Data Collection Points on Roaster

[Breifne]

I'm just about ready to place our order for our first production roaster. Just want to verify that I have the manufacturer install all the necessary / desirable data collection points on the roaster.

We'll have probes for both bean temperature and exhaust temperature. We'll either be using Artisan or Cropster to record the roast data. Is there any way to record the changes in heat supply other than plotting it on the roast curve manually?

 

[seeingcoffee]

The bean temperature and exhaust temperature are all you need with respect to thermal data on the roaster. Burn chamber temperature on the afterburner is critical as well. A gas pressure gauge is very useful. The graph cropster produces does record and plot temperature. I'm sure Artisan does as well, although I haven't used it. There is no need to record temperatures manually. The software does it for you.

Which roaster will you be purchasing?

 

[Hankua]

There is a way to bridge gas pressure data using Phidget sensor and appropriate boards; both wired and wireless.
Phidget devises are compatable with Artisan.

 

[Breifne]

I saw from Cropster just last night that their new "Roast Intelligence 3.0" allows for automatic graphing of things like gas pressure and drum speed (as long as your roaster hardware is set up for it).

We'll be having Dan and the folks at U.S. Roaster Corp. in OKC build us one of their 12kg Millennium models with a few added-on bells & whistles. I've asked the Cropster people what I need to have the manufacturer do to make sure I can record the gas pressure (heat supply) changes and drum speed.

 

[slurp]

Dan has a logging system, not sure why you want to use something else. Why are you trying to reinvent the wheel?

 

[Breifne]

Dan has a logging system, not sure why you want to use something else. Why are you trying to reinvent the wheel?

Yes, the machine will come with US Roaster Corp's own data logging system. I will determine if it does what I want on its own before adding Cropster.

 

[devindmoon]

There is a way to bridge gas pressure data using Phidget sensor and appropriate boards; both wired and wireless.
Phidget devises are compatable with Artisan.

Hankua: I'd like to learn more about this. Do you have this setup? What all is required to make it work? I've got a 1K propane drum roaster, with dual TC datalogger/Artisan. I'm getting sick of burning my eyebrows watching the flame to adjust heat during roast.

Breifne: Did you decide on a datalogging platform? I'm curious to know why you were leaning toward Cropster VS. others... and what about USRC's inhouse system?

 

[Breifne]

Breifne: Did you decide on a datalogging platform? I'm curious to know why you were leaning toward Cropster VS. others... and what about USRC's inhouse system?

Well, this is exactly what I'm trying to establish. Do I need an add-on like Cropster, or will what I have built-in on my USRC machine give me what I want. I want to be able to track the usual suspects (e.g. bean temp, exhaust temp), but I also want to be able to track rate of rise, gas supply changes, drum speed changes, airflow changes, etc. If the built-in USRC software allows me to do all this and save / export all my roasting data, then I'd say I won't need Cropster.

 

[Hankua]

Hankua: I'd like to learn more about this. Do you have this setup? What all is required to make it work? I've got a 1K propane drum roaster, with dual TC datalogger/Artisan. I'm getting sick of burning my eyebrows watching the flame to adjust heat during roast.

Breifne: Did you decide on a datalogging platform? I'm curious to know why you were leaning toward Cropster VS. others... and what about USRC's inhouse system?

No I don't have the Phidget pressure sensor, but have been told by Marko it works.

If your rig doesn't have a gas pressure gauge inline, that's the simple solution. Otherwise Marko Luther, one of the Artisan developers has his roaster tricked out with digital sensors including the gas pressure one. He also goes by Makomo on Twitter and Home Barista. Most home roasters using Phidget have the 4 input temp. sensor. Going past that requires requires more devices/interfaces and help from the experts when it doesn't work.

 

[ellatas]

My recommendation is to evaluate whether Cropster is worth the price as it is a monthly subscription and potentially more than $1500 per year. Monitoring time / temperature profiles, roast end point, and roast colour and the correlating them to tasting notes will allow you to produce a more consistent product. This can be augmented by noting the moisture of the green beans as well as the batch weight before and after roasting to pick up causes for variation throughout the year. Artisan (an open source software) may satisfy your needs just as well.
Other factors such as drum speed, natural gas consumption, modulating valve position etc don't need to be continuously monitored as they should not vary significantly. These should be included in your "baseline" measurements and filed away. That way when you are troubleshooting the roaster at a later date, you can refer to your "baseline settings" to see if they drifted away.