New Behmor 1600 plus roaster (with upgrade available for the 1600)

eggbert

http://coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/homeroast/666517

Lacehim

Finally the Behmor gets a little user control, apart from pushing a give me more time button. Sounds like lots of new features to play with and he's really looking after his customers by supplying a mod kit for existing owners.

Brett H

Where do we buy one in Aussie??

RichardM

No doubt it'll turn up soon... I might have to unmod mine so it doesn't run at 100% all the time and get the upgrade.

shape_shifter

I'll probably get the upgrade as well, might be fun to have some more control over roasts.

GaryatGala

Probably why Behmors have been out of stock since early last christmas so that research and testing can be done before final production. That,s my guess anyway.

Kelsey

on 1398838913:

Where do we buy one in Aussie??

BeanGreen do sell them, when they're in stock. http://beangreen.com.au/product-list.php?coffee_roasters-pg1-cid9.html

Lacehim

Everyone seems to be out of stock of these.  Also www.behmor.com.au would indicate that CS is the AU distributor?  Is that true?

Lwowiak

If you read the fine print on the website, the behmor.com.au website is owned by CS. The address and ph numbers are the same as the CS warehouse.

Lacehim

Yeah I realise that but are they the only au distributors?  I mean are the likes of beangreen getting supplied by them or direct with behmor US?

Lwowiak

I was led to believe that they were the sole importer of the behmor, and then distributed the product in Australia. When the behmor was first released, MG also sold it, then dropped the product. At first I think MG  also imported direct. Some politics happened and I believe they had to buy future product from CS. Obviously someone was able to stitch up the import rights, which makes sense to a manufacturer, as long as sales volumes are maintained. This is only speculation and if wrong, I am happy to be corrected. Please remember years back it was hard to buy small quantities of green beans, and there was a friendly co-op in the beginning that sourced and sold the product to a few hard core enthusiasts. Some politics occurred, people got upset and went their separate ways. Other entities evolved and then disappeared (The green guys). CS was purchased and run as a business, though the illusion of the initial friendly co-op was maintained for marketing purposes. Also, the illusion of good quality green beans being a rare commodity was exploited in the mode of sale. People rushed to buy beans and stockpiled vast quantities that took them ages to roast. The beans (in some cases) deteriorated. I am glad that businesses such as MG and BG were able to prosper and diversify, thus supporting and growing the hobby of home roasting. Selling 1kg lots with a discount for volume is a very fair strategy that appeals to people starting out. The current range of product is excellent.

Rider

Ooh.... This is EXCITING!!!!!!!!  ^-^ Had 2 Behmors, sold one, set the other one on fire....... An all singing, all dancing version would be brilliant........

Lacehim

Does it come with a free fire extinguisher?  :pan

eggbert

Talking of which... roast time

Moon

on 1398927007:

Ooh.... This is EXCITING!!!!!!!!  ^-^ Had 2 Behmors, sold one, set the other one on fire.......

Deliberate or accidental?

Brett H

Lwowiak, thank you of your post. I too am glad that MG and BG exist!  When my Behmor failed I sent it back to my retailer who provided very, very fast service and quality of work that has seen it last for many subsequent years.  That retailer provided a first-class after-sales service and I would recommend them to any and all who ask.  ...... Yep, you guessed it.... It was Ministry of a Grounds!

shape_shifter

I refuse to get into the politics of CS.  All my dealings with them have been fine, when things went wrong with the Behmor, he more than made up for the situation we thought was wrong, yes I will take a stand in a way with certain people involved in the forum but other than that I'm more interested in giving people as much information and opinion as possible and that's the reason why I still post there. Buying beans though, yep love the 1kg bags from BG and MG  :thumb:

Lacehim

on 1398951336:

I refuse to get into the politics of CS.  All my dealings with them have been fine, when things went wrong with the Behmor, he more than made up for the situation we thought was wrong, yes I will take a stand in a way with certain people involved in the forum but other than that I'm more interested in giving people as much information and opinion as possible and that's the reason why I still post there. Buying beans though, yep love the 1kg bags from BG and MG  :thumb:

I was just curious as to who the Australia distributor is and if they are a sole distributor.  It appears that it's CS/Andy.  Surely someone can email him for some specific info about the new model and it's availability?  Or is that too easy?

Rider

Hey guys, As to the fire question, accidental...... The Behmors had been living on the bottom level of my roasting trolley as I had needed larger capacity for oders and had reverted to the Corretto..... Sold one Behmor to Hiphipharrar and then a while ago pulled the other one out to do some roasts. What I didn't realise (or think about) was that while living below an active open roaster, a load of chaff, dust and whatever else was falling into the vents of the Behmor and clogging the filters, air vents etc etc..... Did I think one roast, then the second one things went a bit awry.... Slowing, error codes, smoke and I mean loads of smoke, then whoof!!! Fire in the cage. Quite amazing. Unplugged it and thought well, that things fruited, and watched what happened. Coffee beans that catch on fire and then left to smoulder resemble tiny heat beads  :D Left it overnight in the garage to finish smouldering and then threw the whole thing in the bin. Didn't even take the cage out to empty the rubbish from it. Ahhh well........... Excited about a new manual model as since our house move a Behmor would be a better option for my own roasts..

hiphipharar

on 1399018410:

Sold one Behmor to Hiphipharrar

..and it's still going strong. It has now become my preferred roaster as I'm only roasting for myself now and the KKTO has been producing less than optimum results for the last 6 months (probably a dodgy TO). I'm pretty happy with the output of the Behmor but still learning how to balance batch size and programming. The manual over ride and temp measurement are nice enhancements but it would be good to be able to create and save programs.

Brett H

Funny, my preferred method is the KKTO and the Behmor sits on the bottom of my roast trolley and rarely gets used! 

