javablood45 Senior Member Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 13 Location: ny Expertise: I live coffee
Grinder: mr.coffe burr grinder Drip: Mr. coffee Roaster: sr-500
Posted Tue Aug 21, 2012, 3:47pm Subject: need an upgrade...please help!
hello,i'm new to the forum. I tried sweet maria's forum but to no avail. i need help choosing a roaster and have to many questions. I recently purchased an freshroast sr500 two months ago, but back to back roasting at 10lbs/week has took it's toll on the heating element. I can still get a decent roast but it won't last for much longer. Other than sending it back under warranty, i've been pondering a behmor1600. I like the 1 lb chamber but don't like that you can't see the roast develop. I've read all the jargon and mixed reviews, but i have to find something that can handle my workload. I've just started selling my coffee but i'm still taking orders and if i don't have a roaster, i'm dead in the water. Any 1600 owners out there that can testify? I love my sr500 but it can't keep up with my volume. ANy other roasters out there that can produce 8-10 lbs aweek, i'd love to hear about them. Thanks
rayto Senior Member Joined: 21 Feb 2010 Posts: 30 Location: CA USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic Grinder: Vario Vac Pot: Yama 8 cup/Yama 5 cup table Drip: Tecnivorm Roaster: Behmor, Hottop
Posted Tue Aug 21, 2012, 4:10pm Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
You can not do back to back roasts with Behmor or a Hottop. 8-10 lbs a week is to much for a HOME roaster. There is a 1 pound Diedrich roaster on Ebay. I have over 500 roasts on my Behmor but thats about 4 years of use
Posted Tue Aug 21, 2012, 4:21pm Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
I've been roasting a couple of pounds a week on a Behmor 1600 for several years now. I suppose you could do 10 lbs a week on a Behmor, but it would be pushing the capacity of any non-commercial (read "home") roaster to do that week in and week out, plus it gives you no room to grow, since you'd be pretty much starting at the top capacity of the roaster. I would look into a used sample 1 kg sample roaster to cover the volume you're looking to roast weekly. It is going to run you $3-4K, probably, but you won't have to upgrade immediately if your volume of coffee goes up more than 50%
I'm not sure where you got the idea that you can't see the roast develop on a Behmor, though. As long as you keep the front window clean, you can see roast development just fine.
javablood45 Senior Member Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 13 Location: ny Expertise: I live coffee
Grinder: mr.coffe burr grinder Drip: Mr. coffee Roaster: sr-500
Posted Tue Aug 21, 2012, 7:18pm Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
thanks for all the info, the several pounds a week may be more reasonable, i could do that. How do the roasts come out of the 1600? even? Also, what's the costumization of the roast like, temp settings, fan control? Are you confimed by the preset values, or is there enough varying degree, that you can really 'fine tune' a roast to desired level?
IMAWriter Senior Member Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 5,483 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Nothing at the moment Grinder: Vario-W,Preciso-Esatto/KyM... Vac Pot: Adcraft SS, Yama 8 cup Drip: Brazen.Chemex, Hario, Clever... Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Tue Aug 21, 2012, 9:47pm Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
I've roasted 2-3 lbs a week in my 1600 for over 3 years, and in another from the time I beta tested it for Joe.
As was mentioned, as hardy as is the Behmor, 8-10 lbs a week would be possible, but perhaps not OPTIMAL, though there are several commercial roasting companies that started their businesses with 3-4 Behmors. I find my sweet spot at about 13oz per roast on average, though i've successfully done a full lb. I just like my city + roasts starting at 13-14oz by weight depending on the bean, of course.
Certainly, 4 roasts per day, say 14oz each=about 48oz, as you lose about 17% on average weight due to loss of bean moisture during the roasting process. (when stopping the roast before 2nd crack.)
So, you'd have to roast 5 days a week. Remember, the Behmor works best when given maybe an hour between roasts. And run the cleaning cycle after 5-6 roasts. It's simple, just a 12 minute cycle with no beans. Go to the Behmor website for all the info.
Posted Wed Aug 22, 2012, 4:36am Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
javablood45 Said:
thanks for all the info, the several pounds a week may be more reasonable, i could do that. How do the roasts come out of the 1600? even? Also, what's the costumization of the roast like, temp settings, fan control? Are you confimed by the preset values, or is there enough varying degree, that you can really 'fine tune' a roast to desired level?
