Spend more money and get a drum roaster which should last for a long time.
Positive Product Points
Easy to use preset settings. Easy to control roast as long as you look for color and 2nd crack. Easy to clean.
Negative Product Points
The glass viewing plate gets dirty often and has to be cleaned so you can see the color of the beans. You usually end up starting the cool phase 2-3 minutes before the timer gets to 0. So I believe the preset settings are not really true indicators of actual roasting time, unless you want a very very dark roast. After using my I-Roast II for a little over one year (weekly roastings) it would stop roasting while the timer continued to count down. This is my second Hearthware Coffee Roaster. The first one which was the model prior to the I-Roast model also failed after a year.
Detailed Commentary
Since my experience with two Hearthware roasters in the under $200 price point range, I have come to believe that one might want to spend more money on a drum roaster which might last for years. I don't believe certain roasters in the under $200 price point range are made to last, even with infrequent use. My experience with two air roasters has been a waste of money. After reading good reviews of this model, I decided to purchase one and used it successfully for over one year, before it failed. I plan on contacting Hearthware about it, and hope they can either replace it or fix it. When my first Hearthware coffee roaster (no longer being made) failed after a very short time, the company would not replace it, but did send me a part which was suppose to fix the problem.
