJava? What do you punch in to start? I've been shaking the cylinder manually to get the small bits out.
Simple, just toss the beans in, hit 1/2# and cool. Voila, off she goes.
B|Java
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Thanks! That's a good tip, and easier than shaking the thing a lot (which doesn't do a lot for the floor).
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My problem is being dealt with in a most gratifying way by Joe. The tech support on this roaster is fantastic.
How do you run a cooling period, BoldJava? What do you punch in to start? I've been shaking the cylinder manually to get the small bits out.
I had occasion to talk with Joe this morning. His energy and enthusiasm for his 'child' are contagious. I would love to see the unit get some traction and find its way into more homes. Three things immediately jump out at me and I shared with Joe:
1> The roasts are the most even of any machine I have used: FR8, Gene Cafe, Nesco, and IRoast2.
2> The Behmor brings out more nuances from the bean than the above machines.
3> There is no 'baked' element to the beans; just the opposite, as rich and full a roast as I have had. Despite the longer times on the Behmor compared to the other machines above, I don't experience any inappropriate tastes whatsover in the bean.
B|Java
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Your suggested tips and recommendations in using the Behmor?
I
B|Java
Here are 3 tips...
`#1 Like most, if not all coffee roasters I've used, less than maximum weight batches roast better for me in the Behmor.
#2 I much prefer roasting without the chaff screen in place. In my shop where I roast some chaff getting on the floor when removing the roasted beans is no big deal, and the view (without chaff screen) of the beans tumbling and changing color is the best of any drum roaster that I know of.
#3 Every now and then you should remove the right hand side panel and clean chaff from around the motor. There are only a few small screws involved and it only takes a minute.
The Behmor gives great value for a modest investment.
Saludos,
Charly
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Simple, just toss the beans in, hit 1/2# and cool. Voila, off she goes.
B|Java
You don't even have to hit the 1/2#.... Just hit the cool button.
Another tip I would offer is that when our line voltage is a bit low, I simply drop the bean load to 12 oz. and hit the 1# button. As with any roast, the last 4 minutes (or so) are the ones that count anyway. That's when you need to be vigilent. The last note is that Joe's helpful times from he start of first crack to start of second are extended quite a bit when line voltages are low.
Phil
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Simple, just toss the beans in, hit 1/2# and cool. Voila, off she goes.
B|Java
You don't even have to hit the 1/2#.... Just hit the cool button.
Another tip I would offer is that when our line voltage is a bit low, I simply drop the bean load to 12 oz. and hit the 1# button. As with any roast, the last 4 minutes (or so) are the ones that count anyway. That's when you need to be vigilent. The last note is that Joe's helpful times from he start of first crack to start of second are extended quite a bit when line voltages are low.
Phil
Agree with the suggestion to reduce weight. I roast 14oz on 1 pound setting. With the lowered weight, roasting time is close to the machines presets.
The suggestion to remove small beans and chaff with a short cooling cycle before starting the roast is a whole lot easier than the way I was doing it-hand spinning the filled drum over a bowl before starting the roast!
Curtis
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#2 I much prefer roasting without the chaff screen in place. In my shop where I roast some chaff getting on the floor when removing the roasted beans is no big deal, and the view (without chaff screen) of the beans tumbling and changing color is the best of any drum roaster that I know of.
Wondering, are there any unforeseen issues that can arise by continuously roasting without the chaff screen in place? Other than just being a little more messy?
Bud
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First, I want to thank you for your suggestions a few days ago. I roasted four batches and by the 4th was doing pretty good--doing around 14 oz. at the 1# setting and P1.
BUT...as with another poster above, the machine has stopped functioning. It's the Err6 message. On my 5th roast, the machine stopped within a minute or so and gave me this message. I opened it up, made sure everything looked to be in proper order, and tried again. Same thing happened. So I have now reported the error to the Behmor tech support email address and will wait and see.
Sad, because it's such a beautiful machine and gave me such a good roast with a very small learning curve. I'm hoping it is something minor.
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The manual and several posts by Joe Behm indicate that the roasters electronics could be damaged by cooling to quickly. I would be concerned about thermal cracking the quartz heaters also. It doesn't seem worth bypassing the extra couple of minutes of recommended cooling.
Phil
I thought Joe said it was Ok to open the door if you did not care about the chaff going all over the place. He told me this on the phone. Has something changed ?Have I miss something? ....When I hit 2nd crack I hit the cool button and open the door. This is working great for me -(about 30 roasts now.) I feel like John F now...........I am confused :o
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I feel like John F now...........I am confused :o
Yeah, just having me in a thread ups the odds of somebody getting confused by 19%. ;D
John F
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I second all the positives here. Not sure if I've read anything yet about a weak link: the drum latch. I lost a couple of pounds roast midway before figuring a way to better secure the latch so it wouldn't open up on its own accord. To the Behmor's credit, the machine stopped rather than continuing on some errant roast sans revolving drum. I have to assume that Joe's having this beefed up for the next version (along with the less than friendly stickers ;D that secure the doors and such for transport.
Everyone should be aware that the engineers built in a safety feature preventing the machine from roasting if it's below (I think) about mid 40s in temp. Joe wrote me that I only needed to bring it in from my freezing porch for a few minutes before roasting. Sure enough, no more Err message. Something to do with needing to avoid moisture build-up from too cold a temp straight into the roast.
Paul
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I second all the positives here. Not sure if I've read anything yet about a weak link: the drum latch. I lost a couple of pounds roast midway before figuring a way to better secure the latch so it wouldn't open up on its own accord. To the Behmor's credit, the machine stopped rather than continuing on some errant roast sans revolving drum. I have to assume that Joe's having this beefed up for the next version (along with the less than friendly stickers ;D that secure the doors and such for transport.
Everyone should be aware that the engineers built in a safety feature preventing the machine from roasting if it's below (I think) about mid 40s in temp. Joe wrote me that I only needed to bring it in from my freezing porch for a few minutes before roasting. Sure enough, no more Err message. Something to do with needing to avoid moisture build-up from too cold a temp straight into the roast.
Paul
I got a Behmor 1600 for Christmas and so far I couldn't be much happier with it. It works extremely well (but I'm just resting my first roast right now, so take my opinion with a grain of salt). I have noticed that you need to be paying attention while fastening the drum latch as it's possible to have it not latch properly. It's not a big thing, but I've already made a mental note to pay attention to it.
As for the safety feature that prevents roasting at low temperatures, I did a dry burn in roast yesterday at around 40 degrees. Today I did another burn in roast and my first roast of 1/2 pound at around 38 degrees. The roaster didn't show any signs of shutting down due to the cold. I did hear a mild bang at one point which I'm guessing could have been due to metal expansion because of the heat. It didn't seen to affect the operation of the roaster. I was concerned about the cold affecting the roasting time. On another forum I was told that the roaster wouldn't be able to roast at temperatures like mine, but my roast seemed unaffected. It hit the first snaps of first crack at 8:40, first crack peaked at 9:30 and ended at about 10:10. 2nd crack seemed to suddenly erupt at full force at around 10:30 or so and I immediately hit cool at that point. For what it's worth, I roasted 1/2 pound of a roughly 2 year old Guatemalan Huehuetenango I wanted to use up. The settings were at 1lb. (thought I might need extra time), P2 and B. Because of the 1 lb setting, I don't think the roaster ever got to the point in the profile where it cut power to 60% or 70% (whatever it goes to), so the roast was essentially at P1.
If the concern of cold temperatures is for those that store the roaster at the cold temperatures and then turn it on, I keep mine in my bedroom closet and take it outdoors to use it. That short cold exposure may mitigate the condensation problem you mention. Unless it makes it worse. ???
George
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George, I might not have been clear about the cold safety feature. If the machine has been resting out in the freezing temp it can display the Err message and prevent the roast. It's not that it won't roast in 20 degree temperature, just not if the machine has been sitting there in that temp for some time. Joe might want to edify us on this. Joe?
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PM,
I had the same problem with the error message.All I did was did was hit the off button and start over and it worked.
Joe E.
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Behmor 1600 - 1st Impressions
January 2008
Bottomline? In a quick hour, you can begin to roast some of the finest coffee in the world in your own kitchen. Read on but I warn you: You are about to step onto the slippery slope of a hobby that will ?hook and hold? you. You have been warned.
Positives:
1)Quiet
2)Able to roast 13-14 ounces at a crack
3)Smoke suppression system vastly reduces smoke (less smoke, not smokeless)
4)Handles back-to-back roasts
5)Does a great job of bringing out the nuances of the bean
6)Very even roasts
7)Best price:value of any "off the shelf" roaster out there for the homeroaster
8)Easy to learn how to use it
Drawbacks:
1)Limited visibility of roast
2)Limited ?on the fly? adjustments for the ultra-geek or perennial tweaker
3)Minimal aroma for those who roast by aromatics
Machine is Best for:
1)Beginners
2)Those desiring larger roasts
3)Connosieurs
4)Advanced roasters without a need to tweet a roast to death
Machine is Not Recommended for:
1)Those advanced roasters with an insatiable need to tweek and modify
Product: Behmor 1600
Model: December 2007 release
Manufacturer: Behmor Inc. (http://www.behmor.com)
Average Price: $300
Where Obtained: CoffeeProject.com
Owned for: 2 months
Tips:
First, never, ever leave the roaster unattended. The heat retained by the beans is more intense than most homeroasters realize.
Second, buy a fire extinguisher and have it within arm's length while you roast. This is just common, household sense. OK, with that out of the way, here are some suggestions to speed you along:
1)Prior to anything, read the manual. You may download it at www.behmor.com. Read it again.
2)Before roasting any beans, take the Behmor outside. Do a 'burn-off' roast, outside or in the garage, which takes off residual manufacturing oils. Put the bean cylinder and chaff tray in before doing this 1st step.
3)When you finish a roast, clean the chaff tray. Place it on top of the unit so that you will remember to put it back in for the next roast. It is very easy to forget.
4)Start learning the machine by using ? pound amounts until you are comfortable with the machine, its processes, and its capabilities. Then step up to ? pound roasts until you are comfortable. Then move up to a full pound.
5)If using the larger mesh bean cylinder, prior to roasting, run the beans through a 3 minute cool cycle to 'shake out' the smaller beans that might fall through the mesh and burn on the floor of the chaff collector.
6)Keep a log of bean roasted, weight of roast, settings. My log is very simple.
Country of origin
Process type
Finca/Estate/Bean Name
Amount roasted
Settings
Time of 1st crack
Time of 2nd crack, if any
Time when cool initiated
Roast Level
End Weight
Comments
7)Buy a $10 stopwatch and toss it in your roasting box. Behmor uses a descending clock. It is so much easier to write down in your log ascending actual times (your stopwatch) elapsed rather than doing the mental math.
8)Keep a log. Getting the drift?
9)Make sure that you do a ?maintenance/cleaning? run every 6th roast. Just place an empty cylinder in, hit ?1/2? and ?Start.? It will add to the life of the machine in the long run.
10)Wipe off the inside of the glass window with a barely moist paper towel after every roast. It adds to the limited visibility.
11)For the most even roasts, and to reach 2nd crack consistently, consider roasting 13.3 ounces (378 grams), using 1 pound settings. You will get six roasts out of a 5-pound bag of greens. One-pound amounts don't seem to get close enough to second crack on setting P2 for my tastes.
12)When you dump the beans after the roast, thoroughly examine the bean cylinder to ensure that no beans are stuck in the vanes or screening. Don't worry about a bit of chaff getting recycled, but a roasted bean joining the greens in the next roast will ruin your day.
13)Think about purchasing the spare bean tumbler with the finer mesh. I use it for all Yemens, some Ethiopians, and all peaberries. It does a fine job of bean retention.
14)Play with all the profiles. For me, extended P2 (a profile) is great for all the high grown beans. But, I have to be on my toes to catch the first crack as it is abbreviated. Merely add 3:00 minutes to the first crack time and you will be right on the edge of second crack (with a 13.3 ounce roast), bumping up against a full city roast.
Use Behmor's guide for time between 1st and 2nd crack. It is right on the money for me when I am using P2:
a) ? lb - 1:40 minutes
b) ? lb - 2:20 minutes
c) 1 lb? 3:20 minutes
15)Don't go past 10 seconds into the 2nd crack. Too much smoke and aroma with which to contend.
16)P3 works very nicely for the Brazils and Puerto Rican beans I have roasted, as well as any pre-blended espresso blends I have bought (rarely do I preblend prior to roasting). P5 does a bang up job on the Konas I have roasted.
17)Find an inexpensive shopvac and keep it in the closet. It speeds up chaff cleanup from the chaff tray and the insides of the roaster. I picked a mini for $25, which is a great size, from the place with helpful hardware man. He was an Ace.
Roast on!
B|Java
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<snip>
Tips:
First, never, ever leave the roaster unattended. The heat retained by the beans is more intense than most homeroasters realize.
Second, buy a fire extinguisher and have it within arm's length while you roast. This is just common, household sense. OK, with that out of the way, here are some suggestions to speed you along:
<snip>
Roast on!
B|Java
Pay very close attention to this tip. Just yesterday, I stepped in / out to the deck while a lovely batch of BOP Panama Nono Crespi - a BW/GCBC exclusive - was roasting. I missed the first crack, I looked in and the beans still looked in progress, however, when I checked not 2 minutes later, they were 4 alarm into 2nd (is there really a 3rd crack? :-)). I really don't know what happened, because I took careful notes the two other times I roasted this, and it should have just finished 1st, but then again, I may have set the timer wrong. Either way - Dave's sage advice is golden - stick close while roasting.
Woody
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Behmor 1600 - 1st Impressions
January 2008
Bottomline? In a quick hour, you can begin to roast some of the finest coffee in the world in your own kitchen. Read on but I warn you: You are about to step onto the slippery slope of a hobby that will ?hook and hold? you. You have been warned.
SNIP-SNIP-SNIP
Roast on!
B|Java
Daves "Impressions and Tips" is Right on the money in every sense of the post! As I was reading it I was trying to find somthing I disagreed with, and couldn't. If you are thinking about a Behmor read this, If you are new to the roaster, you will pick up useful needed tips.
Well Done B|java!
Bud
PS- OK, If I was being real picky; I would debate a bit about ?limited visibility? as you can mod it; by cutting a window in the Chaff tray, that will give you very good visibility
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Bold Java,
Thanks for the tips; I have to agree clear to the point & very helpful to anyone that is new to this roaster or to anyone looking to buy it.
Just my 2 cents on things.
I?m coming from a sc/to and at the beginning because I?m so use to having temp controls, temp meters and all the other toys along side to monitor a roast, it was very difficult for me to just grasp the concept that I was able to achieve a good roast from the start if I followed the instructions set in the manual.
?Without any song or dance routine?.
I thought ?no way there has to be more to this, it can?t be that easy?. But as you simple pointed out from your post that yes, one can achieve something good from this roaster.
This past weekend a friend called me over his home to see if I could bring over my new behmor.
A fellow co worker of his wants to get into home roasting so he wanted to see the behmor and my friend?s hot top at work. So we got together to see how these 2 roasters worked. Now this wasn?t any official behmor vs hot top challenge. We just simply wanted to show this guy how we roast coffee on our machines.
This was my first time seeing a hot top at work & was very impress by it. Wow very nice, love the way it?s built and the nice controls. The geek in me loved it.
So just for the record I?m going to say this, in the end we all notice & were very much impress by how the Behmor coffee had roasted more evenly. This was the very first thing that I had notice too after my first roast & this is something that the Behmor is very, very, extremely very good at. ;D
Michael.
Ps: Nice place you have here, I'll stick around
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>>>So just for the record I?m going to say this, in the end we all notice & were very much impress by how the Behmor coffee had roasted more evenly. This was the very first thing that I had notice too after my first roast & this is something that the Behmor is very, very, extremely very good at. Grin
Michael.
Ps: Nice place you have here, I'll stick around>>>
First, welcome. This is a solid group of folk. . . glad you found us.
