That cat reminds me of the wife lol, I only use a pair of leather gloves, never burnt my self yet. The only thing is move quickly and have your cooling system next to the SC/TO, works perfect for me. been doing it this way over 3 years and roasted hundreds a pounds 12 to 16 oz at a time, it has never cease to amaze me of how tough these SC/TOs are, I have three of them and never had one fail on me. Won't be roasting this way much longer, my new roaster should be hear early next week, the ability to do 5 lbs at a time will be huge for me.