Well, I made the mistake of keeping mine. I've run probably 40 batches thru it. The biggest problem I have is getting the idler roller to turn. It's a major source of frustration. I end up reaching underneath and giving it a spin with my fingers to get it started. The roller spins freely wo grain but fill the hopper with grain and engage the drill and only the driven roller turns. Reaching underneath and giving it a spin with my fingertips will get it turning for anywhere from a brief second to maybe a half a minute or so. I was ready to throw it up against the wall this weekend. The slop in the bushings has only gotten worse. Ive blown compressed air into the bushings in an attempt to clear them out and this helps sometimes. I've regapped the gap all over the map and .055 seems to be the point where if cracks the grain but doesn't turn it into flower. I notice a name and number branded into the bottom of the base so i called the poor guy Sunday morning to share my frustration only to find out he only makes the wood bases not the mill. He told me he no longer puts his name on them due to all the complaint calls he's received.
I really enjoy the time i spend brewing beer. It's my oasis... It's my time to do something i enjoy. This mill has been a source of frustration since day one. I thought it was due to my inexperience. I've booked 64 brew days to date so I think we can rule out the experience factor. My mill is truly a POS. Maybe the quality is better now? IDK, I've had mine for a few years. This last brew day was the worst. I actually have a blister on the end of my finger from trying to get the idler roller to spin by reaching underneath and spinning it with my finger tips. I'm done with it.
I will email the place I bought it and ask them if they want it back on trade for a different mill. if they do anything I'll report back.
My advice to anyone looking to buy one of these is talk to some one that has bought one recently and has run 5 or 10 batches thru it....
There you have it....
Happy brewing....
not any more. the first incarnations were pretty weak but it seems that they've fixed those problems. order away.So it sounds like people are pretty happy with this mill--is there any reason to not buy it?
I have also put about 6 sacks of grain plus various specialty malts through mine with not problems... I motorized mine with a stepper motor and some pulleys I bought at tractor supply and since then I have put close to 200lbs through it with no problems...
I was mistaken too many projects lately... I am actually using an old gear reduction motor from a xerox engineering copier... I have a box of them sitting in my garage so figured hey why not give it a shot.What are you driving the stepper motor with?
A few hundred pounds through my CK too - I think it might need cleaning though, the driven roller was getting sticky. I didnt take it apart and lube it up when I first bought it.
I was mistaken too many projects lately... I am actually using an old gear reduction motor from a xerox engineering copier... I have a box of them sitting in my garage so figured hey why not give it a shot.
I found that the rollers stick if the cams are not perfectly adjusted on each end to match...it created a bind which makes the roller turn hard/easy/ hard as you spin it.
I may have it gapped too close
Im finding that my CKseems to have the same issues as others have stated.
The crank handle is completely useless. It doesn't even crank when I put grain in it, as the screw just spins on the shaft not holding it in place.
The rollers seem out of wack. When I set the gap and tighten it down, the rollers tighten down further and makes the gap smaller on the sides, but wider in the middle.
I so far have only used it for one batch, as I am worried to try it again. The crush it provided last time, was like oatmeal in the mash tun, and created a LOT of flour.
I may have it gapped too close, and the drill i used wouldn't budge it until i cranked it full speed. I will use a high torque drill and see if that changes anything on it, but I am skeptical at best about it.
There is a flat on the shaft for the screw so it would be pretty damn unlikely that the crank would spin without the shaft..... unless it was assembled incorrectly?
What did you gap it at? I believe I gapped mine at 0.037" (IIRC)
I also measured the run-out on the the rollers at less the 0.005" (Again IIRC....)
My 18V Dewalt spins mine in both low and high gear most excellently.
Here is a video of it - the crush has been excellent - maybe you got a lemon?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJPpj9FiTCo&list=UUPu0i3spSLdIbvpsBP_oGzg
Im finding that my CKseems to have the same issues as others have stated.
The crank handle is completely useless. It doesn't even crank when I put grain in it, as the screw just spins on the shaft not holding it in place.
The rollers seem out of wack. When I set the gap and tighten it down, the rollers tighten down further and makes the gap smaller on the sides, but wider in the middle.
I so far have only used it for one batch, as I am worried to try it again. The crush it provided last time, was like oatmeal in the mash tun, and created a LOT of flour.
I may have it gapped too close, and the drill i used wouldn't budge it until i cranked it full speed. I will use a high torque drill and see if that changes anything on it, but I am skeptical at best about it.
I didn't order the handle and have never used. It is true that the adjustment has a little play, but I've been able to finesse it and get the rollers to end up at the gap I want - set it a little wider than you want with a larger gap, and then tighten down to the actual target gap. I've had good luck around .026 with an IGLOO mash tun with a copper slotted manifold, after having tried settings down to 0.019 or so. I think the crush you need seems to vary widely based on your mash tun setup. I did end up buying a beefy drill to run it. I can't say how it compares to more expensive mills, but I've been generally happy.
I hope you can get it to work for you.
There is on mine.... it doesn't run to the end of the shaft though so you cant see it unless the crank is removed... maybe it was something they added or removed from production? I have a pulley mounted to mine now or id take a picture...There is no flat part in the shaft of my grain mill. It just spins. Is the main shaft supposed to have one flat side, and not completely round all the way around it?
I have reset the gap on the mill to be the credit card size, which IIRC its .0037? Anyway.. I bought a new drill over the weekend. Its a low speed high torque drill that goes to a max of 550 RPM.
The new drill worked really well with the grain mill, and provided an excellent crush to help get me to 78% or higher efficiency.
Over all, I am not completely stoked on the manufacturing of the mill, but It does what it's suppose to do. It gave me a very fine crush like in the video example you attached, and didn't get a stuck sparge.
There is on mine.... it doesn't run to the end of the shaft though so you cant see it unless the crank is removed... maybe it was something they added or removed from production? I have a pulley mounted to mine now or id take a picture...
I will take a picture of the shaft of my grain mill. When I look at the picture of the one on their site and look at mine, The only difference was that the screw on the hand crank didn't have the retaining nut.
Meh, I am using a drill now so its a moot point.
There is on mine.... it doesn't run to the end of the shaft though so you cant see it unless the crank is removed... maybe it was something they added or removed from production? I have a pulley mounted to mine now or id take a picture...
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