Thread: Behmor 1600 Plus - Coffee Roaster

I have been using a corretto for ages and do 625g green batches to give half a kilo roasted. I have always loved drinking the results.

A colleague got a behmor and roasts on auto. When he gives me his beans the taste seems more complex and full. I could definitely notice the difference each time I have tried his beans.

I now have a behmor and am learning to understand it, as Mal said its a different sort of operation and I miss watching the roast profile through the data logger. I look forward to nailing the results.

Also, the behmor is much more of a "clean" operation, much less franken style than the corretto. You load the beans and insert the drum and chuff tray and it stays there until done. Simples.

Cheers

Cheers

Artman were they the same beans?

Cheers

Good point, no. But they were at times the same greens I have used on separate occasions, and his had more of the fruity/floral type flavours. I know roast levels were probably different etc but I noticed this on each occasion. Also his beans appear more consistent in colour etc in his roasts.

I guess the known factor is that the behmor is capable of ripper roasts (Andy's daughter won an award IIRC roasting in it?) where as the corretto needs tuning/setting up etc to get to the same level. That's my thoughts.

Cheers

I purchased a Behmor 1600 in 2013. In June this year I purchased the metric front panel 1600 Plus upgrade. I never got around to installing it until today. I followed the installation instructions and managed to take it apart and put new front panel in and then got to the testing part of the instructions. All of the buttons worked, the light and then I got to the cooling button. As soon as I pressed the cooling button there is a component on the PCB of the roaster (not the newly installed panel) that started to buzz loudly. After a second or so it started to smoke slightly, I assume some plastic shielding or similar was melting inside this component. I quickly turned off the roaster and this all stopped. I can see no visible external damage to the PCB or component.

I had noticed that this component made a buzzing noise for about a second when I plugged the roaster into power. I assumed it had always done this but it was louder as the side of the roaster was still off (as per installation instructions). I unplugged the roaster and plugged it back in and this 1 second buzz occurred again. I am not game to do anything further, so unplugged and am seeking advice. The component I suspect is buzzing/smoking is about a 1cm cube, with following printed on it "Tianbo TBF-1, 12VDC, HJR-3FF-S-H-F".

I disconnected the new panel and put the old imperial panel back on and it makes no noises or buzzing and appears to work. New panel back on, plug in power, buzzes for a second. Unplugged.

Am I missing something with the new panel. I've read somewhere about 110 to 240 volt changes in settings? But the panel did not come with instructions in the box. I found some online, but are they for the 110V model and I'm missing something important?

Any ideas?

Regards

Miloolimm

Your first stop should be Behmor tech support: Behmor Tech Support – Behmor


Java "Support!" phile

Originally Posted by Javaphile

Your first stop should be Behmor tech support: Behmor Tech Support – Behmor


Java "Support!" phile

I wrote an email to Behmor support. Their reply in part:

"Never really heard of that,may want to just look into replacing the side printed circuit board

I would run this issue by Coffeesnobs,as they are much more familiar with the 220-240 V roaster"

And so here I am. I sent an email off using the "contact us" button here on the coffeesnobs forum, I assume Andy Freeman should get that? I'll await his reply. I only posted here because my machine is apart on the table and of course, I am impatient and thought someone else might see an obvious solution.

I would imagine you will receive a response from Andy soon if he is still up or in the morning if he's turned in already.


Java "Yes, even we sleep occasionally!" phile

I replied to the "contact us" and have already shipped replacement parts... long before finding this post.


If anyone ever has a problem with a roaster then:

1: Contact Behmor Tech Support
They will get back to you with troubleshooting tips or documentation. They are super helpful and are the experts in getting you going again.

2: If they ask you to contact Coffeesnobs then use the [Contact Us] for the fastest response.


Easy fixed!

Thank you Andy, I received both the new panel and a replacement PCB. Apologies if I sent several duplicate messages in different ways (contact us form, this forum post and an email) but as I did not get any replies at any stage I was not sure if you had seen them.

I am up for replacing the new panel but on looking at the PCB and the amount of connections it has, are there any instructions I can follow or is it a matter of taking a photo/noting all the connections and copying them on the new PCB? Are there any particular ways in which I can blow it up or will it just not work if I get a connection wrong?

