I’ve got a new toy and I want to show off. Before I got into this lark I was a home roaster, always been interested in roasting, and I guess my main motivation to do what I do. So when you get one of the first in the world of a new roasting toy, you can see why I want to show off.
This is the new interactive super dooper shinny variable profile home roasting machine. I’ve done nothing but take it out of the box and turn it on but hope to tell you more about it soon.
Answers to some questions
1 How much?
price around £620 plus delivery
2. WHEN, WHEN !!!
Soon (next few weeks as long as testing goes well)
3. Can I upgrade my current hottop?
Yes there is an upgrade kit, its not easy to fit so you need some experience of electronics or someone you can rely on for support (also these will be sold on an as seen and we cant upgrade it for you and its at your own risk). Details of the upgrade can be found at the link below
LINK TO FITTING INSTRUCTIONS
4. How much for the upgrade kit.
£420 (sorry these are costing an arm and a leg).
Well it looks good Steve :). Can’t wait to hear if it does what it says on the box and makes you smile. If it does, then the money they are asking is probably justified vs a small commercial roaster at four times the price. If it has loads of new features that work well, people will have to get past it looking like the old HT and realise it is a whole new beastie with lots of extra features and looking like the old HT is where the similarities end 🙂
I wants!!!
Yikes! £420 for the upgrade.
I know you don’t set the price, but please feed back to Hottop that it is in their interest to keep existing customers happy. And I know that development costs for small-market semiconductor assemblies are high – but the actual cost of components low. The price quoted is based on a blend of predicted sales against the total cost of development and production. So chances are, the price will drop if the machine is popular (which, unfortunately, I kind of doubt at that price).
Trust me Steve I have told them all this. I think the big problem is there such small run (only 20 in the world) and they are taking a chance to recoup some of the costs. also we had to have them airfrieghted because we only have a handful
Early indications are its very good, I need a weekend to play some more.
Any computer connectivity options (usb, flash card for storing profiles, etc.)?
Alas no computer controls, although the controls on the machine look quite exiting.
This is NOT a dig at Steve. From my dealings with Steve I know without one shadow of doubt that the price he is quoting is the best he can do it for, but.
This upgrade is being advertised for $480 in the States and that is a tad under £250. How come so many things that are available in the USA are priced here at almost a £ for a $ price?
A question remains regarding whether or not the EU version of the upgrade is actually different than the North American version. It would seem obvious since the voltage differs (110V vs 230/240VAC) but the control panel probably operates on 9-12VDC which is provided by an internal power supply. (I don’t know because unlike some, I have yet to disassemble my HT 🙂
Even if the power supply is replaced as part of the upgrade, a 230V input PS costs no more than a 110V input PS and in fact many are capable of handling 100-250V, so are essentially universal. It would only be prudent to choose such a PS for a product aimed at an international market.
It probably comes down to “safe” pricing to dodge exchange rate fluctuations and the smaller UK market.
BTW – when you have time to check it out, please let us know if it remembers its profiles after being disconnected from the mains. We all know a heating appliance should be disconnected when not in use (right?) so it was a real pain to discover that the short-lived iRoast (or iRoar as some call it) forgot its programme as soon as it was disconnected.
Hi Steve
I’ve got to say I don’t know, and a big gripe for me is the import tax and then having to charge VAT on top, something the US seems to not have in place.
The upgrade is also the main board inside, so I’m guessing there will be some differences but its just a guess.
I am going to speak to hottop about the price differences, as I don’t think its fair at all, but past experience tells me what the reply will be.
Steve
If you are upgrading an early analog Hottop to the Programmable model
using the KN-8828P Upgrade Procedure instructions (the version as of
February 15, 2007) on http://www.hottopusa.com/ , you may have
problems doing “Step 7”, “remove the base”.
After completing what is suggested in the Instructions, you will
notice that you can pivot the base, but you cannot remove the base.
In order to remove the base on the early machines, it is necessary to
remove two additional screws, not mentioned in the upgrade
instructions. I will not go into the details here, but if you need
help, send me a note to PAL (at) IEEE (dot) org – and I will be happy
to help you by sending an email (with some pictures) explaining what
we found out while upgrading our early analog Hottop to the
Programmable version.
Regards, Lubos in the Texas Hill Country part of Austin
STEVE P SAID
“BTW – when you have time to check it out, please let us know if it remembers its profiles after being disconnected from the mains. We all know a heating appliance should be disconnected when not in use (right?) so it was a real pain to discover that the short-lived iRoast (or iRoar as some call it) forgot its programme as soon as it was disconnected.”
Checked it out (put in profile turned it off left it for a couple of mins plugged back in) and it kept the profile. Now I’m not sure over a longer term (left it unpluged now) will report more.
Thanks for checking Steve and thanks for the mini review. I hope they sell enough of these to better-off roasters that I can eventually afford one 🙂 BTW – I can confirm that the 230/40V upgrade differs from the 120V for the “big market” in the USA. Unfortunately…