Like so many other appliances and tools, your Hottop roaster needs regular care to work at its best and have a long and happy life. But unlike most appliances, a coffee roaster can pose safety concerns which, in extreme cases, can create a fire hazard.
The roasting process itself takes a relatively dry food product up to temperatures above 400F. (204C.). Roasting also produces chaff, a dry skin on coffee beans which is easily ignited. Your Hottop has safety features built in such as temperature warning points that necessitate input from the user to continue the roast as well as a chaff tray that must be removed and replaced after emptying to start a subsequent roast. There are also caveats in the manual concerning the mass of beans to be roasted, and most importantly, the warnings stating,
Never leave the coffee roaster unattended when in operation!
But neglecting maintenance is just as hazardous as roasting an insufficient amount of beans and walking away from the roaster while it is operating.
On pages 37 through 39 in the owner's manual are Care and Cleaning instructions for your Hottop roaster. If you have not referenced these pages in a while, this is a good time to refresh your memory. Here is a very good example: Part C on page 39 describes cleaning the interior of the roaster which involves removing the main fan on the back of the machine and then removing the back cover.
Here is a photo of a machine that came to us to be serviced after an incident:
The inset image shows what was observed when the main fan was removed. We removed the rear cover and the main portion of the photo shows what we found. The red arrows indicate some of the totally clogged ventilation openings in the main motor which turns the drum. Chapter IX, section C-2 on page 39 of the owner's manual states that every three months the main fan should be removed as part of the interior cleaning.
The main filter from this roaster appeared to have never been changed, or at least to say, should have been changed a long time ago:
But neglect at this level has its consequences. Flammable oils and particulate matter build up over time in any roaster. It happens is small home roasters which have a capacity of 250 grams or even less, and and even in large commercial roasters which can easily handle 200 pounds at a time! Not only can this sort of accumulation impede airflow which affects roasting curves and thus the flavor of the coffee. This was the result:
The roaster suffered damage totaling well over $400 in parts alone which needed to be replaced, either for damages sustained or for the sake of safety. Add the labor charges to the cost of parts, and this lack of maintenance can become very expensive in a hurry, and create a dangerous!
But even with this level of neglect and extensive damage, this roaster was still able to operate. When we received this roaster it was plugged on the workbench and started. It immediately went into cooling mode. It was discovered that the chaff tray switch had melted from the fire in the roast chamber. That problem was temporarily mitigated for the purpose of evaluation. The ash and burnt beans were dumped out and viewing window was scraped clean. Those were the only things done to the roaster in order for a thorough forensic examination. With those minor tasks done, we were immediately able to start and complete this roast:
If you have not done so in a while, it is not too late to take care of your roaster! Please do so before it is too late! Read over the maintenance section of your owner's manual, and see our User Maintenance of Hottop Coffee Roasters page on our website which has additional information and videos.