Hottop Profiles / Q&A / Tips & Tricks

[shakin_jake]

Chad,  I forgot to mention...Yes, I bought the B model



Jake
Reddick Fla.
Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed

[shakin_jake]

Chad,  I tried what you suggested, lowering the heater to 50-60% a minute before 1st crack started.  It allowed the roast sit in the drum about 50 more seconds.  Very nice!


Jake
Reddick Fla.

[milowebailey]

Does anyone know what the "filter material" is for the top filter on the Hottop?

I ordered a rear filter when I got my used hottop but didn't notice then that the top filter is shot...

I know Hottop sells the complete filter, but is seems you should just be able to replace the filter material.

[Dante]

Does anyone know what the "filter material" is for the top filter on the Hottop?

I ordered a rear filter when I got my used hottop but didn't notice then that the top filter is shot...

I know Hottop sells the complete filter, but is seems you should just be able to replace the filter material.

I asked this same question sometime back but got no answer Larry. I tried using the filter material used for range hoods but the heat in the Hottop is much too intense for that. If you find the right replacement material, and need to buy more of it than you need, I 'll be happy to split the cost and the material with you.

[cfsheridan]

Does anyone know what the "filter material" is for the top filter on the Hottop?

I ordered a rear filter when I got my used hottop but didn't notice then that the top filter is shot...

I know Hottop sells the complete filter, but is seems you should just be able to replace the filter material.

I asked this same question sometime back but got no answer Larry. I tried using the filter material used for range hoods but the heat in the Hottop is much too intense for that. If you find the right replacement material, and need to buy more of it than you need, I 'll be happy to split the cost and the material with you.

Is it worth the trip?  The replacement is $10 (including the metal), and I just keep two and soak the assembly in a cafiza wash every hundred roasts or so.  Dante--may be worth it for you given shipping costs, but for US, I don't see why it's needed.  My $0.02.

[milowebailey]

Is it worth the trip?  The replacement is $10 (including the metal), and I just keep two and soak the assembly in a cafiza wash every hundred roasts or so.  Dante--may be worth it for you given shipping costs, but for US, I don't see why it's needed.  My $0.02.

Just the engineer in me....

[cfsheridan]

Is it worth the trip?  The replacement is $10 (including the metal), and I just keep two and soak the assembly in a cafiza wash every hundred roasts or so.  Dante--may be worth it for you given shipping costs, but for US, I don't see why it's needed.  My $0.02.

Just the engineer in me....

I've kept my professional registration, but been doing too much project management, clearly.

[slurp]

Recently replaced the "P" panel with a "B" panel and added environment and bean mass temperature probes.

Pictures and write-up at the blog link below.

I'm a new user with the "B" panel. Question: Why would an experienced roaster like yourself want to switch from the more sophisticated "P" panel in favor of a "B" panel?

With my "B", I have been struggling to do profile modifications from "Auto" mode but finding everything goes so fast! It has seemed to me that maybe I should have bought the "P" model so that I could program a profile ahead of time.

I went to your blog but couldn't find any text there that answered my questions above.

[shakin_jake]

Slurp,  Chad will forget more about the Hot Top than I know.  I only have 20 roasts on mine

Having said that, the first 17 cycles I was roasting a dry processed (DP) Yirg (IMV) that went quick through the cycle.  I found by taking Chad's  advice of lowering the heater output to 50 or 60% of it's capacity one minute before 1st crack, I got a longer roast out of it.  Pull the bean chute cover at the same time and the roast will extend even longer

Now the last 3 roasts I ran through the Hot Top have been a Sumatran, must be a wet process bean as there is little if any chaff, but the bean is much larger and has to be harder than the Yirg as the roast time is way longer to get up to a FC +


FWIW, I'm pretty impressed with the Hot Top.  Before that, I ran all my roasts through a Behmor.  96 Behmor roasts to be exact.  The Hot Top allows more control over the roast compared to the Behmor.  I have the Hot top B model and at this point, no desire to want to use the P panel



Jake
Reddick Fla.
History teaches us that we learn little from history...

[cfsheridan]

Recently replaced the "P" panel with a "B" panel and added environment and bean mass temperature probes.

Pictures and write-up at the blog link below.

I'm a new user with the "B" panel. Question: Why would an experienced roaster like yourself want to switch from the more sophisticated "P" panel in favor of a "B" panel?

