# Just picked up a second hand hottop.... What are they like roasting on auto?



## w1lldabeast

Just picked up a bit of a bargain but the controll panel doesn't work. Here is the listing description;

"This is the Hottop KN 8828 B coffee roast. It is 240volts and is in good condition apart from needing a new control panel, it lights up, but you can not see the numbers to change the roast. You can still roast on auto. The roaster is very quiet and you can see the beans through the glass front and listen for the first and second crack and eject when happy with the roast or it will eject automatically All the button are working. When I roast I use the auto roast anyway. There is a manual which explains everything. Any questions please email."

I plan to get a new panel at some point (any advice on sourcing parts would be much appreciated) but in the meantime I was wondering what it was like at roasting on auto?


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## ronsil

OK That seems to be a 'B' model. In use it is the best Hottop for control, far better than the more expensive 'P'.

Roasting on 'Auto' is OK but it does not suit all beans. The control panels do wear out with extended use. They are simple to replace & just involves disconnecting 3 terminals from the old panel & replacing them into a new panel. It is necessary to gently prise off the existing panel to do the wire changeover & then replace the new panel. Both these jobs require care not to break the plastic.

Over the years I have gathered many parts for Hottops & I think I have a spare 'B' panel which I have never used. New they cost around £120 plus postage from Taiwan.

Where abouts are you? What year was the Machine built. Did the seller buy it new or used? How heavy has it been used?. An indication of volume of use is to remove the drum & inspect the rear wall to see how thick is any build up of coffee oils. How many time has the rear filter been changed? What is the interior condition when the rear panel is removed?.

I would never buy a used HT without checking these things out as they can look bright & shiny outside but a nightmare within.

For guidance a new Hottop 'B' can be purchased at circa £750


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## w1lldabeast

Thanks for the detailed reply Ron.

I am in Southampton. The roaster was built in 2008, the seller has it from new, purchasing it from Taiwan. Apparently the panel lights up but you can't see the numbers. I haven't received it yet so I'll have to wait to check out any tar build up.

I started out using a modified rotisserie oven but had issues with the elements not heating up evenly resulting in one half of the roast reaching first crack before the other.

I them moved on to a behmor which I am currently using. It's giving me very even roasts but it had an annoying habit of cutting the power in and out at first crack, thus stalling the roast and and adding about 5 minutes to roast times I got in the rotisserie.

I Was thinking about bypassing the auto control panel and just manually controlling it when this came up on eBay for £140 buy it now.

I just thought I would be better off with this as a starting point if I was about to start altering control panels.


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## ronsil

That sounds good. Hottops really are built in the style of tanks. I know many well before 2008 which are worked hard on a daily basis & still going strong. Could be a real bargain at the price you paid. How did I miss that one?.

My advice FWIW would be that when you get the Machine before you do any roasting check it out carefully. Check the things we mentioned & carefully unscrew the 8 small screws holding the rear panel to the main body. When you lift the back panel off be careful to disconnect the one way connector linking the fan to the motherboard. Take care as it can be connected very tightly. No need to take the fan off the back panel at this stage. When replacing be sure not to pinch the fan lead between the casing & rear panel.

Check out inside in particular the top right hand corner beyond the motor. This is where an unbelievable amount of burnt chaff collects & it needs to be sucked out. Check all the Motherboard connections & the motor fixings. Obviously nothing should be loose.

At this stage if you would like to post some pictures I can tell you what I think.

All the spares are listed on Hottopusa but they will not supply anyone outside the USA. You will need to contact shelly at hottop Taiwan for new spares. Do bear in mind they treat $$s as ££s so you will have to pay full whack. Currency conversions do not exist in their World.

However see how you get on & I may be able to let you have the parts you may need.


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## GS11

Nice price . Post up some pics when you get it:good:


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## w1lldabeast

Thanks Ron,

Much appreciated! I'll do the checks and post some pics.

In the meantime there are some pics here in the listing;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HOTTOP-COFFEE-ROASTER-/251460182219?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Food_SM&hash=item3a8c31e0cb&nma=true&si=yajOy%252BqyNPE9H9TSI55mvryGTgE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


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## w1lldabeast

Hi Ron,

I received the roaster on Friday but only just had the time and space to strip it and take some pics.

The outside is in a very good condition as can be seen from the ebay pictures. The roaster hasn't been used for a while and inside the fan filter looks like it has been sat unchanged for a while and there is a build up of mould on the inside of the filter.

There's also a build up of tar on the motor housing and the surrounding casing. The motherboard and the lower casing doesn't have as much of a build up but is still showing signs of use.

The drum looks like it has been cleaned regularly but I will clean it again now whilst I have it appart.

I have read that people use regularly changed kitchen towel in place of the rear filter. Is that with some sort of mesh backing?

I have been reading your posts about roasting by computer and I am seriously considering it. The ability to record and repeat really appeals to me.


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## ronsil

Initially, perhaps, surprisingly that does not look too bad.

Throw out the rear filter but keep the frame. You can replace with a permanent stainless steel filter & when you do that it works well with a piece of paper towel renewed every other time its used. I can sell you a new unused HT rear filter at £8 + postage if you want to start with that whilst you source a stainless steel computer fan grill. As you can probably see in the FS Forum I recently sold one to 'expobarista'. I probably have another but can't put my hand on it at the mo.

Anyway the interior is not the worst I've seen & it will clean up very well. I use a very strong solution of Puly Machine cleaner & dry it off section by section as I go. The motor housing will always attract buildup of gunge. The blades on the fan can also be cleaned with Puly. I see from the 'Jumper Fuse' in the foreground of the motherboard thats its the same board as the current version but not the 'K' version.

If you are going to computerize this is the best version to work with if you had the K you would have to change out the thermocouple & replace with a button sensor which your machine already has.

