Good roaster for the home, allows for multiple roasts with fairly smoke free results -- uniform roast results
Positive Product Points
Unit provides a nice even roast, heats slower than Hearthware products which allowed for easier fine tuning of where roast was stopped. Once past the learning curve ( and I will admit it may have been easier to learn if I hadn't the bias of using the Hearthware units for a few years ) it provides a nice roast. Can do roasts one after another -- Hearthware was 2 roasts and you need to let it cool completely.
Negative Product Points
Little tricky getting pieces together -- safety switch is a bit sensitive. Had to preheat when first purchased in order to get darker roasts -- not a problem anymore; not sure why.
Detailed Commentary
My bias is coming from the Hearthware products -- this unit takes longer to roast, but this lower heat may contribute to the robustness of the device. I can typically roast three or four batches without any problems -- something I could not do with the Precision roaster without it failing.
It's a quieter unit than the Hearthware products -- but still can annoy people; our family delights in the results so it's not an issue. The near smoke free opperation is nice -- I do not have false alarms with the smoke detectors unless I'm doing 4 or more roasts.
I put a weight ( usually a mug of water ) on top of the roaster to gently hold the top down -- if not, it tends to vibrate enough to trip the safety switch and shut the unit down.
I have broken one roasting chamber and cracked another. A thicker unit may be helpful -- but I would also be the first to admit that I believe I was the major contributor to the problem.
Z&D customer service has been very responsive -- I've not had problems, just a few questions as I was learning the product.
Buying Experience
I bought this directly through the Z&D website after looking at reviews at a number of areas -- main site was Sweet Marias, which now sells the product. Serivce has been excellent -- from answering questions to shipping in a timely manner. I had one minor problem -- one package was sent instead of two when I ordered replacement roasting chambers -- this was acknowledged quickly and rectified in a timely manner.
