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Homeroasters - Home Roasting Coffee Community » CONSUMER ZONE » JAVA TRADING COMPANY

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Help on Buying a USED HotTop KN-8828B
Army Coffee	#1 Posted on 01/01/2014 8:33 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 128 Joined: February 01, 2012	All; Happy New Year! 2 years into roasting on my GC and I am unfortunately anticipating maintenance issues in 2014. Customer Service is my biggest concern as I have been unsuccessful in getting anyone to assist me in replacement parts to have on hand in the event it dies. Being without a Roaster is almost as bad as being without Home Roasted Coffee! I have an opportunity to purchase a USED KN-8828B...NOT THE KN-8828B-2K. Thoughts on what would be a good price for a well maintained machine? Thoughts on KN-8828B vs KN-8828B-2K? I have not gone to see the machine yet, but expect to tomorrow or the next day...ANYTHING I SHOULD LOOK FOR? Thanks for any quick replies! Drew NEC ASPERA TERRENT North TJ-072 2kg Roaster, Hottop 8828B, Gene Cafe Roaster, Baratza Vario Grinder, Breville SmartGrinder, Behmor Brazen, Cona "D", Bialetti Moka Express, Aero-Press, Quick Mill QM67


MichaelRpdx	#2 Posted on 01/01/2014 9:04 PM
Newbie Posts: 42 Joined: December 25, 2013	Going to see it in person? Take a half pound of green and run a batch on auto. That will demonstrate to you that everything is functional. Is it a 8828B or an 8828B-2? Look for the physical eject knob on the back of the machine to determine, the -2 has one. The K designation has a thermocouple probe instead of a flat button temperature sensor. The -K temperature readings will be closer to the actual bean temperatures. If you plan on adding (ala Randy Glass) a BT probe this could be insignificant. Hottop has a history of selling parts to enable upgrading old chassis to new electronics. This policy is one of the compelling features that drew me to them. As to price, a KN-8828B-2 just sold here for $400+Shipping. I certainly think that was fair. Being the buyer in the transaction I may be a tad biased. ;) Portland, Oregon roasting with Popper to start; Behmor 2007 - 2013; Hottop 2014 - now, What to do with TC4 parts now that I have Hottop 2k+ ??


Army Coffee	#3 Posted on 01/01/2014 9:10 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 128 Joined: February 01, 2012	Quote MichaelRpdx wrote: Is it a 8828B or an 8828B-2? Look for the physical eject knob on the back of the machine to determine, the -2 has one. The K designation has a thermocouple probe instead of a flat button temperature sensor. The -K temperature readings will be closer to the actual bean temperatures. If you plan on adding (ala Randy Glass) a BT probe this could be insignificant. ;) It is definitely a 8828B. You spent 400 on a 8828B-2K, what would you think is reasonable for the older version 8828B? Thanks and I agree 100% with you about the HotTop. Definitely the next step from my GC...If all works out. NEC ASPERA TERRENT North TJ-072 2kg Roaster, Hottop 8828B, Gene Cafe Roaster, Baratza Vario Grinder, Breville SmartGrinder, Behmor Brazen, Cona "D", Bialetti Moka Express, Aero-Press, Quick Mill QM67


turtle	#4 Posted on 01/02/2014 8:49 AM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 652 Joined: November 06, 2013	I've had an older 8828B model for about 2 months now and used it enough to get comfortable with it. I had not planed on buying one but one fell into my lap when it got listed on eBay for $175 buy it now. No way I could pass it up at that price http://www.ebay.c...0955962051 It had been used heavily and was very dirty but it cleaned up easily with some hot water and TSP on the stainless parts where it had a thick coating of burned on oils. Looked like it had been on fire once or twice but now no one could tell as all of the "cooked" areas were inside the roasting chamber and not too badly coated in the motor/controller area. Hottop does sell "kits" to upgrade to the latest version if you want to do this yourself. They don't list them on their site but if you contact them directly they will price all the parts you need and there are a fair amount going down to replacement bulkheads etc. Not a simple task but one that is doable if you want to disassemble one that far. I was told that changing from a standard B or B-2 to the K model requires a different controller panel for the K type thermocouple which is pricy so you should keep this in mind if you plan on updating any purchase to the latest type roaster. After putting in the time to clean up the one I bought and seeing how much use one can have and still come back to near new condition I would not hesitate to recommend one of these older ones to anyone. Price seems to go all over the place for used ones.


