monster mill problems

airdale220 · 02-11-2009, 01:27 AM

So i have a question for anyone who uses a motorized mill. Do you guys regulary disassemble your mills and re oil them? If so how often? I've had this mill for about six months now and its been working great until about a month ago. The non drive roller just stops grabbing the grain. I assume the bearings need oil, I just havent got around to it since I built the stand and hopper in a way that it all needs to come apart first before i can get at the actual mill. I think ill redesign everything once its apart.

**joety** · 02-11-2009, 04:02 AM

I have the same problem with grabbing the grain. I had to open up the lower gap to max to get it to grab. I think my efficiency is suffering as a result.

EvilTOJ · 02-11-2009, 11:11 AM

I've never oiled my bearings. I don't see how the bearing needing oil would keep the roller from grabbing the grain. If it's a sleeve bearing there's nothing to oil, the axle just spins inside the sleeve. I've had my mill about a year, made many batches, and even left it out in the rain and it still works just as well as it did when I got it (after cleaning the rust off the rollers, that is). It sounds like the knurling needs to be cleaned out, there's probably too much dust embedded in it. Joety, if you have to open the gap to max, your efficiency is going to be crap, since your grain is barely going to be cracked, much less crushed.

The Pol · 02-11-2009, 11:44 AM

Lack of lubrication can hurt the rollers ability to grab grain in a sense, yes. If the roller "sticks", it will not turn simply by the the action of the "drive" roller spinning and pulling grain through the gap. What you then have is #1 either no grain getting pulled through or #2 you have one roller pullng grain PAST the other roller, thus shredding it instead of crushing it.

On the Barley crusher the DRIVE roller has an O-ring that squshes between it and the other roller, thus causing enough friction to drive BOTH rollers. They say that after that Oring wears out, that the action of the grain passing between the rollers will be sufficient to turn the "dead" roller... but I presume if your gap is either too large or too small, it will not work that way,

Tonedef131 · 02-11-2009, 01:07 PM

I have ran hundreds of pounds through my motorized Monster Mill and it grabs like a hero. I did once run a couple pounds of oats through in the grist for an Oatmeal stout and that gummed up the dummy roller pretty bad. I had to dump the grain out and push the dummy roller backwards until it dislodged all the gummy stuff. I set mine to .037 and haven't moved it since, so you should not have to loosen the gap either.

So I would start by disassembling the mill and making sure there isn't grain bits caught around the axles of the free roller. If it still isn't spinning free you could try putting some grease in there, but unless there is rust buildup or something you really shouldn't need to. The Monster Mill has oil impregnated bushings that do not require periodic greasing. Someone else mentioned making sure your knurls aren't getting packed full of grain dust and bits, so you might also take a coarse bristled brush to those.

**GilaMinumBeer** · 02-11-2009, 01:19 PM

My maltmill had teh same issue once I motorized it. Fortunately, my hopper design is such that the sides of the mill are exposed so a shot of WD got everything going nicely.

Best crush I have had to date. I suspect it has more to do with my rpm than anything.

Catt22 · 02-11-2009, 02:29 PM

There is a possibility that the mill frame is out of alignment and not square with the rollers. This can cause the rollers to bind up. A similar problem can be caused if there isn't enough clearance at the roller ends.

bgrubb7 · 02-11-2009, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tonedef131

So I would start by disassembling the mill and making sure there isn't grain bits caught around the axles of the free roller. If it still isn't spinning free you could try putting some grease in there, but unless there is rust buildup or something you really shouldn't need to. The Monster Mill has oil impregnated bushings that do not require periodic greasing. Someone else mentioned making sure your knurls aren't getting packed full of grain dust and bits, so you might also take a coarse bristled brush to those.

Getting grain bits stuck around the ends will cause this problem for me. I use a drill to drive my mill, so it isn't that big of a deal for me, as I can just reverse the drill for a couple seconds, and it clears everything out. A good cleaning, and a light oiling of the bushings and axles, helped me alot.

**joety** · 02-11-2009, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilTOJ

Joety, if you have to open the gap to max, your efficiency is going to be crap, since your grain is barely going to be cracked, much less crushed.

I realize that, but the grain is definitely being crushed and not visibly different from the LHBS grain. Mine is a three roller model, so the gap is only the lower gap. The upper gap is not adjustable.

airdale220 · 02-17-2009, 11:55 PM

thanks guys for your suggestions, this last crush where i had the most problems was with alot of oats. i cant see much gummed up in the knurls but i am going to check the axles. that seems more likely to be the problem.