Second, I would love to hear how the Hot Top and the Behmor compared in the cup because at the end of the day, that is what counts.
Give a shout if you need any help understanding the boards or the ordering processes.
B|Java
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Bold Java,
Thanks for the warm welcome....
Will do
Michael.
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I roasted some PNG Kuta this morning. Roasted 9oz at the 1lb p3 c setting. I preheated the beans to see if I could shorten the roast cycle and it worked. I didn't get a temperature of the preheat of the beans, and I was still able to hold the beans in my hands, so I'm guessing I heated the beans to right around 100F or a tad bit more. I'm not sure how this will effect the cup, but the beans made to first crack with 6:30 min left and was in second crack full speed with 3 minutes left, I stopped it at 2:45min. I would say Full City++ or Light Vienna... Initial aroma with only 6 hours rest was smoky and ashy. However, I usually notice a dramatic improvement around 24 hours....
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New Qs and A sheet out by Joe:
http://www.behmor.com/manual.html
Note: I am on my 3rd Behmor. Joe has been extremely responsive.
Unit 1: Motor began turning in fits and jerks, labored. Err 6 messages recurring.
Unit 2: Arrived with the shield that protects the roasting bulbs unanchored. Joe played around with a unit for two hours to see if I could simply remedy. Inaccessible, for all practical purposes. Joe said, "Unit 3 is in the mail."
Unit 3: Arrived via Fedex this morning.
B|Java
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New Qs and A sheet out by Joe:
[url]http://www.behmor.com/manual.html[/url]
Note: I am on my 3rd Behmor. Joe has been extremely responsive.
Unit 1: Motor began turning in fits and jerks, labored. Err 6 messages recurring.
Unit 2: Arrived with the shield that protects the roasting bulbs unanchored. Joe played around with a unit for two hours to see if I could simply remedy. Inaccessible, for all practical purposes. Joe said, "Unit 3 is in the mail."
Unit 3: Arrived via Fedex this morning.
B|Java
Wow - I'm reading the updates. I usually do 3-4 lbs, in a row, allowing the unit to go through the full cooling cycle; I dump the beans, measure out another 12-14 oz, start the roast again. I see now that the recommendation is 1hr between roasts... hmmmm... no problems so far, but it's more like 15 mins. between roasts post cooling, and I do open the door 2-3 mins once the cooling cycle starts. When I remove the beans, the inside of the unit is cool to the touch.
Without looking at my log, I've roasted about 25lbs so far. I really like this roaster, and am meticulous in its care.
Woody
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It's really great to see how responsive Joe has been with design, manufactoring issues. I've had my Behmor about a month and a half now, have not had any issues (knock on wood), but like to see that if I do have any problems, Joe stands behind the roaster 120%. I have been doing 2 - 4 roasts in a row allowing the the cooling cycle to be my wait time. May have to rethink that now. Hmmmmmmm.
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... I have been doing 2 - 4 roasts in a row allowing the the cooling cycle to be my wait time. May have to rethink that now. Hmmmmmmm.
Certainly speaking for myself, but if the cooling takes the beans and hopper down to a temp where I can do that step with bare hands, my guess is that is a sufficient cooling for the circuitry. Again, only an opinion, but I think Joe needs to emphasize this isn't a commercial roaster and suggesting a one hour wait helps emphasize that.
RE: Joe's responsiveness. I find Joe is after whatever ails the machine so that he himself can repeat the error/problem. He would like to eliminate that presenting difficulty in version 1.02 so that the unit doesn't have the same hiccup. He has been all over my difficulties like flies on a July picnic.
B|Java
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I was reading the new FAQ and it mentioned to keep the area around the thermocoupler clean to ensure an accurate temperature reading. So when I roasted some coffee today and looked at the inside of my behmor I noticed how dirty, oily, greasy it is. I wonder if the baked on oils on the inside of the behmor is giving the thermocoupler a cooler than normal reading, because my roasts have been finishing right where I want them and quicker....
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I was reading the new FAQ and it mentioned to keep the area around the thermocoupler clean to ensure an accurate temperature reading. So when I roasted some coffee today and looked at the inside of my behmor I noticed how dirty, oily, greasy it is. I wonder if the baked on oils on the inside of the behmor is giving the thermocoupler a cooler than normal reading, because my roasts have been finishing right where I want them and quicker....
Do you do a cleaning run? I run 1lb, PI after every 4-6 roasts, which seems to keep it pretty clean throughout.
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I was reading the new FAQ and it mentioned to keep the area around the thermocoupler clean to ensure an accurate temperature reading. So when I roasted some coffee today and looked at the inside of my behmor I noticed how dirty, oily, greasy it is. I wonder if the baked on oils on the inside of the behmor is giving the thermocoupler a cooler than normal reading, because my roasts have been finishing right where I want them and quicker....
Do you do a cleaning run? I run 1lb, PI after every 4-6 roasts, which seems to keep it pretty clean throughout.
I do, just about every 5-7 roasts (9oz roasts).... I only do a 1/2lb on P1 to clean it. Sometimes I take a mild cleaner like Joe Glo or PBW to help clean it.
Frankly I don't mind about the inside. I haven't had any flare up and my coffee tastes wonderfully. I just figured the gunk on the inside is just part of the "seasoning." I'll try to take a picture, it's not that bad, just a build up in the corners....
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My Behmor arrived in the mail today! ;D ;D ;D First impressions are that it's a very well built roaster, it's very easy to operate and the roast is incredibly even and thorough. I started out with a 1/2 lb. batch to get used to how it roasts and then I proceeded to do a couple 1 lb. batches after that. I can't wait to see how the cup is!
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Howdy Folks,
I bought my Behmor last Dec.,and have had fantasic results until tonite.I just got a pile of Sumatra from Joe and did about a 1# roast on P5 and maxed out the time at 25 or so minutes.Barely got a FC and beans were not even close to done.Tried P3 maxing time out again and got a little more of a FC but not enough.My roaster is on a dedicated 20 amp circuit with nothing else on it so I don't believe its not enough go go juice.Any suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks,
Joe
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Hola Joe,
I would just get in touch with Behmor and explain to them what's going on with your machine.
I wouldn't dough if you get a call from the man himself, Joe Behmor to help you out.
There customer service is awesome.
No guess work, ??? go to the man direct.
Michael.
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>>>Any suggestions would be welcome...>>>
Lots of possibilities.
1) Your voltage could have dipped for a variety of reasons. I have been monitoring our house voltage (with Kill-a-Watt) and I am fascinated how it jumps around.
2) P5 is for low grown, island beans: http://www.behmor.com/manual.html. I only use P5 for Konas. I use P3 Brazils only. Joe's Sumatran are probably high grown. P1 P2. Try reducing the load to 375 grams (13.3 oz) and using P2 or P1.
If that doesn't work, call Joe.
B|Java
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Joe... Reduce the quantity of beans/roast. I use 12 oz. of beans on the 1# setting. With a little care, I can take the roast to any end point I wish to. Make a couple notes on the particular bean, time and voltage. You can then do 'no brainer' repeat roasts. The 12 oz works well for me in that amount almost exactly fills a 1 quart Mason jar, my vacuum storage vessel of choice.
Phil
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Hey Guys,
Thanks guys for the info.I will try P1&P2 before I call Joe.I am totally ignorant about soft beans,hard beans etc.I know beans from Brazil are soft but am at a loss on any other beans.
Thanks.
Joe
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Joe... Reduce the quantity of beans/roast. I use 12 oz. of beans on the 1# setting...
I use 13.3 oz because 5#s gives you 6 equal roasts of 13.3 oz.
B|Java
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I roast 15 oz. of most hard beans using the following settings...
1#, P3, D, +30 sec., Start, -2:00min, = 21.30min.
I then start listening for the 1st crack between 4 & 5 minutes and then go to a manual cool just before the start of 2nd crack.
This profile draws out the beginning and middle of the roast a little while shortening the end of it.
Rodney
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I use 13.3 oz because 5#s gives you 6 equal roasts of 13.3 oz.
B|Java
Ahhh.... More logic than my madness. Yup.... I end up with an 8oz. batch at the end of 5#. I still can only get 12 oz. of roast in my 1 qt. Mason jars, though. Do you suppose I can convince the good folk at Mason to do a three pinter?? ::)
Phil
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I roast 15 oz. of most hard beans using the following settings...
1#, P3, D, +30 sec., Start, -2:00min, = 21.30min.
I then start listening for the 1st crack between 4 & 5 minutes and then go to a manual cool just before the start of 2nd crack.
This profile draws out the beginning and middle of the roast a little while shortening the end of it.
Rodney
I just gave your profile a tried with my 13 lb. Yirg/Sid blend ...stooped it 1min 11 sec into 1st C....looks great, I'll let you know after 5 days.
I really like p2 & p3 & .......(p1) when I get the ???? What do I do with this bean look on my face.
Thanks for the profile.....I like how "This profile draws out the beginning and middle of the roast a little while shortening the end of it." This with a gentle cool down could be very nice for those very delicate cases.
Michael.
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Hey guys, wanted to see if anyone knows the best (cheapest) place to buy a Behmor. Thanks!
scum
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Hey guys, wanted to see if anyone knows the best (cheapest) place to buy a Behmor. Thanks!
scum
I got mine a couple weeks ago from www.burman.com (http://www.burman.com) with the smaller drum and 3 lbs. of greens for $309.95 shipped to my door. It was the best deal I could find and I looked at quite a few places.
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Hola Joe,
I would just get in touch with Behmor and explain to them what's going on with your machine.
I wouldn't dough if you get a call from the man himself, Joe Behmor to help you out.
There customer service is awesome.
No guess work, ??? go to the man direct.
Michael.
Wow I can't believe that I'm quoting my own post so just for the record. ;D
Last night I guess the planets & stars weren't lined up right over New Jersey so while I was roasting I notice something small and odd about the way the Behmor reacted. To me it wasn't that big of a deal to think about since I had no problems with finishing my lovely 13 lb Yirg/Sid blend roast that I so wanted to try out the profile that kelppaddy posted above.
But I had some ??? On my mind so sure thing I fired up and send out an e-mail this morning out to the Behmor customer service dept. Well what do you think happened next...about an hour later I had a guy name Joe from Tahoe calling me on my cell phone.
After a quick discussion about my odd observation last night, Joe was so helpful and quick to diagnose the situation.
Talk about a quick turn around time.
This guy is better then Satan Claus & the Easter bunny put together......IMHO, so don't be too surprise if you send out a cry for help to the Behmor Company.
& the next person on your phone could probably be Joe the man himself........
Now if I could only get that kind of service from my local Chinese take out I would be so happy.
Enjoy
Michael.
;D
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Hey guys, wanted to see if anyone knows the best (cheapest) place to buy a Behmor. Thanks!
scum
http://www.freshcoffeebeans.com/roasters/Behmor.asp (http://www.freshcoffeebeans.com/roasters/Behmor.asp)
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Thanks for the suggestions! I did end up ordering one from Sweet Marias. Price was about the same 315 total with a shipping discount, but it came with 8 pounds of coffee. Can't wait to get it! I'll be browsing through the forums for tips......
scum
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Thanks for the suggestions! I did end up ordering one from Sweet Marias. Price was about the same 315 total with a shipping discount, but it came with 8 pounds of coffee. Can't wait to get it! I'll be browsing through the forums for tips......
scum
Here are my thoughts on Tips and suggestions.
http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php?topic=2757.msg41286#msg41286
B|Java
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Hey Folks,
P2 Maxed out on time is getting the job done fine on the Sumatra.
Thanks,
Joe
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Not any of the above, but wanted to relate a great experience with my new Beamer. Two nights ago I broke a paper bag of green beans right over the roaster. A bunch of the beans got inside the back of the Behmor. Being reluctant to start taking the Behmor apart, I sent off an email through their website. The next morning, there was a reply advising how to get the beans out. I called for some clarification and quickly got a call back from Joe Behm. WOW! How often do you get a call from the owner of the company and/or product inventor for customer service. Joe walked me through the operation and I think I've gotten all the beans out.
Besides doing a great job roasting, the Behmor comes with the best customer service I've ever experienced.
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My own personal "don't ever do this" experience concerns the self cleaning cycle run after each 4 or 5 roasts. I discovered that the whisk brush provided with the new roaster suffers singed bristles and charring of the wooden handle if left in the chaff collector while that cycle is run. I does continue to function in the original manner after that cycle, but in a diminished capacity. The flamed bristles must be trimmed off.
Just my two cents worth on that one. I am looking for a Kevlar brush so I never recreate that memorable moment!
Curtis
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Yupp.... I've come close to that one myself. I store my roasting notes/brush/manual in the chamber. After a near "broken arrow", I now leave the basket loose in the chamber, the base end engaged. It creates a bit of a racket if the machine is turned on. Not a perfect solution, but it did save me once already.
Phil
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Anyone care to share their profiles for any and all beans they have roasted on the behmor. Hoping for help with ethiopian, monsooned malabar, and yemen. -Doug
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I've roasted 2 Ethiopians. The Organic Limmu's were ok @ 119g / 1/4# / P2 / B. Start time: 8:50. Added time during roast to get 10:20. Nice City+ roast. Coffee was average.
The Ethipian Harrar were roasted to FC+ (into 2nd crack for ~30sec) and were better. 226g / 1# / P3 / C Time at start: 21:30 Total roast: 16:50. FC: 7:44 and 2C: 5:07.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The beans being roasted lately have been quite tasty.
300g Brazil Coromandel - Fazenda
Indoor roast - Ambient 71 degrees
Profile: 1#, P2, B, reduce time by 1 minute
Total time @ start: 19 min
Input during roast: ++
Times (all stated as time remaining)
Yellow: 10:38
Light brown: 9:38
Milk Chocolate: 7:24
Start of FC: 5:47
Start of 2C: 00:15
Hit cool button at 00:15
Total Roast time: 19:15
Open door immediately
3-4 cracks of second
Bean weight after roast: 250 (16.7% loss) Might be odd, but most of the roasts we like seem to loose around 16%.
Grinder: Rocky
Bodum French Press
This is my 3rd batch of this bean. Since I'm not an experienced cupper, I can't commit. Except that everyone that gets a cup drinks it to the bottom! :P
Getting ready to try some Poco Fundo beans.
Sam
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Also 1 tip: I turn on the inside light while preparing to roast. Usually about 10-15min. This seems to get the inside the Behmor to a consistent start temperature.
Sam
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Thanks Sam! I'm new to the Behmor also, and have had good luck so far. Getting some new beans that I have not seen any tips on. Thanks again, and happy roasting. -Doug
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Howdy Folks,
Would there be a problem just using the small screen drum for all roasts?
Thanks,
Joe
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Would it keep more chaff in the drum?
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Would it keep more chaff in the drum?
I see a minimal increase in chaff in the drum when using the small mesh drum.
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I find the countdown feature maddening so I bought a simple, inexpensive stopwatch like all high school track coaches use. If you don't want to spend the dime and have a laptop, drag it into the kitchen where you are working and let it fly. Online stopwatch:
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/
B|Java
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Would it keep more chaff in the drum?
I see a minimal increase in chaff in the drum when using the small mesh drum.
I like to see a clean, pretty roast. I dump the roast out of the Behmor into a large metal bowl. Walk to the back door, and toss the beans gently while blowing gently on them. This winnows virtually any chaff that's still with the beans. Quick and easy.
Phil
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ERR 6 Message, powered off, restarted. Motor seems a little sluggish. IS THIS BAD??? ???
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ERR 6 Message, powered off, restarted. Motor seems a little sluggish. IS THIS BAD??? ???
Probably, if it keeps happening. It often results in Joe sending a new roaster(no charge). Talk to him and he'll walk you through a couple of simple possible fixes before declaring it dead.
Charly
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One very consistent theme I've seen across multiple coffee boards and mailing lists is the *amazing* customer service Joe offers. I can tell you I absolutely will buy another behmor when/if he comes out with version 2 and I'll ship off my version 1 to my mom or to a friend.
