Mill Rollers And Rust

[Jase]

Hi all,

I pulled my brewing gear out of the shed this morning in anticipation of my first brew day for 2011, tomorrow! I was shocked to see my 3 roller monster mill has rust on the rollers!!

Not happy at all, the mill is always stored in the shed.

Is there anything I can do to fix the mill?

Cheers,
Jase

 

[Frag_Dog]

I would pull it apart and hit the rollers with a wire brush.

I went stainless with my MM3 for that very reason...

 

[jbumpstead]

Run some grain through it that you're not going to brew with. I think you'll find it'll come up pretty well.

 

[TidalPete]

Very salty environment where I live but have never had a problem with mill rust.
Store your mill in a plastic garbage bag with a few silica gel packs inside then put the lot in a sealed plastic drum\container.
Goes without saying to use the previous advice first. Wire brush first, then some old grain.

TP

 

[pk.sax]

Could also sub the silica with rice? Dunno, I've had had problems with stuff rusting up here too. Is why I spent a little extra for the SS rollers.

I'd have taken it to a buffing wheel if I had the issue. That'd be enough to remove rust, surely.

 

[Lecterfan]

Am I the only one to have read this post and then hummed Joan Baez/Judas Priest to themself?

Cos we both know what memories can bring....

Sorry for :icon_offtopic:

 

[mckenry]

Hi all,

I pulled my brewing gear out of the shed this morning in anticipation of my first brew day for 2011, tomorrow! I was shocked to see my 3 roller monster mill has rust on the rollers!!

Not happy at all, the mill is always stored in the shed.

Is there anything I can do to fix the mill?

Cheers,
Jase

Like others said - sacrifice some grain. 1 kg out to do it. Run through twice and the rust should fall off. I had this happen once. It worked a treat. Now, after cracking grain, just brush off the dust with a paint brush, then spray with conola oil. No rust since. Nothing else needed.

 

[mmmyummybeer]

Like others said - sacrifice some grain. 1 kg out to do it. Run through twice and the rust should fall off. I had this happen once. It worked a treat. Now, after cracking grain, just brush off the dust with a paint brush, then spray with conola oil. No rust since. Nothing else needed.

I do the same, paint brush works well to remove any old grain bits getting into next batch. I haven't sprayed my rollers though. Never needed to but have lately notice some rust on the outside which I isn't really too much of a issue to fix. Great to here how you can run some grain through and it will remove the rust. I remember reading somewhere, which I think was when I got the grain mill that you can put some oil on them but then to sacrifice some grain to run through first before use.

 

[sp0rk]

Surely food grade silicon spray would be fine to use on the rollers?
then a quick rinse with hot water before use if you're paranoid about getting silicon in your system?

 

[Bizier]

Am I the only one to have read this post and then hummed Joan Baez/Judas Priest to themself?

Cos we both know what memories can bring....

Sorry for :icon_offtopic:

No, but I was thinking that if I've been taught anything by Neil Young, it its that it's better for your drill to burnout, than for your mill to rust.

 

[komodo]

I went SS for exactly this.
I'd rather spend an extra $50 or what ever it was on my MM3-2.0-SS than deal with rusty rollers.

 

[stux]

After living at the beach in a prior life, SS rollers were an obvious choice. I can't stand rust!

 

[tavas]

Don't wash your rollers. Just dry brush and leave it.

 

[altone]

Ok, I know this is a very old topic and apologize if the forum mods would have preferred I start a new one.

My crankenstein mill had been sitting in a garage for nearly 2 years before i pulled it out last week and found it had surface rust on the top section of the rollers.

I'd coated it with olive oil before putting it away but 2 years is a long time..

So here's how I cleaned it ... didn't want to just run grain through it - wanted it to be rust free clean and ready before I milled.

If you check fleabay you'll see there are a number of sellers that offer a set of 3 brushes, stainless steel, brass and nylon for about $2.50
That's what i used (already had them for work purposes but unused)

First scrub the loose rust off with the stainless brush.
second, add some olive oil (or whatever cooking oil you use) and scrub softly with the brass brush.
After this you could probably just wash it with detergent and the nylon brush - then oil straight away.
But i have a stack of Isopropyl Alcohol so I used the nylon brush and alcohol to get it perfectly clean - looking like new.

I then milled a bit of grain I needed for a partial, cleaned off with a dry paintbrush and sprayed the rollers with an olive oil spray I use in the kitchen.

Good as new, and the grain I milled seemed to be spot on too!

If you want to search for those brushes try "3Pcs Stainless Steel Brass Nylon Wire Cleaning Brush Kit"

Just thought I'd share this with you as I've been silent for so long

Cheers

Gerry