Changes Afoot At Crankandstein

[AndrewQLD]

Did you use feelers to set the same roller gap? and do you plan to reduce the gap for the next batch?

To be honest Jye I set the gap to what my drill could handle at the extreme ( I don't have any feelers), it wasn't a fine crush but all the grains were broken and the husks were halved if you know what I mean, and there was a small % of flour, the crush seemed more uniform than I am used to with the Marga. I will be leaving the gap set as it is, I had good Eff results and the sparge was very smooth and didn't stick.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[warrenlw63]

Hey great stuff Andrew. :beerbang:

Mine's still sitting in a box next to my desk. I'm more or less mulling over a few ideas on how to set the thing up.
Thanks for posting your findings... Be nice to come across a good motor and flywheel at the right price. B)

Warren -

 

[ffrancis]

Wanted to give everyone a heads up with what's going on with me here at Monster Brewing Hardware.

The MM-3 is going into production as of tomorrow, and I should have mills ready to ship some time late next week....can't commit to an exact date, but release is immanent. MM-3 will retail at $149

303 stainless rollers with 3/8" and 1/2" drive shafts will come available at the same time.... It'll be a $50 upgrade for the MM-2, and $75 for the MM-3. Availability will be limited initially. Only getting 15 sets.

Crank handle is designed and submitted, just waiting for the prototype for checkout, and pricing.

Thanks to EVERYONE!!! With all that I've been through over the last several months, I don't think it could have gone much better. Good feedback here is really helping get the word out. I appreciate your kind words of encouragement, and especially telling your friends about Monster Mills.

Please let me know if anyone has any questions.

~~fred francis
Monster Brewing Hardware

 

[warrenlw63]

Okay

Step one towards a motorised monster is on the way. Just got back with this 12 inch pulley bushed for a 3/8 shaft. Cost was $60.
They also tossed in a 1/2 inch bore - 1 1/2 inch dia pulley for the motor. With a 1/4 hp, 1440rpm motor it should give me a mill speed of around 150 rpm (est.)

I'll keep posting pics as the project comes along.

Should keep me out of trouble over the holidays. :lol:

Warren -

 

[browndog]

Jeebers, that is a hell of a knurl those rollers have there, should be interesting to see what sort of a crush they provide.

cheers

Browndog

 

[warrenlw63]

Browndog

Haven't done a crush yet (Andrew has though). I suspect it would be similar to a Crankandstein.

Warren -

 

[PJO]

Step one towards a motorised monster is on the way. Just got back with this 12 inch pulley bushed for a 3/8 shaft. Cost was $60.
They also tossed in a 1/2 inch bore - 1 1/2 inch dia pulley for the motor. With a 1/4 hp, 1440rpm motor it should give me a mill speed of around 150 rpm (est.)

Thats one hell of a large pulley you got there Warren!!

Should act like a big flywheel, make sure you don't get your fingers jammed in the rollers

150rpm sounds like a good speed, can't wait to see it in action.

Cheers,
Petr

 

[warrenlw63]

Fly-wheel good. Crushing with Fly-open bad. :lol:

I'll keep updating as the whole thing progresses Petr.

Warren -

 

[warrenlw63]

Just an update re; my Mill

Finally got back from holidays and off my rear end and completed it. Also did a cupboard cleaning beer to test its capabilities. These things live up to their names of being monsters. I crushed 9kg of Barrett Burston Pale malt in around 90 seconds. Scary stuff indeed after using a Marga.

I gapped the mill to 0.9mm which I believe is a touch too narrow. That said it produced a nice crush and no set mash. Previously the same grainbill was getting me a beer with an OG of around 1.046 on the Marga (Promash efficiency of 76%) The monster's crush got me a beer of 1.054 (Promash efficiency of 92%) for some reason. Not that I'm complaining.

So far I'm happy with its performance. Really fantastic mill for the current price. There's still a couple of things I've got to do to finish it but other than that its at lockup stage. :beer:

Warren -

 

[capretta]

hey, i got mine delivered today, massive chunky kit compared to the other mill i used (maybe 4 inch rollers on the old one?). Good quality and 5 day delivery. i got mine with the longer shaft at an exchange rate of 86c and cost me $175ish AU in total. im pretty happy with it, now to get it mounted and stuffed (with grain).

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

After looking at the MM2 can anyone see the value of spending the extra $50u.s on the SS rollers? I realise the SS won't rust and is a harder type steel. What have others bought or found with theirs. I don't mind the extra few bucks for the larger shaft.

BYB

 

[Darren]

BYB,

Unless you are going to pre-wet your malt (not a good idea), save the $50.

cheers

Darren

 

[sah]

I have a Barley Crusher which is made from mild steel. I find it's the shaft that my drill grabs that rusts, not the knurled section.

Why is that?

Scott

 

[sah]

Just an update re; my Mill

Gday Warren,

Looks good. Where are the casters? You don't want to put your back out.

regards,
Scott

 

[warrenlw63]

Gday Warren,

Looks good. Where are the casters? You don't want to put your back out.

regards,
Scott

:lol: Timely reminder Scott, I actually put some on yesterday (that motor is quite heavy) ... Pics to come.

Warren -

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

If you can afford the stainless option, then IMO, that is the way to go.
Wally

Could scrape up the extra $$ but I want to justify it first.It would be interesting to know what the marga & barley crusher rollers are made from.I think some brewers out there would have one of these.


BYB

 

[warrenlw63]

BYB

My previous mill was a Marga. From memory the rollers are zinc plated hollow mild steel. Certainly good enough to crush over 300kg of grain for me. Mine's still doing good duty with another brewer. Fantastic little mills if you plan to crush for 23 litre batches only.

My grainbills are between 8-10kg so I bought the Monster to cope with the extra duty.

Here's the final pics of the completed mill. Last ones I swear. :lol: Thought I'd include them if there's other brewers out there considering similar things.

I've cut the spout from a 25 litre cube to catch the grain. Holds up to 10kg with no problems and the handle remaining is a real bonus for pouring the grain into the tun.

Warren -

 

[Cortez The Killer]

My Monster Mill MM-3 arrived today (ordered on Thursday 6/03/08) pretty quick!

Looks good! - went for 1/2" drive and SS upgrade (on SWMBO's orders!)

Won't have time to mount + build hopper before brew day this long weekend though

Looks like my marga will get one more go

Probably will be flogging it once the MM is right to go

Cheers

 

[T.D.]

BYB

My previous mill was a Marga. From memory the rollers are zinc plated hollow mild steel. Certainly good enough to crush over 300kg of grain for me. Mine's still doing good duty with another brewer. Fantastic little mills if you plan to crush for 23 litre batches only.

My grainbills are between 8-10kg so I bought the Monster to cope with the extra duty.

Here's the final pics of the completed mill. Last ones I swear. :lol: Thought I'd include them if there's other brewers out there considering similar things.

I've cut the spout from a 25 litre cube to catch the grain. Holds up to 10kg with no problems and the handle remaining is a real bonus for pouring the grain into the tun.

Warren -

Hey Warren, great idea to use a modified cube for a grain bucket! Maybe I do have a use for my 25L cube with a crack in it afterall!! :beerbang:

 

[warrenlw63]

Thanks T.D.

'Tis a cube reborn. B)

Also gives me a spare black lid now. I'm cursed with such frugality. :lol:

Warren -