This behmor is my first roaster and at this rate, I'll be a coffee roaster (and a behmor user) for life. I can't imagine a better way to start out.
-- Gary F.
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Amen G F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe
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What timing. I had been noticing a strange cyclic vibration/hum sound coming from the right side of the roaters whilst roasting. The motor would also go up and down in its sound as well. I contacted Joe for advice. He had me try several things and during the tests received an Error 6 as well. Look this error up and you'll see that you are possibly hosed. I have a new roaster in the mail. Dealing with Joe was a joy! I'm not used to being treated so well.
I just lover this roaster!
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Firstly.. thank you all for the kind words..
Next if anyone has a problem or concern............
PLEASE email tech@behmor.com before doing anything. Given I know the sysem better than anyone on the planet other than one engineer I'll probably be able to take care of the issue quickly, as in one call or ask you to perform tests that will help us take the proper course of action. Include contact data and brief description of then issue..
Even on weekends I check my business emails regularly...
It was only by chance I rec'd a notice at a little used email addy of mine a message had been sent from someone here..
Again PLEASE before doing anything contact me via the business site.. I want everyone taken care of quickly and properly but can't if I'm blind to the issue...
If you happen to not hear from me within a few ahours.. I will respond... even on weekends...
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the dude is on it- i fired a mssg over last night and he was back to me almost immediately!
;D
I like it,
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I just got this roaster and am beginning to play with it and the different profiles. The one thing which is striking so far in my early experimentation is just how even the roast is. It really is just beautiful! Even the ones I've completely screwed up.
I've been using the P2 profile and I'm trying to figure out the timing of the roast. In this profile, the temperature drops towards the end of the roast and I'm not sure where you should be at the point where it drops. Should that be occuring at the start of 1st crack? If so, then I need to add more time to the start of the roast. My first few roasts have been getting to 1st crack well after this temp drop. Is this what I should be expecting? Am I overthinking things here?
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I've been using the P2 profile and I'm trying to figure out the timing of the roast. In this profile, the temperature drops towards the end of the roast and I'm not sure where you should be at the point where it drops. Should that be occuring at the start of 1st crack? If so, then I need to add more time to the start of the roast. My first few roasts have been getting to 1st crack well after this temp drop. Is this what I should be expecting? Am I overthinking things here?
It's my understanding that the drop should occur between cracks, in order to stretch out the time between them.
However, I've only used P1--so take that with a grain of salt.
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Sometime after the first crack has occurred, the temp drops as the heat of the bean mass is carrying sufficient heat to keep the roast moving along. I have attached the P2 profile below. Also, take a look at section 5 of the manual for an understanding on how to lengthen/shorten different "legs" of the profile. I am still trying to better understand that as I would like to lengthen the time of the first leg (programmed to initiate 'leg 2' at 65% of the way thru roast).
I use P2 frequently but it can be a tricky profile. I listen intently for cracks as you don't get the loudness and duration that you experience with the same bean using P2 vs P1. I feel it needs a longer, higher temp for 'leg 1' and then a reduction in temp. I dropped Joe a note to make sure I am doing it correctly.
I will post Joe's response. He knows the machine. Why guess?
B|Java
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Sometime after the first crack has occurred, the temp drops as the heat of the bean mass is carrying sufficient heat to keep the roast moving along. I have attached the P2 profile below. Also, take a look at section 5 of the manual for an understanding on how to lengthen/shorten different "legs" of the profile. I am still trying to better understand that as I would like to lengthen the time of the first leg (programmed to initiate 'leg 2' at 65% of the way thru roast).
I use P2 frequently but it can be a tricky profile. I listen intently for cracks as you don't get the loudness and duration that you experience with the same bean using P2 vs P1. I feel it needs a longer, higher temp for 'leg 1' and then a reduction in temp. I dropped Joe a note to make sure I am doing it correctly.
I will post Joe's response. He knows the machine. Why guess?
B|Java
Did you hear anything? I've been trying to better understand the adjustment of the "legs" of the roast as well...
Dan
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Did you hear anything? I've been trying to better understand the adjustment of the "legs" of the roast as well...
Dan
Joe said: >>>
It is always pct to total that changes. Easiest way to think of what you are doing is...draw two lines on a piece of paper so as to create an open area, line, open area, line then, open area.
Now say you have a profile of 33/33/33... at 21:00... so each open area has 7 min...hit start...now you add to 2 min ot the time.
The first and second spaces still are 7.. last is 9.. you hae changed pct to total.
Do the reverse...and subtract 2... 7, 7, 5...
Again it is pct ot toal that changes... What I do with P2 is 1 P2... then start... then later add time.. it lengthens the final leg to draw it out of the down trend/low heat..>>>
I don't think there is a way to stretch 1st, which I was after.
B|Java
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If you add time before you start the roast and then subtract time right after you push start, you will lengthen the 1st and 2nd segment of the roast and shorten the 3rd segment.
kelppaddy
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If you add time before you start the roast and then subtract time right after you push start, you will lengthen the 1st and 2nd segment of the roast and shorten the 3rd segment.
kelppaddy
that's what I thought..but when I roast, I get confused...and have blown a couple batches and almost had a pretty serious chaff fire.
:o
be very careful, and do not fo to far into second crack and be very aware of how much chaffe you are getting from your beans for future consideration...they reccomend lower chaff beans.
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Did you hear anything? I've been trying to better understand the adjustment of the "legs" of the roast as well...
Dan
Joe said: >>>
It is always pct to total that changes. Easiest way to think of what you are doing is...draw two lines on a piece of paper so as to create an open area, line, open area, line then, open area.
Now say you have a profile of 33/33/33... at 21:00... so each open area has 7 min...hit start...now you add to 2 min ot the time.
The first and second spaces still are 7.. last is 9.. you hae changed pct to total.
Do the reverse...and subtract 2... 7, 7, 5...
Again it is pct ot toal that changes... What I do with P2 is 1 P2... then start... then later add time.. it lengthens the final leg to draw it out of the down trend/low heat..>>>
I don't think there is a way to stretch 1st, which I was after.
B|Java
I **thought** and again, this is where i get confused. You can extend all legs of the roast by the A, B, C, and D option. Before the roast starts if the '+' and '-' are used to adjust the second leg and after the roast is started the '+' and '-' adjust the third leg.
So to length the first leg you would have to maximize the the roast time by doing something like this 1lb P2 'C', maximize the first leg, a bunch of '-' to lower the second roast before the roast starts, depending on the type of bean and then a bunch of '+' to after the roast is started to ensure a complete roast. Finally, standby to hit cool is ensure the roast doesn't start a fire.
Does this make sense?
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OK- so I can't beleive this..but I ended up having almost 1 1/3 lbs left of the 2006 Buttwhiskers Distro of the now infamous Guat Trapachitos, so I am roasting half (3/4 lbs) of it today and saving the remaining compare with the 2007 and the 2008 soon to be crop.
I'll keep ya posted ;D
Update-
3/4 lb beans at 1 lb setting + P2+B = Dang near perfection at 1st snap of second crack cooling cycle started 3 seconds following that...now that is when you know you got it all rolling for ya.
8)
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Does anybody mind if we move this over to the Equipment forum?
;D
Edit-
Thanks to the powers that be that moved this - just seemed like it should be over here...
;D ;D ;D
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I've been getting great results on the Behmor for a City+/Full City roast with 150 grams of green coffee (about 4-5 oz. roasted) using this setting: 1 lb., B, P2. It really has a lag betweeen 1st and 2nd crack, and allows you very precise control on when you want to stop the roast exactly where you want it. For a perfect Full City, I normally hit cool with about 4 minutes left in the cycle. Just thought I'd share that in case anyone was interested. ;D
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I've been getting great results on the Behmor for a City+/Full City roast with 150 grams of green coffee (about 4-5 oz. roasted) using this setting: 1 lb., B, P2. It really has a lag betweeen 1st and 2nd crack, and allows you very precise control on when you want to stop the roast exactly where you want it. For a perfect Full City, I normally hit cool with about 4 minutes left in the cycle. Just thought I'd share that in case anyone was interested. ;D
Thanks Kevin. I've been looking for a nice sample roast setting with a bit more lag between first and 2nd, and just haven't had the time to work it all out yet.
Chad
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Thanks Kevin. I've been looking for a nice sample roast setting with a bit more lag between first and 2nd, and just haven't had the time to work it all out yet.
Chad
Chad, that's exactly what I was looking for too. It's a great profile to use when evaluating multiple samples as it produces very consistent results.
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Is that a lag you are getting on the P2 setting or is the roast actually stalling. I would think that in P2 where the temperature goes down to 374* for 20% of the roast, it would be more of a stall between 1st and 2nd crack then a lag. Just wondering...
kelppaddy
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I've been getting great results on the Behmor for a City+/Full City roast with 150 grams of green coffee (about 4-5 oz. roasted) using this setting: 1 lb., B, P2. It really has a lag betweeen 1st and 2nd crack, and allows you very precise control on when you want to stop the roast exactly where you want it. For a perfect Full City, I normally hit cool with about 4 minutes left in the cycle. Just thought I'd share that in case anyone was interested. ;D
I will look at this again, very patiently. I pooched two sample roasts with a similar approach. I will have to review my notes again; maybe I didn't mirror what you have posted. I found it stalled on me.
B|Java
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I wish BW would weigh in on this subject..............
kelppaddy
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I wish BW would weigh in on this subject..............
kelppaddy
I think if Kevin is getting quality results in the cup from this setting, I'd put my stock in it, but that's just me. :-\
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I think if Kevin is getting quality results in the cup from this setting, I'd put my stock in it, but that's just me. :-\
Agreed. The OEBC has a good palate and would recognize a stalled roast. It just has me stratching my head where it is that I pooched up.
B|Java
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I wish BW would weigh in on this subject..............
kelppaddy
BW is not impressed with the Behmor.
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BW is not impressed with the Behmor.
Honestly, this is the first negative I've read (that I can remember) about this roaster - other than some 1st production run bugs that are promptly attended to by the manufacture.
Care to elaborate at all? I've been considering one to use as a sample roaster and would be keen to hear your thoughts.
-Stubbie
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Care to elaborate at all? I've been considering one to use as a sample roaster and would be keen to hear your thoughts.
-Stubbie
I may just be set in my ways, but the main problems that I have with it are:
1) Lack of control: You have 5 preprogrammed ramps that you cannot modify. To make them work properly, you are effectively stuck with an 8-11oz batch but you need to use the 1# setting to make that work right (most of the time). Makes it impossible to react while roasting.
2) Poor cooling: Takes too long to cool down between roasts. If you follow the directions, your beans will be baking for a long time after the roast is done (when I roast with a TurboCrazy, RK Drum or Fresh Roast 8+ I immediately can drop the beans in my cooler and they are at room temperature in under a minute)
3) Too long: It takes too long to roast beans this way, between properly cooling down between runs and with how long it takes to ramp properly.
I easily roast 4# an hour with a TurboCrazy, with better control, instant access without stalling, real time sampling capability, 1/3 the cost, cheap component replacement (when necessary), and no UV.
These problems are there (mostly) with the GeneCafe as well. For most homeroasters, these might be minor annoyances, as they are not doing the volume that I usually do and probably aren't concerned with multiple back-to-back roasts. Many people stick to a particular roast profile and batch size and repeat without putting a lot of thought into variation. I require more versatility than I can get with a Behmor or similar roaster. I'm sure that if I put in a lot of time with one, I would figure out some ways to cheat and make it fit my style better, but as it stands I am satisfied with what is already in my tool box.
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Q: How does the smaller screen drum work for coffees like Yemen and Zim Tiny Berries? The Yemen I have has a lot of broken bits (even a few stones) and I wanted to know prior to ordering the smaller screen drum, if I can roast these two coffees, or go back to the SC/TO for those.
Thanks,
Woody
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Q: How does the smaller screen drum work for coffees like Yemen and Zim Tiny Berries? The Yemen I have has a lot of broken bits (even a few stones) and I wanted to know prior to ordering the smaller screen drum, if I can roast these two coffees, or go back to the SC/TO for those.
Thanks,
Woody
No go on the small screen (which does not seem a whole lot smaller to me) in fact I had to cancel a batch of Yemen 1 minute into the thing.
:(
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Q: How does the smaller screen drum work for coffees like Yemen and Zim Tiny Berries? The Yemen I have has a lot of broken bits (even a few stones) and I wanted to know prior to ordering the smaller screen drum, if I can roast these two coffees, or go back to the SC/TO for those.
Thanks,
Woody
Woody, The smaller weave works well for Yemens. I typically run it with a cooling cycle for 3 minutes and that will jar 7-10 fragments onto the floor of the chaff filter. I toss them, then pour the heat to it with P1.
RE: TBerries, I haven't done a roast of Zambian on the Behmor yet.
Quite often, I forget I am using it and realize later, 'oh, I roasted the Bolivians in the smaller screen.' No consequences.
B|Java
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Dave,
How much smaller are the screen openings?
I'm telling ya- it's not much if any- maybe I don't have the small screen after all?
:icon_scratch:
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Dave,
How much smaller are the screen openings?
I'm telling ya- it's not much if any- maybe I don't have the small screen after all?
:icon_scratch:
Depends where you got it. There was a thread over at CG <?> that one run was identical size and got shipped as different but were identical. Measure and then call your customer service or shoot Joe an email. There is a visible, discernable difference even by eyeball. No need to measure.
B|Java
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I bought my 1600 from Burman. I did order the small screen later, and it is just a bit smaller mesh, but it makes a huge difference. With the yemen, I pour in the greens and take it outside for a good shake and roll before putting it in the roaster. This seems to clear out 90% of the bits prior to the roast. -Doug
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I use the small screen for everything, and blow the excess chaffe out post cooling. The small size eliminates a lot of the problem of smoke I got with the larger screen when running a bit into 2nd crack. Keeps more chaffe off the bottom of the collector. The Zambian t-berry is not safe to do in the Behmor as even with the smaller screen, too much gets through and sits in the chaffe collector for the entire roast cycle. Yemen, mostly okay.
Curtis
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Is that a lag you are getting on the P2 setting or is the roast actually stalling. I would think that in P2 where the temperature goes down to 374* for 20% of the roast, it would be more of a stall between 1st and 2nd crack then a lag. Just wondering...
kelppaddy
Sorry, I've been moving over the past couple of days and I didn't see this until now. You pose a very good question, Rodney. I actually wondered the same thing when I first started using that setting I mentioned. I was concerned that I was "baking" the beans instead of roasting them. However, after several taste tests (comparing that setting with other high heat settings) I concluded that the fairly long "stall" or "lag" between the end of the first crack and the start of the second crack didn't effect the taste of the beans. And that, above anything else, is all I cared about. The thing I really like about it is that I have a wide window of where I want to stop the roast between City, City+ and Full City. Those are the only roast levels I use when evaluating a sample, so it has worked pretty well for me.
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Used the small screen on 1/2# of Yemen Sharsai using P3, C which gave a standard 14 min. roast. Added 2min. to the roast at the end of the cycle, stopping at 15:26 with no sign of 2nd crack. Good sweet cup and no problem with the small screen or the roast. Next time I'll add the extra 2 min. somewhere in the middle of the roast and see what happens. The more I use this roaster, the more I see it's versitality. You can change the profile depending on when you add or subtract the time.
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I've been having an issue with my Behmor recently where the roasting drum would stop rotating mid-roast for a few seconds at a time. It is almost as if the motor quit for a few moments and then picked back up. It happened a few times with no error message and then during my last roast the "Error 6" message came up. Well, I emailed Behmor tech support (from the email address on this thread) and almost immediately, Joe Behm himself responded. I've got to say that this is some of the best customer service that I have ever encountered! I've got a new Behmor in the mail and I couldn't be happier! Just thought I'd share that with everyone, as it was a very unique experience in this day and age.
