9Sbeans wrote:A used Hottop was just sold for $250. [SOLD] Hottop B-2K Coffee Roaster

Mark [creative nickname] is selling his modified Popcorn popper for $50 + shipping now. [FS] Starter roasting gear
The batch size is small (50-60g), but this modified popper should give you some profiling capability.

Looks interesting. Prefer a (more or less) smokeless unit w/ a catalytic converter, because smoke alarms.

I had a Behmor, but didn't master it like ira and yakster does. Behmor is a fairly consistent roaster with user friendly controlling interface.

I didn't go into the second crack with the Behmor. Nevertheless, when I used it in my kitchen, it once trigged the alarm of my smoke detector, and I had moved it to the garage since then. It is self-enclosed and highly portable. If you can spot a location next to the window in your kitchen and use a fan to facilitate venting, the smoke shouldn't be an issue.

It may boil down to your preferred roasting level. I drink espresso but most of my roasts are City+. If you prefer Full City or FC+, obviously there will be more smoke. The functions of Behmor (smoke-suppression & temperature-profiling) are limiting factors in the FC+ territory.

9Sbeans wrote:It may boil down to your preferred roasting level. I drink espresso but most of my roasts are City+. If you prefer Full City or FC+, obviously there will be more smoke. The functions of Behmor (smoke-suppression & temperature-profiling) are limiting factors in the FC+ territory.

I don't 100% grok the naming schema, but I'd define my preferred espresso roast as "medium" or "on the dark side of medium." Certainly no oil appearing on the surface of the beans. Sounds like the Behmor might be a good starter machine.

I generally prefer a drum style roast as compared to the hot air for espresso. Also, the Behmor will set off smoke alarms like others said unless you have a good range hood.

Unless the 110/120V units in the USA are much different from my 220/240V machine I'm not sure why turtle would say that the Behmor will not give a good espresso roast. I could probably do a "full 100% carbon" roast on mine - if for some strange reason I wanted to do that.
My early efforts were more likely to be too dark rather than too light. While I was still learning to use it I did a couple that were VERY dark and oily, but now that I'm getting a handle on it I am can turn out roasts that make excellent espresso shots, and do it with a minimum of fuss.

Here in the land of OZ they have been used to win roasting competitions for espresso and for espresso based cappuccino/latte style coffees. And down here more folk prefer a fairly dark roast for espresso than the lighter "new wave" styles.

As yakster said, they don't work well for complex profiles, though the new 1600+ can be manually driven to acheive results that you can't get from the preset programs. That said, these days I mostly use mine with a preset combination that I know will work for the bean I'm working with. When I'm roasting a new variety I set up with what I think will work, and prepare to tweak it at first crack using the plus/minus buttons or by switching to manual control. By the second or third batch I can usually set it up and let it run on auto.

I do think that there is a significant difference between the 240 V and the 120 V Behmor roasters, the 240 V roasters have much more power available to them and also draw less current than the 120 V roasters so that you'll be able to get more heat into the beans with the 240 V version. Also, since it draws less current, you'll not see as big an impact from any voltage drop in the wiring from your breaker panel to the roaster.

The Behmor+ removed the pre-heat limitation of the earlier version so that you can pre-heat the roaster longer (without the beans in) before the roast which certainly helps and I believe that it roasts hotter in manual mode than the preset profiles, but I did have issues with voltage drop with my Behmor and do use a variac to ensure that I start the roast with 120 V available to the Behmor.

I have a Behmor 1600+ and use it mostly for espresso. I started roasting in the house and didn't have any issues with the fire alarm going off but my wife didn't like the smell so I now roast outdoors. For espresso, I typically roast FC+ and have gone even darker with no issues. This machine is more than capable of roasting darker espresso roasts.

Jeff, your description is exactly what I use my behmor for. I can't say I produce a rock solid roast, and I am sure many on this forum produce better, but I enjoy the process and the coffee is good. Sometimes it is amazing. I don't have experience with any other roasters so I can't offer a comparison.

Newish Behmor 1600+ roaster here. If you want a faster roast manual mode P5 does seem faster than P1 auto. Also use the faster drum speed. Sweet Maria's has a video where they show the results from using the fast drum speed. They cut a minute or minute-thirty off a roast. I definetly could go full carbon on mine. I don't use an extension cord and the socket I use has full voltage verified by Kill-a-Watt. I am more likely to over roast than under roast on my machine as well.