I'm not surprised as heat rises & your heat can flow right up & out through the chimney you installed coming off the front vent opening. If you are going to keep that set up I'd install some sort of damper similar to a MPD on a wood or coal stove to keep the bulk of the heat from flowing out of the machine.

The way my machine is set up with the front vent blocked off with insulation the fan pulls heat through the drum & increases bean temp on the two lower settings. No issues with retaining heat but I am using a 900w element.

I installed my K+ kit a few weeks ago and decided to do the reverse air flow away from the motor and other components after seeing how dirty they were. Thanks to this forum on giving me the idea. About 20.00 worth of parts from Lowes. On the top roaster vent I made and placed 2 steel plates around the exhaust tube and sealed it air tight with Permatex copper sealant that can take up to 700 degrees. So far I love the K+ setup and the roasts are easy to do. The reverse air flow works real well and can finish a 275g roast with plenty of time.

M5Pilot wrote:I installed my K+ kit a few weeks ago and decided to do the reverse air flow away from the motor and other components after seeing how dirty they were. Thanks to this forum on giving me the idea. About 20.00 worth of parts from Lowes. On the top roaster vent I made and placed 2 steel plates around the exhaust tube and sealed it air tight with Permatex copper sealant that can take up to 700 degrees. So far I love the K+ setup and the roasts are easy to do. The reverse air flow works real well and can finish a 275g roast with plenty of time.

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Nice job Bill. If I were to create the perfect workaround I would have a metal housing that sits atop while straddling the front vent with a damper that opens when the fan comes on (this could be operated by air flow). I would also have it vent straight up and have a fitting like the Gene Cafe roaster for tying it into an external vent. Given the short distance and convection even a smaller fan might suffice. I notice many have insulated the rear wall of the roast chamber. I would love to see pictures of that. Does anyone think it is possible to insulate other parts of the roast chamber cylinder?

I would be curious to know how your roasting performance has fared since your mods?

I haven't noticed any changes. I'm now roasting 275g with the upgrade kit and dropping the beans in around 350 ET. So far very consistent and it looks like it's keeping my fan motor/circuit board etc cleaner. I've done about 10 roasts so far and my add on parts are holding up with no changes. Nice not having to fool around with a filter.

I'm considering a Hottop but have no experience with them. Do you guys who have upgraded feel like it's worth the price premium now that you've been able to compare?

How much is the latest version of the Hottop B?

I was quoted $1600 for the B-2K+ and $1100 for the 'older regular' B-2K.

Not only do you pay $460 for the upgrade but apparently they've built in another $40 for the convenience of having it already upgraded when you get it!

It seems like a big price increase for some pretty minor changes.

It is not minor changes between the 2k and the 2k plus. Plus model will interface with a laptop or mobile device and can be remotely controlled by roasting software. The standard model is a stand alone machine with no external capabilities

I have an older modified B model (taken to the B2 bean drop) with 2 k type probes (BT/ET) which is basically a K2+ model.

All in all the design and function of the hottop is pretty nice.

It has some compromises but this is not unusual for a consumer product.

I've had mine for a few years and been quite satisfied with how it roasts.

So now that the new model has been out for a bit, and at least a few people here have done the upgrade, what is the consensus? Anyone care to write a mini-review?