...Or Behmor???

[Niko]

I vote for #2.

[bbqnut]

Even though the HT seems bigger (and maybe the overall size is), the Behmor can do 16 ounces, whereas the Hottop user typically does about 10 ounces or less, as recommended.

But yes, a round chamber seems more efficient.

[chas]

I'm lucky to get beyond cinnamon roast when I try a full pound in mine.

[Niko]

I'm lucky to get beyond cinnamon roast when I try a full pound in mine.

Really??! :?

I can get a bag of charcoal on mine if I'm not careful.
...must be the overpriced California voltage I'm paying for

[chas]

What profile do you use?

[Niko]

After playing around with every profile, the best one for me lately has been the straight P1 - it gets right to the point of igniting things really well

You were right in saying that the Behmor cracks were pretty weak, so I tried the P1 and it worked so well for some stubborn beans and I never looked back.
I almost scorched a pound of Aussie earlier this evening in about 18.5 minutes.

[chas]

I tried P1 on the Behmor tonight and got a nice 1st crack. During 1st crack I noticed that the voltage was only 112V. I tried to boost it up a bit on the Variac and the fuse immediately blew. So I am now surfing eBay for the higher capacity model.

On a higher note. I had a great tech support experience with Joe at Behmor. He gave me the definitive way to tell the normal grid from the small grid drum. The normal drum has 4.9 grids per inch. The small grid drum has 5.6 grids per inch. Both of my drums are 4.9 grids per inch which validates what I was 99.9% sure of. As it turns out he has one left until the next shipment arrives in 5 weeks and he is shipping it to me.

[chas]

The small grid Behmor drum arrived yesterday. It is noticeably smaller than the original - 54 grid squares across versus 48. That's not a lot but the difference is easily discernible without breaking out the laser micrometer!

Now I can go back to roasting my smaller beans without 1/3 cup ending up in the bottom. I also expect to soon receive a Used 20A Variac purchased on Ebay last week. I am anxious to see what the Behmor can do with that. I couldn't get through a roast with the old small Variac without blowing a fuse about 15-16 minutes into the roast.

[chas]

I noticed recently that the smoke from my Behmor had drastically increased and realized the afterburner wasn't coming on. I e-mailed Joe and he quickly shipped me a free replacement part and a spare.

I'm not sure the rest will be as easy but the afterburner element and the light bulb are easy to replace.

In checking the original afterburner element the heat coil wire was disconnected right where it entered a crimp connector. Not sure if it melted or if it just wasn't well crimped to begin with. Any any rate Joe's customer service has been first rate so far.

[Niko]

That's nice to hear about Joe's service

I'll have to keep an eye on mine since I've noticed a bit of smoke the last few roasts. It's still nothing compared to the Hottop for smoke.

[ebprod]

I had the same thing happen to mine- wire broke in the same place. I was sent a replacement part by two-day DHL. Putting in the new part took 5 minutes.

-Joe

I noticed recently that the smoke from my Behmor had drastically increased and realized the afterburner wasn't coming on. I e-mailed Joe and he quickly shipped me a free replacement part and a spare.

I'm not sure the rest will be as easy but the afterburner element and the light bulb are easy to replace.

In checking the original afterburner element the heat coil wire was disconnected right where it entered a crimp connector. Not sure if it melted or if it just wasn't well crimped to begin with. Any any rate Joe's customer service has been first rate so far.

[chas]

When I recently ordered the Professional Barista's Handbook from Barrington Roasters, I decided to order some of their espresso roast (didn't like it) but it was enough with what I already had roasted that I hadn't used my Behmor in a couple of weeks.

I was only 30 seconds in last Saturday when the roaster shut off with ERR6. Turns out that means the drum isn't turning. I contacted tech support and they dropped shipped me a new unit. There was no discussion of whether I'm supposed to send back the dead unit or keep it and use it for spare parts! I guess I'll find out when it arrives. Great customer service so far. I just hope I stop needing it so often!

