My New Behmor 1600 Plus Arriving Soon - All Advise Appreciated

[CoffeeMac]

Hi everyone

As I have just acquired a new Behmor 1600 on which I am planning to practice some roasting for a novice like me... I wanted to ask if anyone has any advice what to watch for when starting to use it (it should be delivered this week). I've read somewhere that the manual isn't that clear and I am not a great DIY guy.

thank you
Dave.

 

[peterjschmidt]

Take notes on each roast; weight of greens, program used, time to 1C, etc. Your tastes may be different, and depending on what you like, you may enjoy the results one way and someone else enjoys it another way. Play around, find what you like, and if you took notes you'll be able to repeat it.

 

[CoffeeMac]

thank you, I will definitely try to keep a roast log as I am aiming to learn how to repeat roasts and achieve consistency.

 

[wwcove]

Be careful to watch roast closely- especially on first roast. When I bought mine some time back the very first roast seemed to put out much more heat that the suggested 'light' roast said in manual and in the last minute it got dark really fast- plus if your stepping up from air popping you will find in a drum roaster that beans continue to roast for several moments during the cooking process.
But I think your going to love it... Even though they claim you can use inside- my wife kicked me to the patio as it does release a bit of smoke when starting the cooling cycle.
...kind of funny but after owning the Behmor for just a couple months I just had to upgrade again to a pro roaster...

 

[Redswing]

I used a Behmor for a while. Not familiar with the upgrades on this new one, I had mine a few years back. I think you'll find the users manual pretty helpful. Also, find instructional videos online. Like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHPZE3blbE8

The best tips I took advantage of:
1)always preheat before you roast. Use the p1 setting, 1/4 lb, run it for a couple minutes and then turn it off, then put your beans in and roast like normal. there is a certain time you can preheat and still turn it off...if you let it go too far, you have to let it finish the cycle. forgot what that time is...sorry!

2)don't use the factory cooling feature...gently remove the drum as soon as you hit cool, take the drum outside and shake it briskly until cool.

 

[CoffeeMac]

Thank you all for the great input.
Am I correct in thinking the new Behmor Plus allows more manual intervention with times and temp? I might be able to just watch the the roast and then go into manual mode if I wanted a darker roast.

What do you say?

 

[wwcove]

I don't have the latest model but did read you have greater control over roast plus I think it displays actual temperature readings in drum. I thought about getting the new control panel- but after looking at all the work to replace it decided the current panel is good enough.
I like my little Behmor but have not used it too much lately... You will like it. Let us know how it goes for you...

 

[Redswing]

Just from a quick skimming of some reviews and release info from the Behmor site, it seems like they definitely have improved on some of the most glaring limitations.
First of all, it seems like you are much more flexible to add time. On the old style, you simply couldn’t add much time, it wouldn’t let you. Now, it seems like you can control that more, more flexibility in how much time you add. But whatever the setup is, you learn to work with it. I would just weigh out 1/4lb and use the 1 pound setting if a particular bean needed a lot more time.
The other cool feature is giving you a temp readout. That makes taking notes and tracking your roasts way simpler.
They also added a control of the rotation of the drum, that one doesn’t sound important to me, though I know some people like it a lot. If they could add one important feature, it should be a design to cool the beans outside the roaster.

 

[CoffeeMac]

Yes from what I am reading online it seems that cooling the beans in the roaster isn't great. I guess if they added a rotating tray with a suction fan capability the cost will spiral into the high $000 and this is what's keeping this sample roaster within the affordable range. your contributions are much appreciated anyway. Wwcove I will try and keep the forum updated about my experiences with the Behmor.​

 

[cestrin]

I've had mine for a year+ now and love it. I usually do the 1# setting for 8 ounces and the roast finishes within ~12 - 14 minutes. If you want to put in 12 ounces, I suggesting tilting the roaster back. This keeps the bean mass closer to the heating element (almost on it versus being at 90 degrees to it) and allows for the roast to finish in about the same time as 8 ounces. I typically tilt the roaster back to it's normal position at the start of 1C to extend the time between 1C and 2C (which I really never hit).

 

[CoffeeMac]

Hi Everyone,
Finally got my Behmor 1600 Plus(??) well I am not clear whether it is the Plus or the original 1600. It has a rather large pvc handle bar which is different than the pics. It has the old manual which does not say Plus on, it does however have the weight buttons in grams rather than Lb and the vendor insists it is the Plus model. I don't want to start using it not knowing which machine I am using so I am turning to you guys. Any suggestions please?

Many thanks

 

[cestrin]

Pictures of your machine will help.