Clean new grain mill before use?

I just got a brand new Barley Crusher and am curious if it should be cleaned before using it the first time?

The instructions didn't indicate what could or not be used to clean it. I'm wondering what other mill owners did when using their mill for the first time?

 

I didn't clean mine. There was nothing visible and I couldn't feel any residual grease or oil on the metal, so I figured it was okay. Beer came out fine.

 

My MM said to run about a pound of grain through.

 

I used an old box of Cheerios to run through my MM

 

You can run a LB of grain, or not whatever makes you feel better.
Note: Compressed air works great for cleaning them after use

 

I would wash it with liquid dish detergent. There are de-greasers in them that should remove any residual machining oil if any. That said. I don't remember washing my Corona style mill.

 

My new Barley Crusher came with an instruction sheet that says to run a pound of grain through it to clean it.
Also, when I first tried it, i saw a lot of tiny black rubber pieces coming out of it. I noticed there was a black rubber O-ring on one of the rollers. I removed it as I did not want that crap in my beer. The instruction sheet says this O-ring is unnecessary. Why is it there at all then? Glad I noticed the shedding on the floor instead of in my glass.

 

my monster mill came nicely loaded with lots of machine oil and steel particles. I had to scrub the crap out of it to get it clean.

 

same here.

this too. and I used your avatar pic as a label for my STFU Stout. I never wrote the recipe down. shame since it went really fast.

 

The o-ring couples the drive roller with the driven roller so when they assemble the mill they can easily check for any binding and adjust the end plates as necessary before tightening everything down...

Cheers!

 

Cool, that makes sense.
Although, I think they still might want to remove that before shipping or at least advise the user to do so.

 

I completely agree. They invite confusion by not stating this in the instructions...

Cheers!