[Niko]

I saw your post on another thread about the Behmor.
Sorry to hear it got dumped after the last fire.
An update on mine:
Every since I moved, I haven't been able to get a very dark roast either now
The voltage was definitely juicier in the Bay Area home, in fact I had to dial it down for every roaster! Now I'm cranking the VARIAC up several volts (the opposite problem). Me thinks it has to do with the size of the home since the breakers are closer in the Hobbit house I lived in.
I had a nice Behmor fire myself I was roasting a full pound of Idido Misty Valley and the chaff ignited like a wild fire, I mean there were flames! I can't remember what I did...all I remember was that the beans came out pretty good even though the garage almost caught on fire
Anyways, no more one pound batches of Idido Misty Valley for Mr. Behmor.
I cleaned out the roaster after the fire and all is well again. I think I just did batches #56 and 57 the other night.
One thing I noticed about the Behmor is that it's no longer a 1 pound roaster for me, it's nice for 300-340 grams for espresso.

Well looky there
It's Behmor season already.
Time to bust out 50lbs of green and start thinning the herd for the holiday givaway!!

[Niko]

My Behmor caught on fire 2 nights ago.
It was a gnarly chaff fire that had flames and everything, I had to open the doors (in the garage) and got the heat gloves on (just in case) and waited for the flames to die down. The smoke was hellacious and it finally calmed down after a couple of minutes. It almost came to the point of unplugging the roaster and walking out into the backyard and let the fire finish it off but instead it finished off its cooling cycle.
The beans looked good and there was hardly any chaff left since it burned up.
Time to clean out the Behmor for the next roast
This is the 2nd or 3rd fire in the Behmor (I lost count), it takes a burnin' but keeps on tickin'
I still like this roaster.
Moral of the story is never leave your roaster unattended and be careful of super chaffy beans in the Behmor, do not use more than 350g's of this type.

[zoey]

Time to get a fire extinguisher for the garage

I almost burned up the iRoar about a month ago. I had been roasting decaf, which produces hardly any chaff. Hence, I only cleaned the chaff catch about once a month.

I switched to regular beans and forgot how much chaff is produced.....that's until I walked back into the garage during a roast to find smoke billowing from the top of the machine. Thank God it hadn't caught fire. Lesson learned.

[JohnB]

So I take it this is why we have to dump the chaff tray on the Hottop before it will turn on again?? Sounds like roasting in a 250 year old wooden home might not be the best idea.

[Endo]

A tip that Joe Behmor told me....clean the inside with SImple Green. Works well.

[Niko]

So I take it this is why we have to dump the chaff tray on the Hottop before it will turn on again?? Sounds like roasting in a 250 year old wooden home might not be the best idea.

No, definitely not a good thing

The Hottop isn't as prone to chaff fires as the Behmor but still is extremely dangerous.
I'm beginning to think a fire extinguisher is a good idea for the garage but I'm always on standby with the heat gloves to grab any burning roaster and toss it outside on the pavement.
What a nice video that would make but I can only do it once

[JohnB]

The Hottop isn't as prone to chaff fires as the Behmor but still is extremely dangerous.
I'm beginning to think a fire extinguisher is a good idea for the garage but I'm always on standby with the heat gloves to grab any burning roaster and toss it outside on the pavement.
:

Option A/ Toss burning $920 roaster out onto pavement & watch smashed roaster turn to scrap

Option B/ Have fire extinguisher standing by & spray burning $920 roaster if necessary

Tough call but I think Option B sounds more appealing.

[Niko]

Option A/ Toss burning $920 roaster out onto pavement & watch smashed roaster turn to scrap

Option B/ Have fire extinguisher standing by & spray burning $920 roaster if necessary

Tough call but I think Option B sounds more appealing.

Sorry I wasn't clear...
I meant watch the Behmor Burn Video
There's no way I'm watching a Hottop P burn, hell no, I'd rather dive onto the burning roaster to snuff out the flames