Hot top failure

[RobertL]

That not only sucks its kind of dangerous.  not having a way to eject the beans and having them 'stuck' in there to cook off is just asking for a fire.   Maybe hot top needs a bit of a redesign.

The newer models have a manual eject knob for situations like this.

[John F]

The newer models have a manual eject knob for situations like this.

What a great feature....does it look anything like this?


John (feeling like an idiot in Littleton) F

[Ascholten]

Don't feel too bad John.  I did a terrible burn in my behmore yesterday.  bad enough it errored the thing out.  I did not see it in full action, I went into the roasting room well after the smoke was cleared out by the window fan etc but  oh man I could smell it.  the coffee was actually fused into a cylindrical lump.  I knew it was bad when the screen has a 'soot ring' where the fan was on it that is sticky with the smoke tar and crap.      I bet it will take me a week to get that smell out of the bathroom.  (without replacing it with my own smells that is    )

to behmore testament though, I did a cleaning cycle and it seems none the worse for it.

Aaron

[milowebailey]

The newer models have a manual eject knob for situations like this.

What a great feature....does it look anything like this?


John (feeling like an idiot in Littleton) F

Not an idiot.... you still have an issue with the roaster.  I'm inclined to think it's the control panel or wiring.  Solenoids don't go bad very often.

But the fact the safety was there and you didn't use it, is kinda funny.

[John F]

I just cleaned everything up, did a reassemble, and everything worked perfectly.

If this happens again I'll pull the emergency eject and contact HT. They are super responsive and very helpful. I have confidence (after this experience) that they will help me out quickly to resolve it if I need a new control board or something.

[RobertL]

This incident makes me think it would probably be a good idea to test the manual eject knob every now and then.

[ecc]

Glad this turned out OK!

I know everyone one of us that has been roasting any length of time has had a scare or two, but for newer roasters that haven't had the drill it is VERY important to plan ahead about safety.  When the adrenalin hits thinking is not at its high point.

For each roaster, I try to think out rough plans for things that easily could/will eventually happen, like
   - power outages/complete malfunction in the middle of a roast
   - sudden drum stoppage at a bad spot/misc discharge issues re: this thread
   - sudden ventilation blockage/fan/controller failure
   - chaff flare-ups in any exhaust venting
   - ignition in or outside the roaster at bean discharge ( lots of o2 quickly introduced all over the roaster )

For general safety concerns having a good sized extinguisher handy, a pair of silicon gloves nearby, ability to quickly remove power/separate from any fuel source, and a solid emergency plan go a long way to having a good outcome.  It also looks much better from the outside, which can be important if you have err.... potentially critical bystanders nearby.

[BoldJava]

Glad this turned out OK!

...
For general safety concerns having a good sized extinguisher handy, a pair of silicon gloves nearby, ability to quickly remove power/separate from any fuel source, and a solid emergency plan go a long way to having a good outcome.

+1.  I have an extinguisher available, OUT of the path but within reach.  I think through, once again, my "oh, man, I am in the soup" emergency plan before beginning every roasting session.

[GC7]

The same thing happened to me within a month of purchasing mine. I unplugged the unit and removed the front cover without burning myself and dumped the charred beans. Along with Randy Glass’ help we diagnosed a solenoid problem that controlled the ejection door. Michael at HotTop decided to replace my whole unit with a brand new one and he paid all the shipping costs. I’d say that was good service.  I have not had any problems since.

However, as Sean mentioned the buttons on the control panel can have problems as well. Lately I have had issues with the power, eject and power level buttons. They all work (eventually) but it may take 5-10 tries before contact is registered. I can see I a new board in my future.

Interesting timing as I just did a complete breakdown and cleaning of the entire unit today as well.  also put some new insulation over the drum (John - did you ever try the insulation I mailed to you?). 

I’ve stockpiled a lot of roasts and stored most in a ultra cold minus 80* freezer to hold me for the winter. This week I defrosted a roast of 50% Brazil Moreninha Formosa, 25% Ethiopia Amaro Gayo, 25% Ethiopia Limu-Nigusie Lemma that was roasted last February 20th. It was fresh as the week it was roasted!

[John F]

(John - did you ever try the insulation I mailed to you?). 

I have not done it yet. It's sitting 2' away in my roasting room.....I think your reminder will push me to install it either this weekend or next. Christmas shopping is dominating my day so far. 

[shakin_jake]

FWIW I've had my Hot Top B model for close to three years now...I log every roast with a date, bean type, batch weight, on and on...I just roasted the 375th batch yesterday...no problems with my roaster ever.  Okay, I just checked my log book...first roast was 2/18/09  This has been a good roaster for me...no issues ever


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc-ra-cy)
A system of government where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers

[jimec3]

did someone say millowidget??

[John F]

I was just roasting some Rawanda I scored from Milo and had the same failure. 

This time I pulled the emergency eject right away and saved the roast and my nerves. The emerg worked like a champ but I'm afraid something in the board is going bad. Sent an email to HT....will update when they respond.

[milowebailey]

I was just roasting some Rawanda I scored from Milo and had the same failure. 

This time I pulled the emergency eject right away and saved the roast and my nerves. The emerg worked like a champ but I'm afraid something in the board is going bad. Sent an email to HT....will update when they respond.

I was thinking about this.  When you press the cool button does the cooling fan and stirring motor turn on?  If not I would think it was a problem with the button.  If it does then either the board or the solenoid or the wiring.

Glad you didn't kill that Musasa...

[John F]

No..the cooling does not start. It's like I'm not pushing the button at all.

The Musasa is perfect...I went emerg in probably under 1 second.