In my experience, the roasts in the Behmor are not extremely even. There is some variation in the roast, although it hasn't led to a bad cup. This might be because I roast no more than 10oz at a time right now, but this gives me more control.
Speaking of customization, the Behmor is fairly limited. There are 5 power control curves, all presets. About the only thing you really have control over is time of the roast, and even that is limited to a max amount. You also have control over the amount of beans, less weight means more range of the roast. The Behmor is designed to make it really hard to set your batch on fire, so it sets hard limits on batch parameters. You can still set your beans on fire if you really try :-D but I hear this voids your warranty because you have to break the rules to do so. Also, one slip-up can prevent your batch from reaching a good roast level-- for example when you accidentally turn the roaster off instead of switching on the light, then the unit is too hot to "restart" and must go through the cooling cycle (oops my own experience is showing here).
It's a limited appliance, but most people can stay within those limits.
hankua Senior Member Joined: 29 Aug 2009 Posts: 204 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Salvatore One Black Grinder: Pharos,Rossi RR45OD, Lido,... Drip: CCD Roaster: Yang-Chia 800n
Posted Wed Aug 22, 2012, 7:56am Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
A new Behmor can roast a 1lb batches and would get you by for awhile. But you really need to plan on the next step at the same time. A grill roaster is the least expensive upgrade, then a used Sonofresco or Torrefattore. Both the Sono. and Torre. come up for sale on CL and EBay. The Torrefattore has a chaff collector and vent, the vent being really important if your doing a lot of roasting.
Posted Wed Aug 22, 2012, 8:54am Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
I've found my Behmor roasts to be very even and easily repeatable. Yes, you don't have the profiling tools that you might want if you're an inveterate tweaker, but there are workarounds (eg. opening the door for a bit during first crack to stretch out the roast a little) that add a modicum of impromptu additional "profiling".
As much as I love the idea of the added programmability and profiling of, say, a HotTop, If I'm spending a grand, I'll start saving just a little more and look for a used small shop roaster like the Sonofresco mentioned above.
javablood45 Senior Member Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 13 Location: ny Expertise: I live coffee
Grinder: mr.coffe burr grinder Drip: Mr. coffee Roaster: sr-500
Posted Wed Aug 22, 2012, 5:36pm Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
looking deeply into a couple of behmors..started looking at toper and sonofrescos. Whats the consensus about natural gas, versus gas powered? All that really scares me right now, and i'd love to stay electric, but weighing my options. I kinda jumped into roasting head first without looking. Started with two presto air poppers which i alternated roasts with. Without actually seeing the beans, i learned all about when and where first and second crack came into being. Getting only about 1/2 cup batches and losing some beans in the process, i did my research and upgraded into a sr500. It's a great little machine and i'm very sad that mine is on it's way out. I've pushed it to about 80+ roasts in less than 2 months. I still get a solid med roast at 6 mins but anything darker and i have to reset the machine for another 6 mins ( while only getting dark roast at around 5mins in it's prime). I've only been in this for about 3months and already my investment has exceeded $600, i know it's just going to get higher if i want to reach my goals of 8-10 lbs a week. Right now i have about 20 lbs of beans and no roaster so it pretty much blows. I still have my air poppers but i don't want to go back. DO they even make commercial electrics? If so, where can i start looking. My quest is to deliver good coffee to the masses and maybe drink some fine bean water in the process. I began my addiction in high school playing chess with pot after pot of brew. Then i became a barista at 19 and soaked up coffee knowledge like a sponge. The processes, the drinks, the ambiance, i was hooked. At my worst i downed 8 shots of espresso in 15 seconds, i couldn't stop shaking till i threw up. People have told me i drink to much coffee...i'm up to about 3 pots a day, but there's worse out there. One day i WILL have my own shop, but until then i just want to immerse myself in all things coffee. My wife an i will tour some plantations in puerto rico next year for our honeymoon, that'll be awesome. Here's to years of happy drinking! To all the coffee heads out there, drink deep and enjoy, may the crop never vanish.
Posted Wed Aug 22, 2012, 7:06pm Subject: Re: need an upgrade...please help!
I would suggest that you go work for one of the good roasters in NY and learn some of the trade from the other end before jumping into trying to be a small scale commercial roaster. Meanwhile, you can be saving for a larger roaster that will actually do proper profiling.
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