I came across what seems to be a decent deal for a used Hottop, but am cautious in spending the chunk of change for a used piece of equipment. For those that have experience with the roaster, could you tell me what check points I should go over or questions I should ask the seller to ensure it is in good working order? Any info or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Easiest thing to do is check it out first, roast some beans before buying. Some questions: why are you selling, i.e. what is going to replace it(if not an upgrade, run)? Did it ever catch fire? How was it maintained, cleaned and how often? Any obvious damage? Look at the filters in the rear and on the top- are they new or black, burned showing lack of maintenance. Open up the rear and check none of wires burned and no chaff collected and motor doesn't look burned. Does it smell like burned electric wires? A very big plus is an upgrade w/ TC4-HTC? Is it the B, not the older D? If you are not an experienced roaster, bring a friend who is to check out the trial roast. Is the current owner a member of this forum or at least coffee geek, and if yes, what is your impression of him(her)? Is the current owner the original owner or a reseller? Can you return it if not satisfied?

Marvin

Aside from Marvin's excellent list I'd add that in the time I had a Hottop B (2-3 years) I replaced the motor and main control board and since I think those parts are both about a hundred dollars each you may want to ask about them specifically. How old is the roaster and has he/she had to replace any parts?

In my 7 years of owning a D model I have had very few problems. I've burned up two heating elements and about every two years under once a day use it will randomly start ejecting beans. When It does this, it has been remedied every time by tearing it apart and washing the PCBs in rubbing alcohol. So just keep this In mind if you get a random eject.

I have never cleaned the roast chamber or drum. The filters...don't matter, I would not consider their condition as an indication of anything.

In summary, roasting a batch should tell you what you need to know. If the warranty seal across a screw in the back has been broken or missing, ask why it has been opened.

If you can physically inspect the roaster this is always best over asking questions in an email or phone call.

There are several versions of the Hottop that have been produced over the years. If you are not familiar with what each of them are and the function of each model, go to the Hottop web site and review them so you will know what you are looking at and what you may want to do to the roaster once you acquire it.

http://www.hottopusa.com/product.html

the older the model, the less functionality it will have, the lower the price should be to reflect this.

Any model can be upgraded all the way to the newest one being sold today but the cost to bring one all the way up can be just under $300 and require the entire roaster be disassembled, chassis parts (main frame) replaced with the new parts so keep this in mind as this is like replacing the frame on a car, everything must come off, new frame installed, all parts go back on.

If the roaster runs (does a roast cycle) when you inspect it, it will probably run for you until something fails which is a "roll the dice" event and determined by the number of roasts on the machine and the maintenance done by the previous owner. Before you roast any beans run the roaster through a "dry cycle" where comes up to temp. You can manually eject to make sure it will eject and that the roaster goes into the cooling cycle. This will allow you to test the "too hot turn on" function as well as the manual eject. When the roaster cools down then run a half pound of beans through the most common roast you expect to use with it.

As far as inspections. Have the owner remove the drum and look inside for oils and other residue. This should be the minimum inspection before purchasing. If the owner will let you unscrew the back cooling fan and back cover you can then inspect the motor and circuit boards for oils and residue (you'll need a smaller #1 or #0 philips screwdriver to do this). DON'T be afraid if you do see oils on everything as any Hotpot, if it is used, is going to have a build up on the motor and other internal parts. The way the roaster is designed all of the hot smoke and vaporized oils are drawn back across the motor and other internal parts before being expelled out the rear fan.

I purchased my one generation old Hottop (KN-8833B-2) used from someone who used it HEAVILY. They said they had roasted over 250 lbs of beans in it and it looked it when I got it (black everywhere inside and signs of fire in the roasting chamber). My investment was a day dissembling, cleaning, and reassembling for time. New top and rear filters for materials. I have been using it weekly since I purchased it in November last year. The control panel is sticky and the eject button is a bit flaky and I have had to pull the chafe tray to eject the beans a couple of times but all in all the roaster works perfectly other than that.

I would not be too afraid of any Hottop as long as it runs through the roasting cycles. All parts are readily available through Hottop USA so there is little that can go wrong that you cannot fix yourself. They are not complex and they are rather easy to disassemble and maintain.

It all boils down to the price you can purchase it for.

Just an FYI.... There is one for sale here in Spokane. I know the owner and know he has used it very little, and takes very good care of his stuff. He owns a coffee shop in town and is a very honest and upstanding guy. He purchased a new roaster so he can do in house roasting, so he is selling his personal Hottop. He want's $800.00 which is pricey, but used very little. The ad is on CL is you want to look up the information.

Dan

Thank you to everyone that has posted a reply so far. You've provided some very helpful information and insight. I should have included in my initial post that the seller is not local, so I will not be able to do a physical inspection. The model he is selling is a late 2009 model with new filters and with the "basic" interface. He is selling because he recently upgraded to a Diedrich. I have seen pictures and it shows no sign of fire. The interior is clean and does not require any additional cleaning. He will be sending additional pictures/videos of it in operation here soon. The price he is offering is a bargain and is actually going to increase the price by $100 if I do not decide to purchase it. It is good to hear about the Hottop's somewhat "ease" of serviceability and accessibility of replacement parts, so I feel like I will not be taking such a big hit on a breakdown if I ever encounter one. I am interested to hear if you agree or disagree with this sentiment. Thanks again in advance!

I work for Hottop...

Check the Hottop USA website as there you will find all the repair procedures, availability of parts (which is virtually anything you are likely to ever need even if the parts are not listed), and you can download the user manual. But you have not mentioned what model it is nor the price. Those two things together mean a lot. Condition as well, of course. A machine that looks great on the outside could have had a fire inside.

The model is the KN-8828B-2K model purchased in 2009. He is selling it for $550. In your opinion, is this a fair price? Thankya!

As far as I am concerned the very best thing and most important thing about a Hottop is that you can buy any part you need. That is freaking fantastic. I dont think anyone here will tell you that even in stock form it is a bad roaster. I would not call the parts. . .inexpensive, but they don't hose you either. Mine came with a manufacturing defect, and even though I bought it for cheaper than I should have been able, they fixed it ricky tick with a smile. I forget the US guys name off hand, but he's very nice and helpful with any question.

I only have "records" to September of 2009 and since that time I have roasted 570lbs. I'm guessing I've roasted another 200lbs in addition, so that's roughly 1500 roastings with 3 PCB cleanings and 2 heating elements burned up. I'm still well under a dollar a pound roasted weight and going strong at 7 years.

Not to be a fan boy or anything, but it's a solid, time-tested machine. As for the price. . .it's hard to say, if it was used every day since then like mine, I would be a little reluctant to pay that. But given the price of a new one and the availability of parts, I've gotta say that I dont think its a bad deal. . .hard to say if a good deal.