Why can't we get this kind of amazing service in HK?

Why can't we get this kind of amazing service in HK?

...because I live in Australia? :-)

Originally Posted by Miloolimm

Are there any particular ways in which I can blow it up or will it just not work if I get a connection wrong?

I can guarantee that you will blow it up if you get it wrong... electronics work like that.

Take lots of pictures, scribble a diagram or do whatever you need to get it EXACTLY right.

The only real trick is the spade clips have a locking pin in the middle of them, use pointy-nosed pliers or similar to depress the locking pin and they will come off easily. Once you have done the first one and can see it... it will make more sense. If you get stuck email me or use the "contact us" (instead of hoping I see another post on the forum).

Good luck.

My 1600 Plus arrived just before Christmas and I'm hooked! Really easy. Nice, even roasts and plenty of customisation available. Cheers Andy!

Was definitely worth reading this thread in full before starting...though the manual wasn't as bad as some online reviews make out. Perhaps the instructions for this 220-240V version are improved?

Now...to cart this beast back to Europe

200g - first attempt at a 'light' roast

Nevermind.. found a way to contact Andy regarding international shipping.

For anyone interested, this Australian model WORKS in Europe with a (quality) power converter that delivers sufficient amperage.

I've noticed zero changes in roast times compared to when I used it in Australia...which is weird given the massive differences in ambient temperature.

This thing is awesome. Massive upgrade from using a popcorn popper. Essential to do a long pre-heat though, and to use the manual mode to play with power levels. I've even had luck roasting my first 400g batch, and was surprised to see it roast evenly.

Thanks again, Andy

Glad it got there okay.

We ship a lot of roasters into the UK, Europe and Scandinavia and everyone is happily roasting away.

Essential to do a long pre-heat though

NO NO NO.
40C+ in parts of Australia at the moment and you certainly DON'T need to preheat, blanket statements in a forum can lead to lots of people following blindly then wondering why their roasts are "toasts".

Pre-heat might be important in very cold ambient temperatures but even so, you are potentially better off just adjusting the start weight and using a room temperature roaster. The thing I don't like about pre-heat is that it can add another random variable unless you are diligent in pre-heating exactly the same each time and even then, having the door open longer will result in a vast starting change.

Repeatability is the real key to great roasting.

Get the roaster and the beans to room temperature and go from there. Take lots of notes and you should have some great base-lines to start all roasts on.

Hi Andy Im thinking about buying a Behmor 1600 to go along with my newly purchased Lelit mara, was also going to add some green beans to the order and the prices seem really cheap, Ive seen other green bean sellers with similar named beans to yours and some are about $8 or $9 a kg more expensive, I am missing something here?

You can't always really compare name for name but I would be surprised if even at $9/kg more theirs are as good as ours!

I've seen plenty of other people sell rubbish for 3 times the price they should have, makes me angry so I tend not to look any more.

We sell greens and freight at about our actual landed costs, site sponsorship pays the margin that you could have paid and if you support site sponsors when you make your next purchase the world goes around and around. It's an odd model (that my accountant hates) but it's worked well for more than 12 years!

Originally Posted by Andy

You can't always really compare name for name but I would be surprised if even at $9/kg more theirs are as good as ours!

I've seen plenty of other people sell rubbish for 3 times the price they should have, makes me angry so I tend not to look any more.

We sell greens and freight at about our actual landed costs, site sponsorship pays the margin that you could have paid and if you support site sponsors when you make your next purchase the world goes around and around. It's an odd model (that my accountant hates) but it's worked well for more than 12 years!

Thanks Andy will place an order tomorrow!

Got my Behmor 1600 today and was about to trial some 100g roasts. In the instructions it says preheating the machine by pressing any weight, then start, run for 1min 45 sec then press stop, but theres no stop button on it?

Originally Posted by kaboose

Got my Behmor 1600 today and was about to trial some 100g roasts. In the instructions it says preheating the machine by pressing any weight, then start, run for 1min 45 sec then press stop, but theres no stop button on it?