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I've been having an issue with my Behmor recently where the roasting drum would stop rotating mid-roast for a few seconds at a time. It is almost as if the motor quit for a few moments and then picked back up. It happened a few times with no error message and then during my last roast the "Error 6" message came up. Well, I emailed Behmor tech support (from the email address on this thread) and almost immediately, Joe Behm himself responded. I've got to say that this is some of the best customer service that I have ever encountered! I've got a new Behmor in the mail and I couldn't be happier! Just thought I'd share that with everyone, as it was a very unique experience in this day and age.
I love it...Customer service better business... :icon_thumleft:
Monito
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The roasters have a new type of motor now. IMO, it is even quieter than the first models off the line. :angel:
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I use olive oil. It eliminates the squeak completely.
Just roasted the IMV recently distributed. 113grams, 1/4 lb, P2, B (9:30). I got a bit nervous with 1 min left as 1st didn't start. So I added 1 minute. But 27 sec later 1st started with 1 crack and then the dam broke. A very robust 1st crack. I ended the roast 48 sec into first for a total time of 9:45. First crack continued for another 30 secs or so into the cool cycle. The beans came out a very nice City and total weight of 99g. They already smell great.
Sam
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I can't seem to get any beans to 2nd crack in my Behmor.
I was roasting indoors all winter and wasn't concerned about 2nd crack since I wanted to avoid setting off the smoke alarm in my condo. I've been roasting outdoors for the past few weeks and still don't get a 2nd crack.
I usually roast 10 or 12 ounces and use the 1 pound setting; using P3 and P4 most often. I start on the D setting (23 minutes) for the most part, and wind up addding 1 minute (all it will allow me) at the end waiting for the 2nd. My voltage is good, 124 starting out and pretty consistently 118 during the roast. All of my roasts (I've tried seven or eight diferent beans) come out City or City +; I'd love to get to Full City or +.
Any ideas? Could my specific roaster not be generating sufficient heat?
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I can't seem to get any beans to 2nd crack in my Behmor.
I was roasting indoors all winter and wasn't concerned about 2nd crack since I wanted to avoid setting off the smoke alarm in my condo. I've been roasting outdoors for the past few weeks and still don't get a 2nd crack.
I usually roast 10 or 12 ounces and use the 1 pound setting; using P3 and P4 most often. I start on the D setting (23 minutes) for the most part, and wind up addding 1 minute (all it will allow me) at the end waiting for the 2nd. My voltage is good, 124 starting out and pretty consistently 118 during the roast. All of my roasts (I've tried seven or eight diferent beans) come out City or City +; I'd love to get to Full City or +.
Any ideas? Could my specific roaster not be generating sufficient heat?
EMail Joe. With that size roast, you should be hitting Vienna.
B|Java
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Another Behmor user submitted this nice Behmor profiler for use in excel. I've added a legend and include a recent roast of Yemen Sanani Mocha I recently roasted. Enjoy.
Sam
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I talked with Joe Behm at his booth in Minneapolis. He leaves for China this week to discuss his machine with his engineering and manufacturing team.
If you have been holding off, waiting for revisions, don't wait. In my opinion, (not Joe's words), any revisions would be a good year out. Why wait? Buy.
B|Java
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BW is not impressed with the Behmor.
Honestly, this is the first negative I've read (that I can remember) about this roaster
There are some prior negative reviews (not many) but they flew into the face of what was a massive early adopter lovefest like none other. ;D I did a negative review and a well known guy on HB had an ongoing thread but the times were strange man....CG had something like 7 out of 10 posts in the roasting forum about loving the Behmor. Very unpopular position not to dig it and plus you were dissing the #1 roaster that is sweeping the roasting world. I also know of one magic tongue super taster guy that set out to review it and mysteriously never came back with anything... ::)
With that I know everybody loves this thing and I do not think a few people not liking it matters to them or their roasting so....
Here are my initial thoughts about it from another forum in Jan.
Most people that have them seem to be very happy with these roasters.
I had a chance to test drive one for a few roasts and it's not for me in the current configuration.
If they do a few things to it it might be pretty interesting.
1) Digital temp probe/display.
2) True ability to profile a roast for time & temp.
3) Ability to cool much faster at conclusion of roast cycle.
4) I think (gut feeling) moving the drum away from the elements some and adding more potential would help with several things.
5) Ability to roast all sizes of beans...this one might have been corrected already.
6) Air flow control.
Ha! things that are good for any roaster. Grin The issue I have with this one is that work arounds are harder/impossible to pull off.
Example, a roast has not made it to second crack yet and you want to go 4 snaps it. Time is running out so you add 30 seconds. As you look inside the chamber you notice the element turn off right then. ? after 30 seconds you decide to add more time but the machine says "No" and goes into auto cooling instead.
The work around we used was to use the highest heat profile with the max weight setting and longest roast time. Then we underdosed the drum and used the door open/close to try and control the temp and profile. That seemed to work pretty good but presented 2 issues.
1) The elements seem to do there own thing. I'm not sure if it's temp related either and might be totally a timer issue so sometimes they are going out when you would rather have them come on.
2) After the testing session I learned that opening the door is a fire hazard for flying chaff. Ooops.
A final issue is cooling. Post roast we flung open the door and blew a fan in there to conclude the roast and cool asap. Many people report good results just waiting the x min. for the drum to cool on it's own or waiting 2 min. before opening the door but eh... I'd rather cool "now". The idea of cooling the chamber that quickly has not been directly answered yet as to the thermal stress caused to the elements and possibly the electronics so it may be cool and it might crack a quartz after 100 roasts. Undecided
So with hordes of early adopters loving these little roasters I think I'm one of only 4-5 people I've seen so far that isn't as ecstatic about it just yet. People do seem to love em' up. I don't own one and they do so take that for what it's worth.
John F
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With that I know everybody loves this thing and I do not think a few people not liking it matters to them or their roasting so....
That pretty much sums up my position on the Behmor. I like mine. I know it's not perfect, but I don't expect it to be for the price. Sure, there are many things that I would like to have on the roaster that aren't there. Mainly the same issues John already pointed out: a temp. display, the ability to profile a roast and a better way to cool the beans. However, for my purposes, it's been a great little machine so far and the cup quality IMHO, is as good or better than many other home roasters on the market.
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BW is not impressed with the Behmor.
Honestly, this is the first negative I've read (that I can remember) about this roaster
There are some prior negative reviews (not many) but they flew into the face of what was a massive early adopter lovefest like none other. ;D I did a negative review and a well known guy on HB had an ongoing thread but the times were strange man....CG had something like 7 out of 10 posts in the roasting forum about loving the Behmor. Very unpopular position not to dig it and plus you were dissing the #1 roaster that is sweeping the roasting world. I also know of one magic tongue super taster guy that set out to review it and mysteriously never came back with anything... ::)
With that I know everybody loves this thing and I do not think a few people not liking it matters to them or their roasting so....
Here are my initial thoughts about it from another forum in Jan.
Most people that have them seem to be very happy with these roasters.
I had a chance to test drive one for a few roasts and it's not for me in the current configuration.
If they do a few things to it it might be pretty interesting.
1) Digital temp probe/display.
2) True ability to profile a roast for time & temp.
3) Ability to cool much faster at conclusion of roast cycle.
4) I think (gut feeling) moving the drum away from the elements some and adding more potential would help with several things.
5) Ability to roast all sizes of beans...this one might have been corrected already.
6) Air flow control.
Ha! things that are good for any roaster. Grin The issue I have with this one is that work arounds are harder/impossible to pull off.
Example, a roast has not made it to second crack yet and you want to go 4 snaps it. Time is running out so you add 30 seconds. As you look inside the chamber you notice the element turn off right then. ? after 30 seconds you decide to add more time but the machine says "No" and goes into auto cooling instead.
The work around we used was to use the highest heat profile with the max weight setting and longest roast time. Then we underdosed the drum and used the door open/close to try and control the temp and profile. That seemed to work pretty good but presented 2 issues.
1) The elements seem to do there own thing. I'm not sure if it's temp related either and might be totally a timer issue so sometimes they are going out when you would rather have them come on.
2) After the testing session I learned that opening the door is a fire hazard for flying chaff. Ooops.
A final issue is cooling. Post roast we flung open the door and blew a fan in there to conclude the roast and cool asap. Many people report good results just waiting the x min. for the drum to cool on it's own or waiting 2 min. before opening the door but eh... I'd rather cool "now". The idea of cooling the chamber that quickly has not been directly answered yet as to the thermal stress caused to the elements and possibly the electronics so it may be cool and it might crack a quartz after 100 roasts. Undecided
So with hordes of early adopters loving these little roasters I think I'm one of only 4-5 people I've seen so far that isn't as ecstatic about it just yet. People do seem to love em' up. I don't own one and they do so take that for what it's worth.
John F
Ok, so I've started to shift my focus a little more on technical roast correctness lately. In scouring lots of HB posts (particularly the Ken Fox ones) and other random stuff, I think I've identified the essential intermediate level [espresso] roast guidelines (for lack of a better term) and I wanted to run them past you guys for validation/correction:
1. C1 should be hit in 10-12 minutes - longer than this and you're in bake territory
2. the period between C1 and C2 should be 3.5-4 minutes in duration - shorter than this and flavor development suffers
3. beans should be cooled to room temp in 2-4 minutes - cooling more quickly than 90 seconds results in accelerated staling
Assuming these guidelines are sound, I believe each can be achieved on the Behmor provided you don't mind foregoing the profile features and using an entirely manual process. Yes, yes, I know. This totally defeats the "fire and forget" aspect of the Behmor but are the profiles really all that useful anyway? It seems temp-based profiles (or, even better, manual heat control) would be MUCH more useful than kludgy time percentage-based profiles, but that's just my unqualified opinion.
With a manual process, #1 is achieved by using max power, setting the initial time to a period longer than will be required for the total roast (I use 20:00 for log simplicity/consistency) and varying the load size such that it hits C1 in 10-12 minutes (this estimation does require some experience with the behmor and the bean but I find that 300g is a good starting point when unsure, ymmv).
#2 is achieved by opening the door and releasing heat during C1. When to open the door and for how long is open for discussion but obviously you don't want to stall C1. And again, experience with the behmor and the bean comes into play when deciding but, generally speaking, opening the door at the peak of C1 for about 10-15 seconds seems to do the trick. Fire hazard? Perhaps but I've never had one and I roast in the garage with a shopvac nearby so chaffe is a non-issue. Again, ymmv, open the door at your own risk, may void your warranty, offer not valid in Nevada, yada yada yada. #2 would obviously be a lot easier/more deterministic with temp display and heat control and I'd love to see someone do a mod for this (if I don't get to it first).
#3 can be achieved in different ways but my technique is: open the door when the cooling cycle begins, immediately remove the chaffe tray, blow air into the roast chamber with the shop vac for about a minute, then hit stop, remove the drum, and then hit the cool button again so the behmor can complete it's cooling cycle while simultaneously blowing air through the drum, further cooling the beans and blowing the remaining chaffe out. Whew. I've been reconsidering the specifics of this particular step lately but this is the cooldown I've used for a few months now. I'm no longer convinced that blowing air into the chamber actually accomplishes much, other than vacating chaffe from the chamber.
Regardless, I don't think there's anything about the behmor's design that precludes you from achieving a 2-4 minute cooldown if you don't mind "ymmv, open the door at your own risk, may void your warranty, offer not valid in Nevada, yada yada yada".
I'm very eager to hear the thoughts of people who have lots more roasting experience/knowledge than I have regarding these 'guidelines'/steps.
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Care to elaborate at all? I've been considering one to use as a sample roaster and would be keen to hear your thoughts.
-Stubbie
I may just be set in my ways, but the main problems that I have with it are:
1) Lack of control: You have 5 preprogrammed ramps that you cannot modify. To make them work properly, you are effectively stuck with an 8-11oz batch but you need to use the 1# setting to make that work right (most of the time). Makes it impossible to react while roasting.
2) Poor cooling: Takes too long to cool down between roasts. If you follow the directions, your beans will be baking for a long time after the roast is done (when I roast with a TurboCrazy, RK Drum or Fresh Roast 8+ I immediately can drop the beans in my cooler and they are at room temperature in under a minute)
3) Too long: It takes too long to roast beans this way, between properly cooling down between runs and with how long it takes to ramp properly.
I easily roast 4# an hour with a TurboCrazy, with better control, instant access without stalling, real time sampling capability, 1/3 the cost, cheap component replacement (when necessary), and no UV.
These problems are there (mostly) with the GeneCafe as well. For most homeroasters, these might be minor annoyances, as they are not doing the volume that I usually do and probably aren't concerned with multiple back-to-back roasts. Many people stick to a particular roast profile and batch size and repeat without putting a lot of thought into variation. I require more versatility than I can get with a Behmor or similar roaster. I'm sure that if I put in a lot of time with one, I would figure out some ways to cheat and make it fit my style better, but as it stands I am satisfied with what is already in my tool box.
Agreed. The reason I wouldn't be interested in this roaster is primarily point #1. But in fairness this roaster probably isn't being marketed to my needs as I look at it like a general purpose push and forget roaster.
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#1 is achieved by using max power, setting the initial time to a period longer than will be required for the total roast...
#2 is achieved by opening the door and releasing heat..
#3 can be achieved in different ways but my technique is: open the door when the cooling cycle begins, immediately remove the chaffe tray, blow air into the roast chamber..
I agree:
"The work around we used was to use the highest heat profile with the max weight setting and longest roast time. Then we underdosed the drum and used the door open/close to try and control the temp and profile. Post roast we flung open the door and blew a fan in there to conclude the roast and cool asap"
;D
John F
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Care to elaborate at all? I've been considering one to use as a sample roaster and would be keen to hear your thoughts.
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Agreed. The reason I wouldn't be interested in this roaster is primarily point #1. But in fairness this roaster probably isn't being marketed to my needs as I look at it like a general purpose push and forget roaster.
I bought mine as a sample roaster, and for $200 , what else is out there (off the shelf) that can do such a nice even roast on small amounts of coffee-like the little samples from importers or small batches of super pricey personal roasts of Geisha etc? I use P1, load much less than the setting, and open the door to slow 1st crack, open the door when cooling (and remove the drum) if I think it needs to cool very fast, and I'm not bothered by wee burning chaff particles.
I tossed the chaff screen after a couple of roasts.
Two hundred bucks! And immediate customer service! I'd pay $200 more, gladly, if you could control the temp, but for now it beats my FR, frying pan, corn popper or RK drum for even, well developed, small batch roasts.
Charly
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I agree:
"The work around we used was to use the highest heat profile with the max weight setting and longest roast time. Then we underdosed the drum and used the door open/close to try and control the temp and profile. Post roast we flung open the door and blew a fan in there to conclude the roast and cool asap"
;D
John F
Do you agree with the guidelines that I listed or, in my ignorance, am I trying to over-generalize something that isn't particularly easy to establish simple guidelines for? What I'm trying to get at is a sort of 'meta framework' for roasting that holds irrespective of roasting equipment, specific greens, load size, etc. Assuming such a framework exists, it should be possible to evaluate individual roasters based on how easily (or not) the guidelines can be achieved with that roaster. If the guidelines cannot be achieved at all, we might classify the roaster as useless. If the guidelines can't be achieved easily but CAN be achieved with additional effort on the part of the operator, we might classify the roaster as suboptimal but useable. Yes?
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Do you agree with the guidelines that I listed..
Not exactly...I don't think it's as easy as that to make a 123 checklist and use it as a go/no go benchmark.
I'll post your guideline and then just list a few random items that I don't agree with just to illustrate the point....
1. C1 should be hit in 10-12 minutes - longer than this and you're in bake territory
2. the period between C1 and C2 should be 3.5-4 minutes in duration - shorter than this and flavor development suffers
3. beans should be cooled to room temp in 2-4 minutes - cooling more quickly than 90 seconds results in accelerated staling
1) You can still bake coffee that hits first crack at 11min.
