New Barley Crusher and OG
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I left mine at factory setting. I condition my grain and double mill and still get about 80-85% mash efficiency.
Yeah, I leave mine at the factory setting of .039" & my OG's went way up. I even got the OG's for my dampfbier & saison from 1.046 to 1.060 & 1.061 respectively. Great mill for the money!
Factory setting means very little. It may have moved or was never set properly. I wouldn't trust it. Check it!
I adjust my Monster Mill 2 (1.5" rollers) all the time, depending on the grains I'm crushing. Rye and wheat kernels are harder and smaller than barley and too wide a gap may pass too many through without cracking them. For comparison, buckwheat, triticale, spelt, millet etc. are even tinier.
Here are gap widths I found work well for my setup, I don't pre-wet/condition:
.034 for most barley - credit card
.028 for wheat - American Express junk mail credit card
.026 for rye and flaked adjuncts - sanded AE junk mail credit card
You could go tighter depending on your particular setup and methods, like BIAB.
My mash efficiency is around 90%, using 2 batch sparges of equal volume at 168°F.
FYI:
Mash efficiency = actual gravity points collected / theoretical gravity points of grain bill * 100%
I adjust my Monster Mill 2 (1.5" rollers) all the time, depending on the grains I'm crushing. Rye and wheat kernels are harder and smaller than barley and too wide a gap may pass too many through without cracking them. For comparison, buckwheat, triticale, spelt, millet etc. are even tinier.
Here are gap widths I found work well for my setup, I don't pre-wet/condition:
.034 for most barley - credit card
.028 for wheat - American Express junk mail credit card
.026 for rye and flaked adjuncts - sanded AE junk mail credit card
You could go tighter depending on your particular setup and methods, like BIAB.
My mash efficiency is around 90%, using 2 batch sparges of equal volume at 168°F.
FYI:
Mash efficiency = actual gravity points collected / theoretical gravity points of grain bill * 100%
Good info! But the factory notched setting on mine seems quite even for barley & wheat so far. I'll have to break out the feeler gauges & check it just for information's sake. They ought to post those settings in the stickies!
I found the 0.034" here on HBT, including the reference to a nominal credit card thickness. The others are from extensive empirical studies, as in actually crushes a pound and looking at the results.
Yes, please check, and verify the settings with a feeler gauge. Also across, left to right, it should be the same. The gauge should have a slight friction but without being tight between the tops of the knurls. It goes without saying, don't leave it in there! A safety screen half way down the hopper should be a requirement.
At your "preferred setting" crush a couple handfuls of rye or wheat (single grain, not mixed) and see what they look like "crushed." I bet half of them are barely broken or NO more than once. And since they are so hard, they take a long time to hydrate all the way to the center of the endosperm.
Definitely measure with a feeler gauge - one more thing to go in your brew notes. If you're cool with your efficiency, you probably don't have to mess with it, but keep in mind you will have to disassemble and clean and reassemble this thing - I would say I break mine down probably every 5 or 6 crushes, which may or may not be more than necessary, but I started doing this because mine would bog down and the rollers would need to be cleaned and oiled, and having this happen in a crush sucks. Anyways, you want to be able to reset it to your # when you reassemble.
I would advise also looking into conditioning grain, if nothing else to cut down on grain dust when crushing and to aid in lautering some.
I would advise also looking into conditioning grain, if nothing else to cut down on grain dust when crushing and to aid in lautering some.
You really have a problem with it bogging down? I brew at least once a month and almost always double brew. So that's at least 24 crushes averaging 10 lbs of grain per crush per year. I've had mine for two years and have never had it apart, never had a reason to fidget with it. I typically pull 80-85% efficiency with typical grain bills, and only get down to the mid 70's for BIG beers. The bushings in it are oil impregnated bronze. Unless you are doing commercial sized brews or milling grains very wet you shouldn't have a problem at all. I definitely do agree that you want to know your number in case you DO have to have it apart for some reason, but I believe rebuilding it all the time is likely overkill. As with everything in life, YMMV. Good luck.
We would clean with compressed air but I've had it apart twice after the one roller would seize up. First time was probably about 6 batches in from original purchase, I cleaned but neglected to re-oil the shafts. There was a point where we'd left it outside for a little bit and it developed some rust on the rollers - I disassembled, dremeled off all the rust on the rollers, and cleaned the internals and again, didn't think of oiling the shafts. I would say we had issues with the roller seizing again in our third crush after that.
After putting some gun oil on the shafts, have not had any issues. Probably 4 or 5 crushes since, but was going to break it down again. It's a simple teardown and rebuild at least.
Same here. never had it taken down once i the 1 year + I've used it. & if I can get a max of OG 1.046 to a 1.061, then i'd say that's pretty darn good. & yes, I've stirred, checked, stirred some more & checked again...the #'s matched.
Gun oil? Use olive or vegetable oil or anything food. It can wind up in your beer. I know, youre going to say, "I only need/use a drop or two". Thats fine. Dont cut off your nose to spite your face. Use something that is a: edible and b: doesnt taste like Satan's anus.
I would say at best, vegetable oil would do a good job at attracting grain dust and at worst, it will gunk up notably quicker than lubricants that can handle high-temp metal-on-metal. But if you're that concerned about an outside chance (with the way the rollers are constructed I really have no idea how - not greasing the rollers, the shafts) of a not-ppm-measurable amount of lubricant getting into your grain and then into your beer, and / or it works for you, I cheers thee with a homebrew.
Personally ive never worried about it. Never had a problem. The bushings are again oil impregnated bronze. Unless crushing macro brewery sized batches regularly there is almost no way we on a homebrew scale would ever wear them out. I have inadvertently tasted gun oil before. It is not pleasant. But then again ive never had a problem with my mill. Cheers 
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