Another Grain Mill Gap Thread

[Nagorg]

New MM2-Pro and trying to set a good gap. From what I've read, this may take some trial and error before I get a feel for whats working best for me and my equipment.

That said, at first I thought .038 would be a good place. Then, I read a lot of folks crushing at a smaller setting than that and also saw comments like "crush till you're scared" being coined my Denny Conn. (Meant to imply dont be afraid of a small gap and a lot of "flour".)

Since my mill is new, I ran a couple pounds through it today using .035. Husks are shredded and I have a lot of flour. Thinking about .038 again.

Thoughts on what you see below? (crushed at .035) Any input from folks out there using the same mill? (2" roller MM2-Pro)

 

[Nagorg]

Alrighty then, that settles it... I'm gapping to .038 and seeing what happens. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[brewbama]

I think you should crush until you get a stuck run off. Then slightly open the gap. For me that's the width of a Costco card.

 

[flars]

The crush you picture looks like it may be fine enough for good efficiency with BIAB. Crush at .038 and see what it looks like. The grain can be crushed a second time if you don't think enough of the hulls are cracked open.

 

[m1k3]

I think you should crush until you get a stuck run off. Then slightly open the gap.

That seems like a hard way to find out. I don't wish a stuck sparge on anyone.

For me that's the width of a Costco card.

Mine is a "Dickey's BBQ Card" but that is for the Barley Crusher mill.
Don't confuse the two settings!

Did he say what his lautering device was? Screen, SS braid, false bottom, slotted pipe... I think that makes the biggest difference in what crush you can handle.

Maybe try some Rice Hulls for the first few batches and back down the amount as the run off proves to be sufficient. Better to spend $1 on rice hulls then get a really bad stuck sparge.

 

[govner1]

Monster Mill's website recommends starting at .040.
My 3 roller is at .042.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I use a gift card to set the rollers.

 

[atoughram]

That seems like a hard way to find out. I don't wish a stuck sparge on anyone.

Not really that big of a deal - stir, vorlauf, and repeat!

That crush looks fine, I set my CK to 0.037" using feeler gauges. I haven't ever played around with it but I've thought about setting it tighter for all the wheat beers I do.

 

[Nagorg]

The crush you picture looks like it may be fine enough for good efficiency with BIAB. Crush at .038 and see what it looks like. The grain can be crushed a second time if you don't think enough of the hulls are cracked open.

LOL.. Thanks for confirming that the crush in the pic looks a bit too much. Also, thanks for reminding me that since I have my own mill now I can adjust and re-crush as desired.

So, maybe I will start at .040 and dial it down if it doesn't look crushed enough. Or, maybe I'll split the difference and gap to .039...

 

[Nagorg]

Did he say what his lautering device was? Screen, SS braid, false bottom, slotted pipe... I think that makes the biggest difference in what crush you can handle.

I use a 70QT Coleman Cooler with a copper manifold (slotted) I built and I batch sparge.

 

[pretzelb]

Try searching on posts where they look for help on recirculating a mash. If you can do that then you have a crush that won't get stuck I bet. I had .031 and ran into issues. Just tried .039 and it worked. I thought factory on some was .035.

 

[Nagorg]

After trying .039 I landed on .040. Dang this mill crushes like crazy. I honestly think I could gap a little wider but I'll stick here at .040; right where MonsterBrewing say's will produce a "fine crush". Imagine that, they know what they are talking about!

Goes to show...... RTFM!

 

[brucebeernut]

Using Millars mill today, set as tight as it would go ~.020 and was getting ~78% using BIAB method with 'dunk sparge'.
Recently bought the new false bottom from brewhardware.com (https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/biabbottom15.htm) and began recirculating mash. My first batch setting was at .045 and lowered efficiency by 10+ points. Set to .035 next batch and gained almost half back. May go right back to tightest it will go...
My question is, are you using wire gauge to measure the gap or a flat gauge?

 

[Nagorg]

My question is, are you using wire gauge to measure the gap or a flat gauge?

I'm using a flat automotive feeler gauge like this one.

 

[GotPushrods]

The info we're missing is the type of mash. Regular or recirculated?

For a regular mash with occasional stirring, crushing finer until you have drainage problems is fine.

However, if you're recirculating you'll want to crush as large as it takes until you can open you're valves all the way and recirculate as fast as possible. The flow rate over the grain will make up for the larger grist size. I wish I knew this when I first built my HERMS. I increased my gap from 0.032" to 0.045" and made a world of difference in my recirculation rate, efficiency, and rate of gravity rise during the mash. I wish this wasn't such a hidden gem of the recirc mash world. People do talk about it but it's just under the surface.

They are pretty much opposite recommendations, so it's important to crush based on how you're mashing.

I wish I could find the link.... some people at Gordon Biersch recently did an audit of the mash procedures at some of their lower efficiency locations. They ended up INCREASING the mill gap and the efficiency at those locations went up. Nice confirmation.

 

[Nagorg]

The info we're missing is the type of mash. Regular or recirculated?

Single Infusion "regular" mash, batch sparge.

 

[brucebeernut]

I'm using a flat automotive feeler gauge like this one.

Good! That's what i'm using... wire gauge doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Nagorg]

Used. 040 today and did NOT see an effecincy gain. Will try .038 next brew.