Breaking in the new HotTop...

[kaloolabmeb]

The Hottop arrived yesterday and I tried out my first roast using the profile you supplied with the manual. One hiccup - the drum didnt rotate because the centre pin had slipped from its place at the front of the machine. Quickly realized this and put it in place. No further problem with this. Then I did 2 roasts - one Nicaraguan Maragogype, the other decaf, measuring 250 grams exactly.

I was surprised at just how easy it is to use. Id been reading about it so much that Id got the impression that there was more to it than there really is - its so straightforward.

It is also a very solid piece of equipment, and Im quite impressed. The main problem is that I want to do more roasts, but if I do my supply will outstrip the demand.

The coffee is still "resting", so I am waiting to see how it turned out tomorrow.

Thanks!

[Luke_G]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Im (not so) silently awaiting the arrival of my Hottop B as we speak also!

In the time spent waiting i have stocked up on green beans from a local roaster because i figured the 10 or so kilos i had left over from my popper days wouldnt last long as i intend on doing a lot of roasting in the first week.

So with a bit of luck, if my tamper has been created by time the postie rolls around monday... ill have it by friday! maybe :-? PLEAEEEAAAASE!?!?!?

Oh i cant wait!
On a bad not though... i was informed by my boss he could have gotten me one with a sizable discount ill still be happy if mine arrives before his though

[kaloolabmeb]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Coming up to 40 roasts now, and it has been producing excellent results. The best one was with the Yirgachaffe that Greg sent with the machine. It was sensational - Ive never tasted anything like it, certainly never in a cafe. This was roasted less than two weeks after receiving the machine.

The Decaf Wow from this site is excellent - Ive never really had much of a problem getting a good result with decaf, perhaps because half of what I roast is decaf. Prior to getting the CS Decaf Wow, I roasted another decaf sourced elsewhere, and went through 3 kilograms of it. It had no audible crack (the only bean Ive roasted that didnt), but despite this the result was good every time just from guessing where it was at. You can hear the CS Decaf, BTW, and most of the non-Decaf beans are very loud.

I have only lost one batch to overroasting, and that was in the first couple of days. I found Gregs roasting profile which he sends with the machine very good, and have used this as a starting point for mine.

Cleaning out the chaf, which I was worried about, has not presented a a problem. The cooling of the beans is something else - it really cools them quickly. The speed of the temperature drop really surprised me.


The main problem I find is that my Sunbeam 6910 espresso machine (or my barista skills) produces such variable results on the same coffee batch - even on the same day.

At the moment the Sunbeam is in for repair, and I am using a stovetop. This is even more temperamental - some results are almost decent, some are really awful. As they say it is important to start with fresh coffee, but you can still murder it in the brew. Ive found getting a good roast from the Hottop is much easier than extracting a good coffee.

So overall, the Hottop has been excellent and easy to use.

The only issue here is the selection of beans to roast. I am currently roasting the CS Ethiopian Harrar, which was very good until the Sunbeam broke. Even on the stovetop I have had some very nice results with it.

[Luke_G]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Hey kaloola

Im around the 25 roasts mark with my Hottop now and couldnt be happier. Like you , the only beans i have over roasted were in the first few days when i pushed the boundaries with some Columbian Supremo.

I found with the Sunbeam it needed to heat up for at least 20 minutes before use despite the fact the green lights come on.
As for the stove top, put the bottom on the stove and boil your water first before screwing the top on(with oven gloves) containing your ground coffee. This way the coffee doesnt have to endure any unwanted heat and its a lot faster with more reliable results.

[kaloolabmeb]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

As for the stove top, put the bottom on the stove and boil your water first before screwing the top on(with oven gloves) containing your ground coffee. This way the coffee doesnt have to endure any unwanted heat and its a lot faster with more reliable results.

Thanks - Ill try it out.

[Luke_G]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

OH!

For safety reasons i should have mentioned to turn the temp down to stop it boiling while screwing the top on

Sowwy...

[Paul_Dopson]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Hi guys, January the HotTop KN-8828P arriived and have only done 3 roast, all have been very drinkable.  I had a thermocouple fitted so the hottop cam with a data logger (Victor 86B) and USB cable.  

