DIY Mill Hopper - lbs / sq ft.??

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cruelkix

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Trying to sketch up a quick hopper for my grain mill. Does anyone have a good guess as to how many lbs of grain you get per sq ft??

Thanks!!
 
This doesn't answer your question, but I used a scratched better bottle with the bottom cut out fo rmy hopper. I can fit around 40 lbs of grain in the 6 gallon carboy. If in doubt, go bigger.
 
This doesn't answer your question, but I used a scratched better bottle with the bottom cut out fo rmy hopper. I can fit around 40 lbs of grain in the 6 gallon carboy. If in doubt, go bigger.

Ahh but it kinda does answer my question. Thank you! And I meant to say cubic feet. Not square feet.

6 gallon carboy = .802 cubic ft. (1 gallon of water = 0.13368 cu ft. @ STP)

40lbs / .802 = 49.9 lbs / cubic ft. (this is an apporximation but will work well enough)

Thanks!!
 

Nice mill... I have a Barley Crusher with the 7# hopper... I might extend it at some point in the future... I wouldn't go much higher than 10-15# for a hopper though, unless you plan on making it more wide than tall. Or unless you plan on making it a more perm. mounting (where the mill and hopper sit, with the bucket to catch the grain)... I just wouldn't want to make it too top heavy and have it spill grain all over the place...
 
Ahh but it kinda does answer my question. Thank you! And I meant to say cubic feet. Not square feet.

6 gallon carboy = .802 cubic ft. (1 gallon of water = 0.13368 cu ft. @ STP)

40lbs / .802 = 49.9 lbs / cubic ft. (this is an apporximation but will work well enough)

Thanks!!

Glad I could inadvertently help! If you go too big on the hopper, it'll be a PITA. I've been happy with mine and I also like that I can see my progress from across the room. HERE'S SOME PICS...
 
ScubaSteve, what are you brewing that needs 40# of grain?? Are you doing a couple of 10 gallon batches in a weekend? I know we used 26.5# of grain for our 10 gallon batch (OG of 1.065)...

You probably want to fix that link too...
 
Nice mill... I have a Barley Crusher with the 7# hopper... I might extend it at some point in the future... I wouldn't go much higher than 10-15# for a hopper though, unless you plan on making it more wide than tall. Or unless you plan on making it a more perm. mounting (where the mill and hopper sit, with the bucket to catch the grain)... I just wouldn't want to make it too top heavy and have it spill grain all over the place...

Thanks for the advise. This mill station is going to be a bit of a tank. I want to hold a 50lb bag of grain. I'm stepping up to 1.5 BBL batches. So it will be a stand alone station with a rather large trash can under it to catch all the stuff. I'm going to have it fully enclosed to keep the dust in. I have the motor and pulleys set up. I'll get pics for ya when I get closer to done.
 
Thanks for the advise. This mill station is going to be a bit of a tank. I want to hold a 50lb bag of grain. I'm stepping up to 1.5 BBL batches. So it will be a stand alone station with a rather large trash can under it to catch all the stuff. I'm going to have it fully enclosed to keep the dust in. I have the motor and pulleys set up. I'll get pics for ya when I get closer to done.

Sounds pretty sick, in a great way... :rockin:

You planning on using one of the dust collectors like you seen in wood working shops? You might want to have that to collect airborne dust, to keep things cleaner (around the rest of your brewing area)...

I dream of the day I'm brewing batches that size...

How many pallets of grain are you planning to blow through in a month? :eek:
 
Sounds pretty sick, in a great way... :rockin:

You planning on using one of the dust collectors like you seen in wood working shops? You might want to have that to collect airborne dust, to keep things cleaner (around the rest of your brewing area)...

I dream of the day I'm brewing batches that size...

How many pallets of grain are you planning to blow through in a month? :eek:

No dust collector. I'm going to fully enclose the trash can the grain is falling into so all the dust will be kept inside.

As far as pallets of grain, it depends on how many 50lb bags i get on a pallet :cross: Let's say 8?

I figure i will brew about 4 batches a week. I do BIG beers. So prob around 90 lbs a batch. so lets round up. 2 50lb bags a batch times 4 batches a week... 8 bags a week. 8 bags a pallet. 4 pallets a month?

WHO KNOWS LOL!!
 
Ummmm, a pallet holds 42 sacks of grain (55# each typically)... So, at 55#/sack, and 90#/batch... Makes about 6-1/2 sacks a week (4 batches a week), so you'll go through a pallet of grain about every 6-1/2 weeks... That's of base malt, not counting anything else you're putting in there. :eek:

At that rate, you'll use 336 sacks of grain a year (18,480# of grain)... :drunk: Roughly at least... Order a 6 months worth of grain at a shot... Bet the supplier would love to have that order come across his desk. :rockin:
 
Ummmm, a pallet holds 42 sacks of grain (55# each typically)... So, at 55#/sack, and 90#/batch... Makes about 6-1/2 sacks a week (4 batches a week), so you'll go through a pallet of grain about every 6-1/2 weeks... That's of base malt, not counting anything else you're putting in there. :eek:

At that rate, you'll use 336 sacks of grain a year (18,480# of grain)... :drunk: Roughly at least... Order a 6 months worth of grain at a shot... Bet the supplier would love to have that order come across his desk. :rockin:

Yeah I already have the supplier worked out so thats nice at least. He's giving me a good deal and understands that my orders will start "small" (in his terms) and have the potential to get much bigger assuming I don't crash and burn......:tank:
 
ScubaSteve, what are you brewing that needs 40# of grain?? Are you doing a couple of 10 gallon batches in a weekend? I know we used 26.5# of grain for our 10 gallon batch (OG of 1.065)...

