Ian Moderator Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1,404 Location: England
Espresso: Euro2000,Rancilio Grinder: Mazzer,La Cimbali Vac Pot: Cona-->CraigA Drip: Belgique for emergencies Roaster: Primas with variac
Posted Fri Jun 1, 2012, 12:35am Subject: Behmor Fire
So, this is the third fire I’ve had with the Behmor. The first two had exactly the same cause – poor welds on the drum catch failed allowing the drum to slew off its axis.
The cause of the third fire is unknown. I have the roaster set up in an old chicken house that is now used as a shed and it is visible from the back of my house and I usually observe the roast from there or the garden depending on the weather.
6-7 minutes into the roast and there was smoke issuing from the shed, visible flames in the roaster so opened the door with a short stick at arms length.(I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re not prepared) The beans were well alight, so on with the welding gloves and removed the drum to the bottom of the garden.
After cooling, the roaster is dead - Nothing on the display and no response from the buttons.
Current options seem to be:
a) Try and repair the roaster
b) List it on ebay as it is.
c) Convert it to manual operation with maybe a PID or variable transformer controlling the heating elements
d) Fill it with concrete and use it as a boat anchor
Posted Fri Jun 1, 2012, 6:04am Subject: Re: Behmor Fire
Hi Ian,
I think you can send it back if it's within the 2 years warranty? Repair/replacement will be 50% the price of a new one... Ask the Behmor guy :)
I had one fire in mine, and it started as a chaff fire that I didn't notice; and for some reason there was a chain reaction and everything burned. Luckily, the Behmor still runs fine.
Otherwise,
d) Fill it with concrete and use it as a boat anchor
Posted Fri Jun 1, 2012, 10:26am Subject: Re: Behmor Fire
Ian Said:
So, this is the third fire I’ve had with the Behmor. The first two had exactly the same cause – poor welds on the drum catch failed allowing the drum to slew off its axis.
The cause of the third fire is unknown. I have the roaster set up in an old chicken house that is now used as a shed and it is visible from the back of my house and I usually observe the roast from there or the garden depending on the weather.
6-7 minutes into the roast and there was smoke issuing from the shed, visible flames in the roaster so opened the door with a short stick at arms length.(I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re not prepared) The beans were well alight, so on with the welding gloves and removed the drum to the bottom of the garden.
After cooling, the roaster is dead - Nothing on the display and no response from the buttons.
Current options seem to be:
a) Try and repair the roaster
b) List it on ebay as it is.
c) Convert it to manual operation with maybe a PID or variable transformer controlling the heating elements
d) Fill it with concrete and use it as a boat anchor
Just my packrat tendencies, but I'd avoid d). Depends on how bad the board has cooked, whether the elements have cracked, etc., but nearly anything can be rebuilt...
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Not sure it would ever fly with Joe's attorneys but it was an old chicken coop,lol.
I had a fire while standing in front of my Behmor and while it did keep the fire from getting worse the results where the same, dead roaster. This is a real issue and something that never got answered satisfactory for me since neither of my fires where operator errors (ie roasting beyond second crack) I stopped using the Behmor and have not had a fire since. The Behmor is a plug and play and this forum is full of reports of fires, given none have been serious enough to go beyond the roaster thankfully, but how much user error can there be with a plug and play when following the guidelines? For me it is just unacceptable, at least some changes where made and I have seen far few reports of any fires here.
Ok a BiG disclaimer... Never leave your coffee roaster unattended...crap happens even when it shouldn't.
sea221 Senior Member Joined: 28 Apr 2007 Posts: 94 Location: Arizona Expertise: I live coffee
Grinder: Baratza Virtuoso Drip: French Press/cuisinart drip Roaster: SC/TO and Drum roaster
Posted Fri Jun 1, 2012, 3:26pm Subject: Re: Behmor Fire
I think for those that prefer to leave any kind of coffee roaster unattended maybe consider a Halon fire suppression system lol. Joe would be very kind to rebuid your roaster for half price! if he does.
sea221 Senior Member Joined: 28 Apr 2007 Posts: 94 Location: Arizona Expertise: I live coffee
Grinder: Baratza Virtuoso Drip: French Press/cuisinart drip Roaster: SC/TO and Drum roaster
Posted Fri Jun 1, 2012, 3:38pm Subject: Re: Behmor Fire
sea221 Said:
I think for those that prefer to leave any kind of coffee roaster unattended maybe consider a Halon fire suppression system lol. Joe would be very kind to rebuid your roaster for half price! if he does.
I wonder if keeping it clean and not let oils to build would help in reducing fire risk. Also isn't there a over temp circuit designed into the system. I don't have a Behmor roaster so I don't know a hole lot about them other then I do know basic roasting practices.
Posted Sat Jun 2, 2012, 9:04am Subject: Re: Behmor Fire
Ian Said:
So, this is the third fire I’ve had with the Behmor. The first two had exactly the same cause – poor welds on the drum catch failed allowing the drum to slew off its axis.
You didn't say what the bean load was and what roast settings were used. Seems like it would have to be a small charge to catch fire after 6 minutes if the roaster were working correctly. Perhaps the drum stopped turning but if that were the case you would have noticed it if you were properly monitoring the roast.
You really have to be next to the roaster and WATCH what is happening to the beans as the roast progresses. Doing it this way allows the person roasting to understand if the roast is progressing too fast or going too dark too fast. It also allows the person roasting to identify any mechanical/electrical problems early before they get out of hand and turn off/unplug the machine. The cause here is unknown because you were not paying attention to the roast.
Opening the door when you see flames is a bad idea as it provides fuel to sustain any fire that has started...with the door closed and the machine off the fire should consume the oxygen in the chamber and go out.
Posted Sat Jun 2, 2012, 8:46pm Subject: Re: Behmor Fire
Ian, considering your post seriously:
I wonder if you were close enough to see/hear that the drum was rotating normally.
I wonder if it was the higher UK voltage and insufficient clearance (somewhere) that arced over and fried the control circuit.
If the fire occurred 5-6-7 minutes into the roast it would be most likely that the motor stopped, for some unknown reason. It might have even been a gear-train failure.
I can understand why you might want to find a different brand of roaster. Yet, this news forum is full of posts extolling the virtues of the Behmor roaster and very few about concerns that Joe could not easily fix. It is a competent roaster at a good price-point.
Ian Moderator Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1,404 Location: England
Espresso: Euro2000,Rancilio Grinder: Mazzer,La Cimbali Vac Pot: Cona-->CraigA Drip: Belgique for emergencies Roaster: Primas with variac
Posted Thu Jun 7, 2012, 1:20am Subject: Re: Behmor Fire
I think you're generally right, if someone has never roasted before it is probably a good introduction but for anybody who has roasted before it can be a frustrating machine.
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