I had 2 chaff fires, very mild since I pay attention the whole roast but I had a batch of monsoon beans charr and catch fire before first crack, very scary and very smokey. Plenty of chaff fires with the Behmor to read about over at coffee geek. Any roaster is capable of creating a fire so always be prepared no matter what type of roaster is being used. The Hottop when it first came to the USA had many reported fires this however seems to have been remedied many years ago.
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Not that I don't value the knowlege here, but this reply just made my decision final, in favor of the Hottop.

With the Brasilia and Macap, it only makes sense to complete the trilogy with the right roaster.

One of the things I have learned about this hobby is, for me at least, eventually you are gonna need the best stuff, so buy it before you upgrade too many times and end up paying twice as much.

The sound factor and limited visiblity is a major factor for me as I am deaf in my right ear thanks to an accident a while ago.


Thanks for the note. The Behmor is a decent machine for the money. It has low to no visibility so you will be roasting by the sound instead of the color of the beans it has great smoke reduction. The HotTop basic is great because it is a solidly built machine with interchangeable parts, it also has an external cooling tray which makes it closest to a professional roaster, no coasting to account for means more accuracy, it does not have a good smoke reduction feature. With all Roasting machines it is important to keep your eye on them with the Behmor it is extra important as it can get particularly hot after 2nd crack, here are some notes on that -
http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.behmor2_use.php
and other resources to help you make your decision-
http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasters-...ngaroaster.php
http://www.sweetmarias.com/roastercomparisonchart.php
http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/forum/
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How true! :-)
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In that case let's talk Diedrich 3k roasters or Diedrich home roaster. Take a look at there bigger roasters as well Like. :-)

I would love to build a room around my roasting and brewing hobby, all glass and looking at the backyard so I can keep an eye on the little devil(s), I have one more on the way. It should defiantly have a root cellar with a dumb waiter for green bean storage :-). Sadly the amount of money that is needed to create such a play room means I will probably rent space and open up as a roasting business for less $. Besides this retirement crap is boring, well not the part of raising the kid(s) but the rest of it.
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