Marga Mill and Ozito Drill

[sboreham]

Hi Everyone

A while ago I purchased a Marga mill and then due to some family stuff I wasn't able to brew for a while so I leant it to a friend who modified it for a drill, used for a while and gave it back. He spent a lot on a drill I didn't want to. So using the advice in this forum I bought an Ozito OZSHD1050WA from Bunnings. My question is do I just run it at its lowest speed when crushing?

 

[Yob]

Should have a dial on the trigger, use this to control it, it'll vary, mine is generally 3 clicks on the dial (different drill though)

 

[shaunous]

I run mine at different speeds and it seems to do the same crush, but yeh, slower the better.

But in also saying that, a cheap drill or most battery drills for that matter wont have the torque to crush grain going real slow, so use your sense of smell and touch to watch out for a burning motor if going to slow.

 

[Steve]

Go by sound and feel (and smell). You'll get the feel for it after a few mins. You don't want it screaming like an F1 and you don't want it chugging away that slow it stops. I used an Ozito on my Marga for 5 odd years with a 10mm spade bit. Worked well.

 

[Maheel]

i set my ozito drill up with the power off at about 5 clicks in on the little RPM wheel
with the power still off at the plug i lock the drill trigger "on" using the button thing on the side of the drill
i then put in the grain into my hopper then just turn on the power point and away it goes

if needed i make a quick change on the little rpm wheel as it is running

but i am running a mash master mini

 

[skb]

I have the Ozitio drill and all. I basically start slowly ( just with trigger pressure). Then run it full speed for the entire crush. Which for me is 2.5kg lots due to container size. Works like a dream.

Reading this has made me wonder is there any reason I should not be doing this ( apart from blowing up my cheap drill)

 

[sboreham]

Thanks everyone. I think I was overestimating how precise the speed had to be. I tried changing the speed of the drill starting at the slowest and winding up to about half way and couldn't see a noticeable difference in the crush.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk

 

[Bribie G]

How are you attaching the drill to the mill?

I bought a new Marga about 3 years ago and took the supplied crank handle into a local workshop. They straightened it out and cut it off to turn it into, basically, a drill bit. So I have this bit clamped permanently into my Ozito and just insert the thing into the Marga slot ( love it when I talk dirty) and away it goes.

 

[Steve]

10mm spade bit fits perfectly.

 

[dicko]

Unless it has changed recently, the Marga mill has gearing that drives each roller at a slightly different speed.
This allows a good crush at hand speeds for what it was originally made for, IE breadmaking.
When the mill is driven by a drill or motor it is important to drive it at exactly the same speed each time to achieve the same crush which in turn will give you the same efficiency. Doing this results in "repeatability" with each brew you do.
The faster you drive or turn the mill the finer the grind due to the husks being torn by the differing roller speeds.

The Marga was the first mill I had and it took me some time to work out why my efficiency changed from brew to brew.
It wasn't until I set the variable knob on the drill I was using to the same setting each time that I achieved repeatability between brews.

It is a point worth looking at if repeatability concerns you.

Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Good point. I've found that trying to run the batch through as quickly as possible doesn't result in much time saved, if any.

You'll eventually be able to "feel" the sweet spot of speed and keep your drill setting on that.

Another point, did you mod the mill by drilling an extra hole in the gap adjusting wheel or whatever it's called? I BIAB and found that by drilling a hole half way between the position recommended in this article and the coarsest "factory" hole I get a grist that's perfect for BIAB.

 

[dicko]

Somewhere on one of these forums are pics of my old Marga Molino mill.
I originally drilled holes all the way round the disc from memory but it was an overkill as it achieved the same result re the gap adjustment. There is a "sweet spot" but my memory fails me now regarding the setting.

Bribie, when I started AG brewing no one was BIABing so the crush really did affect the efficiency.
These mills are great for biab due to the fact that a finer crush is desired.
I remember once I did an Oatmeal Stout and crushed too fine and the mash was like concrete....I just couldn't get it to flow and with the addition of oats it made it impossible.

 

[dazza77]

I've got and old ozito drill and just hold it at a slower speed with a g clamp. Takes about half an hour to crush 4kg grain so I just leave it doing its thing with no problems.
Bribe, I bought my mill second hand with the extra hole already drilled. I've got a herms system and find the crush perfect at that setting.

 

[breakbeer]

Half an hour to mill 4kg if grain??

Seems quite a long time

I can't get my Ozito to drill at slower speeds using the dial, so I also use a g clamp, takes about 10 minutes to mill 6kg

 

[skb]

Is there any reason you do it slowly ? I just zip through my grain, is that a bad thing.

 

[bradsbrew]

Is there any reason you do it slowly ? I just zip through my grain, is that a bad thing.

Some believe that going too fast shreds the outer husk which can lead to tannin extraction.