2) I have read some Ambex threads (I think I have anyway) that shoot for first crack at 13min as the perfect spot.
3) Altering the gap between cracks alters the cup...we can't taste all the cups out there and say something like 3.5 min gap is the best for all beans, cups, blends, etc..etc...etc..
4) "Accelerated staling"...I have never considered it. :-\
Now there are also things to consider like different roast chambers, environments, ambient temps, types of heat, and who knows how many other factors.
Lastly there is art and science working here...it's not an easy peasy equation as best I can tell.
John F
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Excellent... just the type of feedback I was looking for. :)
Lastly there is art and science working here...it's not an easy peasy equation as best I can tell.
There seems to be a dearth of art OR science resources for roasting at the intermediate level. I have a reasonable (but admittedly limited) grasp of the "how"... however my "why" knowledge is currently based on fragmentary, anecdotal and often contradictory message board content. Hey ButtWhiskers - any chance you'll be publishing that roasting book anytime soon? ;D
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I've roasted about as much coffee in that last 3 years as any home roaster and probably any of the micro/Hobby-roasters in the USA.
I can say this with absolute conviction- this thing is a no brainer for anyone who wants a countertop roaster for $300 and want to produce equal to or better coffee than most of the coffee you can buy off the shelf or from a local specialty roaster.
When it comes to small sample size batches, I've never seen anything equal it outside of the Hottop roasters...especially for an off the shelf type product.
I won't get into it more than that, but for the majority of the buying public, it's a no brainer.
2 thumbs up on about everything to do with this roaster- especially the service!
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I'm using two of them at the same time. It takes a roast or two to get a profile down for a new bean and I keep detailed notes so I can achieve duplicate results. I've used the same cooling technique for over a hundred roasts now, and am quite satisfied with the results. I usually hit the cool button just before 2C, open the door and pull the chaff tray out and set it to the side. I then allow the cooling to proceed to completion with the door open. I have to do a little additional vacuuming, but have not had anything close to a fire.
kelppaddy
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I've avoided opening the door before the recommended 1:45, but am interested to hear that others are disregarding that notice.
As a side query (and I wonder if RK might be reading this), the directional fins inside the drum are ingenious in keeping the beans from congregating to one side. I'm tempted to have my RK drum retrofitted with them in this pattern. Anybody else considered this (or done it) with their RK drum?
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I've avoided opening the door before the recommended 1:45, but am interested to hear that others are disregarding that notice.
As a side query (and I wonder if RK might be reading this), the directional fins inside the drum are ingenious in keeping the beans from congregating to one side. I'm tempted to have my RK drum retrofitted with them in this pattern. Anybody else considered this (or done it) with their RK drum?
Don't have an RK drum, but I built my own with three spiraled stirring vanes inside.
I also built it with a sliding door feature a-la the Buzzroasters drum. It served it's purpose and had been a workhorse for me for 3+ years and thousand of pounds of beans.
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Any suggestions as to which profile to us for Sumatran beans? Thanks.
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I use P3 for Sumatran beans. Before hitting start I subtract time down to 16 minutes and then after hitting start go back up to 18 minutes. I like roasting 1/2 lb on the 1 lb settings. Gives me more flexibility.
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Thanks. How do these time adjustments change the roast profile? Does this lenthen out the middle section when it as 80% power?
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Subtracting time before hitting start lowers the time of the middle period. Adding time after hitting start adds time to the final period. So, if ya hit 1lb and P1, 18 minutes is shown in the screen. There are 3 distinct periods to a roast so each period is 6 minutes long (3*6=18). When time is subtracted (hitting the "-" sign) before hitting start, this time is subtracted from the middle period. After hitting Start, if time is added to the roast (hitting the "+" sign) this time is added to the 3rd period. Here is a great link to the Behmor site that explains this better than I can. ;)
http://behmor.com/troubleshooting.html
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Subtracting time before hitting start lowers the time of the middle period. Adding time after hitting start adds time to the final period. So, if ya hit 1lb and P1, 18 minutes is shown in the screen. There are 3 distinct periods to a roast so each period is 6 minutes long (3*6=18). When time is subtracted (hitting the "-" sign) before hitting start, this time is subtracted from the middle period. After hitting Start, if time is added to the roast (hitting the "+" sign) this time is added to the 3rd period. Here is a great link to the Behmor site that explains this better than I can. ;)
[url]http://behmor.com/troubleshooting.html[/url]
Actually, you explain it better than the manual.
B|Java
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From Chad's cupping notes:
I struggle with this coffee. It just doesn't fit. My opinion varied between cuppings--sometimes I liked it, sometimes not. I like the complexity, but it doesn't quite work. I suspect I don't have enough run time with the Pacamara. I'm on the fence on this one--the last cupping pushed me away--very unbalanced..
I didn't want to clog Chad's cupping notes so I thought I would bring it over here in that Chad works with a Behmor. Pacamara.
I asked B|Whiskman about Pacamaras and he indicated no special in's and out's are required. I struggled with the El Salv CoE (Pacamara). I had the bean from Terroir, roasted, and it was OUTstanding. I have not been able to come close to that at all. Woody had the identical experience.
Who knows, maybe Paca's and the Behmor don't dance together? Radiant heat? Not enough of a physicist or chemist to offer any ill-formed opinions but just curious that we seem to struggle with the B-machine and pacamaras.
B|Java
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I'm feeling the need to order one of the finer screen drums, since it seems I'm roasting mostly smaller beans. Anyone tried one of them and can report on them?
Thanks, Paul
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I'm feeling the need to order one of the finer screen drums, since it seems I'm roasting mostly smaller beans. Anyone tried one of them and can report on them?
Thanks, Paul
I use it all the time for PBs, Yemens, and Ethiopians. It works very well. Lower your load limits with dry processed beans so you are not dealing with tons of chaff build-ups. Shop vac the beans thru the screen after a load to pull off more chaff. Buy it. Great investment for small beans. One other idea is just to start a 1/2 cooling cycle and let it run for 3 minutes loaded. It shakes out the splits/smalls.
I usually end up with 3-6 beans that end up on the floor of the chaff catcher, nice and toasted, that get returned to the earth. I think the rabbits and chipmunks are eating them as they seem livlier and sprint away from the Czarina's life-challenged Lowchen that I let out of the back door.
B|Java
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THanks, BoldJava, for the amusing image. :)
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THanks, BoldJava, for the amusing image. :)
We have had dogs most of our adult life. This one is an inadvertent comic if I have ever seen one.
B|Java
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*bump*
While I save my lunch money for a Kill-a-Watt and Variac (yummm, baloney sandwiches - at least the bread is home-made), I've started taking better notes - checking to see if back-to-back roasts are consistent (between Behmor rests I run the SC/TO). I came across this post on Home Barista:
http://www.home-barista.com/forums/behmor-1600-coffee-roaster-temperature-profile-tool-t7347.html
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).
Now if we could trick out our Behmors with cellular air-cards and have them speaking profiles to one another via XML web services, hmmm... have to think about that one...
I'd be interested if anyone else tries this app and if we could exchange profiles the old fashion way via email or ftp.
Thanks,
Woody
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Hola senor Finergrind,
I've been using this app ever since I saw it on H-B and on the (SM) roaster's log.
I have to see my notes & get back to you to report back any info. But so far it's very helpful in visualizing the roast profile.
I haven't had the time to really do a cross roast test with my SC/To & the Behmor , but next week I should get the opportunity since my wife is taking a trip to S. America & would have some free time. This project is long due and I'm looking forward to the result from the comparison from the two.
I haven't picked up a variac, but I have been using a kill a watt with the behmor.
Maybe I'll get around to ordering one today so I can have it for the test next week.
BTW?. I thought you were using a variac & a kill a watt in your set up with the behmor?
Also I saw your post on the Korate Natural Sidam thread, did you roast them on the behmor & @ what profile?
I used p2 but think that p1 would be a better profile for this.
Would love to hear from any one else on this.
Enjoy,
Michael
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[Snip]
Also I saw your post on the Korate Natural Sidam thread, did you roast them on the behmor & @ what profile?
I used p2 but think that p1 would be a better profile for this.
Would love to hear from any one else on this.
Enjoy,
Michael
Michael,
For the cupping roast, I used the Behmor on P2. For a 225g load, use P2, 1#, B for a 20:00 start. I'd use the smaller mesh drum. With that setup, and voltage around 118 with the heater on, you should hit first around 11:00 or so, a minute before the drop to 70%. Once 1st has stopped, you'll still be in the 70% power phase, and you can hit cool where you want the roast to stop.
cfs
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Chad,
Thanks for the feedback. I also used p2 1lbs 10 oz, time 16:50 15:00 then added time after start for a total time of 20:00 but next time I roast this I?m going to try your time.
1st C 15:04 hit cooling @ 17:08 for a FC
My top Reading on the K-A- W were 118.50 low @ 114.
BTW I?m really loving this coffee?more like strawberry short cake to me.
Glad I got 15# of it.
Micheal
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[Snip]
Also I saw your post on the Korate Natural Sidam thread, did you roast them on the behmor & @ what profile?
I used p2 but think that p1 would be a better profile for this.
Would love to hear from any one else on this.
Enjoy,
Michael
Michael,
For the cupping roast, I used the Behmor on P2. For a 225g load, use P2, 1#, B for a 20:00 start. I'd use the smaller mesh drum. With that setup, and voltage around 118 with the heater on, you should hit first around 11:00 or so, a minute before the drop to 70%. Once 1st has stopped, you'll still be in the 70% power phase, and you can hit cool where you want the roast to stop.
cfs
I roasted mine (13oz) in the SC/TO due to the proportion of small beans to larger beans, and I used my best guess / first try profile for DP coffees which is to pre-heat the roaster to 320, dump the beans in, do about 2 mins of drying time at this temp and when I see the first signs of chaff flying off I ramp the temp up in 25-30 degree increments, until I see the heavy smoke right before 1st crack - I back the temp down because I know it's the bean mass carrying the heat at that point, lift the top and inspect - good even cinnamon color, check the temp and ramp it up to 425 until I see the heavy smoke that would precede 2nd and stop, dump, and cool. This is more art than science - I'm trying to get to know the bean, and this City+ roast was a lot like Harrar - some dark, some lighter, and some quakers. Total time for this was approx. 14 mins.
I will try this in the Behmor soon and try your profiles.
Thanks,
Woody
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Wow after reading your post Find G I really miss my sc/to.
I use to have similar roasting rituals & exercises, sure was fun.
Not just all set it an forget it?
Lift this, turn that, up the heat here, down the heat there, pre heat, no heat , yes heat no heat e......every one talking about.......Stir.... crazy (sung to the tune of ?popmusic).
Miss my TO/SC it was my first roaster project back in the days. :(
I'm starting to think that I've been mislead by my Beemer......
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Miss my TO/SC it was my first roaster project back in the days. :(
I'm starting to think that I've been mislead by my Beemer......
I like both - method roasting, and more precise roasting. With the Behmor, I can communicate all the variables in a more clear manner, so I hope to see more collaboration between users. I'm glad Joe has brought this to market and I think given the price, and fairly simple interface, there will be more home roasters joining us. If you are a tinkerer, this roaster might not be for you - but I've learned a lot from it as it's my first drum roaster, and I understand what I read about drum roasters and coffee body. I still use my Poppery I, and it's even more a tactile process - I roast with it and stand right over it, watching the gradual change in bean color and smoke. I extend and control the roast by dumping it into a wire collander and checking the progress, but again, I think method roasting is not for everyone.
At the SCAA conf. Joe had mentioned new changes for the Behmor that have not been announced, and I got an email recently that he has a new hire who is taking feedback from the sales channel, so I expect the product team to address some concerns voiced.
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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
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QC Is hit or miss.... :angel:
I to I'm divided on this unit ::)
edit:9/22/08
I was sent a replacement unit by Joe for the one that was not working, this one is working very good so far. I have maybe 25 roast done on this unit.
Michael
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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
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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 (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.
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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
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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.
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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... 8)
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Mark Prince opened the thread at CG for reviews on the Behmor. [url]http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/accessories/behmor1600roaster[/url]
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...
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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... :P
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....
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I am thinking, for safety, You should have used a food grade oil.
Thinking out loud, a silicone spray may have been safer.
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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.....
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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
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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 :D
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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.
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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.
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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 :D
Good Luck
Rob
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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
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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!
It's bordering on outstanding if you ask me.
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They did ask me first how old the roaster was, just incase it was covered by the 1 year warranty. I bought it used from another member in 2007 so I'm not sure how many total roasts have gone through it. I'll post an update on how the motor replacement went when it is completed.
kelp
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Dam...my 2nd roast and FIRE :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
Ugh. Cleaned her up as good as possible. Working for time being.
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Dam...my 2nd roast and FIRE :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
Ugh. Cleaned her up as good as possible. Working for time being.
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That's more than PRETTY GOOD customer service. That's darn good! It encourages me to know there are still some good vendors out there that care about there customers after dealing the past week with a Medicare Part D provider (all in Manila) and BellSouth, who couldn't care less that every time it rains, I have no phone service for the last month!
On topic, I've had my Behmor for about 3 months and have narrowed my roast of Ethiopian Yirg down to a 14 ounce batch with settings pushed in this order: 1 pound, P3, C, add 5. It goes into second crack with about 5 seconds to go and gets a nice rolling crack with no smoke during cool down. Consistent as all get out! No more noise from that darn Hearthware for the last 11 years.........
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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.
I am having this trouble with *all* my beans. I figured the machine simply would not roast to the second crack for *any* bean if you put in 1 lb. and roasted at reasonable ambient temp.
Is this wrong? If so, I think my machine is faulty ... and I've had it a while.
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 :D
Good Luck
Rob
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I am having this trouble with *all* my beans. I figured the machine simply would not roast to the second crack for *any* bean if you put in 1 lb. and roasted at reasonable ambient temp.
Is this wrong? If so, I think my machine is faulty ... and I've had it a while.
The key to obtaining a darker roast with this machine is to cut back on the batch size. A batch size of 10.6oz to 12oz roasted on the 1# setting should have no problem getting to the second. One thing to remember is it matters when you add the time. Try this: 10.6oz of green, hit 1#, then P3, and then B. The time should read 20. Roast until there is 30 sec left then add 1 min. You will be able to add 3.5 min total but don't add them all at once. I'm not a dark roast guy but if can't get dark enough like this there might be a problem with the roaster. On this setting I'm usually plenty dark before I have to add any time or maybe 1.5 minutes.
Hope this helps ya out.
Rob :D
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not very much of what follows is "approved", but it works for me. Just remember when you start playing games like this you need to pay very close attention near the end as you've possibly created situations where things, fire specifically, can go wrong. So be careful when you start operating outside the factory approved parameters.
Well, there are a couple of possibilities. First use P1, it's the hottest setting, most likely to reach second. Second, as soon as the roast starts hold down the + button till the max but you have to pay attention as you just made you responsible for pressing cool. If that's still not enough, then press P1, Start and wait for the clock to show 16:00, then press Stop, P1, Start and extend the time as before and this time stay closer. Not that the 2 minute pre-heat may cause a bit of smoking around 8 minutes, right before the afterburner turns on. Most machines will take a 2 minute pre-heat, somewhere between 2:15 and 3:00 you'll likely get it hot enough it will not re-start without colling it back down or fooling it with a ice cube to the temp sensor.
Some Behmors are slower than others, if you think yours might be to slow, call Behmor customer service and ask how to fix it, If you have a screwdriver and a minute or two the slowness with some of them can be cured.
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I use the "Ira" method when I need a 16oz roast to hit 2nd. I have found that all of my roasts have improved DRAMATICALLY when I switched to 9oz roasts with the one pound setting. In my situation, with the larger batches all the character was being sucked out of the beans when the roasts took as long as this.
