After about fifteen years and running, the Hottop has definitely lived up to its price tag (although when we bought it, it was probably $400 less than it is now). My wife and I joke it’s got to give up the ghost sometime, but it just keeps on going. One trick is to disassemble it from time to time for cleaning. That chaff gets into the strangest places. When it does decide to up and die, though, I will buy another in a heartbeat.
Good info about cleaning the innards. Don’t know if/when the Gene will fail. If it does, replacement parts are available for older models, and very reasonably priced.