Coffee Roasting Methods Discussion

Evil4blue said:

Any updates on your mod, Mick?

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I had the Hottop all apart then ran low on coffee so had to put it all back together to keep roasting as my parts did not show up with the disassemble timing

My probes and panel mount plugs came in on Saturday but my PO is only open M-F so I did not get my hands on them until today.

I stuck the mount in my pocket with the intent on getting a nut for it that I can silver solder onto the back panel so I can screw the mount in and out, thus replacing it with a small bolt should I decide to go back to "stock" .....BUT..... I forgot to go to the hardware store when I was out today

I decided to go with open tip automotive EGT sensors. A tad more expensive but faster responding (or so it says they are). I did get a couple inexpensive k type probes and will put one of them inside with the control electronics to monitor how hot the boards get to see if I need a slow turning fan in there to move more air.

NO telling when I will get out with the car again as I never drive anywhere anymore. With everything within walking distance I have pretty much given up driving except for doctor visits and such.

Whoa, that thermocouple is pretty big. Are you going through the firewall or in, through the bean chute?

The one thing I've noticed with my setup is that my Omega T/Cs are actually a little too fast (response-wise) and my data was very noisy. I have to apply a fair amount of line smoothing to get visibly, usable graphs. This is just something to watch for and seems to be a common problem with quick response thermocouples.

Also, my T/Cs seem to be reading a tad low at temperature. I "calibrated" my thermocouples prior to installing them by checking them in ice water and boiling water along side my thermapen. Both my wire thermocouples were within 0.5*F of the thermapen, so I called it good.

In usage, my FCs are coming in about ~360-365*F, about 30*F less than what is widely reported as the accepted FC temp of ~400*F. I'm fine with this as it seems to be highly repeatable and thusly, controllable, which was the whole goal of this mod any way. Even though my beans seem to be hitting FC early, yellowing is still occurring around 300*F and my FC is lasting a good 2 minutes with a nice 2-2:30 mins of development prior to SC. This low FC temp is effectively shortening my roasts by about 1-2 mins, but I'm robbing that time from the period in-between drying and FC.

I can't taste anything off in the cup, so I'm happy with the setup right now.

Looks like Mr. Behm is offering an updated version of his roaster with manual controls and some environmental temperature probes. The upgrade could be of interest to those of us who have this roaster. Announcement made at SCAA and posted about on CoffeeGeek:
New Behmor 1600 Plus

It looks exactly like the normal 1600 but with a manual mode in addition to the auto mode it currently has.

Basically, choosing the manual mode, you can change the power level from 100% to 75 or 50 or 25 anytime during the roast, and change as often as you like. There are two temperature readouts, one for the chamber wall and one for the exhaust area. Drum speed can be toggled from 8 to 16 rpm. Joe said that a new motor will allow 32 rpm.

The control panel will be available for upgrades soon, so those with a current 1600 don't have to buy a new roaster. Joe hopes to keep the cost down, I believe below $100, maybe below $75.

....

Oh, the Brazen also gets some new innards to eliminate the valve glitches. It will also be called Brazen Plus.

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Wow, that's a nice set of upgrades. It'll be interesting to so how it all comes together.

I was just going to post this information.


I am excited to have more control over my roasts.

Awesome news. Love the "upgrade" concept.

I've been looking to upgrade from my popper. This will most likely be the prime candidate when it comes out. Just need some positive reviews before taking the plunge. You never

Well this last mod is turning into a real nightmare.

Seems I got a DOA eject solenoid for the manual bean dump upgrade so now waiting on a replacement.

The HTC may also be DOA but until I get the other mods working hard to say about that board.

SWMBO had to go out and buy more roasted beans as I am completely inoperable and back apart once again.

The other mods went very well and as good as a factory job. I drilled AND tapped for the other 2 sensors so no glue or JB weld needed as it all screws together and is held in place with a lock nut.

The upgrade to the manual eject required me to remove the main chassis plate and replace it with a different one. Yowsers what a job. You can see the reverse of the rear roasting chamber wall with the probe mounts in it in this pic too.



The HTC control module got mounted with standoffs on the side wall. It interfaces between the man controller board and the control panel and is "supposed" to allow me to be able to control the roaster from the external TC4C/LED module but for now it seems to be toast as I can't get the burner to come on with it in the system




The INSIDE of the roasting chamber back wall with the mounts and lock nuts in place. Don't mind the burned wall, that just adds "flavor" to the roast






Thought I was done when I took this pic, now it is all back apart once again waiting for a replacement solenoid part. I put in a 3rd k-type sensor that reads the temperature of the electronics compartment which is why there are 3 K-type panel mount jacks on the back cover.

Nice breakdown and look at the internals of your roaster. I hope that your HTC board is not toast and will work once the new solenoid arrives.

Wow Mick, that seriously stinks. I hope you get things sorted out quickly. My mod wasn't nearly as involved as yours, but everything has been running great for about a month now. I have 15-20 roasts since my Artisan upgrade and it's really given me a whole new level of control. I can't wait to see your results!

Is this the version that SCG and SM just got in stock? I'll be making my purchase within the next month. I sure hope so!

Looks to me like the first round came and went

Did some more reading. It seems as though US release hasn't happened yet. Still awaiting pricing. Reading through the CG thread, I guess he was in Australia, then came home and was battling some illness.

Been out of town in meetings on everything coming and did want to say I have the data for delivery on roasters being around 12 weeks from now and upgrade kits about 4-5 weeks. I'll give pricing out on Monday after I've passed along the data to the Behmor distributor base. I'll also try to shoot a short video and post it late next week before I leave for the SCAE in Rimini..


Joe

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(posted last night on Coffee Geek)

Unless you feel like you need a 32rpm roaster you may as well just get the current model and upgrade the keypad when the kit comes out. That's what I'm doing.

So it begins.

So it begins.

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EEP!!!!!

Nice acquisition Seth!!!

Hopefully, I can order mine this weekend! Who did you order from? SCG offers free shipping, but SM offers $8 shipping and 8lbs of sampler beans ($20 value). I'll probably go through SM, because they already told me I can call and process all my giftcards individually.

EEP!!!!!

Nice acquisition Seth!!!

Hopefully, I can order mine this weekend! Who did you order from? SCG offers free shipping, but SM offers $8 shipping and 8lbs of sampler beans ($20 value). I'll probably go through SM, because they already told me I can call and process all my giftcards individually.

jzuzphreek said:

EEP!!!!!

Nice acquisition Seth!!!

Hopefully, I can order mine this weekend! Who did you order from? SCG offers free shipping, but SM offers $8 shipping and 8lbs of sampler beans ($20 value). I'll probably go through SM, because they already told me I can call and process all my giftcards individually.

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Sweet Marias. Did a couple of roasts. One good, one meh. I'll post pics later.

jzuzphreek said:

EEP!!!!!

Nice acquisition Seth!!!

Hopefully, I can order mine this weekend! Who did you order from? SCG offers free shipping, but SM offers $8 shipping and 8lbs of sampler beans ($20 value). I'll probably go through SM, because they already told me I can call and process all my giftcards individually.

Click to expand...

Sweet Marias. Did a couple of roasts. One good, one meh. I'll post pics later.