Ira's point on the risks of fire are real and serious. I recently had two fires due to my own carelessness, and believe me when I say that you won't believe the smoke that ignited coffee produces. it will scare the crap out of you and make everything stink for a long time. Never mind the cleanup.
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We all worry about the possibilities of fires as we 'adjust' the settings but forget that with the old Hearthware style roasters that we started with, we could burn the crap out of the beans if we didn't stay attentive. The noise, variability, and poor results are gone but the ATTENTIVENESS is still OUR responsibility. I use P1 now with 15 ounces and get a rolling second crack but wish we had more control of max time in P3, that give a more flavorful roast to my tastes.
I believe that was one of the topics that Joe was going to address on his trip to China a couple of months ago. I haven't heard anything yet. I would love to pull out the old chip and put in a new one with more control. If I have to sign a release stating that I'm responsible for fires, I'd be glad to since it is our responsibility, anyway.
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Amen! Amen! and Amen!
I've been dealing with these exact issues. I've done all the precautions of no extension cords, extending time after the roast has started, warm ambient temps, P1 and P3 settings only, and roasting only 11oz on 1 lb setting and stilll barely make it to second and occasionally not. As stated, if we could sign a paper signing away warranty issues, etc. to get a chip with better control or at least extending roasts by one minute, SIGN ME UP!
I sent a message to Behmor via the website form within the last two weeks but never got a response.
My wife, err I mean Santa, gave me this as a Christmas present to get better consistency over my RK drum with nearly the same volume. However, at barely 1/2 lb per roast, I'd go back to the drum if it weren't for Santa's feelings.
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I've been dealing with these exact issues. I've done all the precautions of no extension cords, extending time after the roast has started, warm ambient temps, P1 and P3 settings only, and roasting only 11oz on 1 lb setting and stilll barely make it to second and occasionally not.
You need to call Behmor on the phone, that's not right and you need to get it taken care of before you run out of warranty.
Ira
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Yea, you have a problem because I hit a rolling, smoking second crack with 15 ounces on P1 with 6 +'s at the start and I have to hit 'Cool'. Something is wrong with yours.
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Thanks guys for your opinions.
I called Behmor Tech Support and talked about my problem. Bob emailed a simple fix that I implemented over the weekend. The unit is definitely working better. My first roast went so far into second crack that it started smoldering before hitting the cool button! While burning a roast isn't something I'm normally happy about, I was elated. Since then I've gone as high as 13oz and easily reaching second. I'd say it's fixed. Thanks.
Behmor customer service was great!
steve
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If you are having an issue with achieving the level of roast with your Behmor, I highly recommend getting in touch with Behmor's technical support via email or phone.
While I'd like to disclose what the fix was, the conditions of getting this information is that I do not post it to anyone else. As a product designer myself, I completely understand the need to maintain quality and safety in a product and respect those conditions. The fix is simple and quick but I cannot say if it is effective for everyone. Only a qualified Behmor tech can do that.
Please call Behmor if you are having problem. Do not contact me via PM asking for the instructions as I cannot and will not pass that information along.
thanks.
steve
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I like to think of myself as being right with the curve ;D I just got involved in the hobby and got one of these roasters. It will be delivered tomorrow. I was over at a friends and he had this roaster and I was so impressed. I have always purchased expensive pre-roasted coffee but now I will have the ability of doing it myself. I am so excited. You are really a great bunch of people and this is a great place to learn from others experience, oh and to buy coffee! My name is Steve and I would like to say thanks and hello!!!!
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... I just got involved in the hobby and got one of these roasters. ..My name is Steve and I would like to say thanks and hello!!!!
Welcome to the fold. Watch out for the rabbit hole Steve, it is just to the right and if you slip into it, well, there is no end. As you are soon to find out.
B|Java
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I made the modification and can now EASILY roast a full pound to a good rolling second crack on P1 at 18 min 15 sec. Amazing! I see a little more smoke just around first crack but not bad at all and none can be seen in the kitchen. Believe me, the wife would let me know. I imagine the smoke is there because you are actually bypassing the afterburner slightly, I think.
Great mod.
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Roast report: Got the Behmor yesterday. When I got home I was as happy as a kid at Christmas. I had my wife pick out what she wanted me to roast. She picked the Ethopia Yirgacheffe. I roasted at 7pm. Setting: 6oz roasted at 1/2 lb P1 B. I had a very nice 1st crack. I don't have my notes with me so I can't post time. I then had about 1:20 after first crack until the first few snaps of second at which time I hit cool. I ended up with what I would call a Full City +. It turned out beautiful! I know I should have waited but this morning I couldn't stand it and had to have some. This is one of the best coffees I have ever had and I had no idea what I was doing. I was so excited with how it turned out I roasted a Sumatra before work. I used 6 oz with a setting of 1/2 lb P3 C. I wanted a slower profile so I thought I would try P3. Again I dont have times with me but 1st crack and second were clearly defined. Actually I was relaxing so much with my cup of Ethopian that I went a few seconds into second crack before I hit the cool button and ended up with a rolling second crack. I know I probably lost some of the earthyness but man this was a really pretty roast! The aroma was nothing short od heavenly. I would call the roast a light Vienna. Bold Java, you were right, I now have 50+ pounds of coffee comming to my house. I think I fell in the hole.
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Important update on periodic PM, blowing dust off the fan motor: page, 2:
http://www.behmor.com/pdf/Manual%20Update%203-Interior%20Maintenance%20and%20DC%20Fan.pdf
B|Java
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no comment ;)
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after three wonderful years with my iroast2, it finally died on me (after 7 successful resuscitations). so i ordered a behmor last night and should get it sometime next week. looking forward to it...and actually roasting indoors!
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Chose the Behmor over a Hottop. Now waiting for delivery. Good information on this website.
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One thing I like the best is the Behmor website and it's constant updates.
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behmor arrived today...no time to roast until the weekend...looking very forward to it!
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did three 1lb batches...actually, 14oz. of puerto rican using P5 (had to add 1:15 at the end to get it to 2nd crack). 1lb of sumatra rhino (at P3...adding at the end to the max time at P3) and 1lb. of tanzania hope project at P2, taken to its max time. i wanted to see where 2nd crack occurs for each of the profiles, and i needed to add a lot of time to the default in order to get the 2nd crack.
i also think my outlets are bad...it seemed like the roaster cycled a lot, as though there was ample power for awhile, then not enough, etc. found that to be the case on my iroast2 as well, as the motor would go full blast, slow down, full blast, etc.
i just picked up a kill-a-watt and will monitor my next few roasts to see what the outlets are doing.
the PR didn't turn out very well...but i must say that i love the tanzania and the sumatra isn't great, but drinkable. looking forward to some more roasting this weekend.
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I made the modification and can now EASILY roast a full pound to a good rolling second crack on P1 at 18 min 15 sec. Amazing! I see a little more smoke just around first crack but not bad at all and none can be seen in the kitchen. Believe me, the wife would let me know. I imagine the smoke is there because you are actually bypassing the afterburner slightly, I think.
Great mod.
Clearing dust from the vent area is not a modification, is it? I wonder what the mod was that tj was talking about.
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I made the modification and can now EASILY roast a full pound to a good rolling second crack on P1 at 18 min 15 sec.
Clearing dust from the vent area is not a modification, is it? I wonder what the mod was that tj was talking about.
To get these instructions you need to promise you won't share them. If you describe the problem your having to support and it matches this, they'll email you instructions. I did the mod to mine and I just hit the beginnings of first at 14 minutes with 12 ounces of beans on P1.
Ira
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Ira, pm sent.
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Can anyone say whether the "secret" modification is anything other than the dust removal recommended per BJ in the above link? Why bother the Behmor support for this if it's in that pdf (which I have). tia, pm
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The mod is different than you suggest. You need to run this through Behmor as there are liability issues.
B|Java
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Thanks. That's all I needed to know; will give em a call this week.
Paul, as he roasts in his Behmor! :)
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Ira, pm sent.
Deleted
Ira
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edit
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sorry
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Customer Service is the best ever.If only other companies were as good as Behmor we would be sitting pretty good.Tech support are right there to keep you roasting.Awesome company.
Joe E.
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I'm about to put customer service to the test. I've performed "two" mods, as instructed by Behmor.
However, I've never (not since day 1) been able to roast more than 12 oz in my Behmor and get past 1st crack / into 2nd crack.
("Cracks" on the machine are somewhat deceptive, as the roaster seems to suppress 2nd crack but you can monitor the smoke.)
Everything about roasting environment is spot on:
- good voltage (tested)
- appropriate ambient temp.
- clean sensors
- clean interior of the machine
Now I'm getting an ERR-1 message. >:(
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Yea, it's time to make the call.
I opened up the 'gap' as instructed long ago and have ALWAYS been able to reach second crack of a full 16 ounces except a small java bean.
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I got a Behmor at christmas and had an issue with the rubber door gasket. sent them an email on the 27th and have yet to hear anything from them at all.
I'm not seeing this great customer service that everyone is talking about.
AND I too cannot roast more than 12 ounces of beans to first crack. I'm gettin kinda frustrated at this thing.
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Since the making the Behmor approved modification I can get 14oz of most bean into a rolling 2nd crack.
Prior to the mod I could not get 1st crack with even 10 oz of bean.
Q: Does anyone else have increased roast times due to altitude (I'm @ 10,000ft)?
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Howdy Folks,
Behmor tech support has always been fantasic on my end.Very prompt and helpfull.I to was having a problem roasting anymore than 12 or 14 ounces and getting to a second crack.I made the suggested mod and now both of my roasters will do a pound well into the second crack.My roasters are over 2 years old.
Contact them again maybe and see what happens,but I was totally impressed with their service.
I'm sure they will take care of you.
Joe E.
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Yea, customer service has been great, I had a heater burn out, he sent out the parts and got me going. When you sent a question to service the president of the company is the one who writes back, thats a good thing. I have an opinion on roasting on the behmor, do not flame me here. I believe the chaff collecter shinny metal is important. I beleive keeping the metal shinny makes your roast faster, more radient heat is reflected back to the beans. After every roast I pull out the chaff collecter so the beans can cool faster while its still hot I wipe it with a rag, oils wipe off. Every few roast when I do the no bean roast I use simple green to clean everything. I believe my roast are faster and more consistant.
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What Ringo says about keeping the chaff collector shiny makes sense. Hadnt thought of that. A query -- sweet marias has a list serv thing. usually filled with inspiring posts about how they are drinking some coffee from somewhere at sunrise and how good life is. whatever. anyway, in a completely unusual posting, the poster implied that behmor was coming out with a behmor 1750 that was beefed up on power and had some pretty cool sounding mod on the profiles. anyone know if this is true? and will be 1600 people be able to retrofit the upgrades?
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Just a note on Simple Green: Got this from the website. I have no idea if it matters
or not but worth posting.
Inhalation - Is inhaling Simple Green® hazardous to my health?
Problems can result if the mist of Simple Green is breathed into the nose or throat. This is true of practically every cleaner on the market. Because Simple Green contains surfactants (surface-active-agents) and because surfactants have the ability to lift grease, oil and soils up off of surfaces, an aggravation of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat can result from breathing in misted particles of the product. This can cause sore throat, sore nose, sore sinuses, coughing and -in extreme cases- a tightness in the chest. Although uncomfortable, Simple Green is non-toxic and these are completely reversible symptoms. Persons with chronic asthma, emphysema, or other lung conditions should take precautions and avoid breathing in surfactant mists.
I found this online as an alternative which works:
To clean my oven, I sprinkle baking soda all over the bottom until it is covered completely with about 1/4 of an inch of baking soda. Then, using a clean spray bottle, I spray the baking soda with water until the baking soda is thoroughly damp but not flooded. After that, this lazy cleaner goes off and does other things. When I think of it, I dampen the baking soda again if it is drying out. Before I go to bed, I do that again. When I wake up in the morning, the baking soda can effortlessly be scooped out of the oven with a sponge, bringing all the grime with it
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Simple Green like anything including baking soda if misused or if large amounts are inhaled can have negative side effects.
We suggest to lightly spray a diluted mix to the interior side walls in conjunction with a dry burn to remove any leftover sediment of Simple Green. Myself having used Simple Green for over 10 years and knowing it was designed to clean professional coffee roasters have no concerns in using the product.
As to there being a Behmor 1750. My garage (and office floor) are an inventors dream and wife's nightmare because I'm always tweaking things, tearing roasters a part seeking ways to improve but as of today there is nothing in production nor has there ever been a model number 1750 discussed.
If Behmor does introduce anything that is radically different or enhanced, we would in either case work to supply reasonably priced kits that would enable current Behmor owners to upgrade their system in a relatively easy manner. My standard will be the "Jerry" standard. Jerry is my brother who is definitely not the most able person with tools but can use a screw driver, drill or other small tools with success. It just may take him twice as long as others.
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Joe, pues Tahojoe, thanks for the followup on the Behmor upgrade issue. I for one am frustrated with my machine. It is so good that I want more. You came out with an inexpensive alternative that opened the door to a lot of cheap/less rich people like me who wanted to get serious about roasting. But, as in life, no good deed goes unpunished, and you have people like me complaining about the fact that the Behmor is so idiot proof that it is constricting - and that it won't roast a full pound of coffee as advertised. I have done your mods, and I am rigging the system as many write about - the up to 2 minute headstart preheat thing - and I still get cut out at times before the roast is able to complete. I find that I am not alone. All that said, I salute your industry and your contribution. What I would vote for with my pocketbook is a fix/mod that lets us pretend that we all own Diedrichs with temp sensors ... I dream about a usb port linked to the existing temp sensor, to the line power input, and the doe-doe level programming. Your software would clock each roast and allow us to copy previous profiles that worked for our specific machines in our specific locales and conditions. We'd know when the beans got to a certain temp, we'd know when to step the temp input down, and we'd know when to finish off the beans. Give us the power. This is 2010 - not 1980. This is all technologically and economically feasible - and really socially acceptable. I for one would pay dearly for the heathkit-like instructions for the mod. Remember that we are ubergeeks - or victims of obcessive-compulsive symdrome. Who else roasts their own coffee for gosh sakes. And as we are all finding our beans through the internet and meeting in places like this - we all have laptops we can hook up to the mod so we can drive our own roasts more intelligently. Again, hats off to you at Lake Tahoe - I was born in Sparks by the way - so get cracking (pun intended) on the killer upgrade. If you won't, I will, I guess. Im tired of just bitching and I cant afford a Diedrich 2.5.
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I just started using the Behmor, and I had a hard time searching this thread to find profiles for specific green coffee beans I had purchased. I put the first 21 pages of this thread into a single PDF file, so I could search it easily. I did the same thing for the Behmor thread on the Coffee geek web site.
I spoke to the moderators of both sites about making the PDF files available to everyone else. You can download them from the "coffee stuff" page on my web site: http://www.softwarepolish.com/personal/coffee.htm (http://www.softwarepolish.com/personal/coffee.htm). I'll try to update the PDF files weekly, as new pages are added to these threads.
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...
I spoke to the moderators of both sites about making the PDF files available to everyone else. You can download them from the "coffee stuff" page on my web site: [url]http://www.softwarepolish.com/personal/coffee.htm[/url] ([url]http://www.softwarepolish.com/personal/coffee.htm[/url]). I'll try to update the PDF files weekly, as new pages are added to these threads.
Thanks. That is exceptional as your pdf permits an easy search. Now I need to remember, page 22.
B|Java
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Hard to believe that thread started 2.5 years ago.
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I found out something interesting this week. I've roasted more than 150 lbs in my Behmor. The chaf collector and the roaster walls were nicely coated with carbon, coffee oils and such. I have always kept the temp controller area on the right hand side clear of residue. I decided to give the insides a good cleaning using Simply Green and a soft plastic scrubber. I gave it a couple of cleaning burns and wet papertoweled the insides out before doing anymore roasting.
You know, I've cut like 4 minutes off my roast times since the cleaning. The residue must have hampered the reflected heat off the walls and chaf collector.