Just hit stop, and then you are good to go with your roast. I find the easiest method is to remove the drum and load the beans into it whilst the Behmor is preheating, then its just a matter of reinstalling the drum once the preheat is completed. The drum itself has minimal thermal mass compared to the rest of the roaster and does require much in the way of preheating.

Thanks, I just read into this thread a bit more and have seen that Andy said you dont have to preheat.

I did try my first ever roast though with 100g of beans, heard a crack at about 3min left to go on the original 8min 30 setting so i thought I heard a different crack at 1.30 so pressed cool there. Beans came out a light brown with only about 10% loss and virtually no coffee aroma as well, I'm guessing I didn't roast long enough?

Originally Posted by kaboose

Thanks, I just read into this thread a bit more and have seen that Andy said you dont have to preheat.

I did try my first ever roast though with 100g of beans, heard a crack at about 3min left to go on the original 8min 30 setting so i thought I heard a different crack at 1.30 so pressed cool there. Beans came out a light brown with only about 10% loss and virtually no coffee aroma as well, I'm guessing I didn't roast long enough?

My advice is to never determine first crack by a single 'pop'. Wait till you hear a couple of pops close together. I find that this gives very consistent timings b/w first and 2nd crack (assuming I'm applying the same profile)....though I tend to roast in batches b/w 370g and 400g depending on ambient temperature (which varies quite a bit on the back porch in Canberra).

Originally Posted by kaboose

Thanks, I just read into this thread a bit more and have seen that Andy said you dont have to preheat.

I did try my first ever roast though with 100g of beans, heard a crack at about 3min left to go on the original 8min 30 setting so i thought I heard a different crack at 1.30 so pressed cool there. Beans came out a light brown with only about 10% loss and virtually no coffee aroma as well, I'm guessing I didn't roast long enough?

Why did you press cool? When you're doing roasts using the auto profiles you simply choose a profile then let it run until the end and the machine will go into cooling mode itself once first crack has well and truly finished. The only button you need to press during the roast will be the 'start' button. This is to avoid the safety shut down feature at 3/4 of the way through. This is indicated by the display flashing.

The panel on the machine isn't really very intuitive and the manual is badly written so you'll take a few goes to get things happening and understand the process. Just keep going and read the manual lots as you go. I think I'd read the manual 5 or 6 times before it all started to click.

Andy, good call about 40-degree Australia versus minus 5-degree Europe. Nevertheless I have found longer pre-heats very useful over here. As many other forum users (around the web) have said, I find 400g a little challenging to get right and overall think 200g is the ideal quantity with this roaster.

Kaboose: trust me, you're going to want to stop using the pre-set profiles and start using manual mode. Apart from all the controls it gives you, Manual mode allows you go get the beans to first crack faster. For me, this results in noticeably richer flavors

I have found longer pre-heats very useful over here. As many other forum users (around the web) have said

...and there is the problem. When you say "around the web" I assume mostly USA/Canadian sites and they are using a different roaster (with the same name) and a different voltage and require a different technique. Preheat in the roaster manual is mostly a USA work-around for low voltage problems they have in different areas. Users of 220/230/240 don't have to deal with the same voltage fluctuations of the 110/120 world.

Each year when Joseph Behm has come out for the Melbourne coffee show he is amazed at the profiles we can run and the lack of pre-heat even in cooler March weather. He has gone back to the USA with our techniques but they don't work the same over there. The roaster sold here is a different beast so please be wary of where your information comes from.

Regardless, if pre-heat is working for you then keep doing it but I would be surprised if you really need it to get the same results in the cup.

I did try my first ever roast though with 100g of beans... no coffee aroma ... I'm guessing I didn't roast long enough?

* I don't like the 100g roasts for learning (even though it says that in the manual), try 200g ones as the extra mass gives you more control and requires far less precision and will only cost you $1 more per roast.
* No aroma is normal for all roasters, the coffee will develop it's aroma over the next few days.
* Not long enough? TASTE is your key. 10% loss might be a technical indicator but taste is always king. If it tastes sour,farm,wheat then it was cooled too early, taste like BBQ then cooled too late.