You probably want to fix that link too...

I've done a few barleywines, which are 30+ lbs. Depends on how much sugar I'm adding, too. I do 10 gallon batches of IPA's now and then, but mostly 5 gallons. So I rarely fill the hopper past half full.

Link's fixed...HERE IT IS AGAIN...thanks for the head's up!:mug:
 
My son just has a small grinder he converted to motorized. he has it mounted on an old wooden desk. He made a cloth discharge chute that hangs from the bottom of the grinder to nearly the floor. It goes inside the container receiving the ground grain of course. It does a very nice job of containing the dust. We are normally grinding for 10 gal batches.
 
I was thinking more around 55# will go into a 10-11 gallon pail. Aren't most people splitting a 55# sack into 2 homer or 5 gallon buckets? I have trouble fitting some sacks into my 11 gallon pails if they are a plumper variety. My last 10 gallon batch of 1.097 RIS was just shy of a 40# malt bill, so big hoppers are nice on occasion especially if you're doing 45 gallon batches...

I hope you're going for a decent mill with bearings over bushings or sleeves as my Valley mill gets a workout on a big malt bill and I'm sure it'd go up in smoke before long if I did too many big batches in a week. I plan on rebuilding the blocks that the shafts ride in to add bearings in the near future as the plastic and sleeves are starting to get beat up.
 
Is that because you lose space due to the "Plumbers crack" in the buckets??

If I was doing that many batches a week, I'd probably just get one of the mills rated for it... Instead of one built more for the hobby level.
 
I was thinking more around 55# will go into a 10-11 gallon pail. Aren't most people splitting a 55# sack into 2 homer or 5 gallon buckets? I have trouble fitting some sacks into my 11 gallon pails if they are a plumper variety. My last 10 gallon batch of 1.097 RIS was just shy of a 40# malt bill, so big hoppers are nice on occasion especially if you're doing 45 gallon batches...

I hope you're going for a decent mill with bearings over bushings or sleeves as my Valley mill gets a workout on a big malt bill and I'm sure it'd go up in smoke before long if I did too many big batches in a week. I plan on rebuilding the blocks that the shafts ride in to add bearings in the near future as the plastic and sleeves are starting to get beat up.

Yeah, the original number seems a bit off. 50lbs in a cubic foot doesnt seem quite right once i started looking at it last night. Some friends came over so I didnt get around to building the hopper, but i didnt get some of the belting and pullies protected from human fingers and grain.

Rochester NY!!! I went to RIT for College for my BS in Mech Engineering. How is the good old Roxchester? I miss that beers of the world store. That place was awesome. Make your own 6 pack is sweet.
 
Is that because you lose space due to the "Plumbers crack" in the buckets??

If I was doing that many batches a week, I'd probably just get one of the mills rated for it... Instead of one built more for the hobby level.

If I burn it up, I burn it up. I'm trying to get this whole thing started on the cheap. I'll replace it when I can afford to. It will hold up for a while im sure. The LHBS doesnt have anything much bigger and there are people in there grinding grains all the time.
 
I'm sure it will go through many sacks of grain before starting to show wear... You could be in full swing, turning a profit :eek: before you actually need (or more likely want) to replace it.

Either way, good luck with the venture... I know that I'd be stoked if I was looking at brewing as more than just a hobby.
 
I'm sure it will go through many sacks of grain before starting to show wear... You could be in full swing, turning a profit :eek: before you actually need (or more likely want) to replace it.

God I hope so :mug:

Either way, good luck with the venture... I know that I'd be stoked if I was looking at brewing as more than just a hobby.

Thanks!! Its all kinda crazy when you start thinking about actually selling your beer. So many crazy things to deal with. I wish I had a helluva lot more money to start with thats for sure.....
 
Yeah I already have the supplier worked out so thats nice at least. He's giving me a good deal and understands that my orders will start "small" (in his terms) and have the potential to get much bigger assuming I don't crash and burn......:tank:

Since Country Malt Group has a warehouse in Aurora, CO, which you list as your location, you should be able to get good shipping, if you can't just go pick it up.
 
Since Country Malt Group has a warehouse in Aurora, CO, which you list as your location, you should be able to get good shipping, if you can't just go pick it up.

Wow, thanks for the heads up on that one. I didn't realize. I was going to go through colorado malting company (try to keep it local), but I will have to compare prices and see where I end up. It's always nice to have options.

Thanks!!
 
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