Knurling on a Mashmaster Mini Mill

[Liam_snorkel]

I want to see pics of the new fluted rollers

Here you go:

 

[razz]

That looks as hard as a cats head.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

mardoo posted a picture of the new mill, post #129. Can't see how sharp the flutes are, but what happens when they "blunt " ?

See above, the 2nd pic shows it better. They seem unlikely to blunt, the most acute angle is 90deg.

 

[seamad]

thanks Liam, can't see those suckers getting blunter, they're not sharp to start with.Looks like they'll last a long time.

 

[huez]

If the cutting edge gets blunt you can flip the mill upside down and it will use the opposite edge. I can't imagine them ever getting to the point where they won't pull in the grain though, especially on the home brew level of users.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

Btw that second photo is the under side. So the leading edge that pulls the grain through is the 90deg

 

[HBHB]

Be interesting to see how the new less flour crush affects efficiency.

Shouldn't be a problem

 

[Mardoo]

Any news on grain bed, sparge or efficiency? There were reports on some of the German forums of a similar crush increasing efficiency.

 

[Rocker1986]

I haven't got my replacement roller yet, and I only do BIAB, but I did find that widening the gap on my mill and getting a coarser crush has coincided with getting better efficiency. Also began stirring the mash periodically at the same time, so not sure which change in process is responsible for it, but if it continues then I'm happy.

 

[Parks]

Btw that second photo is the under side. So the leading edge that pulls the grain through is the 90deg

My rollers are opposite each other - one side is sharp edge down the other roller is the other way.

 

[Mardoo]

Yep, that's what they call sharp-to-sharp, amongst the other possible orientations in mills. The Wolf mills site used to have some explanation of the different types.

Edit: Here it is. Some say it's the best orientation. Some don't.

http://www.wolfengineering.com.au/grinding_and_fluting.html

 

[Liam_snorkel]

My rollers are opposite each other - one side is sharp edge down the other roller is the other way.

ah you're right, I was only looking at the passive roller.

 

[bradsbrew]

Received the replacement roller today, had the same problem as Liam with the shim thingos. Tried .8mm to 1.1 but just enough to sit in the rollers, will get a better idea once it all goes back together.
1.1mm with the fluted and knurled looks like a pretty good crush. Wont be brewing for a few more weeks and will see then.

On a side note, its amazing that not a word was said about me doing this on the kitchen bench, now that the house is sold.

 

[Rocker1986]

Mine arrived today as well, will fit it to the mill soon in preparation for tomorrow's brew day and report back the results.

 

[bradsbrew]

Ok, could not help myself and just ran 1kg through. Not much flour as such but there's alot of small bits but there is also alot of empty husks which should help sparging in the grainfather. Seriously, i cant find one uncrushed grain. Admittedly it is only 1 grain, wey pils. Smashed through it in no time at all.
Now i better clean this mess up in the kitchen before the netflix episode finishes and the headphones come off.
Now to just wait for the hopper to be released and i can replace the hopper i put together as an inbetween waiting for the mm hopper a couple of years ago.

 

[Rocker1986]

Just milled the grain for today's brew day which is now mashing away in the urn. The mill went much better today, pulling the grain through at a decent rate and giving a decent looking crush, similar to what bradsbrew's photos show there. It took about ten minutes but that was more due to me adjusting the gap setting to where I wanted it. Not exactly sure what the setting is, guessing about 0.9 or 1mm. Either way, big thanks to Frank for the replacement roller, great to have the mill working properly again.

 

[nosco]

Just took me 35 min to mill 6kg of grain with 1mm gap and that was with me pushing down on it with a bit of pine. I watched the last 500g or so it just sat there until i swished it around. When i say mill i do mean mill. So much powder. Ive never had so many dough balls and i biab.
Ill have to send an email later today.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Just took me 35 min to mill 6kg of grain with 1mm gap and that was with me pushing down on it with a bit of pine. I watched the last 500g or so it just sat there until i swished it around. When i say mill i do mean mill. So much powder. Ive never had so many dough balls and i biab.
Ill have to send an email later today.

Open the gap up. If your gap is to tight it wont grab the grains.

I have always opened it wide then gradually close the gap until I get the crush I want

 

[Rocker1986]

I don't think the gap is the main problem here. Even with mine opened up it still wouldn't grab and pull the grains through very well. Until now, with the replacement roller, that is. The gap now is set a lot narrower than it was when I had the two knurled rollers in it, and the grain goes through perfectly well. Only takes a few minutes to mill the ~5kg for a standard batch, as opposed to an hour or so with the old roller and a wider gap.

Nosco I'd say shoot off an email as you planned. 35 minutes for 6kg is too long, not as long as my hour or so but still it's obviously not working as it should be. A replacement fluted roller will solve the problem. B)

 

[nosco]

I should have opened up the gap but that didnt occure to me until I filled the hopper. Could have fluffed around with the gages from underneath but couldnt be naffed. It was supposed to be a quick brew day. Only just getting to the boil now. Ill still send of an email with some pics.