RoastPATH Forums

Looking for help or advice on how to roast full batches on my MCR-3D. When roasting a batch of coffee with 2.75 kilos of green I get great results. BUT when I go up to 2.9-3 kilos of green I tend to get uneven roasts, visible differences in the color of the beans. It "seems" that as the coffee expands the movement becomes limited. Everything seems to be fine up to finishing first crack. This is where things visibly start to show and I feel like I loose control of the batch.

Here is my last attempt https://portal.roastpath.com/publicroasts/index/5219415431212210723

Hi Everyone!

My name is Andy Halseth and I wanted to virtually introduce myself. I started roasting coffee for my church back in April on a Fresh Roast and things have been growing since then. I took the Roasting 101 class in July and took delivery of a MCR-2D in August. We got it up and running in the middle of September, so I'm still getting the hang of a drum roaster, larger batch sizes and everything that goes along with that.

I'm excited to learn more from all of you wonderful people so that I can better serve my community (currently a coffee desert) and bring great coffee to great people.

(I wasn't sure what category to put an "introduction" post, so I put it here. Please feel free to move this wherever it needs to go)

Do you have:

• Curiosity about Roast Replay?
• Questions about using RoastPATH?
• Suggestions for features or improvements to the user experience?

Come join us for the inaugural RoastPATH Training Webinar!

Hosted from 3-4pm CDT, today Wednesday April 26th with Karsten and Nick from MCR

https://calendly.com/roastpath/training-webinar

How do you replace the front bearing on the 1kg roaster?

Quick question is there a way to input the end weight and have roastpath calculate the % lost after the roast? I currently keep the notes on paper but I love to keep it in roastpath so I can review later all in one place.

I've trolled the forums a bit with no luck. Is there a way to reduce the time scale when reviewing roasts in the web browser? In the roast chart display there are options to change max temp, but nothing for time.

It would appear the default is 15:00, but if the roast goes longer, it will expand, as I found out on a test/warmup roast I recorded. I have several roasts that are between 7:30 and 9:00, so when reviewing I'm left with a long 6ish minutes of blank/empty graph. It's more of an issue seeing some of the details, as the graphs are already quite small. Thanks!

Curious if it's possible, and also curious if this is a feature you'd consider adding.

Our development and testing teams have been busy speaking with beta testers, getting feedback, recording bugs, and making great progress on improving your experience with RoastPATH.

This release is largely bug fixes and feature usability improvements. Some of you may recognize a few items from the list below, though most of these issues only affected individuals or small user groups.

Fuel and Drum Note Handling

• Fixed an issue where fuel events could not be marked as complete if the note status was skipped.
• Resolved the issue of fuel and drum notes not being inserted during a manual roast.

Replay and Adjustment Functionality

• Corrected the behavior where a skipped adjustment would still occur 5 seconds after being ghosted.
• Addressed the issue of recording multiple notes in sequence for the same setting adjustment when adjustment only happened once.

Text Note Management

• Solved the problem where text notes from an underlayed profile were saved to a notebook for a new profile, causing potential clutter.
• Implemented an option to ignore decimal values and only record new fan notes when the 1s place value changes.

Manual Machine Configurations

• Enhanced the ability to add new notes of all types during a roast in manual machine configurations.
• Fixed the issue where trying to add a fan note while roasting on a manual machine caused the app to freeze.

Connection and Refresh Button

• Resolved the issue in version 1.7.1412 where hitting the connection refresh button did not appear to reattempt the connection.

User Interface and Display

• Fixed the problem where certain toggles and event markers remained unchecked or checked incorrectly.
• Corrected the display of BT, ET, and IT on the timer, ensuring alignment with checkbox adjustments.

App Errors and Crashes

• Addressed an unexpected error message when trying to delete a roast profile.
• Fixed the issue where inputting letters in batch size caused the app to freeze and crash.
• Resolved a bug that led to the automatic re-marking of a turning point after attempting to undo it.

Profile and Coffee Management

• Corrected the problem where both previously selected profiles and re-roast profiles were underlayed simultaneously.
• Fixed the duplication of the coffees list after editing an existing coffee.
• Ensured that clicking any favorite profiles toggles the Roast Event dropdown as expected.

