roaster control widget

[Tex]

And now I return the 'borrowed' thread with:

Hey Larry, how close are you to fixing the control panel whatchamacallit for the hotttop?

Not till you tell us where you're wife lets you keep the coffee equipment.

 

Or hid those li'l dangly things real men usually have? 

[garybt3]

And now I return the 'borrowed' thread with:

Hey Larry, how close are you to fixing the control panel whatchamacallit for the hotttop?

Not till you tell us where you're wife lets you keep the coffee equipment.

 

MP you would make a bad spy, the answer was on my googlepages;
see the last picture: http://garybt3.googlepages.com/icestormdec07

[mp]

MP you would make a bad spy, the answer was on my googlepages;
see the last picture: http://garybt3.googlepages.com/icestormdec07

You're right ... never much good at spying.  It would seem that you are the most fortunate amongst us.  You have way more coffee stuff all over the kitchen counter tops than anyone I know.  You must have a way of dealing with your wife ... care to let us in on the secret?

 

[garybt3]

I had to get her hooked on Cappo's.

I started out with a Rocky & Gaggia Espresso machine, that was not too big.
I upgraded to a Livia a few months later...

Actually...the power was out for a week, so it was a free for all in the kitchen area...I had coolers on the front porch & we grilled everything as quickly as we could. I ended up buying a kick-ass Yamaha contractor grade generator that will power a 220volt 2 group espresso machine, grinder, mini fridge, blender and lights all at the same time 

Yeah, think of it as an investment, if this ever happens again, we are prepared 

[mp]

I had to get her hooked on Cappo's.

I got my wife hooked on cappucinnos ... but not nearly with the same results you have.  I think I need to get some cappuccino making lessons from you.

 

[Tex]

I had to get her hooked on Cappo's.

I started out with a Rocky & Gaggia Espresso machine, that was not too big.
I upgraded to a Livia a few months later...

Actually...the power was out for a week, so it was a free for all in the kitchen area...I had coolers on the front porch & we grilled everything as quickly as we could. I ended up buying a kick-ass Yamaha contractor grade generator that will power a 220volt 2 group espresso machine, grinder, mini fridge, blender and lights all at the same time 

Yeah, think of it as an investment, if this ever happens again, we are prepared 

Has she tried consiglieres yet?  

Between the ice storms to the north and the hurricanes in the Gulf, I think I'll move my investments into generator companies!

[garybt3]

I had to get her hooked on Cappo's.

I started out with a Rocky & Gaggia Espresso machine, that was not too big.
I upgraded to a Livia a few months later...

Actually...the power was out for a week, so it was a free for all in the kitchen area...I had coolers on the front porch & we grilled everything as quickly as we could. I ended up buying a kick-ass Yamaha contractor grade generator that will power a 220volt 2 group espresso machine, grinder, mini fridge, blender and lights all at the same time 

Yeah, think of it as an investment, if this ever happens again, we are prepared 

Has she tried consiglieres yet?  

Between the ice storms to the north and the hurricanes in the Gulf, I think I'll move my investments into generator companies!

a quick google netted me:

In the American Mafia, consigliere is the number two position in a crime family, the don's right-hand man. The position is equal in prestige to underboss, but not nearly as well understood. The terminology is taken from the Sicilian Mafia and suggests that an analogy is intended to the court of a medieval Italian principality. In this analogy, an underboss is equivalent to an heir to the throne, someone the don is grooming as a successor and possibly a blood relative. Consigliere, meanwhile, is equivalent to chief minister or chancellor, a position awarded on the basis of qualifications rather than bloodline.

I still don't know what it is, Tex, I'm livin' in Kansas, we don't get that stuff around these here parts 

It's time for me to hit the highway and head due west for 12.6 miles.

(I'm going home)

[milowebailey]

Back on topic here.... geezzzze the little lambs do stray....

I worked on the milowidget a little last night.  Last week nothing because I worked a 74 hour week.... yawn...

I have an issue with my second thermocouple input... I'm sure with a fresh look I'll figure that out in about 1 minute... but I mucked with it for over an hour last night,  then it's pretty much plugging it in and tweaking the code

[mp]

Back on topic here.... geezzzze the little lambs do stray....

I worked on the milowidget a little last night.  Last week nothing because I worked a 74 hour week.... yawn...

I have an issue with my second thermocouple input... I'm sure with a fresh look I'll figure that out in about 1 minute... but I mucked with it for over an hour last night,  then it's pretty much plugging it in and tweaking the code

Good job Milo ... can't wait to see you getting it up and working 100%.

 

[milowebailey]

I worked on the Milowidget tonight.  And made some good progress. 

1) I modified my Hottop and added a second thermocouple (thanks Chad for the wisdom there)
2) Fixed the interface board so that both thermocouples now read into the milowidget
3) Did some testing and all the functions in the milowidget control all the hottop motors, fans and heater.  (although through a programming oversight (can't use digital inputs 0 and 1 if using the USB port... they are alway 5 volts) I fried my thermal switch  (Pooooof), so I bypassed it) ... so I'll order a new one.  Problem was the heater never shut off and the Hottop got too hot.  Thermal fuse is a good thing really.

I need to do a few more tweaks and put the poor hottop back together, then I'll post some photos.

[mp]

Thanks for the update Milo ... a minor set back but sounds like you are almost there.  Look forward to your pictures and your offerings in terms of roaster mods.

 

[yankeeNH]

This is, as my other half says, "radicool". Can't wait to hear more and see the pics! I'm hoping this translates somewhat easily to the Sonofresco as well.

I just found out about a new corporate discount we're getting through work for stuff at Grainger that I'm itching to try out. 

[Tex]

This is, as my other half says, "radicool". Can't wait to hear more and see the pics! I'm hoping this translates somewhat easily to the Sonofresco as well.

I just found out about a new corporate discount we're getting through work for stuff at Grainger that I'm itching to try out. 

Do I smell a group buy opportunity?

[irunbird]

Hey, Milo- what an incredible project!  I've been busy moving to South Carolina from Arizona, so I haven't had the time to read much of the stuff below all the coffee buying forums (never want to miss out on good green!).  Anyway, I couldn't see where you've found a solution to controlling the heat from 1st crack.  Over the years, I've noticed the toughest thing in monitoring roast profiles is placement of the probe, and I think everybody commenting in most coffee forums (coffeegeek, home-barista and here) report slightly different temps (varying by as much as 20 deg F).  I think that's owing to the type of technology they're using (maybe roast batch size as well).  I use J-type TC's in my sample roaster (US Roaster Corp) and a datalogger from Picotech, and typically start to hear 1st crack around 380-390 deg F on the bean mass probe (the only one I log), and start dialing down the flame there.

Interesting project-- makes me want to go back to school just to learn the acronyms and neat electronic doo-dads!

Ray

[milowebailey]

A quick update.  I worked on the code a little over the weekend.   I'm hoping to spend some time on it this weekend too.  I plan to grab some plots with both thermocouples and roast a little with it.

Here are a few photos of the Milowidget connected to the hottop... with the new interface board.