What a world. ;D
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I'm sure once finances/tech. issues are settled, etc...Behmor will work on a new modified version and or ADD ONS for older models.
There is absolutely no competition for Behmor at this price point. Highly unlikely any competitor could match them in quality,
performance and price point.
My machine is a real trooper. Being my first drum roaster after using a Zach & Dani's I will never look back.
ps. Anyone know how much the Diedrich IR-1 costs?
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My machine is a real trooper. Being my first drum roaster after using a Zach & Dani's I will never look back.
ps. Anyone know how much the Diedrich IR-1 costs?
Based on these posts, it costs between $6,200 and $6,500.
http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=192 (http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=192)
http://coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/homeroast/492682?Page=2 (http://coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/homeroast/492682?Page=2)
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Woody, The smaller weave works well for Yemens. I typically run it with a cooling cycle for 3 minutes and that will jar 7-10 fragments onto the floor of the chaff filter. I toss them, then pour the heat to it with P1.
RE: TBerries, I haven't done a roast of Zambian on the Behmor yet.
Quite often, I forget I am using it and realize later, 'oh, I roasted the Bolivians in the smaller screen.' No consequences.
B|Java
I did two roasts of Sweet Maria's Yemen Sharasi Mokha - Dry processed (http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.arabia.yemen.php). This bean was a bit tricky for me.
BoldJava, Thank You for the trick of handling the super-small beans. I also went over the beans very carefully by eye, and found a small rock in each 12 ounce batch.
The first time I roasted these, there was a very sparse first crack. I kept waiting for a rolling first crack, and pooched the roast. I pulled the beans after I heard second crack. Guess I'll use the dark roast beans for my first SO espresso. 8)
Here are my notes from the pooched roast:
"NO extension cord, NO preheat, 1# P1 B
First outliers of first crack with 5:55 left
No sustained first crack, decided to open door with 3:50 left
Set timer for 30 seconds - when timer goes off, close door
Set timer for 1:30 to finish roast
Heard second crack start with 2:20 left, press cool"
The second time, the roast proceeded the way I expected it to. Here are my notes from the second roast:
"NO extension cord, NO preheat, 1# P1 B
First outliers of first crack with 5:45 left
Rolling first crack with 5:40 left
Set timer for 10 seconds - when timer goes off, open door fully
Set timer for 30 seconds - when timer goes off, close door
Set timer for 1:30, to finish roast - when timer goes off, press cool"
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After brewing coffee with the Yemen Sharasi Mokha beans, I can report that the coffee was nearly perfect. My wife and I agreed that it had a deep rich flavor, with no hints of being over-roasted.
My only complaint is that the (relatively mild) fruit flavors only lasted for the first two days. I really like the fruity aspects of lighter roast coffee. Next time I roast these beans, I will stop the roast 15 seconds earlier.
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Despite my assertion here (reply #524) (http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php?topic=231.510) that I have no use for commercial roasters,
me being McGuyver & all, I've just ordered a B'mor. Can't wait for that truck to arrive! ;D
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I tinkered with my Behmor today and I just can't seem to get a good roast with it. I feel like BoldJava. ;D I'm roasting 1/2 lbs and it either ends up under roasted or over roasted.... I don't like that I can't see the beans or read temperature... any tips from you guys that use these all the time? Maybe I'm just spoiled with a hottop and ambex.
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Try #1/P3 setting for # 8 -#13 oz.of greens. With the Behmor sound and smell is about all you have. P3 will give you 2 1/2 -3 min in between 1st and 2nd most of the time. Works well for me ;D. I also have a Hottop, roasts are comparable with P3 on most beans. I also line the bottom of the tray with tinfoil ( helps getting to 1st sooner by 1 1/2- 2 min). 400 roasts in mine not many B/pooched roasts at all. Forget P2 just open the door if you want a temp drop (WAG it you can do this ;D )
Ray
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You can toss the chaff tray like I did. Really helps see the beans better. P1 for everything, set 1/2 lb for 1/4 lb roasts, 1 lb for 1/2 lb roasts. Stop it manually when it's ready. Crack open the door for a better look and smell when you feel like it. Also open the door longer to lower temp, stretch things out when needed. Nice quiet machine, no missing cracks because of machine noise. It's a lot easier than a RK drum!
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Just ordered a Behmor. Roasting 1/4 lb or so at a time in the popcorn popper I feel like I'm always consuming everything i roast within 3 days.
Figured limiting the tinkering can be a good thing if it can give me repeatable, predictable roasts.
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Anyone keeping up with what the lads down under are doing to the Behmor...The Holy Grail???
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1288707025 (http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1288707025)
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I made the modification and can now EASILY roast a full pound to a good rolling second crack on P1 at 18 min 15 sec.
Clearing dust from the vent area is not a modification, is it? I wonder what the mod was that tj was talking about.
To get these instructions you need to promise you won't share them. If you describe the problem your having to support and it matches this, they'll email you instructions. I did the mod to mine and I just hit the beginnings of first at 14 minutes with 12 ounces of beans on P1. Ira
Good evening! When calling (or is it better e-mailing??) Behmor's technical support regarding the above-mentioned modification, how should I refer to this modification (e.g., Behmor unofficial but approved modification)? Just trying to make sure I will receive the right instructions for the "secret" modification everyone is so happy about.
Thanks!
Javier
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Just tell him you can not roast 3/4 pounds to FC. He will make you do a couple of test and then with a warning give you the mod. I do not know what it does but it helps. Behmor service is great, you talk to the owner designer or the roaster. Good luck!
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Use email. They will send instructions with pics.
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I just started using the Behmor, and I had a hard time searching this thread to find profiles for specific green coffee beans I had purchased. I put the first 21 pages of this thread into a single PDF file, so I could search it easily. I did the same thing for the Behmor thread on the Coffee geek web site.
Since this thread rolled over to a new page, I updated the PDF on my website (http://www.softwarepolish.com/personal/coffee.htm) to include pages 1-22.
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I probably mentioned this before, but it's handy to have a way to externally cool your coffee for larger batches ...
+1
Using an external bean cooler made a BIG jump in the quality of my Behmor roasts. if you have an external cooler, you can roast right up to / into second crack, then stop the roast where you want to. If you rely on the Behmor's cooling cycle, the roast will continue for 1-2 minutes after you press COOL.
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I've had an issue with my Behmor since I got it with the seal of the front door. It seems to leak air, it's most noticeable when you hit cool because the fat speeds up, also if there's smoke or chaff some of it will come through. Making it not so pleasant to use indoors. I don't think this is normal since it's marketed as being almost smoke free / reducing smoke and for indoor roasting.
Also, I've only read one person on this forum saying they had an issue with the front door seal.
So, is this 'Normal'?
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I would contact tech support !! You will find that they are the best.Best way is on their website is an e-mail for tech support !!!
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I would contact tech support !! You will find that they are the best.Best way is on their website is an e-mail for tech support !!!
+1
Sounds like the seal on the front door it is bad.
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Yeah, I tried contacting support they said it's normal, I'm over roasting and everyone has that.
But like I thought, not everyone has this issue.
Maybe the support isn't as great as it once used to be. I'll try contacting them again.
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Still no response from Behmor, and the store I purchased it from hasn't called or emailed me back either.
I spoke to one guy from the store I purchased it from briefly, he confused me with someone else then said he'd look into it. I'll call him back when I have time.
lol great service.
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I've had an issue with my Behmor since I got it with the seal of the front door. It seems to leak air, it's most noticeable when you hit cool because the fat speeds up, also if there's smoke or chaff some of it will come through. Making it not so pleasant to use indoors. I don't think this is normal since it's marketed as being almost smoke free / reducing smoke and for indoor roasting.
Also, I've only read one person on this forum saying they had an issue with the front door seal.
So, is this 'Normal'?
can you take a picture of the door and seal and post it.
does the door close shut or is something maybe keeping it open a crack?
can you list the weight and profile/time used.
do you open the door during a roast?
I have only SEEN a bit of smoke come out once, at the end of roast(overroasted) when the fan comes on, never chaff, and if you over roast smoke will get out, the seal is ok but not airtight. Chaff does drop out when you pull out the tray or open the door.
I indoor roast only, but you do need IMO to put it under a vent and not overroast indoors.
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I did take a picture, not sure if there's an slight indent or if thats normal, maybe it was damaged during shipping, as it was shipped to my place.
I don't think I can see any observable deformations in the door, or the seal. It seems to close ok.
Chaff escaping seems to happen with any roast, I've only done 1/2lb, 8oz batches, it happens with some beans more than others due to having more chaff.
With lighter roasts there's less smoke of course, but still the air is leaking you can feel it more when you press cool and the fan speeds up.
I don't normally over roast my beans, i like them pretty light - medium. I usually err on the side of under roasting.
I do sometimes open the door during the roast, and of course then some chaff flies out, that's to be expected. I do roast under a vent but it's not so effective, especially if I did accidentally over roast.
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Quick easy queastion? Will a 36"W vent above stove enough to capture all the smoke during a roast with the behmor? It's pretty strong on the high speed.
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If it vents outside you should get a large percentage of the smoke...... If it's a filter inside vent, forget it. IMHO
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MY microwave sits over the glass stove top and it is vented outside. so i put the behmor on the stove and the smoke ges sucked up pretty good, aroma you get, and when the cooling fan kicks on sometimes a puff comes thru, as long as i dont pooch the roast, I have no smoke problems.
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Thanks everyone! I still haven't bitten the bullet yet. Yet the Gene Cafe seems interesting too with it's direct vent. More to ponder... ;)
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Be sure to look at this thread on smoke issues with the Behmor (http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php?topic=15496.0).
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I wonder about extending the time between FC and 2C. I have been roasting Peter's Ethiopian Sidamo. For the last two roasts, settings were 10oz of bean at P3A, 1#. I began to open the door during FC, taking care not to stall the roast. The first time I was able to extend FC 2:30. 2nd roast I was able to extend to 3:13 (but I wonder if I stalled the roast). Then I began to think...that's a dangerous thing...
Am I supposed to extend the time of FC or the time between FC and 2C?
Shouldn't FC happen around the 9 minute mark? The last two roasts were 14:30ish. Even my very first roast of this bean on P1, 8oz for 12:00 FC occurred at 10:50. That was a City+ and cardboardy tasting.
The roasts have been FC, but I'm not getting a lot of berry--just hints. Vac pot was flat. Espresso is meh. Brazen is a bit better, but still flattish.
What am I doing wrong?
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I'm impatiently waiting for someone to answer Bekeld's question in the previous post.
(= "bump")
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I've begun to investigate if the roaster is roasting slowly. I've followed the procedure in the manual, contacted tech support, performed additional tests, and am awaiting their response.
The one question that I need answered from the experts here is that "everybody" sez that FC should begin between 9-10 minutes. How can this statement be true? Different size loads should begat different times for FC. I can link where I've read this--will do that later.
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On many drum roasters you are dropping the beans into an already hot drum and environment, so getting to 1st crack between 8-11 minutes is fine. With the Behmor you are starting the beans at room temp if the roaster isn't preheated, so the time to get to approximately 200F doesn't count toward drying or roasting the beans. That is my understanding of why it takes longer to get to 1st crack with the Behmor.
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Wow Chris, very thorough answer. Quick question: are you using a full 8oz when using the 1/2# P1 setting?
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Wow Chris, very thorough answer. Quick question: are you using a full 8oz when using the 1/2# P1 setting?
Thank you Chris !!!!
Now since it is a detour, and not directly related to the Behmor, I am going to start a thread/question about Ethiopian coffees (not just Sidamo).
Susan
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According to the results of the tests, I do need to replace the sensor. Bob from Behmor stated that they can ship me a new one at no charge. I did not expect that!
Meanwhile, as soon as I can clear the decks a bit, I'll roast trying Yakster's suggestion. One of the tests was to roast a 1/2 lb on P1 #1 and note when FC and 2C started. Being curious, I made coffee the next day. I don't care for coffee that went into 2nd as far as this one did, but this is much better than what I had roasted. There must be something to that fast ramp to FC.
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Got sensor, started to change it out. Asked that guy who lives in the house with me for a small socket, and he took over. He's making a hash of it and I've already been told to be quiet. He's a loud fusser and cusser.
Guys, if the lady wants to do it herself, please let her. At this point I'm just hoping I don't have to buy a new one.
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This thread is extremely helpful and informative. I just bought a Behmor from another forum member and roasted my first batch (about 12 oz.) today of Colombian Huila. Should I seek out the mod from Joe that allows the roaster to easily handle one pound of beans at once?
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Mass,
As long as you have a dedicated voltage outlet you will have no issue roasting a full pound well into 2C. I have done this many times.
PS for deep cleaning use a grouphead brush, scouring pad with simple green and dish wash it to shine it up. First time I dish washed it in almost a year and it looks almost new.
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Thank you very much, Burner. By dedicated voltage outlet, do you mean an outlet where nothing else is plugged in? I don't know if I can get it more specific than that in my house. When I roast there are not too many other things using electricity.
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Yup that's what I mean an easy way would be to find out which plugs aren't being used on a particular circuit by testing with a night light and flipping breakers on and off. Just roast with nothing else on it. It's only 15 - 20 min. If you can't an electric stove has a 110 v outlet on top. That will do it.
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Thanks. I think I'm about to be swimming up to my neck in roasted coffee beans. Early holiday gifts?
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I had a small thermometer in my behmor, very helpful IMO and also very low cost
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Nice. A standard Taylor oven thermometer. Where exactly does it hang down from? Does it get in the way of the door or the drum?
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A picture worth a thousand words
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A cheap K-type does the trick for me. Since I can't change the temp I stopped using it..
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A cheap K-type does the trick for me. Since I can't change the temp I stopped using it..
Maybe not increase the temperature, but you can certainly decrease it by opening the door.
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Hi folks,
Not sure if this is the right thread to post this. After a year or so of no roasting I just pulled out my Behmor again. I was surprised at how filthy I had left it. So I followed the cleaning instructions and did the inside of the "muffler," the fan blades, and all of the stainless surfaces in and out.
Joe Behm says to use "Simple Green," which I'm sure works pretty well. But based on a tip from Cook's Illustrated I used "Method all purpose natural surface cleaner" instead. Cook's recently ran a comparison of cleaning products and Method took the honors. This product is not petroleum based and is marketed as "green." The main criterion for the Cook's Illustrated analysis was performance, regardless of environmental impact, and they compared both petroleum-based and others side by side. So it surprised me to see that this product outperformed the others, including the ones you might think would be more effective due to their nastiness, and also including Simple Green. Method has since become my default degreaser, and it did wonders with the baked on coffee oils and soot inside my Behmor.
Just passing this along. Apparently Method has a number of products. The one Cook's reviewed was purple, so that is the one I am using. I don't know anything about the other versions.
-Paul
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Good to see you dude. How is your son, how is life, etc.
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Good to see you dude. How is your son, how is life, etc.
Thank you friend. All is well but in transition. Probably best to speak by PM or, even better, by phone. I'll send you my current number by PM as soon as I post this. Thank you for posting!
-Paul
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Hi folks,
I wanna buy the Behmor 1600 from a local retailer and want to make sure I pick up the latest revision of a model. I understand that over the years Behmor have released a few revisions of 1600 and just was wondering what parts were revised so that I can be sure to ask/check at the store that I am getting the latest (and greatest) model.
Being in Canada these kinds of things don't sell that well and there are only a handfull of stores so there is a chance the store has older model lying around.
Thanks in advance
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How many users are using temp probes in the behmor1600 and where are you placing it. I'm talking about one with a thermocouple like you can get at SM's.
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New Behmors, 10% off through 12/10 at http://seattlecoffeegear.com (http://seattlecoffeegear.com). Free shipping.
Enter code SCGDAILY24
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New Behmors, 10% off through 12/10 at [url]http://seattlecoffeegear.com[/url] ([url]http://seattlecoffeegear.com[/url]). Free shipping.