Now the trouble i am having is getting the Meter to talk to the PC.  I have got 2 progammes one from Coffeesnobs and the other from the manufactures of the meter.  Both seem to be telling me the meter is not connected.  The meter is on, RS232 button is in the on position and yes the USB cabe is connected. I have tried starting the meter first then connecting and starting the programme.  Also starting the programmes first.  I have also loaded the programmes on a lap top with same results.

I purchaed the Roaster from Pullman Expresso Accessories and have emailed them.  They have suggest to post my issue here first.  As others may have had a simular issue.

Hope you guys and assist or head me in some direction.

Cheers Paul D.

[GrahamK]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Hi Paul D,

What error are you getting exactly from the program?

I had 2 types of problems with my thermocouple on a Hottop:

1. The 1st thermocouple (also fitted by Pullman), had intermittent problems where suddenly it would show a massive dive in temp giving graphs that would plunge at various spots for no apparent reason, but not consistently. I tried all sorts of things before giving up and buying a new one from Coffesnobs, and fitting it, and it worked perfectly for quite a while.

2. The second problem was similiar to yours, where it would fail to connect, and once again this started as intermittent then stopped working altogether. I tried different PCs and different USB ports to no avail. I suspected the USB cable that connects the thermocouple to the Meter because the meter was reading the temp OK. I was able to source an alternative cable (thanks to Andy), as a test and have not had a problem since.

I use the program provided  by Coffesnobs which works well for me.

So if the meter is showing the temp OK, but not connecting, and you have the RS232 button depressed and the cable is securely plugged into the meter etc, then it could be the cable, but unfortunately, the way PCs are it could also a USB port or other PC problem etc. Have you tried an alternative USB port?

There is a whole topic about the thermocouple and program which might be worth scouring for further info.

Thats about the best I can offer  

Regards,
Graham

[Paul_Dopson]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Hi, thanks for your responce. The thermocouple connecting to the meter seem fine. I have been manualy recording the time every minuet with the temp for the time been untill i can get this connection issure sorted out.
I have connected the meter to the lap top as well as the office PC with the same failed result. so i gues as you say i could well be the USB to infrared connecion cable. I dont know where to get another one. So i will email pullmans and they could help me out i hope.

Cheers, and thanks for spending the time to reply
Paul D.

[gregpullman]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Hi Paul,

I dont think weve heard from you yet but if the meter is displaying the temperature accurately and the problem is between the meter and the software on your PC, have a read through http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1236075603 as this is where all the info on whats required for these meters is kept. Most problems are likely to be with an incorrect setup on the PC - specifically, make sure youre running the roast monitor software and have Java and .NET installed.

If youre confident youve got everything set up properly the best thing to do would be send the meter and cable back to us and well check whether its OK on a known good setup in case it is a dodgy cable or something.

Greg

[TC]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Hi guys, January the HotTop KN-8828P arriived and have only done 3 roast, all have been very drinkable.  I had a thermocouple fitted so the hottop cam with a data logger (Victor 86B) and USB cable.  

Now the trouble i am having is getting the Meter to talk to the PC.  I have got 2 progammes one from Coffeesnobs and the other from the manufactures of the meter.  Both seem to be telling me the meter is not connected.  The meter is on, RS232 button is in the on position and yes the USB cabe is connected. I have tried starting the meter first then connecting and starting the programme.  Also starting the programmes first.  I have also loaded the programmes on a lap top with same results.

I purchaed the Roaster from Pullman Expresso Accessories and have emailed them.  They have suggest to post my issue here first.  As others may have had a simular issue.

Hope you guys and assist or head me in some direction.

Cheers Paul D.

Hi Paul,

It will almost certainly be that you dont have either .net and/or java installed.

If you have selected RS232 installed and assuming the USB connection is fine, you should get a readout on the software even without a probe.

[speleomike]

Re: Breaking in the new HotTop...

Hi all

Now the trouble i am having is getting the Meter to talk to the PC. I have got 2 progammes one from Coffeesnobs and the other from the manufactures of the meter.

Just got the meter, its fine with the CS software but where does one get the manufactures software? Google directs to www.china-victor.com which no longer exists and www.victorelectronics.com does not seem to have an 86B so may be a different company.

Mike