Anyway happy cleaning.

When you've got everything up to standard I do suggest do a couple of 'Auto" roasts to get the feel of everything. Buy some green beans from say 'Rave' & at the same time buy the same bean ready roasted from them. That way you can see how your result compares.

Re the computerization, 'JimG' who builds the boards is now back in business & I'm sure would be able to fix you up. However as I've said before I may well have a spare set of boards I could sell you. It can save you the considerable postage from the US & you would have no duty (approx £35) on import.

Keep us posted on your progress & it looks like you got a bargain there


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## w1lldabeast

Thanks Ron, I've started the deep clean with Puly.

I have some green beans from a local roaster, I will have a play with and get a feel for it. What weight do you roast at a time and how long does it roughly take?

You mentioned you had a control panel before, my screen is gone and currently looks like this:







(sorry I don't know how to rotate the image on here)

If you do have one that would be great! How much would you want for it? I would definitely also be interested in the control boards if you have the ones that I need. I've just been reading the installation instructions.

A roast accurately controlled by BT would be brilliant and usually not possible for home roasters. It would be rude not to now I have the option....


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## ronsil

On way out for evening.

Will look out the Control Panel tomorrow morning.

To keep within Forum Rules I will put the 'B' Control Panel onto the FS Forum with the price. It is a new unused panel


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## w1lldabeast

Thanks Ron,

Much appreciated!


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## GS11

Cheers for the pics Wildabeast. Good luck with the clean up and hope you get the Hottop up and running soon:good:

Where are you planning to use the hottop: kitchen or garage? I like the hottop spec but am concerned not to see a decent exhaust outlet like on the Gene.


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## ronsil

I have added the new 'B' Control Panel with some pictures to the 'For Sale' section together with a new Rear Filter.

Can confirm that I also have the the TC4 Boards etc, available that you would need for the conversion.

Do suggest that you proceed steadily on this project & strongly recommend not to start the conversion until you gain some experience using the Hottop as a standard B machine. Its tempting to go ahead now as you have started to take it apart but hold back until you get some roasts under your belt & tested the HT in use.

You should weigh the green beans into the Machine at 250 grams to start with. Dependant on results & supply voltage you may wish to increase/decrease this amount by a maximum 10%. Good roasts take between 14-18 minutes on average.


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## ronsil

GS11 said:


> I like the hottop spec but am concerned not to see a decent exhaust outlet


HTs make a fair amount of smoke. If roasting indoors you would need to make up some sort of exhaust hood with extraction or elevate it on something to get closer to the cooker hood.

I roast outside in a gated carport with a Calor Gas o/h heater in the winter. Works well.


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## w1lldabeast

I've been roasting outside with my home made roaster and Behmor so I'm used to the smoke issues... The only problem with that is the impact the weather/temperature has on repeatability. The thing is, now I've used a quiet drum roaster where you can hear every crack and smell every change in the roast I couldn't imagine using noisy vented roaster. Although it would be very convenient to be able to roast inside.... We've just moved and now have a garage so hope to get set up in there soon.

It'll be good to be able to roast 250g at a time. The Behmor claims to be able to roast around that amount but I found I had to drop it to about 150g to get an even roast in under 15mins.


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## ronsil

Have you found time to fit your new 'B' Control Panel yet.?


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## w1lldabeast

Hi, Ron.

Had a really hectic month with a family member falling ill so only recently had the time fit the new panel.

Unfortunately the roaster seems to have a fault on the main board where it gets part way through the roast cycle and just resets itself.

It was happening with the old panel but I couldn't see what the screen was showing.

Is there any chance that I could return the new panel?


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## ronsil

You purchased the brand new unused 'B' panel from me on 04/03/2014 in perfect condition complete with protective screen covering. It is now not new & I have no way of knowing the working condition. I would not in good faith, be able to pass it on or sell it to someone else on the Forum.



> When you've got everything up to standard I do suggest do a couple of 'Auto" roasts to get the feel of everything.


The above is a quote from one of my early replies. Did you,in fact, run the HT on 'Auto' as I suggested prior to buying the new 'B' Control Panel from me? Did it reset part way through?

If it did you needed to stop at that point to take it up with the Ebay Seller as the item is not as described.

I happen to have some parts for Hottops gathered over the years but I am not a business & only sell the parts at cost or below to assist Forum Members NEVER at a profit.


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## w1lldabeast

The roaster did beep and stop but I knew there were various safety features that, at the time I thought could have been the causes.

I appreciate that you don't sell these items for commercial gain. Would you consider taking the item back for less than I originally paid for it to keep as a spare for one of your other hottops? I presume that was the reason you purchased it in the first place? (Unless, like me you had purchased it to replace a broken panel on a machine, only to find further issues) The item is in exactly the the same condition it was sold to me in. It has been plugged in, tested on a few trial roasts, then returned to its original packaging.


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## ronsil

The 'B' Panel came off a new HT I purchased early last year. I computerised that HT & as the panels are unimportant when using a computer I swapped it out, before use, with an old 'P' Panel.


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## Mrboots2u

w1lldabeast said:


> The roaster did beep and stop but I knew there were various safety features that, at the time I thought could have been the causes.
> 
> I appreciate that you don't sell these items for commercial gain. Would you consider taking the item back for less than I originally paid for it to keep as a spare for one of your other hottops? I presume that was the reason you purchased it in the first place? (Unless, like me you had purchased it to replace a broken panel on a machine, only to find further issues) The item is in exactly the the same condition it was sold to me in. It has been plugged in, tested on a few trial roasts, then returned to its original packaging.


Hi if you no longer require the item id say normal and fair practice would be for you to place an on here add and sell it yourself.

Cheers martin


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