Roast Review and Replay

• Addressed inconsistencies in Roast Review and Roast Replay settings related to DT (Drum Temperature) line and underlay display settings.
• Fixed the issue where Replay setting Target Fuel or Fan Hz to 0 during a roast.
• Corrected the unexpected behavior related to editing and saving Coffee in the app.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed the prefilling of unspecified coffee instead of the selected coffee.
• Resolved the issue where manually disabling ignition caused both ignition alerts to appear at the same time.
• Fixed the problem where the reference profile's DT line was displayed but the DT setting was off.

Having a problem today when trying to load a roast reference, we can select a profile but it does not load. We have tried multiple computer from W10 & W11 with the same results. We have even tried to uninstall and reinstall.

Hey everyone. I am new to RoastPATH and I can't seem to get it to recognize my Phidget. I'm using a Mac and Vint Hub Phidget HUB0001_0 with S/N: 685316. I have no trouble using this Phidget with Artisan, but RoastPATH says that I have no Phidget connected. Any advice?

Hi - it's been a while since we roasted and we finally got back to it this weekend. I was happy to see the "automatic charge" option. I thought it would detect when we charged the next batch, but it didn't. Is that what it's supposed to do? We've got a 2kg digital from 2021, if that matters.

Thanks,

-jamie

I saw a windows thread with a similar topic, but this still seems broken in the MacOS version. I've tried a couple different releases but still can't get the underlay to work.

When I select a reference profile on the roast reference panel it looks like it's trying to update the underlays, but then goes back to having no settings, and no graph appears. Is this a know issue?

I was hoping to switch over to a mac for our next roast-- or is the mac version just not up to feature parity with the windows version?

Thanks

What profile do you use for sample roasting for evaluation for purchase? I'm working off of LP as opposed to natural gas and trying to determine ideal charge temp and soak (if any). Batch size is 400g.

Thanks, Rich

Is anybody else having an issue with the amount of times the program will mark a gas or air change? I'll make a change and it will mark it on my profile 8 times at multiple different times, ending up with a lot of clutter that's harder to read later.

I roast on a Mill City roaster and have enjoyed the art and science of roasting for the past 6 years. I really appreciate the community here that Steve, and his team, have built for us. I couldn't find a brew ratio app that I liked so I built one for how I wanted to use it. It's free and hopefully can be helpful to some of you as you try new brew methods for yourself or need a quick way to calculate your coffee to water ratio when folks show up at your house and want some of your sweet coffee.

Apple Store:
https://apps.apple.com/sa/app/coffee-ratio-calculator/id6443783115

Google Store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riverroastcoffee....r&hl=en_US

It's not letting me post a screenshot image of the app here..

Thanks,
-Andy

does anyone have a profile suggestion for costa rican beans

It appears there is no automatic update option for RoastPATH. I noticed today that my version is 1.7.1515.2453

I opened the Microsoft Store but I can only see my installed version and not the current version. How can I find what the current version release is?

Is there a way to update the version within the app? If not, do I need to uninstall the app and then install again from the Microsoft Store? If I do this will it hold my previous settings and profiles?

Thanks,

-Andy

Hello MCR,

I am thinking of purchasing new thermocouples for my 3kg 2020 model. The goal is to get a more accurate and consistent reading as compared to the current thermocouples that was logging a 100 degree difference between the PID and BT prior to cleaning them (I removed each and lightly sanded, and I removed a little debris from the inside of the BT thermocouple). Consistency has been way better since but was also thinking it wouldn't hurt if I just replaced them with these: https://millcityroasters.com/shop/roaster-parts-accessories/data-lo...mocouples/

Questions:

- Given my model, which should I purchase for each location? (BT, DT and ET)?

- Is this a "do it yourself" job or will I need tech support?

- In your experience, will there be a noticeable difference in temp logging moving forward as compared to my current thermocouples?

As always, thanks for your fantastic support! Happy Fathers Day!

Odd thing I've run into when heating my machine, and when charging a roast:

• My BT probe will read around 400º
• My ET probe will read around 400º
• Yet the PID on the machine will read around 300º-310º

Is this normal, or is there some kind of discrepancy here that needs to be corrected? I found this issue when looking at roast logs from the roast-along videos. The BT at the beginning of those roasts reflects a temperature that's around 400º. I typically charge my roasts at around 390-400 PID, which in turn reflects 480º-515º BT on roast path. My roasts are, on average, between 7:30 and 9:30. Any thoughts?

