Mill City 500 gm Sample Roaster Owner Experience

#1: Post by **cschmelz** » March 25th, 2016, 4:46 pm

Anyone actually roasting with the 066 yet?

I'm so sick of my Behmor... Had to pull it apart as the main power feed was cooking the main board..Managed to piece it back together FOR NOW but it is on life support.

I'm tired of the 18+ minute roasts and the kind of grassy/uninspired flavors that develop too and am VERY close to pouncing on a TJ-066 but would like to see some end user comments.

Steve at Mill City says they are in users hands! Comments! Experiences!

#2: Post by **robmatic** » March 25th, 2016, 4:52 pm

cschmelz wrote:Anyone actually roasting with the 066 yet?
...
Steve at Mill City says they are in users hands! Comments! Experiences!

I've had mine only a few days and I'm just starting to get it dialed in. So hard to make any profound pronouncements yet except to say that it is very heavy duty... not a consumer grade toy but a real commercial quality machine. I will hopefully have lots more to say after this weekend.

#3: Post by **johnny4lsu** » March 25th, 2016, 5:33 pm

Pretty much what other users are saying on the North forum. They are beautiful little machines and I can imagine Mill City/North will sell a ton of them.

#4: Post by **FotonDrv** » March 25th, 2016, 8:19 pm

There is a separate North Forum??

#5: Post by **drgary** » March 25th, 2016, 8:39 pm

http://northroasterforum.com/

#6: Post by **SAB** » March 26th, 2016, 1:22 am

I'm getting used to mine. Also getting used to artisan...I've been manual data logging for years. I plan to post more as I get a better handle. However, for those chomping at the bit, I know a little early information is helpful.

So, here are a few early impressions.

1. Well-built, robust roaster with full controllability. Plenty of power on the propane with the Marshall regulator (available from mcr), with 30 mins preheating and limited early fan.

2. Excellent support. Have called several times with questions...always a prompt response, accurate information, and excellent expertise from Steve and the gang.

3. I'm getting roasts that taste very good already. Lots of room to grow, with control of fan, drum speed and and charge temps etc.

4. It's nice having the phidget and thermocouples hooked up. I had an issue with my bean temp probe, and Steve shipped me a new one. When it got here, I unscrewed the old one, screwed in the new one and voila! Done. Took about 1 minute to get it all squared away.

5. The handle on the tryer is missing a set screw, working on getting that improved. Also, the opening on the tryer is a bit small, so that beans can get stuck if you're not careful. I have to turn it upside down and tap it several times to insure its empty. A larger opening would keep beans from getting trapped inadvertently.

6. I love the size of this roaster. I can move it by myself if I need to. It roasts a perfect size batch for me, and back-to-back roasts are easy and even preferred.

More to come as I get more experience. I've just got to figure out who to give all this coffee to!

#7: Post by **FotonDrv** » March 26th, 2016, 9:56 am

drgary wrote:http://northroasterforum.com/

Thank you

#8: Post by **Army Coffee** » March 26th, 2016, 11:37 am

cschmelz wrote:Anyone actually roasting with the 066 yet?

I'm so sick of my Behmor... Had to pull it apart as the main power feed was cooking the main board..Managed to piece it back together FOR NOW but it is on life support.

I'm tired of the 18+ minute roasts and the kind of grassy/uninspired flavors that develop too and am VERY close to pouncing on a TJ-066 but would like to see some end user comments.

Steve at Mill City says they are in users hands! Comments! Experiences!

While I have a TJ-072, 2kg Roaster, I can tell you that besides for the size of the roaster, I have seen zero difference in Quality and Craftsmanship of any of the North Roasters. They continue to improve their product and Mill City bends over backwards in terms of customer support. Regardless of size, everyone continues to express how "Over Built" these machines are.

I urge you to look through the North Forum and if you an find the time, visit Mill City and test the roaster. Steve and his entire team are extremely inviting and will answer any of your questions. Not only that, you can test drive what I think is a wonderful machine.

Like so many people, I started on a Popcorn Popper, moved through a Gene Café and then Hottop. These roasters are nothing like consumer products. They are real deal roasters of commercial quality.

Hope this helps and...

Giddy Up!

Drew

#9: Post by **johnny4lsu** » March 26th, 2016, 6:51 pm

Excellent post SAB. As it's been echoed time and time again, Steve, Dave, and the MCR crew are 1st class. We are dealing with mechanical machines and problems happen on occasion. Those guys handle situations with the highest customer service. Steve even took the time to Skype with me over some issues that I was having (completely user problems and not the machine).

I'm really disappointed that I can't meet those guys at SCAA.

Glad to see things are going well for you SAB. Hopefully next get together we can enjoy the fruits of your labor

#10: Post by **keno** » March 27th, 2016, 8:33 pm

drgary wrote:http://northroasterforum.com/

Seems pretty bogus that the North Roaster Forum restricts viewing access to only registered users. The Huky Forum and HB for that matter are open to all members of the public to view threads (with registration only being necessary to post).