Try the coffee today, again in a couple of days and another few days after that. Learning the rest time that suits you and that particular coffee is all part of the home roasting experience.

Take lots of notes. We all think we will remember the tweaks we made to each roast but by the time you have 4 or 5 different coffees with different rest-times in bags it's easy to forget and then chase your tail in circles.

I'll have another try today with 200g, as soon as I get to the stage where its better than pre packed from the supermarket I'll find it a big step forward, looking forward to the results!

You will be way in front of the shelf beans in a handful of roasts.

Do one too light (sounds like you already have), do one too dark then enjoy the Goldilocks coffee on your 3rd roast.

Just be careful who you open the front door to, though.

Originally Posted by Oli

Kaboose: trust me, you're going to want to stop using the pre-set profiles and start using manual mode. Apart from all the controls it gives you, Manual mode allows you go get the beans to first crack faster. For me, this results in noticeably richer flavors

I disagree, unless you're using the 110v version. I've found that on the 220v version the auto profiles work really well, but the trick is to choose the right profile and batch size for each coffee. In saying that, at the very least I always use Andy's trick of reducing the heat at first crack and resetting the timer by pushing P2/3 and C.

Huh. Auto profiles gave me a less intense/bodied flavor when I first tried them. Perhaps I wasn't using the right one for the beans

Very happy with the behmor after about 6 roasts, I still havent quite got that thick gloopy looking expresso extraction but the flavours are a whole lot better than before. One roast I think I went a bit too far as I saw a bean flash so stopped and cooled straight away, but after resting those beans for 5 days I noticed they looked a lot shinier/wetter so I imagine thats the sugars being released.

Hi Andy. I read that you send Behmor 1600 plus to Europe. Do you also ship to Turkey? If yes, i am ineterested on that roaster. Thanks.

Add another Behmor user to your list.

Mine arrived from CS yesterday and after forcing myself away from it all I can say is these things are really (seriously) great.

I recently got back into home roasting after a 7 year hiatus and it's been like greeting an old friend. Originally I used (persisted) with various methods like popcorn makers, dog bowl/heatgun and heatgun/breadmaker.

My interest piqued a few months ago when my wife offered me a rotisserie air roaster she never used. Results were good but unfortunately the plastic bushing stripped after about 3 roasts.

If I had my time over again I would have just bought a Behmor in the first place (if they were available in 2004).

Many thanks Andy for the quick service !! Very much appreciated.

Hey,

Just wondering what's that max (g) you can roast in the new roaster?

Averages volumes are 350g - 450g
--- depending on beans and ambient temperature.

Some CS'rs swear by 500g but I think most would fall into the above ranges.

I have done a 600g roast successfully in ambient temp of around 15 degrees, manual mode. Need to watch B2 temp as it gets high and can trigger an error.

Oddly, the bean temp roast profile looks essentially identical for a 400g or 600g roast.

Cheers

Hi artman. Interested to know more.

Sounds like that is pushing the plus to the limits (?)

I'll have another go at a 650g SO roast and see what happens (Old BR+HG). Drum can only contain so much space especially with bean expansion

Still heaps of room in the drum? What else would you like to know?
I have moved the wall sensor so it doesn't get hot and trigger the error code.

I keep it at 100% until first crack then go down to 75/50/25 to maintain a small ROR and cool / open door just prior or at start of second crack.

The 600g I did preheat (without the drum inside) for a few minutes but to be honest I don't think that makes too much difference.

Otherwise the roast appears as per normal.

I used to do 625g in my old corretto (quarter of green bean bag) and wanted to replicate in behmor.

What I should do is do a roast with a "standard" load of 300-400g and another of big 600+g batch and compare the taste of the beans (as well as BT roast profile).

Cheers

Here is the profile of 600g roast, pre heat 5 mins. the horizontal line is the heat %, 100 then 75 then 50 etc.

600g Columbian 5min preheat.jpg

below is 550g mexican/ethiopian blend
550g blend.jpg

Below is 350g zimbabwian
350g zim.jpg

As you can see all very similar profiles with quite varied bean mass.

