Millmaster Question

[glaab]

My MM is also out of round/centre

and yes I've learned first hand how little customer skills exist at MashMaster. Not buying another damn thing put out by them. Buggar him!


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

Hi Pete,

does it still crush ok?, I got it from Craftbrewer so hopefully they'll exchange it anyway. If they claim 0.02mm tolerance he should be able to send it back .

Cheers

 

[pdilley]

Its awaiting its maiden crush as the whole table, motor, and mill are setup. Im only held up by waiting on word fom ross about a proper hopper with gear guard built in. Dont think its going to happen, maybe not ever considering MashMaster. Will build my own hopper base from wood with guard to test it out. But now building bee hives early due to global warming so I must finish before early swarming in next two weeks. Mill will have to wait a bit to gauage crush.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[T.D.]

Glaab,
I would not be too worried if I were you, sure, the website says machined to 8 thou tolerance (which is much less than a bee's dick, right Chappo!) but in all honesty, it is not going to cause you any trouble

Am I reading this right? Are you saying a variation of 0.4mm in roller gap is fine and not to worry about it?!?! I know that if I change my mill gap by just 0.1mm I can see the effects in the brewhouse efficiency.

If there is one thing nobody should write off as "normal variation" its this. Its a roller mill, at the very essence of its operation is a consistent gap, adjustable to your liking.

Glaab, send it back, this should not occur in any grain mill! I am sure Ross would be glad to swap it for one that operates as it should.

 

[glaab]

Am I reading this right? Are you saying a variation of 0.4mm in roller gap is fine and not to worry about it?!?! I know that if I change my mill gap by just 0.1mm I can see the effects in the brewhouse efficiency.

If there is one thing nobody should write off as "normal variation" its this. Its a roller mill, at the very essence of its operation is a consistent gap, adjustable to your liking.

Glaab, send it back, this should not occur in any grain mill! I am sure Ross would be glad to swap it for one that operates as it should.

Thanks for the feedback TD,

I'm inclined to agree with you but I'm no expert which is why I was asking the question.
I'll phone Ross tomorrow and let you know how I got on.

I would think Brewer Pete should be entitled to a refund or exchange. There is a law here that says if goods aren't supplied as described you are entitled to a refund. I wouldn't be too happy about paying $270 for something that's not up to scratch. I don't know how bad his one is but it sounds worse than mine.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

My MM is also out of round/centre

and yes I've learned first hand how little customer skills exist at MashMaster. Not buying another damn thing put out by them. Buggar him!


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

e-mailed fFrank at MM in respect to suitable RPM's on his MM and I had a reply back the same day.


Cheers
BYB

 

[browndog]

Am I reading this right? Are you saying a variation of 0.4mm in roller gap is fine and not to worry about it?!?! I know that if I change my mill gap by just 0.1mm I can see the effects in the brewhouse efficiency.

If there is one thing nobody should write off as "normal variation" its this. Its a roller mill, at the very essence of its operation is a consistent gap, adjustable to your liking.

Glaab, send it back, this should not occur in any grain mill! I am sure Ross would be glad to swap it for one that operates as it should.

TD
You obviously don't have a mill with some runout on the rollers, it is no problem. I do, and I can tell you it is no big deal. Further, I did say that it was his money and if he was not happy to send it back.

Sully
0.050" O condition aluminium sheet.

cheers

Browndog

 

[bconnery]

I cut my gear guard out of cereal packet cardboard by sight only from Pumpy's template and the look of the gears.
1 year on they are still going fine.

I can't say if my rollers are out but the mill works brilliantly.

 

[T.D.]

TD
You obviously don't have a mill with some runout on the rollers, it is no problem.

I have a 3 roller Monster Mill. Times like these I am pretty glad about it too!

 

[KillerRx4]

I cut my gear guard out of a plastic ice cream container lid. Slips in between the sides & end of the hopper.

 

[warrenlw63]

Do these mills function OK without the gear guards? I'm surprised the manufacturer and/or retailer are not offering an out of the box option for these mills? To be honest I always had aprehensions re; the geared drive hence the reason I purchased a Monster. The whole idea of uncovered gears to me just seems "unfinished".

My reasons being a design that has been successfully utilised in the Crankandstein range was at least a safe bet.

Warren -

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

Do these mills function OK without the gear guards? I'm surprised the manufacturer and/or retailer are not offering an out of the box option for these mills? To be honest I always had aprehensions re; the geared drive hence the reason I purchased a Monster. The whole idea of uncovered gears to me just seems "unfinished".

My reasons being a design that has been successfully utilised in the Crankandstein range was at least a safe bet.

Warren -

I had been looking at the Monstermill but decided that for a few extra bucks, would go the Millmaster. I am waiting for my pulley to arrive and away I go, well I hope so. Going on how many pulleys I ordered in the bulk buy, there seems to be a lot out there. Am hoping that the problems some are having are just a storm in a teacup and that mine will run fine :unsure: The problem that arises from a thread such as this is that owners may start to look for faults when maybe they are not there, myself included.

I do know that Ross runs a Millmaster in his shop and I reckon Beerbelly is setting one up in the near future.

Some sought of reply on this thread by Frank would be comforting. Frank are you out there, I know youre watching <_<

BYB

 

[glaab]

I rang Craftbrewer and Andrew was ok/ happy to send me another one.
No doubt a PITA they could've done without too so I can't gripe about those guys,
they're doing their part to look after the customer.

Cheers

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I rang Craftbrewer and Andrew was ok/ happy to send me another one.
No doubt a PITA they could've done without too so I can't gripe about those guys,
they're doing their part to look after the customer.

Cheers

And the freight costs?


BYB

 

[glaab]

And the freight costs?


BYB

I paid it for now but he said he'd fix me up for it/ take it off next purchase or whatever suits me.
Andy, what did Frank say was the optimum rpms? What is your mill like?, when you turn it does it look like the gap stays the same? If its like mine you will easily see it by eye/ without using a gauge.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I paid it for now but he said he'd fix me up for it/ take it off next purchase or whatever suits me.
Andy, what did Frank say was the optimum rpms? What is your mill like?, when you turn it does it look like the gap stays the same? If its like mine you will easily see it by eye/ without using a gauge.

Quote "RPMs range can range from 100 to 600 RPM, I would aim for about 200 RPM, you will notice the same gap setting will produce a different crush a various speeds" End quote

Just got in from the shed (bloody cold, wet &windy) and it seems to look alright. Have not got it set up as yet so I took it for a test drive with the drill. Fingers crossed, mines OK.

BYB

 

[br33zy]

Interesting thread this.

We recently got a MM direct from Mashmaster - seduced by the discounted hopper. We suspect now that he is clearing out his old hoppers before offering the new ones with the integrated gear guard.

In any case, it didn't work out of the box. One of the adjustable cams was stuck fast and we had to disassemble the whole thing and use emery paper to smooth the housing and cam wheel until it all spun smoothly. That was disappointing enough, but the worst thing was the bolts holding it all together were different lengths; with most looking like they'd been cut to length by hand - that's just plain shoddy.

Benny's sent photos to the owner; who has promised to use them to try and improve things with his manufacturer.

I still think that it is a superb mill for the money - but it is still disappointing to pay a reasonable amount of money for something which doesn't run smooth and true out of the box. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who wasn't prepared to get their hands dirty. Bit like linux really...it works eventually, but you always have to get the spanners out.

Cheers

Breezy