How long is the X-axis?

[davidm870]

Tostadores de Ometepe S.A., one of Nicaragua's first craft roasters, has
commissioned it third roaster, a Quest M3 modified with RC micro servos to be
controlled via Artisan. In commemoration of this happy event we are making a
donation of US$100 to the Artisan project. We regret that it's not more but we are
not yet profitable due to our insistence on adding coffee production to our
portfolio.
Yet I believe we can take some small credit for one of your recent artisan.plus
clients, a long-time sister roastery of ours in the US. Their choice of the Artisan
ecosystem was a direct result of consultations with us. During its first year of use
Tostadores' new Quest will live with them as we jointly learn the joys of the Artisan
PID.
My own involvement with Artisan began in 2020 as I sadly watched waves of heat
from a top-lit updraft biochar kiln, while imagining how that heat could be used for
drying washed coffee. A blacksmith posted plans on the Internet for a sealed kiln
made from a 220 liter steel barrel. I added two thermocouples, one in the barrel lid
and one in the ceramic shroud around the kiln. My colleagues were then roasting
with other telemetry software which ran on a platform I don't use, so I went
looking and found Artisan. It worked! We collected some great data, although I
can say that the version of Artisan I was using at the time was not pleased to be
expected to watch for four hours.
I tell this story because there's another potential application for Artisan, which will
extend the X-axis even further, into days. Like many coffee producers world wide,
we have begun working with precision fermentation, where specially-selected
yeast and bacteria replace the native equivalents in sealed containers. This
processing method has been shown to produce excellent coffee. The fact that we
can repurpose 220 liter plastic barrels, which are readily available in rural
Nicaragua, and turn them into inexpensive vessels, makes precision fermentation
available to small producers like us. It is, of course a data-heavy operation, as
temperature and pH must be charted and recorded.
I don't know whether a combination of settings would permit the present version
of Artisan to stretch a session into hours or days, but I'm curious whether it would
be convenient to add as a feature..

[Terracotta-6]

Recommendations for IoT Temperature Data Loggers in the Food Fermentation Industry
The food fermentation industry has high requirements for the accuracy, stability, and anti-environmental interference capability of IoT temperature data loggers. Below are some recommended IoT temperature data loggers suitable for this industry:
Jingchuang GSP-8A Temperature and Humidity Data Logger: Produced by Jiangsu Jingchuang Electric Co., Ltd., a drafter of industry standards for cold chain temperature data loggers. The GSP-8A features a large LCD screen and one-button operation, with an optional built-in temperature sensor and external temperature-humidity probe. It has a temperature measurement range of -20℃60℃, with an accuracy of ±0.3℃ within -20℃40℃ and ±0.5℃ in other ranges. It supports sound and light alarms, automatic shortening of recording intervals when exceeding limits, and has a high protection level, which can meet the basic needs of the food fermentation industry.
Toprie TR-750: It has a wide temperature range coverage, which can meet the temperature measurement needs of different food fermentation scenarios (such as the temperature range of conventional food fermentation). It is capable of withstanding harsh environments, with a protection level of IP67 or above, and can cope with high-humidity environments in fermentation workshops. This device also supports integrated multi-parameter monitoring, which can simultaneously collect data such as pH value and dissolved oxygen (DO). In addition, it supports LoRaWAN, Wi-Fi, or 4G networking to realize centralized management of multiple fermentation tanks.
TempSir-GT+ (Red Tomato Technology): This is a 4G wireless data logger that allows real-time viewing of temperature data. It has a temperature range of -20℃~+60℃ and an accuracy of ±0.5℃. Equipped with a 5000mAh high-capacity battery, it can record continuously for 30 days. It supports WeChat mini-programs and cloud platforms, enabling users to obtain PDF reports without any additional software. It also has SMS/email/sound-light alarm functions, making it suitable for temperature monitoring and management in the food fermentation industry.
Xiangkong XKCON-MT-W-001 Insert-Type Temperature Meter: Developed by Jinan Xiangkong Automation Equipment Co., Ltd. Its temperature-measuring insertion rod adopts a conical tip design and is made of 304 stainless steel, featuring strong corrosion resistance. Powered by a built-in battery, this temperature meter adopts advanced technologies such as linear spread spectrum modulation, low power consumption, and the Internet of Things (IoT). It supports LORA wireless communication, enabling layered and multi-point temperature detection of fermentation tanks. It has advantages such as flexible networking, no on-site wiring, low power consumption, and long transmission distance.
Saiou Huachuang L93-32 Temperature Data Logger: It has a large screen for temperature display, ensuring clear and intuitive reading. It has a measurement range of -40℃～100℃ and a measurement accuracy of ±0.5℃, and can automatically record 32,000 sets of data. Equipped with a built-in rechargeable high-energy lithium battery, it eliminates the need for battery replacement. It also has a USB communication interface for convenient data download. This device comes with a built-in SMS alarm function, which automatically sends alarm SMS when the temperature exceeds the limit, making it suitable for temperature monitoring and alarm in the food fermentation industry.

[MAKOMO]

What are the minimal and maximum time intervals you would want to record such fermentation processes?

[davidm870]

Thanks Terracotta-6 for the references and to Marko for your reply. I must start with a disclaimer. I'm not a biologist, and what I know about precision fermentation is what I've read and what my more knowledgeable colleagues have taught me. In general fermentation, and especially at ambient and lower temperatures, is a slowly-changing process, and so both temperature and pH should change slowly. Perhaps sampling every ten minutes or even hourly would be fine. Ideally, however there should be some way of noting any precipitous change during the interval, perhaps by sampling more frequently and throwing away "uninteresting" data.

[Terracotta-6]

@davidm870

[MAKOMO]

We will add longer sampling intervals and larger x-axis ranges to the next version of Artisan which should support such longer processes. This part is already implemented. We are looking now into better input and output of times that range over several hours instead of minutes like in roasting.