Grain Mill... Pics

[Jye]

I finally got my mill finished last night ready for this weekends brewing Heres hopping the crush will be fine but not to fine

 

[Jye]

The hardest part was drilling the holes for the bearings so that the gap was correct. Ended up with a jig and a removable piece of aluminium, the piece of aluminium was put in place and the first hole drilled. It was then removed and the wood moved to butt up against the jig and the second hole drilled. The bearings and rollers were fitted to the wooden end and if the gap was to big a little was filled of the aluminium and a new piece drilled. It took me 4 goes before I was happy but this method allowed me to get both ends the same.

 

[Stuster]

Wow! Great work, Jye. :super:

 

[peas_and_corn]

Looks nice! You've certainly put together something pretty hardy

 

[Borret]

Quite pretty...

Out of curiosity. What size are your rollers and what gap did you end up with?

Brent

 

[Jye]

These are the same rollers

The gap size is about 0.7mm and the knurling is deep. I think if the grain is wet before then the crush should be good... either way the crush is going to be better than the powder I get from the HBS.

 

[Crazy]

These are the same rollers

The gap size is about 0.7mm and the knurling is deep. I think if the grain is wet before then the crush should be good... either way the crush is going to be better than the powder I get from the HBS.

[post="127011"][/post]​

Jye

Be carefull how much water you add to the grain. We had trouble with the rollers slipping one day so we added water to the grain. We had to make an extension bar to turn the rollers as the motor wasn't strong enough and the grain came out looking like rolled oats. Our extraction was realy low as a result of the husk being fully intact just flat. We did add to much though.

Derrick

 

[Jye]

Thanks for the heads up Derrick. I was planning on adding 20ml/kg of grain as mentioned by Tony in another thread... cant seem to find it now.

Im still trying to find a time to come and grab some bottles, hope you still have some

 

[Crazy]

Thanks for the heads up Derrick. I was planning on adding 20ml/kg of grain as mentioned by Tony in another thread... cant seem to find it now.

Im still trying to find a time to come and grab some bottles, hope you still have some

[post="127034"][/post]​

Jye

The stocks are getting low, I am down to the last 65 odd cartons. We may be doing a brew day on Friday arfternoon (Belgian Wit and an APA) so that could be a good time for a drink. I mean exchange.

Derrick

 

[monkale]

Very nice work Jye

Is the mill hand powered or battery drill ?and were did you source the rollers .

cheers monkale :beerbang:

 

[Jye]

Hey monkale, my brother had the rollers made. I will eventually hook up a windscreen wiper motor but for now I will be using a cordless drill.

 

[monkale]

Thanks Jye


I got a mate who is a fitter Ill get him on the job for me. again nice work mate

Cheers monkale :super:

 

[browndog]

Outstanding Jye, never was a piece of tassie oak put to better use (if I'm guessing correctly that is) Looks like you could pulverise concrete with that thing. I will be doing some thing very similar but I'm having a crack at making it adjustable.

cheers

Browndog

 

[Pumpy]

These are the same rollers

The gap size is about 0.7mm and the knurling is deep. I think if the grain is wet before then the crush should be good... either way the crush is going to be better than the powder I get from the HBS.

[post="127011"][/post]​

Jye, I have mine set on 0.7mm I have a very fine Knurl on the rollers , I remember Grumpy saying try to get away with as finer crush as you can without getting stuck sparges , I think I get a great textbook crush on mine but I have seen others crush and chop up the husk and still get good results. so I am unsure how much fuss is really required .

With the water just put a small wineglass of water in the grain mix it up well and give it about 15 minutes to absorb into the husk, as you are only looking to increase the moisture content of the husk, so it is more elastic , does not shatter and makes a good filter .

Pumpy

 

[Pumpy]

PS it takes a bit of Huffy Puffy at that setting unless you are fitting a motor but I am glad of the exercise

Pumpy

 

[Jye]

Outstanding Jye, never was a piece of tassie oak put to better use (if I'm guessing correctly that is) Looks like you could pulverise concrete with that thing. I will be doing some thing very similar but I'm having a crack at making it adjustable.

Is tassie oak hardwood? I just went to bunnings and picked up hardwood without knowing what it was called. As for pulverising concrete I have to show the grain whos boss

I thought about making it adjustable but everything I read said just keep reducing the gap until you get a stuck sparge and then take it back a notch... and by the sounds of it I will be spot on, thanks Pumpy.

PS - I will add some pics of the crush this Sunday.

 

[Tony]

very nice Jye.

easier to make it out of timber that metal hey.

Its very easy to make it adjustable. I find 0.9mm on mine with a fair knerl is perfect. if i go below 0.8 i start to get stuck mashes but i have a very deep grain bed with 10 to 12 KG of grain in a 50 liter keg its 3/4 full with a thick mash.

i use baby food jars to measure water for the grain.

little jat of abour 100ml for 5 KG and a large one of about 180mls to 10 KG so 20 ml's / KG is right.

Only one way to know if the crack is too fine........... mash with it.

Do you have rice hulls on hand just in case?

cheers and will post some pics of my adjustment screws when im home

nice work mate

 

[Jye]

Do you have rice hulls on hand just in case?

cheers and will post some pics of my adjustment screws when im home

nice work mate

[post="127243"][/post]​

Unfortunately no rice hulls

The frame is based on your mill and if I went adjustable I was going to steal your screw idea too I guess I will have to mash and see if the gap is to close.

 

[Ross]

Unfortunately no rice hulls

[post="127245"][/post]​

Plenty of ricehulls here mate.

Mill looks awesome - well done :super:

cheers Ross

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Wetting the grain is definatly the way to go. But dont add to much water. I have the same rollers etc, and found that if I didnt wet the grain, it would not sparg properly.

I usually let it sit for about 15-20 mins before crushing and get lots of flour and lots of intact husks.....