Want To Buy A Grain Mill...

[felten]

I'm just wondering if it would be a a waste of a mini mill if all the length of the rollers were not used, I'm thinking of using the water bottle hopper method which would only let out a small amount of grain.
Thanks Jason

I use 2 pieces of wood. One is a piece of hardwood with my desired rectangular grain gap cut into it, and that screws into the top of the mill. And the second piece has a circle cut out of it to hold the hopper, and it screws into the top of the other piece.

I had to do this because my hopper was larger than the rollers, but you might not even have an issue with a smaller water bottle.

I'd post pictures but I'd have to take my mill apart, hope that helps.

 

[banora brewer]

I use 2 pieces of wood. One is a piece of hardwood with my desired rectangular grain gap cut into it, and that screws into the top of the mill. And the second piece has a circle cut out of it to hold the hopper, and it screws into the top of the other piece.

I had to do this because my hopper was larger than the rollers, but you might not even have an issue with a smaller water bottle.

I'd post pictures but I'd have to take my mill apart, hope that helps.

It does, I've got a fairly good picture in my head

 

[under]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-bdf452rfe...ll-driver/80152

This is what I use and its lasts a fair few batches.

 

[WarmBeer]

You are here View Product (TTD800D)
TTD800D TRADETOOLS DIRECT 13MM CHUCK ENGINEERS DRILL
An industrial duty low speed 13mm engineers drill from the same factory that makes our highly successful jackhammer range. Has a low speed range of 0-600rpm making it ideal for most larger steel drilling & mixing applications. These drills have extremely high torque & are fitted with a variable speed reversing trigger. It is worth noting that these drills have a solid steel gearbox assembly - not as common as you might think in machines of this type!
$98.00 Including GST

Just ordered one.

Will report back to this thread once I've received it and tried it out.

As promised.

Tried this out for the first time on the weekend. It's a brute! Absolutely no problems crushing grain with my MM2, this has just sooooo much torque. Pull the trigger full on and you feel the drill jump sideways in your hand.

Crushed 5.5kg for an Oatmeal Stout, and it didn't struggle or get even a fraction warm, unlike my Ryobi. The trigger mechanism is smooth enough to be able to maintain a nice, slow crush by just pulling it in a little. Probably around the 150-200 rpm, but that's just a guestimate.

A good-value alternative to setting up a Oatley or Motiondynamics motor, plus you get a high-torque drill in the bargain.

 

[Jarthy]

Here is a mock up of the hopper and base arrangement I'm planning on doing for my mini mill. Mainly for Jas to see how it'll fit together
I'm planning on running the Oatley motor, hence the hole above the shaft.

 

[Wolfy]

A good-value alternative to setting up a Oatley or Motiondynamics motor, plus you get a high-torque drill in the bargain.

And it seems they just opened a store in Dandenong.

 

[cat007]

Thanks for everyone's comments on here. I've just ordered the MM2 with SS rollers.
I think I have an old electric motor with some pulleys stashed at my parents place so will track that down. Not so fond of the drill setup as it could be tricky to get the drill at the exact same speed every time and two batches that should be the same could end up being quite different.

If you run your grain through the mill and it's not crushed as much as you'd like - could you pass it through a second time without damaging the husks too much?

Is it better to run the grain through once on a narrower setting, or twice on a wider setting?

Cheers
Hunt

 

[Malted]

Thanks for everyone's comments on here. I've just ordered the MM2 with SS rollers.
I think I have an old electric motor with some pulleys stashed at my parents place so will track that down. Not so fond of the drill setup as it could be tricky to get the drill at the exact same speed every time and two batches that should be the same could end up being quite different.

If you run your grain through the mill and it's not crushed as much as you'd like - could you pass it through a second time without damaging the husks too much?

Is it better to run the grain through once on a narrower setting, or twice on a wider setting?

Cheers
Hunt

From what I have observed, I think that running through twice on a larger setting damages the husks less than running through once on a smaller setting. I am able to get my crush progressively finer by running it through a number of times without changing the gap setting. On repeat passes the husks mostly pass through without being torn anymore. Less damaged husks, i.e. larger and more intact pieces of husk will keep the mash lighter, spongier and less compacted thus ensuring a better sparge.

I have a MM3 and a 1/4hp motor is not sufficient for a large quantity of grains - I can only trickle it into the hopper. I would advise not to use a motor unless it was 1/2hp or greater.

Pulleys should be of sufficient size to run the mill at 150-250 rpm "What rpm should I run my mill at" Monster Brewing Hardware LINK
I run a 1.5" pulley on the clothes dryer motor (too weak at 1/4 hp) and a 10" pulley on the mill - this gives me ABOUT 200 rpm of the mill rollers.

 

[pk.sax]

Arrived today



I'd planned to mount it under the board but realised that I need it ABOVE the board to power it with my drill. Well, I can always just flip the thing around to the other side in the future if I motorise it...

Board is a 5 Dollar job from the green shed, sawed in half and doweled together, haven't cut the slot out for the grain to go into bucket yet, will do once hopper desig is ready, then I'll take it apart, cut the slot and finally glue the dowels in place.

I even gave it a name.. see...



Next job, make a hopper!