Hi there!

Any experience on this home roaster, looks pretty rugged, & yes, it is hand cranked(could easily add a motor) & needs a heatsource (rip out an old gas element from a discarded BBQ)
I was about to get a Hottop but then i found this, so now i need to make up my mind...(help;)




Can be found here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220334264871

For that price plus shipping I wouldn't even entertain the thought. Get the Hottop and be done with it. Just my $.02

There has already been lots of discussion about this roaster on CoffeeGeek:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/...e/homeroast/398236

The general opinion seems to be it is not worth the money. Since you don't get a motor or even a heat source, it would cost you more than the price of the Hottop to set it up properly.

For the price, nothing can beat the Behmor 1600. If you are willing to spend twice the price of the Behmor, then get the Hottop and you'll get some extra profile flexibility.

Ok, i understand you guys, but(there is always the "but"..) adding a motor(for me) is basically free(i am sure i can find one lying around i can use) and the heating can be provided by an old BBQ grill(there are tons of those lying around too) and i can fix up all that myself.

About the Hottop, i have no problem spending the amount on it(i am not trying to find just something cheap here) but i have a friend who has one and have had the chance to play with it(even opened it once when it was broken, and fixed it!), the problem is,
-it does not allow you to roast that much at a time(my current home-made drum+air roaster takes 2kg(4.5lbs), goes to 300C(572F) no problem, but it is old and crappy and needs to go to the roasters cemetery by now;)
-it "plasticky" and has lots of electronics that will not last(oh, am i going to get response for this:)

I could fabricate one myself(the Salvador one, not Hottop) but at that price it would be stupid.

Anyone tried it?
I would basically like to know if it is that well made as it looks?

for $500.... No Sir.

Howard

j7on wrote:-it "plasticky" and has lots of electronics that will not last(oh, am i going to get response for this:)

The dependability of the Hottops is very good. Over the years all the weak points have been upgraded (drum motor and gearbox, drum front bearing plate, the drum itself was redesigned, the bean-cooling agitation motor). The plastic parts are quite tough and flexible, even after prolonged use and exposure to the heat.

I posted some of my concerns over the El Salvador unit in the thread on CG. check there for my opinions on it.

Why isn't it shown in action? None of the pictures appear to have hot smoking fresh roasted coffee in them. Call me suspicious. By watching craigslist like a hawk, I got a used HotTop at a great price.

Mark

I think this roaster looks cool and from the looks of it I think anyone who is handy could probably use it to roast coffee successfully, with or without modifications. Value for money is a subjective thing, but were it made in the USA I'd bet it would cost a whole lot more.

The referenced CG thread is entirely worthless (sorry to anyone who has posted there who will read this). There is not a single person commenting who has any experience whatsoever with this roaster nor who has seen it in the flesh. It actually looks very similar in basic design to my own sample roaster, which does however have its own heat source.

Comparing something like this to a Behmor is (pardon my language) a joke. I'd consider buying one of these but I would not take a Behmor, for free.

Comparing this to a Hottop is likewise specious. I have a Hottop, which I bought as a backup unit. I very seldom use it as I find it to be a huge PITA. They have engineered in "safety features" such as warnings that come on well before the onset of first crack, and after onset of first, and if you don't hit the right button(s) within 20 (or is it 30?) seconds, the roast will abort and the beans will have to be tossed. This has happened to me about 1/3 of the times I have used it. The eject button is right in the middle of the other buttons and when the beep beep beep starts you better be fast and hit the right button, or there you have it, another 8 oz. of green that will go in the trash. I hate devices that try to make themselves idiot-proof for liability reasons, without regard to usability.

I have no doubt that the HT can do a good job in roasting coffee, but it suffers from being an electric and electronic device, and the durability of it cannot be compared to a simple, entirely metal, roaster such as this one. Were I to buy one of these I'd hack in a motor and probably add a heat source rather than use it on the range, but I'd not dismiss it for the need to do those things. I think you could also easily hack in a thermocouple probe and learn how to roast with this the same way that a pro does.

I might add that the seller has a 100% positive feedback rating, of more than 3000.

Don't dismiss things out of hand just because they do not conform to your own sense of what should be provided at a certain price point. To make this in the USA would cost twice as much.

ken

Nicely put Ken.

I like the looks of this roaster. It would be a fun mod project, but I would want to see an interior shot of the drum first and get a look at the paddles.

Ken, why would you not take a Behmor for free? Because you think it is not good or you just don't need one?