Had It w/My Behmor

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Great idea!

[Ascholten]

Trust me, I have bribed plenty of people with fresh roast 
Heck, if it wasn't for doing that, I have a feeling my postman would have done a drive by and burned my house to the ground a long time ago hehe.

Aaron

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Of course, I'd have to use a popcorn popper to roast anything now.

[BaconFat]

Having replaced the circuit board on my Behmor, I can say it's a major PITA.  Some connectors were attached so securely I almost broke one or two getting them loose.  I don't think a few of them would survive if I have to replace the board again.

[Ponybean]

I have out used my Behmor for awhile now, so I've purchased a Huky 500 from Taiwan around April of this year.  I stayed with the basic setup and cost me $1600 including shipping. Its the best purchased so far. I can easily roast a pound or a tad more without any problems and it gives me consistent roast that I like, but there can still be improvement made on the roaster.  If there is any problem or question, Mr. Li will respond in a day or two, but the wait for the roaster to the U.S. may take about 3 weeks which is a very long wait.  Something to think about.

Cheers

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I have nowhere near that amount to spend.

[antoine_t]

if you're really done with it, throw it up on craiglist or these forums

wiring/electrical work can be frustrating for sure


have you considered a turbo oven/stir crazy combo?  you can pick up the parts for cheap at goodwill etc.
edit: nvm it seems to have already been suggested.


here's one for cheap: http://coffeegeek.com/forums/members/buysell/697170

-i have no affiliation with the seller

[roastingnerd]

I have use a GeneCafe for several years.  Never had a problem with parts.  The only problem is finding out how to profile the roast for a given bean.  I have used up a full 5 pounds of beans and never got what I thought was a decent cup of coffee.  Strangely, I can buy pre-roasted beans at the local grocery store and get excellent coffee some time.  I just keep trying because it is a hobby and I invested what I think is a lot of money to get a Gene.  I was able to routinely get great coffee from my old IRoasts but they didn't last all that long (about $100 per year of service). 

[Joe]

Of the home roasters now available, which are well-made and can handle dark roasts well? I'm looking for something that can roast a minimum of half a pound.

I think you are actually getting past the segment of roasters you are considering.
The road I see traveled most often is that people move past the Hearthware, fresh roast +8, Behmor et al. and then either go to SC/TO, Modified Poppers, BBQ drum route or just go full bore and get a Huky, Sonofresco, or some other commercial small batch roaster.

Usually its an inevitable journey to get to the commercial roasters, I do see a lot of people hanging on to their sc/to and BBQ drums though.


But I wouldn't do a parallel move such as repairing the Behmor especially paying for the repair a la Alpenroaster, or even a hot top.

[donn]

I don't think I followed all of that, particularly the closing sentence, but it would be interesting to get some numbers on who here has been using what.  You make it sound like there'd be a lot of commercial batch roasters out there, which is kind of depressing.

I'd make these qualifications:  home roaster - no small-time sales, barter, whatever, you're roasting mainly for own consumption;  and been using it as main roaster for more than a couple years.

If people are buying commercial roasters to roast a pound a week in the back yard, that seems like a pretty sour commentary on what's available really made for the home roaster - Behmor, Hottop, etc.  I believe it, though.  I haven't been through them all, just one Hearthware Gourmet, but that was enough to get the idea.

[Joe]

I don't think I followed all of that, particularly the closing sentence, but it would be interesting to get some numbers on who here has been using what.  You make it sound like there'd be a lot of commercial batch roasters out there, which is kind of depressing.

I'd make these qualifications:  home roaster - no small-time sales, barter, whatever, you're roasting mainly for own consumption;  and been using it as main roaster for more than a couple years.

If people are buying commercial roasters to roast a pound a week in the back yard, that seems like a pretty sour commentary on what's available really made for the home roaster - Behmor, Hottop, etc.  I believe it, though.  I haven't been through them all, just one Hearthware Gourmet, but that was enough to get the idea.

Well I think I used 2 roads actually in my example. But I think small batch used roasters are better. You can find Sonofrescos's these days for around $800-1000 used. You can make much more than 1lb per week and yes most people make a few friends and usually sell a few lbs here and there once they head down that road. Small batch commercial roasters tend to attract these types of people. not the one lb a week crowd, those max out at the Hottop.

But the other road I mentioned was the BBQ drum, SC/TO, hottop, Modified popper route which seems to pull away from the behmor, gene, hearthware, etc...which are usually used to introduce people into roasting. I feel as if you are at the $400+ level of a hottop you are probably better off investing in a Sonofresco.

But the numbers might surprise you, most of the folks I know from the early days of GCBC and a lot of people I know from Coffeegeek, and even the co-op have all moved on past personal home roasters if they started there. Aside of course from something used as a cupping roaster. Granted some have been more than happy with the BBQ drum route and there is a lot of value to that.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

What's an sc/to again? Easy and cheap to build?

Due to the incredible generosity of another forum member, I now have another used, but in way better condition, Behmor to roast with.

I could never adequately thank them enough.

[donn]

But the other road I mentioned was the BBQ drum, SC/TO, hottop, Modified popper route which seems to pull away from the behmor, gene, hearthware, etc...which are usually used to introduce people into roasting. I feel as if you are at the $400+ level of a hottop you are probably better off investing in a Sonofresco.

Hard to get a good split on the categories here.  My impression was that earlier, Behmor owners were talking like it would be in the same league with the Hottop.  I haven't heard so much about the Gene.  It does seem that for various reasons the glow fades on these things, and various frustrations take over.

The BBQ drum probably needs a category of its own.  It's in the gas category along with the commercial roasters.  Getting away from house current electric power changes the game a lot.  I have a "5 pound" drum, never tried to see how much I can actually manage but I'm reasonably confident it could go to 3 lbs.  It's also at the bottom of the technology path - I turn by hand, so no electricity needed - and it may be one of the first home roasters along with the popcorn poppers.  I remember someone talking about it way back in the alt.coffee days, wonder if he's still doing it.

[Joe]

What's an sc/to again? Easy and cheap to build?

Due to the incredible generosity of another forum member, I now have another used, but in way better condition, Behmor to roast with.

I could never adequately thank them enough.

Stir Crazy, Turbo oven basically a hack to make a roaster some swear is the best of the home built style roasters (i.e. PID' popper I, Modified popper, Ronco oven conversions) Peter and Buttwhiskers would be great sources of info on these. Although I was an early adopter and in fact had made some significant advances to what is normal these days (chaff removal vents) I did not get the results I wanted from this method. I have been told that the amount of coffee I was roasting in them isn't what is normal now a days. They are relatively cheap and easy to put together.

[Joe]

Hard to get a good split on the categories here.  My impression was that earlier, Behmor owners were talking like it would be in the same league with the Hottop.  I haven't heard so much about the Gene.  It does seem that for various reasons the glow fades on these things, and various frustrations take over.

The split would be that some are pre-built sold as consumer products and others you have to somewhat create even if you have the recipe.

Yeah I'm not a fan of any of them actually. I think the hottop promises too much and has inherent risks (fires) but is probably the best of that world. The behmor seems to be a glorified ronco rotisserie conversion roaster with some sort of catalytic converter indoor roasting appeal...I have only heard of broken circuit boards and problems with this roaster. Behm makes coffee makers etc now too, which from the people I know that have used them aren't impressed.

At the end of the day these items are investments. You either get your investments worth or you don't.

"Had it with My Behmor" is a theme I am hearing from people who use them.