Spike Solo double milling?

[TTfireman]

I recently bought a 15 gal spike solo/ warthog system from High Gravity Brewing. Basically it’s a spike solo with a Blichmann Boil Coil and a WartHog controller (it’s a local company that was a lifetime warranty on their controller). This checked all the boxes for the perfect system for me.
Anyway, I ran a test batch the other day and got ~55% efficiency. Now, I’m not one to chase crazy high efficiency, but I like to be close to the 70% that most recipes are written for. I can’t decide where I stand on the “adjust for percentage” or “just adjust base grains” issue when scaling for efficiency.
I called my LHBS to see what their mill gap is set at. He told me .065mm. I cannot reconcile that with a normal mill gap setting other than .065” (I specifically asked whether it’s inches or millimeters). That seems really wide, but .65mm is .022” which seems ridiculously small.
My question is whether I should consider double milling. I already had some grain material get through the basket, so I’m afraid it would just make that issue worse. For the record, spike recommends .035” gap for the spike solo.
I plan on getting my own mill one day, but this soon after buying such an expensive system probably won’t go over well with the Mrs.

 

[Bobby_M]

It sucks that your shop won't adjust the mill gap to customer request. I offer two standard crush types, normal and BIAB. The gaps are approximately .035 and .020" respectively. At .065" about half the base grains I stock wouldn't even be cracked open. In other words, that mill gap is unrealistic and problematic. Double crushing will yield a crush that "apparently" went through a smaller gap but you'll still find untouched kernels.

 

[RogerGrahl]

I recently bought a 15 gal spike solo/ warthog system from High Gravity Brewing. Basically it’s a spike solo with a Blichmann Boil Coil and a WartHog controller (it’s a local company that was a lifetime warranty on their controller). This checked all the boxes for the perfect system for me.
Anyway, I ran a test batch the other day and got ~55% efficiency. Now, I’m not one to chase crazy high efficiency, but I like to be close to the 70% that most recipes are written for. I can’t decide where I stand on the “adjust for percentage” or “just adjust base grains” issue when scaling for efficiency.
I called my LHBS to see what their mill gap is set at. He told me .065mm. I cannot reconcile that with a normal mill gap setting other than .065” (I specifically asked whether it’s inches or millimeters). That seems really wide, but .65mm is .022” which seems ridiculously small.
My question is whether I should consider double milling. I already had some grain material get through the basket, so I’m afraid it would just make that issue worse. For the record, spike recommends .035” gap for the spike solo.
I plan on getting my own mill one day, but this soon after buying such an expensive system probably won’t go over well with the Mrs.

Congratulations on your system. It sounds like a sweet setup. Your crush is a good place to start as you get your process dialed in. You can easily hit 70% mash efficiency with your Solo. I’m at ~80% mash efficiency (BeerSmith) with minimal grain in the wort and no stuck sparge. However, it took a dozen or so brews to get there. My crush is at the recommended .035”. I don’t know about double milling, but at one time I was creating a lot of flour by milling too fast. This caused stuck sparges.

 

[Ron Mexico]

It sucks that your shop won't adjust the mill gap to customer request. I offer two standard crush types, normal and BIAB. The gaps are approximately .035 and .020" respectively. At .065" about half the base grains I stock wouldn't even be cracked open. In other words, that mill gap is unrealistic and problematic. Double crushing will yield a crush that "apparently" went through a smaller gap but you'll still find untouched kernels.

Do BIAB customers seem to be happy with the results of the .020 crush size? Any of them being on a spike solo? I've come to using a brew bag inside my spike basket because too much grain was making its way through at .035

 

[Matsayz]

Do BIAB customers seem to be happy with the results of the .020 crush size? Any of them being on a spike solo? I've come to using a brew bag inside my spike basket because too much grain was making its way through at .035

Reviving an old(er) thread...

What/how do you recirc when using the bag in the basket? Just the tube and lay it in there? I just got my 15G Solo and wasn't super happy with the recirc with stock parts, ended up using my old homemade sparge arm. Got any pictures of what you do?

 

[Wagon_6]

I saw someone using the center port on their steam condenser lid. I recently switched to that has well. I keep the 4” view port off during the mash so I can see in.