Army Coffee	#5 Posted on 01/02/2014 9:03 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 128 Joined: February 01, 2012	Turtle; 200 Bucks...WOW, that is a good deal and I am happy to hear that it cleaned up so well! Looking back, I am second guessing why I purchased the GC. Very disappointed in the lack of repair parts...That is a definite strength for the HotTop. We will see how set he is on price...one challenge with HotTop's is the fact that there are very few that you ever see for sale...That says a lot about the machine as well. I do not believe it is possible to upgrade the 8828B to the 8828B-2 because of the manual ejection. Not sure I care as long as 8828B parts are available...which they are! Thanks for the great reply... Drew NEC ASPERA TERRENT North TJ-072 2kg Roaster, Hottop 8828B, Gene Cafe Roaster, Baratza Vario Grinder, Breville SmartGrinder, Behmor Brazen, Cona "D", Bialetti Moka Express, Aero-Press, Quick Mill QM67


turtle	#6 Posted on 01/02/2014 9:25 AM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 652 Joined: November 06, 2013	Quote Army Coffee wrote: I do not believe it is possible to upgrade the 8828B to the 8828B-2 because of the manual ejection. Not sure I care as long as 8828B parts are available...which they are! Thanks for the great reply... Drew Yes the manual eject is available as a full "kit" which includes a different back and all of the interconnects to the bean dump chute. It requires the main chassis plate (the front to back one the motor is mounted on) to be replaced so this requires a complete disassemble of the roaster. I'll post the photos that were sent to me which show the full parts for the B-2 upgrade. turtle attached the following image:


Army Coffee	#7 Posted on 01/02/2014 9:49 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 128 Joined: February 01, 2012	Turtle; YOU DA MAN! Thanks for the information and I will keep you posted on how this "Acquisition " proceeds. I definitely don't want to pay the USED 8828B-2K price for a 8828B. We will see. Thanks for great information! Drew NEC ASPERA TERRENT North TJ-072 2kg Roaster, Hottop 8828B, Gene Cafe Roaster, Baratza Vario Grinder, Breville SmartGrinder, Behmor Brazen, Cona "D", Bialetti Moka Express, Aero-Press, Quick Mill QM67


turtle	#8 Posted on 01/02/2014 10:51 AM
1 1/2 Pounder Posts: 652 Joined: November 06, 2013	You can manually dump the beans by pulling the chafe tray out if the eject button fails but this will only work if you have electric current to the roaster. should the power go out during a roast the only way to get the beans out is using the manual dump that the B-2 model has. This might be useful if you were far into the roast and did not want to have them flair up by being stuck inside with lots of heat and no power to get them them out (trigger the bean dump solenoid)


ginny	#9 Posted on 01/02/2014 11:38 AM
Founder Posts: 3476 Joined: October 24, 2005	what are expected to pay for this Hot Top? is it a one owner? ginny


Army Coffee	#10 Posted on 01/02/2014 10:30 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 128 Joined: February 01, 2012	Quote ginny wrote: what are expected to pay for this Hot Top? is it a one owner? ginny Ginny; Asking 400, Original owner. When I get to see it I should be able to tell how much use it has had and how well he took care of it. Considering the fact that I can wait and hope for a 8828B-2k for about the same price, I am not afraid of walking away despite the fact that HotTop's don't appear on the USED MARKET often. I don't expect anything other than a fair price...not sure if he can justify asking the same amount for a 8828B that a used 8828b-2K goes for...Thoughts? Thanks; Drew NEC ASPERA TERRENT North TJ-072 2kg Roaster, Hottop 8828B, Gene Cafe Roaster, Baratza Vario Grinder, Breville SmartGrinder, Behmor Brazen, Cona "D", Bialetti Moka Express, Aero-Press, Quick Mill QM67


Randy G	#11 Posted on 01/03/2014 12:55 AM
1/2 Pounder Posts: 398 Joined: February 17, 2010	The "-2" upgrade kit is interesting. I actually did that upgrade on an olde machine I had just to see how much it would take. It requires about as close to a total disassembly as anyone would likely ever have to do. I talked to Michael about it, and while the parts are always available, there was never a though of selling it as a kit to my knowledge, so its availability has me wondering about the source of it. In an emergency on a non "-2" machine, if you have gloves you could either remove the front cover and spray water with a pump bottle into the roaster (or dump the beans out), or possibly remove the beans loading chute cover and turn the roaster upside down. Both involve great risk for personal injury though. Best advice in an emergency where fire or the threat if ignition is great is to disconnect power immediately and mist-spray water into the bean loading chute to rapidly cool the roast chamber. www.EspressoMyEspresso.com Life's too short to drink bad coffee.
	Web

MichaelRpdx	#12 Posted on 01/03/2014 7:28 AM
Newbie Posts: 42 Joined: December 25, 2013	Quote Army Coffee wrote: Considering the fact that I can wait and hope for a 8828B-2k for about the same price, I am not afraid of walking away despite the fact that HotTop's don't appear on the USED MARKET often. Where might you find a 8828B-2k for $400? How long are you willing to wait? You might price out the parts you'd need to upgrade this to a 2K and use that to determine your price point. Portland, Oregon roasting with Popper to start; Behmor 2007 - 2013; Hottop 2014 - now, What to do with TC4 parts now that I have Hottop 2k+ ??


