Yet Another Diy Mill

[browndog]

Hi Pumpy,
Haven't tested it yet mate, but I have just made a nice shiny S/S hopper for it. I'm picking up some grain on the way to Ross's place where we are meeting for the trip up the coast for the QLD xmas in july swap so early next week I should post a report an pic. I really like that idea of using a couple of O-rings to drive the non-driven roller, may have to incorporate that one.

cheers

Browndog

 

[poppa joe]

Browndog..
I have added an "O" ring (recessed) to an old hand wringer (14 inch hard rubber rollers)
on the handle side and cut up an old bike tyre for the other non driven side..(adjustable)
Seems OK ..Hasn't had a workout yet.i can only get crushed grains here..so far..
Anxiously waiting for some whole grain to give it a tryout..First one with a little
crystal looks promising..
Was drooling over an old one at Vinnies today on an old washing machine(motorised)$150.00
cheers
PJ

 

[browndog]

Hi Fellas,
I gave the mill it's maiden run yesterday with mixed results. I installed a new S/S hopper that holds 5kg, connected the 24V cordless and let her rip. Unfortunately the driven roller spun and nothing happened, the straight knurling was quite fine and was just spinning over the grain. The other roller has a courser knurl and I knew I needed to get this spinning as well to get a crush happening. Thank god for Redbeards post advising of the use of o-rings. I slipped a couple of 40mm*2mm o-rings over the driven roller and hey presto off she went, crushed the 5kg hopperfull in about 10min. Not having any knowledge on crushing grain, it appeared to me that the crush was similar to that, that I get from my LHBS. Seems to be an equal mix of granules and flour there with the husks remaining largely intact.


If anyone can comment on the pic of the crush I'd appreciate it. After doing the first crush, I'd say that eventually I'll make a permanent mounting connected to a proper motor though pulleys so I can start the thing and walk away. Some sort of dust extraction system would be an advantage too.

cheers

Browndog

 

[AndrewQLD]

it's a bit hard to tell in the photo but the crush looks good to me Browndog, so long as there are no grains left intact and your husks are resonably whole it will be fine, you will soon know when you do the mash, if your efficiency is good then the crush is good. If you find your eff has dropped a little then crush a bit finer or run the grains through twice.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Jye]

I was just thinking of you mill the other day and wondered if you had tested it out.

Ive found with my crush if there are a few intact hulls that come apart when rubbed between you fingers then its good. Compared to the LHBS it doesnt look as fine but my efficiency jumped 15%... who woulda thunk it

Post how your sparge and efficiency went

 

[Pumpy]

If anyone can comment on the pic of the crush I'd appreciate it. After doing the first crush, I'd say that eventually I'll make a permanent mounting connected to a proper motor though pulleys so I can start the thing and walk away. Some sort of dust extraction system would be an advantage too.

cheers

Browndog

Browndog your mill & hopper is a work of art , from the pic it looks like a good crush , I think I have mentioned before but Grumpy said try to get away with the finest crush you can without getting a stuck sparge , I have seen some great brewers and their crush chops up the grain like you would not believe so , it is what you can get away with , obviously the books always say try tocrush with a husk in one piece as much as possible so it acts as a good filter .

and that is always a good start

pumpy

 

[bindi]

Looks like a very good crush to me I was pushing my crush 'to the max' of late, but have now backed it off a little [bees d$ck], now looks like yours,from the photo that is.

 

[Screwtop]

Browndog, remember seeing my modified Marga. Had it down to .028" and was having trouble with stuck mash and sparge, but mostly noticeable when dark grain % was up. Possibly due to large diameter copper manifold and some channeling also, but anyway, pulled it apart and set it back to .038 today. When it was set at .040 the crush resembled yours with lots of good intact husk. What is your gap set to?

 

[browndog]

Thanks for the comments Lads, exactly what I was after. Due to the O-rings I would have to say that the gap is at least 1mm. I'll get hold of some feeler guages and let you know. Pumpy, I agree, what brewer doesnt get a stir from seeing nice shiny stainless.

cheers

Browndog

 

[poppa joe]

Browndog..
Steal the inner tubes out of the kids ..bikes..scooters..whatever..Or maybe your neighbours
kids.. Cut them into elastic type bands..wrap them around rollers..Worked for me..
Stole it of my youngest blokes P. K. RIPPER..((But he is 28 yrs now.).
Cheers
PJ

 

[browndog]

Hey Popa joe, innertubes..... now why didn't I think of that. When the o-rings I have on now wear out I'll be using an innertube for sure. Screwtop, I just checked the gap I have with some feeler guages and it is 40thou so you were spot on with your comment there.

cheers

Browndog

 

[browndog]

Post how your sparge and efficiency went

I did a brew this arvo that I crushed last weekend, it consisted of

4kg pale malt
2kg munich malt
0.75 crystal

and it gave me nothing but problems during sparging. No matter how much I stirred the mash it did not want to give up the wort. I sliced down though the mash as I have heard, but this did not work either. I had the hose from the tun dribbling into the hop sock 30min into the boil. I ended up with 2L short in the kettle and topped up with 2L water. I exceded the predicted sg by a point so I think there is a fine line there between the relationship of flour to kibble in the crush. I can see weeks of trials coming to get a handle on milling a good crush to suit my mashing style.