Is anyone else having a problem when you choose the "Review" button for a previous roast? The message comes up to ensure app is up to date (it is). This message only comes up on some roasts, but not others.

Hi there, with my RoastPATH updating to the newest version, it will no longer load an underlay. I've tried from the quick menu on the right, and also going to the Coffee menu and clicking reroast from there. All I get is a quick text on the screen, like it would normally do, saying updating underlays. But then it stops and nothing is updating. Any thoughts on how to fix this issue? Thanks. Love the program overall!

Hey Bryant, Love following your roasts and thank you for making them public. Great way to learn from your experience and see where you are making changes.

I do have a question for you, are you using the factory probes on the 2D? I'm inclined to think you are not as your ROR curves are skyrocketed. If that is the case can you give any insight why the switch and what you might be testing?

We are excited to announce our latest application update, which includes some great new features and improvements to the performance and stability of the app.

Windows users may have already been updated to version 1.7 through the Microsoft Store, Mac users can use a pre-release (still being tested) version located at the downloads page (linked below).

What's new in this release?

Roast Replay: This new feature automates machine adjustments during the roasting process. By selecting a previous roast, the app will automatically adjust fuel, fan, and drum settings for you. Note that this feature is currently in beta and available by invitation only until our case testing is finished. Learn more about machine compatibility in the Help Center article 'Is my roaster Roast Replay ready?'.

Preheat Chart: Digital roasters will now see a preheat chart in the notebook displaying Drum Temperature and the heat cycle count. This enables users to track the latent heat of their machines and dial in their between-batch protocol.

Drum Temp: If your roasting machine supports it, the drum temperature will now be displayed on the chart and timer. Additionally, you can charge off of the drum temperature instead of bean temperature.

Phidgets on Mac: This update expands the support for Phidgets on Mac that we introduced in version 1.6.

Bug Fixes/Performance Enhancements: We've made various improvements to increase the stability and performance of the app.

Expanded Roaster Configurations: All known Phidget equipped and MODBUS RTU enabled roaster models from any manufacturer are being added to RoastPATH’s machine library. Request integration of your machine by emailing support@roastpath.com.

Downloads Page: We have created a downloads page where you can find both the Mac and PC versions of the app. This way, if we publish a new version that doesn't interact with your computer well, you will be able to go here and install the previous version that was working for you last. We recommend uninstalling the app before installing a new version to ensure the best possible experience.

Latest version 1.7.1412 can be found here by clicking the drop down "Show Other Releases"
https://portal.roastpath.com/download

We're thrilled about the performance and stability of these new versions. As we are nearing the end of our beta, headed towards a public release, keep your eyes on the forums and your inbox for important updates and more news. Thank you for your continued support!

We have already updated the roaster firmware but can't seems to use roast reply it says the roaster values are not matching.

In the active roast window and under the details tab, there is a section for typing notes. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the location on either the app or website to access those notes once the profile is saved. Does anyone know where they are stored?

Hey all. Is there a way to delete multiple profiles at once instead of having to go into each one and delete? I have multiple profiles that are basically identical and just trying to clean up my folders.

Hey y’all!

Was curious if anyone with a Mill City 20k had any experience with minimum batch sizes?

We’re looking to implement two batch sizes (minimum and our largest at 28lbs). Looking for advice like:

• Better to do the smallest batches first in the day or last?
• What is the smallest suggested batch?
• Good starting charge temperature for minimum batch size on 20k?
• Best way to approach the difference in probe temperature from smallest batch to largest batch?
• Any other advice?

Our first coffees at smallest batch with be some decafs, a Natural Las Lajas, and an Anaerobic Mexico Natural.

Thanks y’all!

Is there a way to not have the Fan Fuel Drum section take up part of the actual graph while roasting. I would love to have it be on the bottom but not pop up into the actual graph as an overlap.

When l went to enter a new coffee in the Roast Path Green Coffee section and then went to add the information on that coffee I received this message at the top of the screen:

"This application was built using a trial version of Syncfusion Essential Studio. To remove the license validation message permanently, a valid license key must be included. Claim your free account"

What is this?

Do I need to create an account to continue using Roast Path?

Has anyone started using the Roast Replay / Automation for digital machines?

Is there an exhaust temp ROR in roast path? I don't see it in the chart settings. Thanks