Hottop Profiles / Q&A / Tips & Tricks

[Tex]

WHY ISN'T THIS THREAD STILL STICKIED?

It is.  What are you looking at?

B|Java

C'mon man, don't mess with da bull.

[RobertL]

I took my HT apart for its first deep cleaning and I noticed the drum motor has a lot of dark coffee residue on the top half. Is this normal? Should I try to clean it off? I wish I had taken a picture next time I have it apart I will.

[smico21]

I was cleaning my Hottop, and couldn't reach some residuals at the bottom of the drum.  Then I figured easy way to do it - put the drum in electrical oven and run self cleaning.
I came up with the idea myself, so don't quote me now some old threads or whatnot.

The only disadvantage is that the drum is not longer shiny at easy to reach places, but it has some kind of golden layer throughout.  But clean it is.

Miroslav

[shakin_jake]

I took my HT apart for its first deep cleaning and I noticed the drum motor has a lot of dark coffee residue on the top half. Is this normal? Should I try to clean it off? I wish I had taken a picture next time I have it apart I will.

~~~that is normal, you can clean it, I use paper towel soaked in Joe Glo/warm water to remove this residue.  It's a PITA but if you keep at it each time you remove the rear cover to blow chaff off the electrical board every 3 months, your motor will come clean fairly fast, but skip a cleaning or two, and it will take longer to remove


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
"As democracy is perfected, the office of President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be occupied by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

[shakin_jake]

I was cleaning my Hottop, and couldn't reach some residuals at the bottom of the drum.  Then I figured easy way to do it - put the drum in electrical oven and run self cleaning.
I came up with the idea myself, so don't quote me now some old threads or whatnot.

The only disadvantage is that the drum is not longer shiny at easy to reach places, but it has some kind of golden layer throughout.  But clean it is.

Miroslav

~~~here's another way to clean the drum....take a 4 or 5 gallon plastic pail and pour some TSP in it, add water (hot), place the drum in this solution, come back 20 minures later and use a 3M/sponge pad on it...the baked on bean matter comes right off.  I also place the cooling tray, bean chute lid, front cover and the air filter in this same solution.  Mix the TSP with water according to the ratio suggested on the TSP carton.  TSP (tri sodium phosphate) can be bought at any hardware and is most often used as a wall cleaner but it is also a key ingredient in most proprietary espresso machine cleaners, like Glo Joe, except Joe Glo includes some rinse agebnts in their formulation.  That said, I would never use straight TSP to clean an espresso machine 3 way valve, group as some of the TSP wont rinse out of passage ways you can't see, but when cleaning your roaster parts, those you can see and get your hands on, straight TSP is a good economical cleaner.  Also, don't forget to rinse the parts well after using either cleaner.  Others may have better and different ideas 


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
An appointment is an engagement to see someone, while a morningstar is a large lump of metal used for viciously crushing skulls. It is important not to confuse the two

[YasBean]

How important is it to keep the drum, etc, shiny clean?  I thought seasoning was a good thing.

[shakin_jake]

How important is it to keep the drum, etc, shiny clean?  I thought seasoning was a good thing.

~~~~IMO & experience, cleaning the drum is not critical as it is so close to the heat source, it never cools enough while the beans are smoking for soot to develop on it, but you should take the bean chute cover and clean it well, as well as the chute the beans slide on into the drum, but to do that the outer wrap must be removed.  Besides cleaning the rear main filter, what's important to do if you are using this roaster week in week out is to remove the rear cover and blow the chaff off the electronics board, and it's not a bad idea to manually clean the blades of the rear fan and the motor housing occasionally, since the soot builds up on those components <big time>


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
Liberalism: Ideas so good they have to be mandatory

[YasBean]

I remove the back cover and blow that out, then vacuum as much out as I can.  Cleaning the fan blades was not very easy.  I was thinking of just getting a new fan from a computer or electronics graveyard in the future.  Unfortunately, I think I stripped the threads on the back cover, so I will be reluctant to take the whole back assembly off again.

The thick layer of coffee lacquer that has built up on my chute cover was a source of pride and pleasure.  You're saying that is bad? 

[shakin_jake]

I remove the back cover and blow that out, then vacuum as much out as I can.  Cleaning the fan blades was not very easy. 

