JohnB. wrote:Looking at where they put the BT & ET thermocouple mounting locations in the "wall" that comes in the kit I think you'd be better off modifying the existing plate to accept the new T/Cs. That way you could mount them where they'll be far more effective. The ET location in that plate is too low, the BT to high & too far to the left.

Visually, the placement does look like it might be improved, and I may experiment with that at some later date when I have time to do so. The design of the probes would make them a LOT easier to move than the old design, that is, IF there is room inside to do so. But what I have seen so far is that they do give readings that are consistent from batch to batch. Would moving them would help in any real way? Not sure. Doing that would change the readings, and that would mean that you would get less value from sharing profiles through the software interface. All FWIW. I just work here..

Upgrade kit arrived yesterday. Took me about 4 hours to install, but this was the first time I had disassembled my Hottop. Will post thoughts after I finish a few roasts.

I also installed the upgrade kit. It is a significant undertaking. If you are unable to assemble Ikea furniture do not attempt this upgrade yourself. However, it all worked out perfectly for me. One striking observation is how smoke tarr collects inside the machine. I would suggest a modification to the machine: Remove the filter, reverse the fan flow direction and fashion a chimney out of the top vent. Anyone thought this through? Also now that we can use Artisen software where is a good place to share roasting profiles?

I released Artisan v0.9.3 with full support for the Hottop KN-8828B-2K+. Without any further hardware, you can log and control the heater, the fans as well as the drum motor, the drop door, and the stirrer. I basically added the raw communication commands to be used to configure buttons and sliders by the users. That way you can flexible organize your setup for your needs. A recent blog post describes the details.

Artisan is available for download from the new Artisan home at GitHub.

Thanks to Michael and Randy from Hottop for supporting me on this,
Marko

I have completed the 2K+ upgrade from my original 2K and it did take me a long time but I proceeded slowly and methodically with as much patience as I could muster, which served me well. It's not that the upgrade is overly difficult, if you follow the instructions carefully, but it is tedious, very tedious.

There are many, many screws that need to be unfastened and then refastened. Some of the screws were overly tightened and required a lot of effort and time, and the screws came in quite a few different sizes. I had trouble with the new roasting chamber back plate having pre-drilled holes a little off from the previous plate causing some screw misalignment to the plastic panels. It was all fixable, but added to the time to complete. A few random observations follow:

- I really like the lasting value that Hottop provides with the buy once, and upgrade to the newest model through an upgrade kit. I strongly dislike the buy, use, replace business model so prevalent today.

-The Hottop engineering is top rate, but the assembly process needs to be improved with the use of fewer sizes, more standardized screws of higher quality. If the screws are overtightened from the factory, it is easy to round them off trying to loosen them.

-The new display is fantastic, with a much improved user interface that is very well laid out and intuitive. The use of color changes to highlight information really helps. I have done two roasts so far with one interesting result. I am sure I was in manual, not auto, mode and I noticed well into the roast, above 360 degrees F that the heat display changed on its own, in one case to 80% and in another to 60%, all without my input. The fan also decreased to 60 on its own. I need to email Randy and ask him about this. And then again, maybe I was in auto mode and didn't recognize it.

-The greater wattage on the heating element improves both the time to completion and greater temperature control over the roast. Using Ohm's Law, I measured 758 watts vs. 720 on the older element.

In summary, it's a great unit that makes the roast easier and provides more options with the newly announced Artisan software interface. Thumbs up to Hottop and to Randy for the great support that he provides.

Paul

okmed wrote:Mjoets, if you go to Homeroasters.org and check the Hottop section you will see the mods that Ciel came up with to change the air flow direction. I have done his mods and it works great. Not only keeps the crap out of the electrics but also the heat.

Thanks Milan, for the reference. I am doing the mod slightly different. Since I need the exhaust air to go up into a vent hood, I built a detached venting unit that blows up. I only had to splice in a piece of wire on the fan lead to allow the fan to be further away. It sits behind the Hottop thus fitting the unit nicely underneath the hood. I will post a picture when the glue has dried (and it proves to be workable). It is made out of wood if it gets too hot I will build it out of as non-combustible material.
I have one question. Do any of these mods affect the cooling tray? I have not figured out how the airflow works for the cooling tray.
Thanks again.
Martin

The cooling tray fan draws air in from under the tray. As far as that front top vent I blocked it off ages ago to keep heat in. Reversing the air flow & pulling it out through the top vent might keep the motor parts cooler but it certainly has to be pulling a lot of heat right out of the front area that the drum/beans could use.

Hello everyone. I am new here but I'd like to share my experience with this upgrade. I ventured into home roasting about 9 months ago with a Hottop Progammable model. I've had mixed success depending on the bean and where it was purchased. After about 3 days of pondering this upgrade I decided to jump in.

I didn't find the upgrade process to be difficult but as someone else stated, it is very tedious. I cleaned as many of the pieces as possible along the way. The upgrade pictorial is very well done and easy to follow. I took pictures of each step with my iPhone just as a precaution. Most of the process follows the pictorial exactly. I was lucky and when it came to installing the drip panel (seems to be a new part to protect the solenoid) that the holes were already there. Some models will require you to drill the holes and the placement seems a bit tricky, but again very well explained and pictured. My biggest issues were with the fusible link and reinstalling the motor. My kit did not include a new fusible link, although it came with two new heater element wires, and the insulation disintegrated on the original when I removed it. At first I didn't install the fusible link but an email from Randy G. confirmed that it "must" be installed. I used the insulation on the new wire without the link and put it on the original and I was good to go. The motor drove me nuts because it just refused to line up with the last hole to put the screw in. I used a small clamp and I was finally able to get it to go in.

The rest of the process was smooth and went without a hitch. Overall it took me about 5 hours to complete the upgrade. Make sure you don't miss the part about cleaning all the machine parts and run a dummy roast with no beans to burn off any residue. I used some rubbing alcohol and then ran the machine. All worked with no issues. I have never used Artisan but it hooked up easily and gives me data. If anyone has any pointers for me in using the software it would be greatly appreciated. The graphs look great and impressive but I have no idea how to interpret them or what adjustments I can make to improve future roasts. That and a million other questions.

I look forward to being a part of the group and thanks for letting me in.

Wayne

JohnB. wrote:The cooling tray fan draws air in from under the tray. As far as that front top vent I blocked it off ages ago to keep heat in. Reversing the air flow & pulling it out through the top vent might keep the motor parts cooler but it certainly has to be pulling a lot of heat right out of the front area that the drum/beans could use.

Thanks JohnB for the heads up. My understanding is that the purpose of the fan is to draw of fumes and heat from the roast chamber when required. What path it takes is probably transparent from the roast drum's perspective. However my setup is really prone to heat lost due to convection even with the fan off. I found just placing a piece of paper over the fan stops the airflow and the roast proceeds as desired. At times just removing the paper will vent enough heat and air for the desired effect without activating the fan. However with the "+" unit I find the fan control very fine (excellent). I'm contemplating finding and installing a some sort of valve to assist in controlling the removal of air from the roast chamber. Any suggestions/comments?