Behmore 1600 - so good, it does not need an infomercial.
Positive Product Points
Does what it is supposed to do and does it well. Multiple bean loads (quarter, half and full-pound) "Smokeless"
Negative Product Points
Basic setting designed for City Roast, should have Full City built-in (understand that was scheduled to be implemented). Needs a brighter interior light that would enable you to see the beans. May get a chaff fire - see my edit
Detailed Commentary
My only other roaster (mentioned above) is very good and I still use it when I want to "stagger" roast.
Owning up: I know Joe personally and worked on the unit's documentation in exchange for a unit.
The Behmor 1600 (sorry - being interrupted by a cold wet nose telling me that Mia wants to be scratched behind her ears) gives me far more flexibility than before. While it is a bit harder to hear the second crack, I am still able to do that. A brighter light would be beneficial as I prefer to both see and hear what is going on.
I mostly roast outdoors so the smokeless part will only be relevant during the coldest months here in San Diego. I did try one roast indoors when first using the unit and it did not set off my smoke alarms about 10 feet away. I also did a "double" roast running the beans to the very start of first crack, dumping the unit into immediate cool and then re-roasting the beans a second time to second crack. A lot of friends who drink what I roast indicated they liked this coffee better than other roasts of the same bean. I did not tell them anything about it prior to their sampling the coffee. Something you should experiment with for your roasting quiver.
Buy again? Well, the unit was my reward for working with Joe on the unit's documentation, but, YES.
EDIT: The last time I used the Behmor 1600, I ended up with a chaff fire on the front screen. I simply opened the door and blew it out. This was not a split roast, so this happened during a normal run with the unit. I think some chaff may have ignited near the heating lamps and then blew into a collection of chaff on the screen brace and ignited. I recommend keeping an extra eye out if your beans generate a lot of chaff.
Buying Experience
The unit was paid for by my editing and proofing of the unit's documentation.
Three Month Followup
Still roasting away and doing it well.
The only improvement I continue to want is the ability to go directly to a full city and full city+ levels. I did a roast about two days ago and maxed out the time and was only 10 seconds into first crack when the cool down cycle kicked in. I'll take a couple of small batches and run them in my Hearthware Gourmet to get some bottom end.
OR, may try running two half-pound batches on a one-pound cycle and see what happens.