These are all with the bead temp probe in the bean mass, so should be quite representative of what the beans are doing.

Cheers

What are the times to first crack for those roasts artman?

looking at getting into roasting...read a lot of mixed reviews of the behmor, and then after reading this thread have noticed that all the frustration seems to have come from the states. andy's pointed out the voltage issues and model differences several times, and seems like nothing but praise from the aussie roasters. so the behmor is on the radar.

i brew filter coffee: both pour-over and immersion. i currently buy filter roasted coffee and drink to enjoy the fruity and juicy flavours. so i would be roasting lightly and trying to develop fruity characteristics over body. i believe this is called a 'nordic roast'.

1. is this sort of roasting achievable with the behmor?
2. i read a few comments about the behmor's long cooling cycle robbing beans of fruity high notes. any truth to this?

Originally Posted by woodhouse

looking at getting into roasting...read a lot of mixed reviews of the behmor, and then after reading this thread have noticed that all the frustration seems to have come from the states. andy's pointed out the voltage issues and model differences several times, and seems like nothing but praise from the aussie roasters. so the behmor is on the radar.

i brew filter coffee: both pour-over and immersion. i currently buy filter roasted coffee and drink to enjoy the fruity and juicy flavours. so i would be roasting lightly and trying to develop fruity characteristics over body. i believe this is called a 'nordic roast'.

1. is this sort of roasting achievable with the behmor?
2. i read a few comments about the behmor's long cooling cycle robbing beans of fruity high notes. any truth to this?

In a word - yes. You're right about the 110v versus 240v versions differences, and yes the Behmor will be a great little roaster for what you want to do. If you're really bothered about the long cooling cycle you can accelerate it in a variety of ways that are well documented on CS.

Originally Posted by LeroyC

What are the times to first crack for those roasts artman?

About 14 minutes for first crack and another 4-5 minutes to second crack.

The graph is a bit busy with numbers but you can see first crack in there.

Cheers

Hi there. Brand new to serious roasting after upgrading from my popcorn machine where everything was chucked in for 8 minutes and no attention was paid whatsoever to first or second crack.

So - have got myself a Behmor and have noticed, obviously, a massive difference in my morning cuppa.

I'm still getting my head around how everything works and this morning did my first 400g roast of some Brazilian beans, so followed the suggestion in the instructions and selected P3.

I stuffed my first attempt by totally forgetting the Rosetta Stone thingy, so went into cooling mode after 21mins 30secs.

2nd attempt I was all poised to start increasing the roast time at first crack, but it never happened. So, 20 seconds from the end of the roast, I increased the roast time as much as possible (about an extra 2:50) and sat eagerly awaiting for first crack. Still, it never happened. And into cooling mode we went.

What should I do in this situation? And are the beans still going to give me a good coffee? For that matter, how about that first roast that was about 3 minutes shorter?

The first thing I would do is drop the payload to 390 or 380g (partic if you are roasting outside). I would also consider switching to 100% power a bit earlier that the P3 profile suggests (say 40-45% of the way though the max roasting time). So if it is a 20 minute cycle, hit P5 with 11 minutes to go.

The Brazils can be tricky in the Behmor.

Originally Posted by Barry O'Speedwagon

The first thing I would do is drop the payload to 390 or 380g (partic if you are roasting outside). I would also consider switching to 100% power a bit earlier that the P3 profile suggests (say 40-45% of the way though the max roasting time). So if it is a 20 minute cycle, hit P5 with 11 minutes to go.

The Brazils can be tricky in the Behmor.

Thanks, Barry! I'll give that a go. Trust me to go with a tricky bean when trying to get my head around everything!

And how about those 2 roasts I just did? 400g that didn't quite get to 1st crack and 400g that were roasted for around 3minutes less than that again - are they usable, or should I just chuck 'em and start again?

Originally Posted by SpeedBump

And how about those 2 roasts I just did? 400g that didn't quite get to 1st crack and 400g that were roasted for around 3minutes less than that again - are they usable, or should I just chuck 'em and start again?

Let them rest awhile and give them a taste. You never know what you have until you taste it!


Java "Better a taste test than just tossing them untried" phile