First day with the Behmor 1600+ ... some advice please!

[Kettles]

Really hoping some Behmor 'old hands' can set me straight on a couple of issues as I start on my roasting journey.

OK, so I have roasted a couple of 100g batches and they seem quite a good result, although the 2nd roast when I hit the C button, it came up with an error... all I could really do was to cool the beans.

Do I hit the c button at the first sound of the first of the beans having its first crack, or do I wait until I hear lots of first cracking, then hit C, or what?

I have noticed, now that I have brought the machine indoors (after having roasted twice on my deck) that the machine has quite an audible hum when powered up (but the machine in stand by/non-operational mode... is this commonplace?

Lastly, is it really that important that no extension lead is used in conjunction with the 1600+? As the power cord is impossibly short, I can't get it to reach a power outlet if I want to roast underneath my exhaust fan.

Thanks to all for your input in anticipation.

[Alexpid]

Hi!

All error codes are listed in the manual, so have look there.

I press the c button at the first sounds of first crack. Still you have to really need to attend your roast to hit the cool button if the roast hits second crack.

The humming is probably the transformer powering up, no worries there.

Extension cord is mostly a problem in the US, where power supply is very dodgy... I bought a really thick cord, that can handle the power and there is no problem with roast times at all. Just get a good quality thick cord.

Last thing I would advise: try 227 grams batches - 100 grams are tricky to control.

Happy roasting!

[MrFreddofrog]

Lastly, is it really that important that no extension lead is used in conjunction with the 1600+?

I've often wondered about that too.

I've tried using extension cords to reduce heat when roasting with a popper. I like to think it works but probably more of a placebo affect. There are however many people here that say extending makes no appreciable difference.

Personally I think ambient temp will make more of a difference to Behmor roasting times than a short extension will.

[artman]

Mine does the humming thing too.

Was the error you forgetting to hit start at the "yes I'm still here looking after the roast" function? I set a timer as its too easy to miss unless you are watching the screen. I forget off hand what code that one is but as above they are all listed in the docs.

I measured the voltage while using a power cord at the roaster at full power and there was no voltage drop compared to the source. This was with a heavy duty cord. The issue is mainly for lower voltage where any additional resistance amplifies the issue. If you use a decent cord that is 5m or so long I doubt the voltage drop would be significant to affect things. That's just my thoughts of course!

Cheers

[Kettles]

Guys, thanks so much. Gonna do me a 227gram batch now (is that because it equates to 200gram weight after roasting or summfink??!!)

[Kettles]

Mine does the humming thing too.

Was the error you forgetting to hit start at the "yes I'm still here looking after the roast" function? I set a timer as its too easy to miss unless you are watching the screen. I forget off hand what code that one is but as above they are all listed in the docs.

I measured the voltage while using a power cord at the roaster at full power and there was no voltage drop compared to the source. This was with a heavy duty cord. The issue is mainly for lower voltage where any additional resistance amplifies the issue. If you use a decent cord that is 5m or so long I doubt the voltage drop would be significant to affect things. That's just my thoughts of course!

Cheers

Error was that, most probably, 'cos the thing was outdoors and the visual display is very hard to see outdoors.

[artman]

Yeah that's why I always now just set a countdown timer to alarm when the start needs to be pressed. Haven't missed one since.

Cheers

[Alexpid]

Guys, thanks so much. Gonna do me a 227gram batch now (is that because it equates to 200gram weight after roasting or summfink??!!)

Actually it relates to Behmor being american, and they still use pounds over there. So the behmor is built to do 1/4, 1/2 or 1 pound. This equals 113, 227 and 454 grams. The metric panel says 100, 200 and 400 grams, but I stick to the pounds. This works for me and my voltage.

[MrFreddofrog]

Yeah that's why I always now just set a countdown timer to alarm when the start needs to be pressed. Haven't missed one since.

Cheers

Same here. One day I'll hack the panel and install a speaker alarm but until then, 13:30 for a 400gm roast.

[artman]

Would be great mod if you do, but the panel is all electronic ICs, Beyond my abilities. Thought of a simple timer running from start but the time changes depending on weight etc. hopefully his will be an addition to future panel iterations.

Cheers

[JojoS]

Same here. One day I'll hack the panel and install a speaker alarm but until then, 13:30 for a 400gm roast.

If you can update a modified firmware, better to do away with the Nanny. IIRC, It is an EU safety compliance requirement that many users can do without. P4 manual not hot enough? Make it 80% or some power level you need when you enter post first crack development stage.

[MrFreddofrog]

Would be great mod if you do, but the panel is all electronic ICs, Beyond my abilities. Thought of a simple timer running from start but the time changes depending on weight etc. hopefully his will be an addition to future panel iterations.

Cheers

I've been playing around with 555 IC timers recently and have discovered they are triggered by a DROP in voltage.

So in theory, it could be connected to the LCD panel and when there is a drop in voltage, (eg flashes off/on in alarm mode) it could be used to power a speaker. That way it is totally independent of weight settings etc and will simply serve as an audible reinforcement to the LCD flashing.

I'd love to look into it but currently don't have the time.

[artman]

That would be an awesome solution.

Cheers