Rider

Watch out if crap falls in it Brett H...... Fire on the way......

Brett H

on 1399031917:

Watch out if crap falls in it Brett H...... Fire on the way......

Thanks mate.  Will do!  I have noticed how dirty it can get and reckon there's a spider or two in residence so will give it all a good clean before the next use.  Turbo ovens tend to last me 12.000001 months before they loose their mojo and it's when this happens I'm grateful for the extra roaster.

RichardM

In general, fires in the Behmor are harmless as long as you close the door. Attached to the right hand side, in line with the power is a thermal fuse, which blows at 192 degrees C (it is wrapped in fibreglass insulation to slow the blow). This seems low considering the roast chamber often gets to 240 in my roaster. I've found that if the temp hits about 255 in the roast chamber, that fuse blows (I have been through three of them). Each time it has blown, the roast has been on the brink of fire, but not quite there (I was experimenting with high drop temps after a minor modification to allow that). As long as you cut the power, the airflow will die off, and the fire will burn out. For reference, this is the exact fuse http://australia.rs-online.com/web/p/non-resettable-thermal-fuses/1769328/ - I have a stockpile now. If you do need to replace it, you can't solder it, for obvious reasons. You need to use a crimp connector (sold as "Butt connectors", but plastic coated. You can just burn the plastic off first and they work well).

Brett H

on 1399155592:

In general, fires in the Behmor are harmless as long as you close the door. Attached to the right hand side, in line with the power is a thermal fuse, which blows at 192 degrees C (it is wrapped in fibreglass insulation to slow the blow). This seems low considering the roast chamber often gets to 240 in my roaster. I've found that if the temp hits about 255 in the roast chamber, that fuse blows (I have been through three of them). Each time it has blown, the roast has been on the brink of fire, but not quite there (I was experimenting with high drop temps after a minor modification to allow that). As long as you cut the power, the airflow will die off, and the fire will burn out. For reference, this is the exact fuse http://australia.rs-online.com/web/p/non-resettable-thermal-fuses/1769328/ - I have a stockpile now. If you do need to replace it, you can't solder it, for obvious reasons. You need to use a crimp connector (sold as "Butt connectors", but plastic coated. You can just burn the plastic off first and they work well).

Brilliant!!  Thanks mate.  I've had a fire but it didn't blow the fuse.  It wasn't much of a fire... Chaff from memory.

Rider

on 1399177286:

Brilliant!!  Thanks mate.  I've had a fire but it didn't blow the fuse.  It wasn't much of a fire... Chaff from memory.

Just chaff??? C'mon, you're not trying hard enough....  :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:

Rider

BUMP TIME!!!!!! The new Behmor 1600 Plus is available and I ordered one from Brendan about 5 minutes ago. As a Behmor veteran (I owned 2 of them, number 1 in the country and set fire to one of them :rofl:) I'm pretty keen to try the semi manual variable option for small batch roasting. I also think it will be a 'reasonable' profiling tool. Anyhoos, should be here in a few days/weeks (we live in the boonies as far as some courier companies believe...... we are in the middle of wine country ffs.....) and after a little play I hope to post something up here for everyone about how it performs. An excited Rider......

eggbert

Has it arrived yet Rider, and what do you think? Is it worth upgrading the panel (if anywhere in Aus offers just that) ?

lukemc

I've got a plus and previously had a normal one, I find the plus a lot better, you can drag out the time between first and second crack in a more repeatable manner than before (when you had to open the door a crack to reduce heat). Plus you can theoretically roast as long as you want by extending the time with the c button indefinitely.

Rider

Hi guys, Sorry been a bit slack about reporting back. Done 4 roasts in the new one and the machine is a terrific improvement on the original. Having said that there is a variable that I have to also consider.... We have moved house since I was using the old Behmor and I think we have a better electricity supply where we are now and we all know that the Behmor is susceptible to electricity drops.... First roast was a blend of some Central and South American stuff that I had small quantities of lying around, basically a test roast. 330gm total and set the machine on 400g (1 lb), P2, B to get 20 minutes on the clock. Hit start and immediately went P5 to get into manual mode on full power. Got to first crack at 11.46 and switched to P3 50% power. A good 5 minutes between 1st and second then hit cool after 25 seconds of second crack. Slightly darker than I had hoped for but was really impressed with the numbers. Next roast threw 360g at it and did the same. Longer to first crack, about 13:15. Left it on full power a little longer into first crack and then went 50% again. Shortened time between 1st and second, around 3:45 and hit cool right on second crack. Next two roasts have been trying to fine tune the advent of both first and second, playing around with bean weight, timing of power down and timing of cool hit, just getting a feel for what's going on but also getting some great numbers and results. So, like lukemc I reckon the Plus is a brilliant step up from the original. Basically I am always in manual mode and as said you can get repeatability of results as well as being able to control the time to 1st and gap to 2nd quite easily. Factoring in that it is winter, living in the Hunter Valley vineyards (gets bloody cold here), roasting late afternoon/early evening and still able to push 350 grams quite successfully with good numbers. Come summer I reckon I may be able to stretch this thing over 400 grams but need the days to warm up to find out. Loving the machine for the amount needed for home use, still using the Corretto for larger amounts like bags for sale in the winery etc. If you want a no fuss, simple and now manually controllable device for small amounts (i.e. home use) then this is the machine. And eggbert yes the upgrade is the way to go if you have a Behmor. A vibrant chat among people on the other site about the upgrade and apparently a pretty straight forward task. Rider

Brett H

Brilliant write-up mate.  My old Behmor still works but I don't reckon its worth the upgrade (to many miles on the clock).  When it dies one of these as a second toaster is tempting!!