I'm ready to purchase a new roaster, and after reading forums, information has linked me to home-barista for the Quest.
I've been interested in the Quest M3s. Can anyone provide modification information that have been successful?
I'm wanting to connect it to a PC, what would I have to add?
I was also wondering if digital thermometers are an added preference? If connected to a PC, are they even needed?
I've been debating on the Quest M3s or the HotTop KN-8828B-2K+. Does anyone know what advantages the Quest has over the HotTop?
Thanks for any info you can provide.

If you search Quest and Hottop on these pages you'll find all the information you need and more. However, there are no modifications "needed". Both machines work just fine as they are. Adding temperature sensors is a good idea, though. You can just hook them to a two-channel digital thermometer for a really easy set-up. If you buy the right digital thermometer, you can link it to a PC and run a roasting program such as Artisan. But, there are lots of other ways to hook the sensors to Artisan (although none easier). Again, all the information you need is right here in H-B by doing a simple search.

roasterman wrote:I'm ready to purchase a new roaster, and after reading forums, information has linked me to home-barista for the Quest.
I've been interested in the Quest M3s. Can anyone provide modification information that have been successful?
I'm wanting to connect it to a PC, what would I have to add?
I was also wondering if digital thermometers are an added preference? If connected to a PC, are they even needed?
I've been debating on the Quest M3s or the HotTop KN-8828B-2K+. Does anyone know what advantages the Quest has over the HotTop?
Thanks for any info you can provide.

I use two thermocouples attached to a TC4 + Arduino uno clone. This can be connected to a PC but I feel that's a waste. I run it off tiny orange Pi Zero then use wifi to monitor my roasts using an iPad. My TC4 controls the Quest using an SSR that switches the quest's heater on and off. So it can monitor temps and follow a roasting recipe using Roastlogger software. This setup made it easy for my wife to roast coffee for herself while I was away for six weeks.

Previously I used thermocouples attached to a Phidget 1048 connected to a laptop just for monitoring. That didn't give me the ability to automate the roaster and required having a laptop near the roast and connected by USB.

This can be connected to a PC but I feel that's a waste.

Good point. My Quest probes are hooked to a Mastech 6514 dual thermometer, which can feed data to a PC. Once I got used to the roaster and settled on a routine for the kind of roasts I like, I rarely hook up the PC to the Mastech. I eventually found it a PITA to have all those wires and things. I don't mean to belittle those whose aspect of the hobby includes using a PC to run profiles and experiment with different set-ups...to each his own It's just that for me, I can get the result I want just running the roaster with the Mastech and two probes. BTW, the analogue probe that came with the roaster, wasn't very useful; I used it a few times and immediately switched over to Omega probes and the Mastech. This used to be easy to do, as one of our members (EricS) used to sell a kit of parts for the Quest. Alas, he's quit doing that (but he has an info sheet on how to DIY).

Thanks for replies, as reading the forum I've found the HotTop is a toy compared to the Quest.
It would be nice not to have to connect the laptop every time.

Previously I used thermocouples attached to a Phidget 1048 connected to a laptop just for monitoring. That didn't give me the ability to automate the roaster and required having a laptop near the roast and connected by USB.

The Phidget 1048 was what I was interested in, but after reading, it looks like there might be better options. I'll have to research the Mastech 6514 dual thermometer.
Can anyone reference a suggestion location, learning to use the Quest? So far, I've been watching MillCity Roasting Videos.
I've been using the Behmor 1600 for 7 years and now all I'm getting is burnt coffee. My favorite roasts are City and City+.

Nunas wrote:BTW, the analogue probe that came with the roaster, wasn't very useful; I used it a few times and immediately switched over to Omega probes and the Mastech. This used to be easy to do, as one of our members (EricS) used to sell a kit of parts for the Quest. Alas, he's quit doing that (but he has an info sheet on how to DIY).

My Quest M3s has stock location for BT probe, an ET (exhaust) probe in a bean chute screw as described in EricS DIY sheet. I did clip the resistor on the fan pot, but after lots of use feel you can do fine without that mod. My quest sits on a custom painted wooden "box" which has a low noise bathroom fan that exhausts out a basement window. The "box" also doubles as a bean cooler. I use a Amprobe TMD-56 dual thermocouple logger, which I also use for other temperature measurements when not roasting. Like drying green beans for measuring moisture content, measuring some brewer temps vs time etc.

I do often want one more probe (but not nessessary). So if I were to choose a dedicated thermocouple meter it would likely be the Phidgets 1048 since it supports 4 probes.

Connecting up a Phidgets or Amprobe to a computer is as simple as plugging in the USB. Simple and reliable. My laptop travels between two roasters now with no issues.

I kept the analog dial thermometer. It is useful during roaster warmup when I don't want to bother using battery power on the Amprobe. And the battery in the Amprobe has lasted a year and half and still going.

Oh, and I use a Kill-o-Watt on the power cord when I dial in the power in watts. Easier to read and I trust it more than the analog current meter.

Well, you will likely find a whole lot of mods. Painting drum, adding more insulation ect. Roast a bit, research a bit, ask more questions and you should be having very nice coffee rather quickly. And after that, you may wish to do more mods.

I cannot say I have found much for writeups on using the Quest. And the process is likely different for every roaster. Especially if someone has an non-M3s or something was modified. But there are a bunch of artisan profiles around. I know I posted a few. And some profiles show what the roasted was doing with heat and fan. It is never a good idea to copy what you find others post, but they should give you an idea what you should do when. Then you are going to have to learn the machine with use. Start with something like 180gms of green beans and roast a number of batches. You cannot apply too much fan with the Quest, but you can add too much heat.

happycat wrote:TC4 + Arduino uno clone

Happycat,
Researching the TC4 Arduino, website Tindie has it sold out. You had mentioned you use a clone. I had three questions.
1-Can you let me know where you bought the clone?
2-What thermocouples did you choose to use, or are your favorite for the Quest M3s?
3-Are you happy with the setup?
I like the LCD feature, which shows the RoR, HTR, FAN, ET, AND BT all on one display.

Thank you.

roasterman wrote:Happycat,
Researching the TC4 Arduino, website Tindie has it sold out. You had mentioned you use a clone. I had three questions.
1-Can you let me know where you bought the clone?
2-What thermocouples did you choose to use, or are your favorite for the Quest M3s?
3-Are you happy with the setup?
I like the LCD feature, which shows the RoR, HTR, FAN, ET, AND BT all on one display.
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Thank you.

Someone here was selling TC4
The clone was the Arduino uno which you can find for a few bucks on eBay
I used EricS thermocouples but apparently he doesn't do it anymore it mint have a DIY guide. I think he used Omega tc's
I'm happy. I can roast manually or automate or my wife can do it when i'm Away
I like the graphs using my orange pi wifi solution to the ipad