Bc Or Vally Mill

[wedge]

Like i said the differences are very fine and would make little difference on the small scale that we crush. If the VM had been cheaper than the BC then i would have went for that one.

 

[Jazman]

Well i heard that valleys have **** service and the guys from bc so far have beeen good with emails ect and im lucky to get one so cheap or would be the flower mill

But i belive Jm is gonna be looking at gettting in the bc due to valleys incomptence

 

[Trough Lolly]

Well the marga molino mill arrived today - it is highly adjustable - Grumpies have modified the dial so you have a whole lot of settings to space the three rollers out to. Just gotta get some grain and I'll give it a whirl (they also included a drill attachment so I don't have to hand crank the mill for my grains). The hopper's been widened so I should be able to slip in an upturned 2 Litre milk carton into the hopper and thus hold a shitload more grain than the default small hopper that the mill comes with.

Not bad - $90 and delivered to Canberra in only 2 days (along with the counterflow wort chiller!)...I'm nearly ready to go all grain!!

Cheers,
TL

 

[wedge]

i think the Bc has bigger knurls actually than the Vm

 

[dicko]

No hold'n ya' back now TL so go for it.
Good luck,

 

[Jazman]

grumpys chiller is goood and works well but u need to get some more attachment tl i used irrigation 19 mm pipe with hose camps on them with a hose attachment works well lots od silcone if it leaks and i got from goliath a special milled atcachment that scerw on to your kettle tap 1/2 inch and screws onto your chilller 3/8 but may u should get a mash paddle

 

[Murray]

I pickeds up a single roller mill a couple of years ago. It gives me 80% efficiency and a top cracking, with a lazy batch sparge, so I'm pretty happy with it. The only criticism I have is adjusting it is quite suck-and-see.

 

[sosman]

My mill is on its way too. Roller Mill

 

[Trough Lolly]

grumpys chiller is goood and works well but u need to get some more attachment tl i used irrigation 19 mm pipe with hose camps on them with a hose attachment works well lots od silcone if it leaks and i got from goliath a special milled atcachment that scerw on to your kettle tap 1/2 inch and screws onto your chilller 3/8 but may u should get a mash paddle

Thanks Jazman,

Yeah the CFC was $80 and I figured that if I'm gonna pay that amount for an immersion chiller, I might as well go the whole hog and get a counterflow job!

Thanks for the tips re the attachments - it will take a bit of experimenting. I'm getting a 60L kettle from kegsystems and it has a full port valve on it that I'll hook up to the CFC with either 19mm clamped pipe or a nylex garden hose fitting.

You got it right - I did order the mash paddle and a kilo of gypsum too!
Total postage to Canberra was $12 - happy about that...
Cheers,
TL

 

[GMK]

hi Guys

I have a Barley Crusher Grain Mill....
Anyway - for the first few times i used a hand crank no problems.
However, i then used the electric drill. This showed up a slightly bent shaft - causing a wobble.
Anyway contacted BC and they said try and fix it - have a go at straightening it - if problems - e-mail us back.
Tried to but could not get it straight - (no shaft jokes please)

So BC have just sent me a new shaft and roller set up from the states free of charge - will be installing it this week...

Now that is service and looking after your customers with the lifetime warranty....

Thought i would share this with the rest of the AHB Community...

 

[Batz]

For sale

One slightly bent but otherwise good mill roller


GMK Enterprizes :lol: :lol:

 

[GMK]

Thanks Batz

I will give it to my Little Brother who is a fitter & Turner...

He said that he should be able to do something with it - might even make all the parts up for a new grain mill...

Might get a GMK special with 6 inch Knurled SS Rollers etc....

Then Market them.....

 

[Doc]

Maybe you should take a look at your cranking technique :lol:
Taking out frustrations on the mill GMK ?

But that is awesome service. Good on BC.

I've just sourced an AC Motor and will finally be motorizing (other than using a drill) my Valley Mill.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Batz]

Seems we are thinking alike Doc , I am in the proccess of doing the same to my VM

Batz

 

[GMK]

doc

I want to do this also - can post how you are doing it..

ie motor size - rpm wattage
pulley sizes and especially what RPM u think the mill should run at....

Thanks

Ken...

 

[Doc]

I want to do this also - can post how you are doing it..

ie motor size - rpm wattage
pulley sizes and especially what RPM u think the mill should run at....

OK, this is my research so far.

The Valley Mill should not be run over 300rpm as recommended by the manufacturer. I'm sure the BC will be similar.
You want to look for a 1/3 to 1/2 HP AC motor with the RPM around 1400. Any more than this and you will have to use multiple pulleys to gear it down.

Checkout thislink on HBD and this one in Oz for some good info.

I'll post pics etc when I get mine done.
My motor should be here end of the week (eBay), and I'm trying to find a good Oz online supplier of pulleys and v-belts now. Not having much success with that so far though.

Doc

 

[Batz]

An old motor from a Hoover twin tub is ideal , it has a reduction gearbox fitted to it and runs at the correct revs , also is fitted with a pulley

Batz

 

[Linz]

An old motor from a Hoover twin tub is ideal , it has a reduction gearbox fitted to it and runs at the correct revs , also is fitted with a pulley

Batz

Bet there'll be a drain of these from ebay now!!!!!

 

[dicko]

However, i then used the electric drill. This showed up a slightly bent shaft - causing a wobble.

For what it's worth, if any one is thinking of buying an American mill,
the Crankandstein has a replaceable input shaft that is machined and then screwed into the end of the drive roller.
The shaft is often bent by an unsupported drill "hanging" on it during the milling process. ( Not saying that this happened to GMK's unit )
Crankandstein offer an optional 1/2" inch input shaft which is much stonger and less prone to bending and this size shaft just screws into the roller for easy replacement. It also negates the need to use an adapter or reducer for a pulley to fit a 1/2" shaft.

Batz is spot on re the hoover twin tub motor and gearbox.
This is what I am using to power my new mill and the output speed is 100rpm.
( It came originally from a washing machine and it has driven a spit for many years before being fitted to my mill)
I actually had to step up the speed by using a 5" pulley on the motor and a 4" pulley on the mill. this gives me a speed of 125rpm which is on the slow end of the specs but at that speed I get no shredding of the husks at all. ( 5kg in 3 mins, if speed is important )

and I'm trying to find a good Oz online supplier of pulleys and v-belts now. Not having much success with that so far though.

Doc
I bought my pulleys from our local Mitre 10 which for most items is faily expensive due to freght etc.
Two pulleys cost me under $20.00 which I thought was pretty good.
There are lots of companies that supply pulleys and belts, just do a google on power transmission.

Cheers

 

[Jovial_Monk]

The trouble with the motor and pully method, and likely the reason BC recommends using a drill, is that if your malt contains a stone the motor will keep going, and the stone will damage your rollers.

If you do go ahead with the motor & pulley method make sure you use quality malts only.

Jovial Monk