Behmor on the way

I got my sife a Behmor for our anniversary in November, and she won't go back to store bought at all now. It's very easy to use and clean, and we've had no issues with ours, so far. As we get more experience with it, we'll know when to push thengs and when to back off, but for us beginners, it has been very east to use so far. Since you already have raosting experience, I'm sure you'll have no problems with yours.

[germantown rob]

You will be fine. 10-12oz batch sizes work the best and yes use the 1# setting. Read up on the changes to Behmor profiling at CG, good stuff in there.

Getting the most from a roast takes more control then the Behmor will give but I am trying to learn most people don't need this or will ever taste this. Look at how few will actually buy from artisan roasters, most just can't justify the cost, same with buying a home roaster. My Hottop is capable of giving end results that will be very close to the commercial roaster I will buy and it has taken me 3 years to get to this point with a lot of hard work, tons of batches, and tons of reading.

You should know this by now but don't walk away from the Behmor, at least not far or for a moment or two. Lots of small chaff fires but I had a couple of bean fires and so have many others. SAFTY FIRST. This is a big disadvantage for the quest M3, have a house fire because of that roaster and no insurance company is going to pay out since it has not been UL approved. The Hottop is full of annoying safety features but I am thankful for them at times.

[floydpink]

Point taken. I roast on my patio so I doubt I'll burn too much, but have read horror stories about fires, including many from Hottop owners.

I normally fire up a cigar, sit outside, and enjoy the roasting with a spray bottle close by.

The whole experience is quite enjoyable to me and my patio is my refuge.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by ashtonlady

In 2 years I have only had one fire. And that was because I didnt do a good job of cleaning out the roaster. Either use a shop vac or dust buster for easier cleaning. And Yes as Mentioned Never Walk away from your roaster while roasting. Have a great time.

Good point about cleaning. I tear my machine down often to get the residue that builds up cleaned. The new chaff collector for the Behmor should be much better at preventing the chaff fires.

Originally Posted by floydpink

Point taken. I roast on my patio so I doubt I'll burn too much, but have read horror stories about fires, including many from Hottop owners.

I normally fire up a cigar, sit outside, and enjoy the roasting with a spray bottle close by.

The whole experience is quite enjoyable to me and my patio is my refuge.

I love to roast outside in better weather, I have 28" of snow on the ground and another 12"+ due starting tomorrow.

I do suggest adding a fire extinguisher to your arsenal, a co2 one won't hurt your equipment if it is ever needed.

Could you point me to the Hottop fires? Unless you are referring to when they first imported them into the country many years ago I have not seen any mention of one. Don't get me wrong, roasted beans are 30-40f away from an imminent fire once 2nd crack has happened, Danger Will Robinson, Danger .

[floydpink]

Sorry Rob, can't point you to the Hottop fires but did read a few reports on Coffeegeek about them as well as somewhere else.

I'll have more time after the busy President's day weekend to research and validate my statement after the tourists leave.

Aw heck, I know it's skewed, but a quick Google revealed this>




Jim Algar (quality: 2.6) 10.12.2004 Rating: 0.0
Bottom Line: FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE HAZADRD FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE HAZARD FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE HAZARD

Michael W (quality: 7.1) 05.18.2004 Rating: 8.6
Bottom Line: Consistent, easy-to-use, good-looking, large batch, excellent flavor and aroma. If you can afford it, it is a nice luxury.

Fred Langer (quality: 8.0) 03.05.2004 Rating: 7.0
Bottom Line: If you want 1/2 pound batches of repeatable roasts, don't mind the higher price (factor in the possible need for a variac if your voltage is wimpy) - this beats the Alpenrost hands down.

Jon Radoff (quality: 3.7) 02.27.2004 Rating: 4.6
Bottom Line: Dangerous fire-hazard, avoid!

My Bottom Line: Your Hottop blows away my Behmor and always will, and I am a cheap bastard who likes shiny E61 machines full of chrome and could have bought the Hottop easliy with the money I would have saved buying a cheaper machine!!!!

[germantown rob]

Don't worry to much Pete, I think you will find just like those reviews the machines will be the older models that had many bugs to still work out.

Don't be so harsh on your love of chrome, , we all have our thing.

You will love the Behmor, it will get you great roasts that can be tweaked enough to make nice improvements from roast to roast. The geek support for the Behmor is very high so lots of people to get advice from, and for the price it really is hard to beat. For the times you are forced to roast inside the afterburner is a really nice feature. Your voltage may be fine but the slightest change can make a difference so I suggest getting a Kill-a-Watt ($25) to see when there may be low voltage times during the day, not a bad utility to have to check other appliances and what they may be drawing in power.

See, I really am trying not to be such a roast Nazi. I recognize my insanity and acknowledge I can't change myself so I will try to limit what I impose on others and expect from them. After all it is the passion for the bean we share and I want as many people to get the most from every cup and you are doing this.

A few more things with the Behmor.
The new chaff collector seems to add a little time to the roast so folks have been doing a 1:30 minute preheat before starting their roast proper.

Opening the door after 1st crack is a good way to get a longer finish if coming into first to fast and hot.

Cracking the door during the cool down cycle and then opening completely will help cool the beans much quicker.

Ira's BehmorThing is a very handy tool for keeping track of your roasts. There is an apple app (if you have an ipod touch or iphone) that is rather nice called RoastTimer which I use even if I am not trying to track a roast just because it is a timer counting forward instead of backwards, a timer and note pad work just as well though.

I found that roasts in the Behmor are best when under 18 minutes, over that they just get baked tasting.

I think the new Behmor comes with the small grid drum standard, if not let me know and I will send you an extra one I have that is still in the box, I added it to the cart twice by accident.

After adding beans to the drum give it a good shake to get any small shards or beans out before the roast.

Happy Roasting .


Edit: Raisin beat me to the Kill-a-Watt info...that stuff in red is about the old Hottop and not the Behmor but great advice on what to do if there is a chaff fire in the behmor.

[floydpink]

Ok gents. I took your sage advice and found and bought a Kill A Watt off Ebay.

Seems fairly straight forward, but do you just plug the roaster in and check the wattage in different outlets as well as different periods of the day?

Any special number I should look for?

Thanks as always for the great advice.

Originally Posted by germantown rob

I think the new Behmor comes with the small grid drum standard, if not let me know and I will send you an extra one I have that is still in the box, I added it to the cart twice by accident.

After adding beans to the drum give it a good shake to get any small shards or beans out before the roast.

Yes, it does come with the smaller grid drum (mine did, anyways).

And that's GREAT advice!