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raisin · 02-10-2010, 11:19 AM

There's two things to watch for with the kill-a-watt appliance, voltage supply and voltage drop.

Plug the KAW into an outlet and read the Line Voltage, this will generally vary during the day following the utilities ability to compensate for demand. (mine is 114v - 122v) This reading can also vary around your house, depending on the age, length, and traffic on that particular circuit. DON'T use an extension cord.
Voltage drop will occur when the outlet and/or it's associated circuit operates under load according to age, etc. (mine drops 3-5 volts when the Behmor is running full tilt, more when the original line voltage is low, less when voltage is abundant.)

In my experience ( i'm on my second Behmor, the first is 140 in dog-years!), this machine roasts best at 120v+ initial supply with the voltage drop at peak consumption never below 116v. The higher the voltage the hotter and faster the roast becomes, both desirable conditions for the Behmor.
For me, this meant a lot of late night roasting (1-3am) when everyone is asleep and the voltage rises above 120v. On cfgk you can read of folk who don't have the supply problems that i experience, if you are so blessed all of this might prove thankfully moot.

Once the roast has started, switch the KAW to read wattage so you can see what the Behmor is doing at any given moment. I usually see an initial consumption of ~950 watts as the motor and heating elements actuate. After a few minutes the wattage will hit ~1500w once the afterburner kicks in. From this point on the afterburner will stay on continuously until 9:30 remains on the cooling cycle.

Wattage will drop when the brain turns off the heating elements, so you can follow it's thinking by watching the KAW. These drops are determined by the peak temperature and by the profile chosen, so look at the profile charts in the manual and read the % total power applied at various stages of the roast. This is most important when using the workhorse P2 profile and you want to time the power decrease with the 1c, so as to lengthen the period between 1c-2c. A longish inter-crack time span will enhance and richen the roast flavors and it is highly desirable to time and control this particular part of the roast.

(i hate typing, this was an hour of composition!)

02-10-2010, 11:19 AM	#16
raisin Still Watching My Back Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 82 Trading: (0)	Re: Behmor on the way There's two things to watch for with the kill-a-watt appliance, voltage supply and voltage drop. Plug the KAW into an outlet and read the Line Voltage, this will generally vary during the day following the utilities ability to compensate for demand. (mine is 114v - 122v) This reading can also vary around your house, depending on the age, length, and traffic on that particular circuit. DON'T use an extension cord. Voltage drop will occur when the outlet and/or it's associated circuit operates under load according to age, etc. (mine drops 3-5 volts when the Behmor is running full tilt, more when the original line voltage is low, less when voltage is abundant.) In my experience ( i'm on my second Behmor, the first is 140 in dog-years!), this machine roasts best at 120v+ initial supply with the voltage drop at peak consumption never below 116v. The higher the voltage the hotter and faster the roast becomes, both desirable conditions for the Behmor. For me, this meant a lot of late night roasting (1-3am) when everyone is asleep and the voltage rises above 120v. On cfgk you can read of folk who don't have the supply problems that i experience, if you are so blessed all of this might prove thankfully moot. Once the roast has started, switch the KAW to read wattage so you can see what the Behmor is doing at any given moment. I usually see an initial consumption of ~950 watts as the motor and heating elements actuate. After a few minutes the wattage will hit ~1500w once the afterburner kicks in. From this point on the afterburner will stay on continuously until 9:30 remains on the cooling cycle. Wattage will drop when the brain turns off the heating elements, so you can follow it's thinking by watching the KAW. These drops are determined by the peak temperature and by the profile chosen, so look at the profile charts in the manual and read the % total power applied at various stages of the roast. This is most important when using the workhorse P2 profile and you want to time the power decrease with the 1c, so as to lengthen the period between 1c-2c. A longish inter-crack time span will enhance and richen the roast flavors and it is highly desirable to time and control this particular part of the roast. (i hate typing, this was an hour of composition!)