For those of you who open the door of the Behmor during first first crack to extend the roast, I have. Area questions.
At what point, and for how long do you open the door? How far do you open it?
I've been trying to extend first crack on some Africans using P3, but the last few have ended in what I believe is a stalled roast. Flat, bready flavor with a lot of chaffe still attached to the bean. What I do is crack open the door once first crack gets rolling and leave it cracked for 30 seconds. Once 1st has slowed to a minimum or stopped, I hit cool to try and get a City to City+ roast. However during the cooling cycle I've been noticing a few snaps of first crack seeming to start up again, making me think the roast stalled.
Any suggestions? I know that P2 does this automatically, but I'm trying to get this to work with P3.
I don't know that I'd try it with P3, due to the fact that you're already slowing down the front end of the roast and slowing down the back end of the roast as well could very easily lead to stalled or baked roasts.
If you do feel compelled to try it with P3, I'd say try dropping the load size by 10-15 percent.
I'd also sacrifice a roast by taking it all the way to 2nd and timing it both from the start of 1st and from when 1st stops, then trying to find the right spot in there to go to cooling mode.
P3 (in my experience) doesn't have enough energy to do the door opening trick. But, that's for me, others probably have done it with success.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
This post and GDub have it right, IMO. This technique (which I use) is, IMO best when utilized on a P1/A setting.
For most Centrals, I try to anticipate 1st. Listen closely, you'll hear a burbling sound, as if gas is being expelled (like "puh") After hearing those, I open the door halfway for 3 counts (1 mosquito, 2 mosquito, etc), then wait for the very 1st few pops of 1st, and open again halfway, for about 6 counts, and close. I then open the door again as 1st crack subsides, again for 6 counts. For Ethiopians/and some other Africans, I find it best to experiment a bit. Usually, I will open the door again for a few counts about a minute after 1st crack ceases.
In all cases, when I hit cool, I wait a few seconds to allow the chaff to settle in the chaff tray, as the faster fan sped on cool down can scatter the chaff a wee bit. I then open the door, remove the chaff tray carefully(!) and place my small fan in front of the drum. This last step is really not necessary per se, but it also helps to cool down the roaster a bit.
I make sure that after every 3rd cleaning, I remove the back and check for chaff.
So far, I have over 400 roasts on my 1600, and 200 on another.
Evan, just in case you haven't done this, if you have a kil-o-watt device, see what your starting voltage is. I'm lucky to have 121 most times, except during heat waves/high electric usage.
I roast 13 oz with the P1 - 1# - B profile, and when 1st crack begins in earnest, I open the door all the way for 1 minute. I've been doing this for quite a while, and it stretches 2nd crack to about 4 minutes after 1st crack has begun.
Evan, like others said, I don't know that I'd do this with P3.
As you've noticed you're getting a relatively wide variety of techniques here. Partly is there's a level of variables, but two separate techniques may yield the same roast times. I'd just like to throw this out there; while opening the door will extend the roast, I have also found that it becomes less predictable.
And on the conversation of door opening, the best thing I started doing for my roasts was opening the door at the cool cycle (not immediately as you don't want a chaff fire). That slow cool down was continuing to bake the beans.
And on the conversation of door opening, the best thing I started doing for my roasts was opening the door at the cool cycle (not immediately as you don't want a chaff fire). That slow cool down was continuing to bake the beans.
As Joe mentions in the manual, try to anticipate where you want to be, and (my advice) allow the first 30 seconds of cool down to "coast" your roast to the place you want.
I've felt beans roasted on a 60k roaster after the cooling cycle, and they were still slightly warm.
Rob, absolutely you need to forward think the roast. My issue with the slow cool down isn't that the beans will coast, but I find that they'll actually "bake" for some time. Jump up that cool down will cool the beans more quickly at stop the roast versus a slow baking.
Rob, absolutely you need to forward think the roast. My issue with the slow cool down isn't that the beans will coast, but I find that they'll actually "bake" for some time. Jump up that cool down will cool the beans more quickly at stop the roast versus a slow baking.
Well, respectfully, I'm not quite sure I agree regarding "baking" the roast. My c+ roasts can curl your eyebrows the first 2 days..not grassy, just the acidity.
Why not go to Walmart/Target, etc, and spend $15 and get a 3 speed stationary fan. I put a heavy glove under the door to support the door hinges, even though the fan only weighs about 4 lbs. In start out on high speed for 1 minute, then reduce speed for 3 more minutes. Just before I turn on the fan, I remove the chaff try, and using the provided brush, I sweep up any extraneous chaff.
I've only started doing this cause our garage is so hot in the summer...measure 104 during our heat wave. 7 months a year, I don't need the fan, though I like it aids in cool the roaster quicker.
You can go ahead and be wrong if you like; don't bother me none.
Hey I kid, I kid :D
I won't argue with your results only attest to my own.
IMAWriter Said:
Why not go to Walmart/Target, etc, and spend $15 and get a 3 speed stationary fan. I put a heavy glove under the door to support the door hinges, even though the fan only weighs about 4 lbs. In start out on high speed for 1 minute, then reduce speed for 3 more minutes. Just before I turn on the fan, I remove the chaff try, and using the provided brush, I sweep up any extraneous chaff.
Not sure I follow. You're saying at cool down you do this? I assume you're having the cooling cycle going at the same time? How far into the cooling cycle do you do this? And I guess I'm also not following as you're speeding up the cooling down of the beans correct? That was my suggestion to begin with; open the door (I also remove the chaff tray).
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 