cheers

Browndog

 

[AndrewQLD]

Post how your sparge and efficiency went

I did a brew this arvo that I crushed last weekend, it consisted of

4kg pale malt
2kg munich malt
0.75 crystal

and it gave me nothing but problems during sparging. No matter how much I stirred the mash it did not want to give up the wort. I sliced down though the mash as I have heard, but this did not work either. I had the hose from the tun dribbling into the hop sock 30min into the boil. I ended up with 2L short in the kettle and topped up with 2L water. I exceded the predicted sg by a point so I think there is a fine line there between the relationship of flour to kibble in the crush. I can see weeks of trials coming to get a handle on milling a good crush to suit my mashing style.

cheers

Browndog

Ahh, Browndog, sounds like a classic example of over crushing, and your right there is a fine line. Once you have backed off the crush a little you should be right.
I had the same problem with my S/S mesh false bottom, and I found if I didn't try to drain full bore and backed the flow off a little I could batch sparge no problems, but if I opened it up I would have a slab of concrete in the bottom of the tun and the flow would die to a trickle. it's all a balancing act.
But at least you got your efficiency even if it did take a little longer.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[browndog]

Ahh, Browndog, sounds like a classic example of over crushing, and your right there is a fine line. Once you have backed off the crush a little you should be right.
I had the same problem with my S/S mesh false bottom, and I found if I didn't try to drain full bore and backed the flow off a little I could batch sparge no problems, but if I opened it up I would have a slab of concrete in the bottom of the tun and the flow would die to a trickle. it's all a balancing act.
But at least you got your efficiency even if it did take a little longer

Andrew the thing that surprised me the most was how much the mash wanted to retain the wort. I cut paths though it, dug holes in it and even continuosly stirred it with the tap open to create a flow. But to no avail it was porridge and wanted to stay that way. Here's to the next phase of my brewing apprenticeship.

cheers

Browndog

 

[Ross]

tony,

let me take it off your hands mate - you've suffered enough pain - I'll take good care of it for you


cheers Ross

 

[BrissyBrew]

....he also got it nickel plated .............
cheers

Browndog

Hi Browndog

How is the nickel plating holding up, I am considering if I make a mill from carbon steel to get it nickel plated.

 

[Screwtop]

Post how your sparge and efficiency went

I did a brew this arvo that I crushed last weekend, it consisted of

4kg pale malt
2kg munich malt
0.75 crystal

and it gave me nothing but problems during sparging. No matter how much I stirred the mash it did not want to give up the wort. I sliced down though the mash as I have heard, but this did not work either. I had the hose from the tun dribbling into the hop sock 30min into the boil. I ended up with 2L short in the kettle and topped up with 2L water. I exceded the predicted sg by a point so I think there is a fine line there between the relationship of flour to kibble in the crush. I can see weeks of trials coming to get a handle on milling a good crush to suit my mashing style.

cheers

Browndog

BD what do you use for a manifold? Using SS Braid if I opened the valve fully at the start it seemed to suck the tubing flat and stop the flow, no matter how much I stirred up the mash it would not reform with the weight of the mash on it. After trying slotted copper and a PVC manifold, went back to SS braid, but now after using a SS false bottom for the last two mashes I am satisfied, the best result yet.

 

[browndog]

Hi Brissy,
The nickel plating is holding up excellently. I wanted to put a groove in the roller to fit a thick O-ring to drive the non-driven roller and had all sorts of trouble. I don't know if they case hardened the rollers but man, they were hard. I stuffed all my files trying to make the groove and ended up using an angle grinder.
Mike, I have a slotted copper tube for a manifold. I've opened the gap right up to 50thou and it is sparging great and I am still getting 80% or so efficiency.

cheers

Browndog

 

[browndog]

Hi Boys,
Sorry to drag this old thread up from the depths, but after building Ross's mill, thought I better bring mine up to date. So here it is, finally finished off and not relying on a drill for power.

It is a 1/8th HP motor spinning at 1420rpm reduced down to 190RPM though the pulleys. There is enough power to turn the 8 inch wide rollers and it crushes 5kg of grain in 4min. Both rollers are driven thanks to two solid O-rings between the rollers. The gap is pretty hefty compared to others here, but I still seem to be getting a lot of flour, though not enough to create a stuck sparge. I am getting upwards of 85% efficiency so I have to say that I'm pretty happy and all the beers I've been turning out lately have been pretty big Gotta start cutting back on the grain bill a bit.

cheers

Browndog

 

[Screwtop]

Hi Boys,
Sorry to drag this old thread up from the depths, but after building Ross's mill, thought I better bring mine up to date. So here it is, finally finished off and not relying on a drill for power.
View attachment 9516
It is a 1/8th HP motor spinning at 1420rpm reduced down to 190RPM though the pulleys. There is enough power to turn the 8 inch wide rollers and it crushes 5kg of grain in 4min. Both rollers are driven thanks to two solid O-rings between the rollers. The gap is pretty hefty compared to others here, but I still seem to be getting a lot of flour, though not enough to create a stuck sparge. I am getting upwards of 85% efficiency so I have to say that I'm pretty happy and all the beers I've been turning out lately have been pretty big Gotta start cutting back on the grain bill a bit.

cheers

Browndog

I love your work BD! :super: