Behmor 1600 Plus - Coffee Roaster

[jillybean]

I would tend to agree with Flynnaus, it is a bit fiddly.
If in doubt, just take photos each step of the way. Its not complex, or difficult, just have to think a bit and be gentle, thats all.
Yes, there are 2 in hex screws in the base of the side panels.
Jaycar or equiv would have a basic set of them for 1/4" drive and are always handy around the place, so if you dont have some already, its worth investing in a set, get the tamper proof ones, with the hollow in the middle if you can.
Whilst out purchasing, get a telescopic magnet if you dont already have one, saves shaking the dropped screw out of the machine .

Best to have a good quality set of screw drivers, a 40cm long shaft would help with the 2 bottom screws on the panel.
Or just be thoughtful when using a standard stanley, and gently move the panel away a bit to turn the handle.
I found on mine there were 4 screws holding the panel, 2 bottom, and one midway up and one at the top.

Cables only go one one way, again, just be gentle.
Give it a good clean when apart, I used a damp cotton bud after brushing the fans with a childs toothbrush to remove the majority of the dust with vacum nozzle nearby, but not too close to spin the fan.

Trains

Just upgraded mine as well. It is only 6 or 7 months old and and is put together slightly differently.

6 screws (no torx/hex) on the end closest the control panel. 3 underneath & 3 top edge.

7 screws on the other end - same 6 as above but one extra where it wraps around inside the edge of the door. Open the door and you will see it about half way up. This screw has a flat head so keep it separate.

8 screws + a tab to unbend to remove the top*. 4 screws top back, 4 under top edge of the door opening (also flat head but silver so easily identifiable).
* The top has 2 tabs that slot into the top of the control panel. On mine the one of these closest to the end had been bent up. This had to be bent straight to allow the top to slide forward for removal.

5 (or maybe 6) screws holding the control panel in, but all except the bottom one furthest in are relatively easy to access (magnetised screw driver is helpful for these).

The end panels slide forward for removal. Don't get too gung ho with the one on the control panel end as the fan cable runs from it to the circuit board. There was a zip tie keeping some cables tidy that I had to cut to be able to remove the light cable after unplugging it.

All done and it actually still works

[cjhfield]

Did mine tonight. About 45 minutes. Seems to work as advertised. Good value for the increased control.

Chris

[Andy]

5 (or maybe 6) screws holding the control panel in, but all except the bottom one furthest in are relatively easy to access (magnetised screw driver is helpful for these).

I think there are way too many screws in the control panel!
The tricky one is that bottom left (as you look from the front), if it wasn't for that screw you could do the front panel swap way easier and faster by only removing the right side cover... and if you have a 90 degree bent screw-driver you still could do it that way. I also think that one screw can safely be left out when you put it back together.... but that's my personal opinion, not that of the manufacturer.

[cjhfield]

I think there are way too many screws in the control panel!
The tricky one is that bottom left (as you look from the front), if it wasn't for that screw you could do the front panel swap way easier and faster by only removing the right side cover... and if you have a 90 degree bent screw-driver you still could do it that way. I also think that one screw can safely be left out when you put it back together.... but that's my personal opinion, not that of the manufacturer.

I agree. I took off both side panels but I'm not sure it was necessary. I had a single screw left on the bench at the end which was the one you mention I am sure.

The new front panel looks like the old one ie the extra functions are not suggested by new graphics like the US pics I have seen. I don't think that matters much though. The extra flexibility looks great and well worth the upgrade. It's a no brainier for anyone with a Behmor. The original was a good roaster but it sometimes felt like roasting in a straight jacket. I had looked about for an alternative roaster but nothing comes close for the price and batch size. The new panel gives it a new lease of life. Cheap too.

Chris

[Andy]

The new front panel looks like the old one ie the extra functions are not suggested by new graphics like the US pics I have seen.

AAARRGGHHHH.... please see post #103 above. What you are seeing on the US sites are best guestimates of what will arrive there in the future. What we have here is something we can touch and use now!

Just for clarification, we will have 2 different Upgrade Panels here, the "original fronted" pound version we could land without waiting, the second one with the metric front and different colours around the buttons will arrive later this month. We decided for those that are upgrading they wouldn't mind having the exact same looking front as they currently have and as a bonus, they wouldn't have to wait another month for the factory to make new panels.

The extra flexibility looks great and well worth the upgrade. It's a no brainier for anyone with a Behmor. The original was a good roaster but it sometimes felt like roasting in a straight jacket. I had looked about for an alternative roaster but nothing comes close for the price and batch size. The new panel gives it a new lease of life. Cheap too.

Good stuff!
I'm looking forward to not reading tips like "put the brush handle in the door at 1st crack" and instead see "I dropped the power to 25% at first crack".

It's going to be fun to see repeatable tips, tweaks and ideas for profiles from the home roasting community instead of the string of "randomish stuff" that worked for some people.

nothing comes close for the price and batch size

...that and quality close to a commercial drum is why the Behmor is the only roaster we chose to sell on CS.

Enjoy the learning journey ahead!

