roaster upgrade time, am I ok?

[floydpink]

I've outgrown the Freshroast and am really looking at the Behmor as the replacement as I am attracted to it's build and other things.

It seems the limitations are really limited to dark roasts past second crack from what I have read and very small beans getting stuck in the roast drum, neither of which are major concerns for me.

I like to do it right the first time and now that I know roasting is for me, am wondering if the extra money is really necessary for the Hottop?

I've ruled out bbq roasting as I see it as something that I won't do well with due to my limited skills and patience.

Any Behmor fans?

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by floydpink

I've outgrown the Freshroast and am really looking at the Behmor as the replacement as I am attracted to it's build and other things.

It seems the limitations are really limited to dark roasts past second crack from what I have read and very small beans getting stuck in the roast drum, neither of which are major concerns for me.

I like to do it right the first time and now that I know roasting is for me, am wondering if the extra money is really necessary for the Hottop?

I've ruled out bbq roasting as I see it as something that I won't do well with due to my limited skills and patience.

Any Behmor fans?

Killed mine in less then 6 months, Raisin got 2 years out of his but it is finally giving up.

[floydpink]

Guess I need to man up and get the Hottop then?

Another case of go big or don't go at all?

Originally Posted by floydpink

Guess I need to man up and get the Hottop then?

Another case of go big or don't go at all?

In a word, yup

very happy with my hottop. The cost not so much

[floydpink]

Vic,

Can you offfer to let me try your Hottop for a month or two like Moo is with his aeropress?

It would be nice to know if I want to blow all that money before I buy it.

I will send you my addy if you need it.

[CasaDooley]

Pretty good price on this one with 6 hours left. http://http://cgi.ebay.com/Hottop-Coffee-Roaster-Model-KN-8828_W0QQitemZ220491257916QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Ho t_Beverage_Brewers?hash=item33564d983c

Originally Posted by floydpink

Vic,

Can you offfer to let me try your Hottop for a month or two like Moo is with his aeropress?

It would be nice to know if I want to blow all that money before I buy it.

I will send you my addy if you need it.

Uhhhh......you can have my Hottop Pete when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers,

[raisin]

Originally Posted by floydpink

Guess I need to man up and get the Hottop then?

Another case of go big or don't go at all?

If you are serious, there is no replacing the Hottop for repeatability. The Behmor is more of a wing and a prayer type roaster in terms of consistenticy.

I would get the Hottop, if you really don't like it resale value is good.

[floydpink]

This about settles it and I am glad I brought up the question.

I will see when I can fit the Hottop into the budget.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by floydpink

This about settles it and I am glad I brought up the question.

I will see when I can fit the Hottop into the budget.

Better to wait a bit and get the correct equipment for the job, I think the Hottop is a good fit for you and where you will take roasting. Having full control over the roast is worth every penny and even if you don't get overboard with roasting the machine will last a very long time with any repair being easy.

Keep an eye on the Quest M3 roaster
Quest M3
&
Quest M3 HB

[ashtonlady]

I have had my Behmor since it came out. No problems yet.
I can get dark roasts out of it and If you get the extra cage, you will not have problems with beans falling out any more than normal.

[floydpink]

Awesome! More fuel to the indecision fire.

[ashtonlady]

I can do 1 roast every hour. And have no problems making my roast work the way I am suposed to. So I dont understand the issue.

[Fumes]

Another caveat about the Behmor -- anything more than 150 -200 grams of dry process, high-chaff beans and you're running a serious risk of fire in the roaster. The chaff collection system quite frankly sucks.

[ashtonlady]

I run Ethipoian on a regular basis and have never had an issue.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by ashtonlady

I run Ethipoian on a regular basis and have never had an issue.

I had 2 chaff fires, very mild since I pay attention the whole roast but I had a batch of monsoon beans charr and catch fire before first crack, very scary and very smokey. Plenty of chaff fires with the Behmor to read about over at coffee geek. Any roaster is capable of creating a fire so always be prepared no matter what type of roaster is being used. The Hottop when it first came to the USA had many reported fires this however seems to have been remedied many years ago.

[floydpink]

Not that I don't value the knowlege here, but this reply just made my decision final, in favor of the Hottop.

With the Brasilia and Macap, it only makes sense to complete the trilogy with the right roaster.

One of the things I have learned about this hobby is, for me at least, eventually you are gonna need the best stuff, so buy it before you upgrade too many times and end up paying twice as much.

The sound factor and limited visiblity is a major factor for me as I am deaf in my right ear thanks to an accident a while ago.


Thanks for the note. The Behmor is a decent machine for the money. It has low to no visibility so you will be roasting by the sound instead of the color of the beans it has great smoke reduction. The HotTop basic is great because it is a solidly built machine with interchangeable parts, it also has an external cooling tray which makes it closest to a professional roaster, no coasting to account for means more accuracy, it does not have a good smoke reduction feature. With all Roasting machines it is important to keep your eye on them with the Behmor it is extra important as it can get particularly hot after 2nd crack, here are some notes on that -
http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.behmor2_use.php
and other resources to help you make your decision-
http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasters-...ngaroaster.php
http://www.sweetmarias.com/roastercomparisonchart.php
http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/forum/

[Fumes]

Originally Posted by floydpink

One of the things I have learned about this hobby is, for me at least, eventually you are gonna need the best stuff, so buy it before you upgrade too many times and end up paying twice as much.

How true!

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by floydpink

One of the things I have learned about this hobby is, for me at least, eventually you are gonna need the best stuff, so buy it before you upgrade too many times and end up paying twice as much.

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In that case let's talk Diedrich 3k roasters or Diedrich home roaster. Take a look at there bigger roasters as well Like.

I would love to build a room around my roasting and brewing hobby, all glass and looking at the backyard so I can keep an eye on the little devil(s), I have one more on the way. It should defiantly have a root cellar with a dumb waiter for green bean storage . Sadly the amount of money that is needed to create such a play room means I will probably rent space and open up as a roasting business for less $. Besides this retirement crap is boring, well not the part of raising the kid(s) but the rest of it.