With my "B", I have been struggling to do profile modifications from "Auto" mode but finding everything goes so fast! It has seemed to me that maybe I should have bought the "P" model so that I could program a profile ahead of time.

I went to your blog but couldn't find any text there that answered my questions above.

Simple:  The "P" does not allow direct manual control of the heater and the fan during the roast.  The "B" does.  With the bean and environment probes, and knowledge of what bean I am roasting and what profile I'd like to achieve, I have total control over the roast.  The only real tricky part is having a sense for the time delay between dropping or increasing the heater power level and seeing the heat-up rate drop or rise (due to the thermal mass in the heating element).  Programming a profile ahead of time with the "P" assumes you can nail down what's needed in specific time increments.  With the "B", you can save a successful profile, and it will repeat itself with little to no adjustment.

For example, I ran three samples from the same region through it last week, intending to run the same profile.  I saved my first run, and then did not have to make many adjustments for the next two runs.  My intended profile was a City+ roast, with extra drying (these were relatively moist beans) with an extended time running between 350-370?F for extra caramelizing.  I noticed that the beans were moist during the first roast, so I lowered the heat and extended the drying time before 300?F while bumping up the fan speed to remove the moisture.

I have a general sense of where I want to go with each roast--the "B" allows me full control of the input parameters directly (heater power and fan speed).  The other thing I don't like about the "P" is that the heater is either on or off--there's no reduced power, so trying to ease things for longer drying periods or for lower grown/decaf beans is done by lowering the set temperatures, which means you're running full heater to the target temperature, and then nothing.  That does not make for an even ramp.

[Dante]

I have been using the B for over a year now and I, too, prefer it to a fully "automated" roaster like the Sonofresco. I have greater control over the roast, with heat and fan control on the fly. With the B, I am able to follow the not so common roasting advice for beans like the Elida Natural which shines with a longer ramp up time to first crack. I can also extend the period between first and second crack depending on the suggested roast profile or the bean. Of course I have to stay with the machine throughout the roast process, but that is more than half the fun of it!

[slurp]

Many thanks to CFSheridan and the two other posters for their comments. That perfectly answers my question -- and it erases all "post-decision regret" that I didn't buy the "P"!

This would seem to be one of those infrequent situations where a less expensive purchase trumps a more expensive one.

[YasBean]

Ehh, I'm not so sure.  I, too, thought a "B" would be good, but got the "P" anyhow.  (I liked the look of the control panel.)  There have been times where I would really like to change things on the fly, but have found that the forced forethought has really paid off.  As I buy in 10-15# lots, I do get quite a few roasts from one bean, and it takes only a few to nail down the right profile.  I have settled on three or four main categories of profiles (wet processed, dry, high altitude, dark roast).  I actually enjoy setting a profile and then forcing myself to just "go along for the ride."  I occassional meddle with the temp setting or final timing, but usually regret it.

[cfsheridan]

Ehh, I'm not so sure.  I, too, thought a "B" would be good, but got the "P" anyhow.  (I liked the look of the control panel.)  There have been times where I would really like to change things on the fly, but have found that the forced forethought has really paid off.  As I buy in 10-15# lots, I do get quite a few roasts from one bean, and it takes only a few to nail down the right profile.  I have settled on three or four main categories of profiles (wet processed, dry, high altitude, dark roast).  I actually enjoy setting a profile and then forcing myself to just "go along for the ride."  I occassional meddle with the temp setting or final timing, but usually regret it.

I understand your position.  I roasted at least 150# with the P control panel.  Here's my dealbreaker on the P--the profiles it runs have the heater running at either 100% or 0%.  That is insufficient control in a drum roaster for my uses, or will require me to babysit the roaster to coax 4 minutes or from first to 2nd or, when I'm roasting light, to pull 3-1/2 to 4 minutes from the start of first to the end of roast, not getting anywhere near 2nd crack.  Having watched over 100 roasts with two thermocouples and the B control panel, there's just no comparison, for me.

[slurp]

It sounds like Hottop needs to combine the best features of the "B" and "P" on its next version of the control panel, namely,

1) the ahead-of-time profiling feature of the "P",

2) variable temperature control for the heater, as in the "B", rather than all (100%) or none (0%), as in the "P",

3) on-the-fly manual adjustments as in the "B".

It would be especially nice if that could be done as an optional panel upgrade for users of the present "B" and "P" roasters -- rather than requiring purchase of a new machine.