Helpful advice would be much appreciated. I've been using a Hottop B for about a year now and have settled into an espresso profile that works very well for me but I wonder- could it be better? I know the answer- of course! It can always be better...
So here's the general idea: 8oz loads, usually SO, beans in at 250F and full power til about 285F (shifts a little depending on bean color)-- this usually comes right around 3:00. Power drop to 70 and to 50 at 300F. I'll use the fan to keep the temp rise slow til 330F and 5:30 elapsed so the total drying phase is generally 5.5 to 6 minutes. Then full power and no fan til 30 seconds before first crack and that usually comes at 395-400F. 30 seconds before first crack I drop the power to 70 and about 20-30 seconds later power drop to 50. When first is over power drops to 30 and I work the fan trying to get second crack (if I go that far) to start 4:30 after first crack started.
Soft beans go in at 235F get 80 or 90% power after the drying phase, all same after that.
The trick has been to not stall the roast between cracks. I had a Sumatra roast recently go 5 minutes without second and I stopped the roast. Surprisingly to me, it made a very good espresso after it rested for a while.
Sometimes I bring the power back up during the crack interval fearing a stall but I have noticed that this usually leads to burn holes in a few beans- never a lot but I'm pretty sure any charring at all is bad so that is one of the reasons I'm hoping to hear how to tweak this profile for improvement.

How are you measuring temps? Stock readout? BT probe or T/C?

Sorry- those are all from the roaster display (stock readout).

Have you tried this: http://www.hottopusa.com/profile.html
Your tempos sound a bit high, particularly in the drying phase from what I recall from the KN-8828B.

Thanks Randy and John. Yes- I read that carefully, as well as all the articles on your site, the manual and this one:
http://www.fourpointscoffee.com/2011/09...ng-period/
I took all the info I could find and boiled it down to what I'm doing now- which is basically full heat from drop in til 285 then moderate the heat til 330-- for the drying phase. Obviously these are not exact numbers for every bean but they have been extremely close on the vast majority of my roasts.
Could those numbers, all my numbers, be too high because I'm relying on the Hottop temp display? Actually, I also go by bean color during the drying phase and when I'm anticipating first crack. The colors in the manual are what I use as a reference.

The HT display is accurate briefly just before 1c & that's about it. Beans in a@ 250*F on the display is around 375*F on a well placed BT t/c & 400*F-425*F on an ET t/c reading in the upper portion of the drum. I add the beans anywhere from 350*F BT to 400*F BT. depending on the bean & what I'm shooting for.

All my times & temps are based on reading off a BT t/c so they aren't going to do you much good. If you really want to improve your roasts at least get an accurate BT T/C in the drum.

Thanks John.

Ok, going to continue roasting til thermocouple is installed. I just re-read the Hottop profile pdf again and what I've been doing matches that article very well up until first crack, at which point I attempt to stretch things out a little longer.
So, back to the original question- any suggestions on adjusting this profile for espresso? Sans thermocouples? I will get one installed but in the mean time- I've still got the reliably consistent temps the roaster gives me to work off of.

Seriously, are your home roasts on you Hottop as good as commercial roasts? With the same machine and roughly the same profile, mine are not, but they're okay. Definitely cheaper, but the costs of beans isn't really a deal breaker for me so it's not a place I want to skimp in my budget. To be fair, I'm comparing mine to the likes of Stumptown, Sightglass, and Four Barrel. Are my sights set too high for an amateur on a little home roaster?

Dan, short answer is yes, a ht can produce great roasts that can be compared to what is done on a commercial machine. The real question is whether or not a person can produce comparable roasts to a professional that has far more experience then a home roaster will have. A big part of my learning curve on the Diedrich was learning that a profile created on the HotTop will not translate exactly to the Diedrich nor will a HotTop have much luck reproducing a profile I create for the Diedrich.