Army Coffee	#13 Posted on 01/03/2014 9:10 AM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 128 Joined: February 01, 2012	Quote MichaelRpdx wrote: Where might you find a 8828B-2k for $400? How long are you willing to wait? You might price out the parts you'd need to upgrade this to a 2K and use that to determine your price point. There was one that recently sold on here for that price... Contacted HotTop on the upgrade costs and requirements to upgrade to a 8828b-2K and parts would be about 200 bucks. I am not sure how hard it is to do it, but I have been told that it is QUITE EXTENSIVE! Waiting is all subjective based on how much longer my GC continues to work. I take care of it, but parts seem to be very difficult to acquire... Drew NEC ASPERA TERRENT North TJ-072 2kg Roaster, Hottop 8828B, Gene Cafe Roaster, Baratza Vario Grinder, Breville SmartGrinder, Behmor Brazen, Cona "D", Bialetti Moka Express, Aero-Press, Quick Mill QM67


ginny	#14 Posted on 01/03/2014 9:41 AM
Founder Posts: 3476 Joined: October 24, 2005	Drew: I sold my KN-8828P a few months ago for $550 if I remember correctly. 400 bucks is a very fair price for the roaster you are looking at especially if it is a one owner machine. I have never had problems with my Hot Tops. I have had multiple roasters from Fresh Roast, Fresh Roast 8 to Rosto (hated that stupid machine,) to Behmor (did not care for it too much,) and I have always had a Hot Top along with the "other" machine I may have purchased to try. My first roaster was an original Fresh Roast that I fondly refer to as the Christmas Gift From Hell. The machines I use now are the Hot Top KN-8828B-2K and my Quest 3. I love them both and if I still had my small Pub/Wine Bar/Cafe I would have a small commercial roaster. There is not a lot that will go wrong with your Hot Top unless you abuse it. Sure things break but I have discovered over my years with Hot Tops that they are a workhorse of a machine. I roast about a pound a week for personal use. Sometimes it is all in the Hot Top sometimes it is split across both of my machines. Let us know you decide to do. I can say that I believe you will enjoy the Hot Top because it will roast from light to Spanish without an issue. ginny


Randy G	#15 Posted on 01/03/2014 11:33 AM
1/2 Pounder Posts: 398 Joined: February 17, 2010	Just to be clear. A KN-8828B can be fairly easily converted to a KN-8828B-K. It is not an inexpensive conversion because it involves a new control panel, a new main board and a new thermocouple. Depending on the age of the machine and what model is being updated, the gains for the cost differ. My previous post in this thread was centered around converting to a "B" to a "B-2K" model which included installing the manual eject mechanism. That involves installing a new frame member - the one upon which the main motor and eject mechanism are mounted, a new eject mechanism, new rear cover, among other parts. When I did that I also did the "K" conversion with new main board, new control panel and new roast chamber rear wall. If you have a "B" model you would probably get more benefit installing two thermocouples (BT and ET) and getting a logging digital thermometer or doing the TC4C conversion as documented here on this board. For the sort of enthusiasts as spend time here, the computer control of a Hottop makes it (IMO) the best home roaster available without building from scratch. Keep in mind that I am the Hottop webmaster and creator of the Hottop owners manual, so there is some prejudice involved, but I do not benefit from Hottop sales except the company stays in business. They are a client only, and I am not an employee. www.EspressoMyEspresso.com Life's too short to drink bad coffee.
	Web

Army Coffee	#16 Posted on 01/03/2014 12:33 PM
1/4 Pounder Posts: 128 Joined: February 01, 2012	Quote ginny wrote: I sold my KN-8828P a few months ago for $550 if I remember correctly. Ginny; darn...That's a good deal on a "P"... Drew NEC ASPERA TERRENT North TJ-072 2kg Roaster, Hottop 8828B, Gene Cafe Roaster, Baratza Vario Grinder, Breville SmartGrinder, Behmor Brazen, Cona "D", Bialetti Moka Express, Aero-Press, Quick Mill QM67

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