MillMaster v MaltZilla Mills

[TheAussieBrewer]

Nice neat setup, but I wonder about the side load on the drive shaft bearing/sleeve, which is not an issue with a drill.
How tight does the belt have to be to prevent slippage?
Alternators have a small ball bearing and seem to last forever at quite high tensions but a lot of mills have bushes, something to keep an eye on maybe.

There isn’t a huge amount of load on the belt, but this motor has a bearing front and rear and is for driving pullies so there isn’t an issue with side load. The bearings may wear out eventually but not quickly enough for me to be concerned about it. Will last longer than a drill motor, outlived 2 drills I used before upgrading to the motor.

 

[LRAT]

I got my MillMaster set up, and have started experimenting with different mill gaps and speeds. I've finished with it set at 1.1mm with the feeler gauge and about 120rpm on the drill. Though I think I might slow the drill down even more.

Set at 1.1mm it has split almost all the husks in half, with not many fully intact husks, but at least it's made virtually no flour. So I gave conditioning a try, and the milled grain looks totally different. Looks like I've got about 90% of the husks still intact, but when I give them a rub they break up into a few pieces. After milling, the dry grain looks quite compact, while the conditioned grain looks "light and fluffy' if I can use that description.

So I think I've got the mill set correctly for use with the conditioned malt. If I was going to run the dry malt through, it looks to me like I would have to open the gap up a little more. I know Phil you use 1.1mm, but maybe you get away with that gap because you hand mill. Anyway, I'll know in a few days after I blow 15kg of malt on a Barley Wine.

View attachment 120131

Would you mind sharing which motor and pulleys you used? Where did you buy it from and how much did it cost?
That looks like a great setup!

 

[Cloud Surfer]

I bought a mill motor from Keg King. It’s a lot better than using the drill I started off trying. It has a lot more torque than a drill so it powers through the tough stuff like wheat. The motor connects straight into the mill, so it was easy to setup. Don’t remember the cost.

 

[LRAT]

I bought a mill motor from Keg King. It’s a lot better than using the drill I started off trying. It has a lot more torque than a drill so it powers through the tough stuff like wheat. The motor connects straight into the mill, so it was easy to setup. Don’t remember the cost.

Thanks for that! I just checked it out and for the motor only it's $285.00.

 

[Ballaratguy]

I got an golf bag buggy motor for $75 delivered
It’s geared and will crush wheat like it isn’t there
Direct drive connection. I wired it up so that I had reverse in case it jammed but have never had to use it
Better that a battery drill and cheaper

 

[LRAT]

I got an golf bag buggy motor for $75 delivered
It’s geared and will crush wheat like it isn’t there
Direct drive connection. I wired it up so that I had reverse in case it jammed but have never had to use it
Better that a battery drill and cheaper

That's also a great option. One could have it powered from a battery pack from Milwaukee, Makita, etc.

 

[Ballaratguy]

I’ve got a solar battery on the roof of my brewery so I power as much as I can by 12v

 

[Grok]

I can vouch for the Keg King 90w Induction milling motor kit, it works very well, plenty of power at a constant 180 RPM, perfect!

 

[LRAT]

Just thought I’d share what I have done with my MillMaster mill.

3/4hp motor with a 1-1/2” pully driving a 10” pulls providing about 220rpm on the mill.
View attachment 120159

I like your setup. It looks great!
I just ordered the Millmaster with hopper and will need to build something similar.
Can you provide the links for the motor, pulleys, V-belt and switch you bought it from?
Are you happy with this setup? Are you happy with the RPM's as is?

 

[TheAussieBrewer]

I like your setup. It looks great!
I just ordered the Millmaster with hopper and will need to build something similar.
Can you provide the links for the motor, pulleys, V-belt and switch you bought it from?

Everything was off ebay, motor (0.75hp with 19mm shaft), pulleys, V-belt and switch.

Pullies you'll need are 10" with 1/2" bore and a 1.25" with 3/4" bore no keyway.
Belt size will need to be calculated for your setup, here is a neat little calculator.

Are you happy with this setup? Are you happy with the RPM's as is?

Yes, I am really happy. Great consistant crush and it doesn't miss a beat. Just wish the hopper was larger from standard.

 

[Grok]

I like your setup. It looks great!
I just ordered the Millmaster with hopper and will need to build something similar.
Can you provide the links for the motor, pulleys, V-belt and switch you bought it from?
Are you happy with this setup? Are you happy with the RPM's as is?