Enter code SCGDAILY24
Is that on your list for Santa to bring you?
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I did not know about pressing P1 and P2 to get Celsius temp readings during the roast:
Has anyone verified what the display on the panel means when P1 or P2 is pressed during the roast cycle? I read in another forum that it is the sensor's temperature reading in Celsius. My infra red thermometer is not at all accurate.
Since I did not get a reply, I asked the HK distributor to inquire directly from Behmor engineering department. P1 is the sensor's reading for roasting chamber temperature and P2 is the reading from the exhaust temperature. All values in Celsius and can be monitored during the roast cycle.
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Sorry guys if this has been asked before but I did a search and couldn't find a straight answer. How long does it take to get a 1/2# of greens to first crack in a Behmor on the 1# P1 setting?
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About 10 - 12 minutes If i can remember correctly .
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I just bought 5#'s of the Mexican Oaxaca and I was curious if anyone has roasted this bean in the behmor or a similar bean?
Been roasting since xmas have had some good and not so good roasts so far.
Thanks
Ben
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Just thought I'd post a link to the latest manual revision v3.6
http://www.behmor.com/docs/Behmor_Manual_full_v3.6.pdf (http://www.behmor.com/docs/Behmor_Manual_full_v3.6.pdf)
Regards,
Marco in Seattle
Behmor 1600
Silvia w/PID
Rocky Doserless
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Looking for comments on the control panel upgrade offered by Behmor for the 1600. Mine is 5 years old and still going strong. I am the only coffee drinker in my household (weird for Seattle, but there it is) so I only roast 2x per month.
Is the upgrade worth it? What do you like about it?
Thanks,
Marco in Seattle
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I just bought 5#'s of the Mexican Oaxaca and I was curious if anyone has roasted this bean in the behmor or a similar bean?
Been roasting since xmas have had some good and not so good roasts so far.
Thanks
Ben
I've been roasting with my Behmor since they brought them out. A couple of 'afterburners' and occasional disassembly and blowing it out has kept it running just fine. IMHO don't rely on settings and times. Just select the schedule you want (I've always used 1 and 1) and be there when it starts the first crack and be attentive to the start of the second crack. Take it as far as you want and then hit cool. Be aware that the roast will go for another minute or so before it starts really cooling. Make sure the glass is clean before the roast so you can see the beans. I usually roast 12 ounces on the 16 ounce setting to make sure I have enough extra time to add if I need it.
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Looking for comments on the control panel upgrade offered by Behmor for the 1600. Mine is 5 years old and still going strong. I am the only coffee drinker in my household (weird for Seattle, but there it is) so I only roast 2x per month.
Is the upgrade worth it? What do you like about it?
Thanks,
Marco in Seattle
You know I made the upgrade and it's worth it, only fifty bucks and the hardest part is getting the case off.
With the upgrade if you are trying to strech out different phases of development you can which is nice and if you were like me and using profile two sometimes and your electrical draw drops you can compensate for that too.
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Hi All!
I wanted to share my experience so far with the Behmor 1600. I have only had the roaster a couple of months and have not learned the finer points of the profiles. I have also not ventured away from the Central American beans yet.
The roaster was mostly easy to set up, but the first time I did a dry run, the catch where the door swings open was hitting something on each rotation. A a good bend inwards on the catch solved that issue for good. Minor manufacturing QA issue, no biggie for me.
I always preheat the unit for 2 minutes before I start a roast. It just makes sense to warm it up a bit.
There is one glaring design omission with the Behmor - no alarm... but this is easily solved if you roast in your kitchen. I needed an alarm to let me know when the 30 second countdown begins when you need to prove to the Behmor that you are really there... I set a timer on my microwave (just a timer, it does not cook anything) to 13:30, which is 75% of the 18:00 profile time I use, and push the Start on the Behmor and the Start on the microwave timer as close to the same time as possible. Then I am free to go about my chores, putting away dishes, making a sandwich, etc. until the microwave tells me to push Start on the Behmor. Seems silly... I am sure a lawyer somewhere is laughing at me.
Anyway, the cup and a half of beans I am roasting (not weighing them yet... I should but need to get a scale) are done with first crack with about 3:00 left on the Behmor. From there I use my nose to tell me when to press cool.
One helpful tip I have learned... I leave the door closed to keep the chaff out of the house. Before I open the door, I turn on my vacuum... it's the "whole house" type which only has a suction tube and lots of power. I suck out all the chaff from the doorway and anything stuck to the cylinder. Then carefully remove the cylinder and vacuum it while rotating it slowly. All the chaff just comes through the mesh and there is no mess. I'm pretty happy with this. Only downside is I have to put away the vacuum hose, but I think it is better than having chaff everywhere.
So far, I am pretty happy but this is my first roaster, so I guess I ought to be... this is way better than the Costco roast coffee I was buying! Cheers!
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I don't care how smart / slick / or clever you think you are, walking away from an active roaster is BAD news. I've got a few fires under by belt to stand behind this because my dumb ass didn't learn the first time I set it on fire. The Behmor is very good at keeping this contained but if you are worried about a little chaff in your house, wait until you fill it with the stench of burning beans from a black turd looking mound of coffee that will continue to smolder for 20 minutes after the machine went into it's fire shut down mode.
Seriously, some beans behave very differently and can go into 3rd crack much quicker than you ever anticipated and walking away from a roaster in action is just courting trouble.
Aaron
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FIRE~ this is a serious subject. I don't want to ignore it.
I've been very keen to the possibility of fire, but I don't think I have taken a roast too far past first crack yet. Has anyone experienced a fire in this unit prior to second crack?
I would hope that, like a fireplace chimney, regular cleaning can prevent buildups over time that could catch fire. So, assuming the unit is carefully kept free of chaff after each run, and that there is no large buildup of any residue inside, is it possible to torch your roast before (or right at) second crack in this unit?
FYI - with the very hot weather and my wife's nose, I have started to do roasts outside. I have it on a metal chair on the deck, right next to my gas BBQ grill which does see a fire every now and then.
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I have taken my roasts up to and after second crack many times with no problems. Except for a couple of times when the beans had a slightly burnt taste. ;D But no fires. I clean the inside of the roaster every 4-6 roasts with Simple Green and vacuum the chaff out with a small shop vac after every roast. I also stand next to the roaster and watch the beans during every roast. That's probably why I had to replace the interior light bulb after only 6 months. I have lately been roasting 10 oz on the 1 lb setting.
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I make a habit of opening up the roaster during the cooling phase. I've had many fires during this phase, door open or closed, and it can be any type of heavy or light chaff coffee bean. I always make a point of standing by the roaster after the first 7 - 8 minutes. My Behmor is a bit slow even with using a variac, but it is quite old as well. I do not roast past the first outliers of 2nd crack and generally 2 minutes after the end of 1st so I'm there whether I need to be or not. I roast in my garage, and my house smells anyway. Love my coffee and do not take changes.
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I do not roast past the first outliers of 2nd crack and generally 2 minutes after the end of 1st
What sort of temp setting and batch size are you using to go 2 minutes after the end of 1C to only barely get into 2C?
If I go more than 15 sec past the end of 1C I start getting far too much roast/carbon in the cup. But I am also getting some grassy notes too suggesting I'm not going quite far enough past 1C.
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Hi brianmch - Sorry for the delay. I roast 8oz using P1 on the 1lb setting. My Behmor is 8 - 9 years old and has seen many better days. I've cleaned out the innards and scrubbed the inner walls, chaff collector and drum. It's just old. Actually, the drum turner thingy just stopped turning. I walked away and almost had a big fire cuz the beans did not get rotated. Bad, bad, bad. thought I did not have it seated correctly so tried it again. Same thing. So, I got a new Behmor 1600+.
Love it!
It is quieter, so quiet, and seems hotter. Yes, now that I use the new one, 2nd crack comes on much more quickly. Even when using P2. I will try roasting 1/2 lb of Yemen on manual, 100% and once I hear the beginning of 1st C I'll knock it down to 75% to extend the roast. The Yemen is best at F+ and so I want to get it there without it getting out of hand.
Carbon in the cup should only appear once 2nd crack has started in earnest. I just roasted 1/2 lb of Bolivian and it did get out of hand. 2nd went on for 15 seconds and its kinda dark for me. I usually shut things down when I hear 3-4 outlier snaps of 2nd. The time to cool allows the roast to go on a bit more while not continuing the ramp up of heat.
It is a journey, and I don't get it right every time, but even love my mistakes.
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I've been happily using the Behmor almost since they came out. I think I changed out the motor twice, otherwise all is well. Ripped one section of the rubber seal around the door cleaning it but it just flaps back into place.
I stopped playing around with settings and went with #1 P1 and usually stop a minute into first crack. It seems to work for my taste buds. Im roasting around 3/4 lb each time. Of course would be nice to have a bigger machine when I want to roast more for friends but for the most part, I like this unit for its ease to use and predictable results.
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Haven't replied to the thread for a while.
To bwilson: I don't ever get into 1c but find it can get over-roasty flavored by going 15 sec past the end of 1C that has been running 1:20 to 1:30. I can avoid it by stopping the roast at 10 sec past the end of 1C.
I'm getting a little better at stretching out 1C and got a super nice looking and very good tasting Rwanda yesterday.
It's still taking 12:30 to get to 1C and not much I do can get it there any faster. I know my development is too short but can't get to 1C any sooner with 330 gram batches. I can do smaller ones but my time is finite. If I pre-heat longer than 2 min/150-160 degrees I get heat related errors. I lose 16 to 18 degrees (B temps) when the fan comes on at 10:30.
Glad to hear your machine has been so solid JBot. I'm not really in a hurry to move to a different machine but I do want to solve some of the above as I'm probably getting 78-80's on my 84 coffees.
Maybe smaller batches will be my key.
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brian as the behmor ages, I find that sometimes even as little as 10 oz on the 1 lb setting is very controllable. The heating elements get old, it wants to cycle more than you remember it cycling in the past etc, cut down a bit on the amount of coffee roasting at a time and it can help stretch out the machines usefullness over it's aging.
Aaron
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I roast about 1,000 grams a week and have probably run 270 to 290 batches through it. Any consensus as to when burners need replacement?
FWIW, I hit 1C appx 12 minutes in from start.
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So, my light went out. Blown bulb, I thought, and researched a replacement. Found this for $2.32 online: GE Lighting 10692 25-Watt Appliance Intermediate Base T7 1CD Light Bulb
I went to replace the bulb - took out two screws (big mistake) and removed the glass. Tried to remove the bulb and noticed it was loose. Tightened it by screwing all the way in... light works! Now I have a spare bulb.
When I tried to replace the screws, I noticed there was a problem - the part which attached to the screws had separated from the place where the screw is inserted. Hard to describe, but I had to do some difficult gymnastics with my fingers to get it back together. In the process I caught my pinky finger in there and it got stuck to the point where I thought I would have to call 911... but eventually I freed it with a nice sore spot over.
If the light does actually blow, in the future, I'll just remove the screws part of the way and pry the glass out with the screws still there. If anyone has a better technique, I'd like to hear it.
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Thanks for the heads-up PhilMe. My light is going strong but who knows how long that will be. I keep it on the whole time.
Took the casing off the sides and rear to clean a few days ago. There was a lot of powdery mess in there! Wasn't too bad of a job though and only took 10 minutes or so. Buttoned up just fine which I was worried about.
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... Buttoned up just fine which I was worried about.
Yeah, I'm always extra careful with those sheet metal screws Behmor uses. Extremely easy to over tighten and enlarge the screw hole, then you're screwed. I wish they had used threaded holes and machine screws instead.
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+1 on being careful about the screws. I think that is a corner cutter. For the money a Behmor is pretty hard to beat.
Here's a lingering question...
How do you guys deal with the fan comes on in the 1st half of the roast?
Has anyone ever measured what happens to bean temps during this process? I would think they fall as I lose 15 to 20 degrees (in B temps) during this time.
I know Ira developed a temp interface to use thermo's in the beans but I'm not sure anyone uses it.
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IIRC, Ira and another guy Freddofrog from down under both mentioned that the bean temp probes they have outfitted their Behmors register a negligible drop with bean temp when the afterburner kicks in. We know the sidewall temp registers a rather big one. I always charge 323 grams so I am not really done with the yellowing phase when the afterburner kicks in at 7:30 after start on P1 auto. Not critical on a slow start Behmor style of roasting. I suppose it is another matter with 200 grams or less charge weight.
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Thanks. I charge in a range of 230 to 330 depending on what I'm roasting, how many batches I need, and how much time I have. I've been trying to charge hotter and manipulate temps before the fan turns on...IDK how much difference it makes.
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Thanks. I charge in a range of 230 to 330 depending on what I'm roasting, how many batches I need, and how much time I have. I've been trying to charge hotter and manipulate temps before the fan turns on...IDK how much difference it makes.
Uh-oh, looks like necrobumping is now getting a warning from the forum software. Hope I'm not stepping on any toes by doing so...
Anyways, the reason I'm posting is because I'm stuck with the Behmor for the foreseeable future (if/when I can start selling ~7# roasted a week, I will consider upgrading), and I've recently found out I can start tasting my roast flaws, so I want to ask for some advice:
1) If I ever do more than about 30 seconds after the start of 1C, I get way too much carbon in the cup for my taste. I don't know how you all write about going after the stop of 1C.
2) Anybody have a rough guide for converstion from B temperature readings to actual bean mass temperatures? Would be nice to be able to ballpark when people on other roasters talk of stopping at 405F or 445F etc.
3) If the bean mass temp DOESN'T supposedly change much when the fan kicks in 75% of the way through the roast, does that mean when I punch P5 on manual to get heat back up, I'm actually screwing over my roast by suddenly jacking up the heat and rate of drying/Maillard reactions?
4) Is there a reason not to do preheating with the beans fully loaded and do a fast restart when B temps hit ~220F? It should be too soon for any real roasting to have begun on the beans, right?
Thanks GCBC folks!
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Uh-oh, looks like necrobumping is now getting a warning from the forum software. Hope I'm not stepping on any toes by doing so...
Anyways, the reason I'm posting is because I'm stuck with the Behmor for the foreseeable future (if/when I can start selling ~7# roasted a week, I will consider upgrading), and I've recently found out I can start tasting my roast flaws, so I want to ask for some advice:
1) If I ever do more than about 30 seconds after the start of 1C, I get way too much carbon in the cup for my taste. I don't know how you all write about going after the stop of 1C.
2) Anybody have a rough guide for converstion from B temperature readings to actual bean mass temperatures? Would be nice to be able to ballpark when people on other roasters talk of stopping at 405F or 445F etc.
3) If the bean mass temp DOESN'T supposedly change much when the fan kicks in 75% of the way through the roast, does that mean when I punch P5 on manual to get heat back up, I'm actually screwing over my roast by suddenly jacking up the heat and rate of drying/Maillard reactions?
4) Is there a reason not to do preheating with the beans fully loaded and do a fast restart when B temps hit ~220F? It should be too soon for any real roasting to have begun on the beans, right?
Thanks GCBC folks!
Necrobumping? Wow, the vocab sure has changed.
1) 30 sec past start of 1C carbon. Since you can't measure true bean temps very well on a BM its hard to say what the temps rise to on your machine from 1C to drop. If you crack the door it'll help as all that smoke is coating your beans and needs to be exhausted. BUT if you open the door too far the BT will crash.
2) B temp to actual temp conversion guide. I never found one. I know a guy made a way to put a BT probe into a BM. He tried to market a couple things but they never took off when I had mine. Maybe by now his devices have some traction.
3) Use your log to determine what happens to your roast by heat changes. Your success will be governed by the provided heat and air controls.
4) I think I got baking problems when preheating a bean-loaded drum but it's been a while and I've replace those roasting details in my mind with others.
If you start tasting roast defects moving on could become a more pressing need. You'll waste the additional marginal capacity in good beans over the use interim AND spend a lot of time roasting only to get results you're not stoked about. Both are money.