[lostmuppet]

Changed mine over last night, Took about 10-15mins to swap, removed side panel and top panel, left other end panel in place. Took me longer to remember where I left some of my tools to do it, but then I am in the electrical/air conditioning industry so am used to pulling things apart and back together.

Did 2 roasts afterwards mainly to play with the new features, really liked the added control over it and being able to extend the gap between 1st and 2nd instead of sometimes having them just roll together. Unfortunately it's now a wait to try them out and see if the taste is better than previous. Went with the pounds version display as I am impatient and couldn't wait till late June plus I don't really look much at the top buttons.

Now to wait for the 1kg Behmor upgrade kit???

[fleery]

Temperature --
the exhaust temperature [A] is the least useful. Before the afterburner comes on it has very little airflow, when the afterburner and draw fan come on it reads high temperatures which is mostly the afterburner temperature. It can still be used as a point in time reference though regardless of the actual number.
The chamber wall temperature [B] should also be used as a point in time reference. If you know that after 5 minutes on a 200g roast the temperature is "x" then next roast you can see if you are under or over and make manual element changes to get you back on track. I would think that knowing your "normal" temperature every couple of minutes could help you make a call on a profile change.

Is the B temp the temp measured at the screw on the right hand side of the inside wall? Ie. I assume it's measuring pretty much the temp of the beans in the drum?

[Andy]

Is the B temp the temp measured at the screw on the right hand side of the inside wall? Ie. I assume it's measuring pretty much the temp of the beans in the drum?

The thermistor is between the two screws on the right hand side, it reads the chamber wall temperature.

[Andy]

Err7
If you see an error 7 it means you didn't press the [START] button during the 30 second countdown from un30, un29, un28....

If you didn't press [Start] during that period the roaster makes the assumption that you are not there or are too distracted and will turn off the elements and start the cooling process while showing Err7. It's a pretty small burden to hit the [Start] button once during a roast but this simple feature should ensure that it's very difficult to have a bean ignition on an unattended roaster. This is also mentioned in #5 on the Behmor 1600 Plus cheat sheet.

[cjhfield]

Did 3 roasts this morning. My batch size is usually 350g. I used to do 400g but the time cutoff was sometimes a problem. I thought the time cutoffs may have been removed in manual mode but no, they are still there ie my usual 1lb/P2/B program has a maximum time of 22 mins 30 sec.

However flynnaus's post #115 above got me thinking. He got it to roast an extra 10 seconds!

So I tested it out on an empty roaster and it's true. You can add as much extra time as you want by pressing the C button. It jumps to 3:10 each time no matter how much time has elapsed. You can keep pressing C to add more time.

OK you could burn the house down if you get carried away. But if you are doing a big batch on a cold morning and are over 20 mins going in to first crack this is a life saver.

Also useful if you have modified the program by dropping power after first crack and slowed down the roast a bit too much and are hitting the max time limit.

I didn't need to extend any of my actual roasts today. I just cut back the power at first crack as others have done. I was never a fan of the way the P2 profile ramped up the power to max at the end of the roast. Going to 50% power after first crack looks a better option to me. Going to zero power or 25% power seemed to slow things down too much. But it's early days.

Chris

[flynnaus]

Roast #2 with the upgrade panel: started with the same 50:50 blend of 350g of Gambella + Nepal but as I only had 110g of the Gamebella left I topped it up with 65g of Ghimbi. This time I did the Rosetta stone restart at start of first crack (about a min to go on the clock) but at 75% power (P4). Hit Cool at the first snips of second crack. The roast looked good but it didn't smell as nice as the first roast (perhaps because of the 20% Ghimbi. Took a pic with the iPhone but the poor 'white balance' means the roast looks darker. It's also a bit uneven because of the Gambella.

Starting with the P2 profile meant there were two drops in temp: the P2 program drops to 75% at about 75% of the roast time. I think the next trick is to do a completely manual profile, emulating the P2 profile but dropping the power at the beginning of first crack rather than at 75% of the time. I could also start with the P1 program and drop the power at FC from there. I often wonder about the long roast times of the Behmor and sacrificing the more vibrant flavours quicker roasts are said to produce.

[chokkidog]

I often wonder about the long roast times of the Behmor and sacrificing the more vibrant flavours quicker roasts are said to produce.

Just curious...........how long are your roasts?

[flynnaus]

Just curious...........how long are your roasts?

Given I have been using the P2B profile (20mins) and using Rosetta Stone with about a minute left on the clock, the roasts are about 22-23 mins. Then add on the fact that the roast will continue into the first minute or so of the cooling cycle you could argue the roast time is up to 25 mins. Compare this with up to 15mins on a corretto or <17 mins for a KKTO for the same batch size.

I should temper this comment with the fact that I am using old stock from my stash, The Ethiopian Gambella and Nepal Plantec are c.2011. The Ghimbi was late 2010 so one couldn't expect too much from them, however they are roasted.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Dumb question....but....why is the function called the 'Rosetta Stone'? I'm familiar with the historic Rosetta Stone.

[Graeme]

Dumb question....but....why is the function called the 'Rosetta Stone'? I'm familiar with the historic Rosetta Stone.

+1 Me too please