LRAT, maybe you are unaware that the KK mill motor is a kit, with motor (with reduction gearbox attached), direct spider coupling drive and switch box. Everything you need for direct drive with less moving parts, unguarded pulleys and belt arrangement plus side force on the drive shaft from the belt tension.

And cheaper!

Ebay parts tally, motor, pulleys, switch, belt and postage etc $314

KK kit $285

 

[TheAussieBrewer]

LRAT, maybe you are unaware that the KK mill motor is a kit, with motor (with reduction gearbox attached), direct spider coupling drive and switch box. Everything you need for direct drive with less moving parts, unguarded pulleys and belt arrangement plus side force on the drive shaft from the belt tension.

And cheaper!

Ebay parts tally, motor, pulleys, switch, belt and postage etc $314

KK kit $285

Just adding from personal experience that the rubber spider damper used in the direct drive is a consumable part and will ware out (how quickly will obviously depend on usage rate), just something to be mindful of.

I personally have milled literally tons of malt through my mill, no sign of bearing wear and shroud can be made pretty cheaply with acrylic.

 

[Grok]

Just adding from personal experience that the rubber spider damper used in the direct drive is a consumable part and will ware out

Well I've used mine heaps and no sign of wearing, I think if you take particular care to align the 2 shafts (before mounting the coupling) as best you can by sight and something short enough with a straight edge checking X and Y axis, then the coupling has very little movement, therefore less wear and tear on the rubber.
You can actually use rubber or plastic pipe too BTW as a flexi-coupling, hose clamped onto each shaft, but just have to make sure it can handle the torque load.



But at the end of the day, whatever works I say!
There is beauty in simplicity!

 

[livo]

This thread seems to have deviated from the title and is more a discussion on the Millmaster with very little info on the MaltZilla. I have opportunity to buy either, and both at reasonable prices with the MaltZilla being more than slightly cheaper and having included power supply, hopper and Teflon Base Board etc. It has however, come with notification that it suffers from the free spinning wheel sticking problem which is apparently common with these machines.

The seller has informed that Kegland has recommended the replacement of the bearings, which they don't supply. This in itself isn't really a problem as they are readily available standard 6003-2RS 17-35-10 roller bearings, but is this problem a purchase ending issue?

The Millmaster comes with hopper and MDF sheet board for just over half RRP for a new one.

I've done a bit of research about the MaltZilla already and watched the Portly Gentleman video plus others. The mechanism of milling seems to be quite different between these machines and the milled grains are not the same. It appears to me it is the difference between a crushing and chopping action of fluted rollers Vs crushing and splitting of the diamond coated wheels. Any information will be gladly accepted as I need to decide within less than 24 hours if I'm taking the MaltZilla or not.

 

[Cloud Surfer]

The MillMaster was a much better choice for me, because my priorities are repeatability and high quality crush because I'm chasing competition success. Which leads to the other even more important component and that's the motor. You have to get a good quality, geared electric motor to drive the mill. If you use a drill you won't get repeatability and high quality crush. You'll still get beer, but just depends how good you want it to be. There will be a difference in the end product your mates might not detect, but a beer judge will.

 

[livo]

Thanks Cloud Surfer. The decision was made for me at the last minute, and I have ended up with neither of the 2 I had in mind. As I was having a coffee, about to leave home yesterday morning, I found an advertisement from a guy who was selling his whole AG 3V system for a price I couldn't pass up (50 litres kegs converted). So, I ended up making 2 trips to Sydney instead of the planned one and came home with a whole heap of stuff including grain and hops. Refractometer, grain mill, gas burner, HLT, Boil Kettle, Esky MT, instruments and consumables, crated Grolsch bottles, Mash Master Chillout, etc. Thanks Mark.

I now own a Mash Master Mill. It is the old model with knurled rollers, but the new fluted rollers are able to be fitted retrospectively. Although, they do say you have to able to prove you are upgrading an actual brand mill to prevent people from building their own framework and using Mash Master rollers. The guy I got it from says it works just fine as it is, and it certainly looks like a quality piece of equipment. The hand winder alone is a lovely thing. Any idea when they stopped making this older model?

 

[philrob]

I don't know when the original MillMaster ceased production, but I am still using mine from when it was first released in about 2007.
I use the hand crank, as I found my mash efficiency went down for the brief period I used a drill to power it. I still regularly get about 90%+ mash efficiency using it as it is. It will see me out.