Husqvarna Grain Crusher

[berto]

Hey, was at the junkyard near me again teh other day, and the guy had what looked to be a grain mill of some sort. Its a husqvarna reliance, and its made in sweden so it must be good. No cam here at the moment so i cant take a pic for you. has a large thread up the middle which pulls the grain in, and it is then cut through a grate at the end.
Unfortunately ive no uncracked grain here to test it with, but i just ran through some pre cracked grain, and it didnt seem to pulverise, but it cut it basically into small pieces of husk and what not. Not overly small. Is this what i am aiming to achieve with a grain crusher? or does it need to be cracked not cut?

Just found it on ebay in the uk then. Its actually a mincer. Mine is the exact same but has a 10 printed on it not a 5. Will post pics of the crush when i get some grain.

Cheers, Rob

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...ssPageName=WDVW

 

[Tony M]

Berto,
I may be talking thru the hole in my head here because I have never tried mincing grain but it is my understanding that you want the husks as complete as possibte to make a good filter bed otherwise you will get stuck sparges. Also, you will get husk material in your wort and you will start extracting tannins in your boil. If you are just steeping a little grain in a partial mash you wont have a problem. When I was doing this, I was using a coffee grinder and putting the crush in the foot surreptitiously snipped off the end of Enids panty hose. Maybe thats why some of my early brews tasted like old socks. ( I added that before Batz does!).
I would suggest you start making sausages with your mincer which is another sort of home brewing.

 

[wee stu]

berto, I'm still using a borrowed "corona" or "porchet" type mill, which on a casual glance looks much like an old fashioned mincer too. But this one is designed as a grain mill.
The difference is that the screw thread pushes the grain onto two plates that rotate against each other, ostensibly cracking or dehusking rather than cutting or shredding the grain. The plates are adjustible, but it still can be difficult to get a good crush and not a lot of pulverised grain flour along with the husk. Your description of a grate that cuts the grain doesn't seem ideal to me.

There is a description of corona style mills and how they differ from mincers at this site. Sounds like what you have is a mincer and not a mill.