~~~Yes, cleaning the fan blades is a thankless job but the soot build up impairs the motor's ability to turn the fan putting an extra load on the motor.  I've cleaned mine with a paper towel soaked in a solution of Joe Glo espresso machine cleaner and hot water.  It's tedious but gets the soot off

I was thinking of just getting a new fan from a computer or electronics graveyard in the future.

~~~I just purchased a new rear fan from Hot Top when i bought a new control panel board (to fix the sticking button issue), the new rear fan from Hot Top cost $25 & includes the plastic housing it is bolted into...plug and play as the fan wiring harness is set up for Hot Top's connector, but if you could replace just the fan for a whole lot less and splice it into the Hot Top connector, go for it.  I felt at $25, it was just cheaper to buy the new OEM fan unit from Hot Top, but I was already ordering other parts from them

  Unfortunately, I think I stripped the threads on the back cover, so I will be reluctant to take the whole back assembly off again.

~~~those 8 or so screws holding the rear cover are certainly a PITA to R&R w/o mucking up the heads.  I'm going to guess the head of the fastnerer is what you stripped?  I've heard of other Hot Top owners fitting different fasteners, ones with better heads that are not so prone to strip.  I've been aware of the difficulty removing them so I have been extra careful whenever R&Ring and they have not stripped for me.  Might be worth it to order 8 of those screws from them whenever ordering other factory parts and replace every other time the rear cover is removed as matter of course.  I know Hot Top includes new screws with their top filter and the fan I bought also included four new screws, and I tossed the OEM fasteners when I replaced the fan and whenever I replace the top filter, which has been 3 times

The thick layer of coffee lacquer that has built up on my chute cover was a source of pride and pleasure.  You're saying that is bad?

~~~I think it's worth cleaning from time to time to keep the build up from getting out of control.  What if a good sized piece of the build up breaks off, unbeknownst to you, falls into the coffee drum and makes it out of the roaster along with the roasted beans.  I wouldn't want that flavour going through my coffee grinder into my espresso basket along with the grinds I brew.  This is the same reason I remove the lower burr carrier on my coffee grinder every 2 weeks and thoroughly clean it, so the built up coffee oils that attach themselves to the fingers of the carrier do not make their way into my coffee. 

That oil turns rancid if left on too long.  The spooge on your bean chute cover and chute if flakes and falls into the roaster drum may burn up before ever making it out of the roaster, but why let this stuff mix with the coffee you're roasting in the first place?


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla. 
My great grandfather was an old indian fighter...he was married to an old indian...

[YasBean]

~~~those 8 or so screws holding the rear cover are certainly a PITA to R&R w/o mucking up the heads.  I'm going to guess the head of the fastnerer is what you stripped? 

Nope, it is the plastic of the back housing that has been stripped.  Now, I turn and turn the screws, but they do not hit the end.  Removing is the same, I turn but they do not come out.  They are holding the housing on by friction.

[shakin_jake]

~~~those 8 or so screws holding the rear cover are certainly a PITA to R&R w/o mucking up the heads.  I'm going to guess the head of the fastnerer is what you stripped? 

Nope, it is the plastic of the back housing that has been stripped.  Now, I turn and turn the screws, but they do not hit the end.  Removing is the same, I turn but they do not come out.  They are holding the housing on by friction.

~~~I'd take one of the fasteners to your favorite hardware and get the next largest size.  It might thread in and hold.  If not, go to the size after that?  Let us know how it works for you


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
“Be Who You Are and Say What You Feel Because Those Who Mind Don't Matter and Those Who Matter Don't Mind.” -Dr. Suess

[smico]

How to stop smoke leaking through the HT bean chute?
I currently use teflon tape, wounded around the shute cover, and it helps but it's not perfect.
I am thinkig to buy hi temp (food grade, although not critical) silicon to make chute cover plug in. Or apply thin layer of silicone on the hottop around the chute.
Does anyone have some other solution implemented, or some other idea?

[shakin_jake]

How to stop smoke leaking through the HT bean chute?
I currently use teflon tape, wounded around the shute cover, and it helps but it's not perfect.
I am thinkig to buy hi temp (food grade, although not critical) silicon to make chute cover plug in. Or apply thin layer of silicone on the hottop around the chute.
Does anyone have some other solution implemented, or some other idea?

~~~Either your bean chute cover or the piece it sits on is bent.  Figure out which one it is (examine carefully)  and replace it.  You can buy OEM replacement parts from the Hot Top distributor (Michael) who lives outside New York City in Long Island (or is it Rhode Island?).  Contact Michael directly through the U.S. website.  The replacement parts prices are economical, he has them in stock, ships quickly...get going=:-)


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
Our FREEDOM rests on 4 boxes:

Soap, Ballot, Jury, and Cartridge 

[smico]

I have had this problem from the first roast and assumed that it was a common problem with all HT roasters.
I have new cover, let me investigate further...
Thanks,
Miroslav

[RobertL]

Mine has done it since day one I also thought it was a common problem. I notice it more with dry processed coffee or when I roast darker.