"Cereal Killer" grain mill

[mistercameron]

I checked my rollers and both the active and passive don't turn true. The gap range was off by about 0.010 to 0.014 as the rollers turned (Eg, the measured gap was from 0.029 to 0.039 in the same spot while turning, another I measured at 0.016 to 0.031). I also tried a second drill today and it was exhibiting the same problems as the first drill - the roller shaft wobbled.

I will say this - Jason has been very receptive and helpful. If you have any concerns, just give him a call or shoot him an email. Whether you end up keeping your CK or not, Adventures in Homebrewing seems like a pretty good place to shop.

 

[jamboparty]

...
I will say this - Jason has been very receptive and helpful. If you have any concerns, just give him a call or shoot him an email. Whether you end up keeping your CK or not, Adventures in Homebrewing seems like a pretty good place to shop.

I couldn't agree more. I contacted him regarding my trouble, and he responded very quickly with help. I'm very pleased with their customer service.

 

[boo boo]

Yes they are. I have orderd several things from them in the past and found excellent service and prompt delivery to me here in Canada

 

[hercher]

So if the CK seems to have regular issues with the rollers being out of round or not turning true, have any Barley Crusher owners experienced similar problems? Also, have any CK owners gotten these issues resolved by AIH?

 

[stbnj]

I ordered one before seeing this thread. I am hoping that since mine is back ordered until 2/1 that an improved version will be sent. If not I will be sending it back and ordering a barley crusher. I had not planned on a grain mill but for 90 bucks with free shipping I could not say no. Now I am hooked on the idea of bulk grain so I will have to end up with a grain mill even if it costs me a bit more.

 

[bottlebomber]

Its probably more of an issue with the bearings being pressed into off center holes than the rollers being out of round... they're probably just knurling bar stock which has been die-extruded. The company should replace these as this is a clear defect.

 

[mistercameron]

Its probably more of an issue with the bearings being pressed into off center holes than the rollers being out of round... they're probably just knurling bar stock which has been die-extruded. The company should replace these as this is a clear defect.

I'm not familiar with the manufacturing process, but it would seem that off center holes in the frame would still produce true rolling unless you mean to say the bearings aren't true, which would make sense. On the other hand, taking the extruded stock and cutting it down to the shaft could produce the same results if the roller wasn't centered well on the lathe.

At this point it doesn't matter exactly what's wrong with individual components. I'm going to consider the BC or some other mill. I just don't think this first round of CKs are ready.

 

[bottlebomber]

I'm not familiar with the manufacturing process, but it would seem that off center holes in the frame would still produce true rolling unless you mean to say the bearings aren't true, which would make sense. On the other hand, taking the extruded stock and cutting it down to the shaft could produce the same results if the roller wasn't centered well on the lathe.

At this point it doesn't matter exactly what's wrong with individual components. I'm going to consider the BC or some other mill. I just don't think this first round of CKs are ready.

No you're right, if the holes in the frame were out of position the rollers would still spin true. I mean that the holes in the rollers are off the centerline of the roller, making it spin eccentrically. I don't have the mill so I can't inspect it, but Im reasonably sure if you were to check the rollers with a micrometer you would find that the knurled sections were round. My guess is that they clamped over the knurls in a chuck or collet and tried to bore the holes. Its hard to get good concentricity when you're clamping on knurls especially if it was a 3 jawed chuck.

 

[PoppinCaps]

I'll just throw my hat in and say my CK seems to be doing just fine. It's hooked up to a pulley system on mounted bearings, so there's no strain on the shaft, if that may be what's throwing it out in everyone else's using a drill or the handle. Probably not, if people were checking it as soon as they got it, just trying to find a similar thread in the problems. I've thrown 30lbs through mine so far and it's still held 0.035 on each side just fine, with no wobble.

 

[solbes]

Mine seems good too, not sure what the deal is. Hope the ones that are problematic get resolved.

 

[MPAULSEN300]

I also noticed that the rollers were not absolutely true. Not sure if this is a problem for someone like me because the difference is minimal from what I can tell. I did try a test and took 25 grains and ran it though. All 25 got the bugger squished out of them. Then I tried a hundred grains. There might have been one grain that was not squished completely of that bunch. I was using "special-B" which seems very brittle so I will try it again using regular two row. Unless I start seeing a lot of whole grains coming through the mill I am happy. If I were trying to eek out every little bit of efficiency it might be a bigger issue. Next time I am in the store I will ask about this and see what can be done if anything. I do know that some have bought this mill for $79 and I would say it was a great value for the money. I am thinking along the same lines as mentioned earlier that the holes were bored in the rollers while in a jig or chuck. Anyway I am completely happy with mine and it cost me $99. But if it can be improved I am all for that as well.

Happy Brew Year!!!!
Mike

 

[Fat_Bastard]

the drive roller on ceareal killer is also out of round.

 

[joshstokes122]

So I got a Cereal Killer for Christmas and used it for the first time today. Yes, my rollers seem to be a little off center (you can definitely see the wobble when you put a drill on it) but I decided to go ahead and give it a shot before contacting AIH. I set the gap to 0.035" and measured at both ends of the roller to try and get an even gap. The gap doesn't look too bad but you can see that it gets larger and smaller as the rollers turn.

Everything started off pretty fine but then I noticed that the mill got very easy to turn. Upon further inspection, I found out that the passive roller was stuck and the active roller was just spinning grinding the grain as opposed to crushing it. I cleared out the hopper and rollers and found that it was grain getting stuck at the ends of the passive rollers that was causing the issue. I was able to keep a good crush going by only feeding a cupful of grain in at a time directly above the roller gap. This allowed the passive roller to turn with the active roller when grain was between them. If there was too little grain between them, the passive roller wouldn't "bite" and spin with the active roller. I plan on modifying the hopper so that it directs grain directly to the roller gap, blocking the ends of the passive roller, and see how that works out.

 

[MPAULSEN300]

Usually I just fill the hopper to the brim and start grinding. The passive roller on mine does stick once in a while when a grain gets stuck on the side of the roller. You do not need to empty it. All I do is (turn of the drill of course) and reach underneath the mill on the output side. Then spin the passive roller with your finger. It really takes barely any effort and maybe one full spin forward and/or backward. Literally takes me less then 15 seconds from the time it happens to the time it is back up and running. I do not plan on modifying my hopper as this occasional hick-up barely registers on my frustration meter.

BTW - Stopped by Adventures in Homebrewing today. Jason was busy at his other store in Ann Arbor but there were several friendlies that took the time to discuss the roller business with me. I let them know what I thought the issues with the rollers were. They appreciated the feed back and will need to investigate. Will post any beneficial feedback that I might get.

This is my opinion not theirs... It may come down to a matter of money. They are trying to provide a decent product for a very reasonable price. This requires cost effective manufacturing. You can't expect to pay for a Pinto and have a Cadillac delivered. They are probably lucky to break even on this item. But a good business is willing to do that to keep customers coming back to stock their brewing shelves with other things. While this mill is not the best in the industry it sure is a solid piece of equipment for a regular Joe like me.

 

[joshstokes122]

From the start, my passive roller would not turn easily by hand even without grain in it. Never thought anything about it seeing as how I'd never used a mill before. While I had my boil going tonight, I decided to look a little closer at the mill and see what might be going on.

I took the hopper off to get a better look and cleared out the stuck grain from one end of the passive roller. I noticed that the passive roller was really offset to one side, so I decided to take that whole roller out. I cleared all off the grain/powder out and put the roller back in. This time I made sure that the passive roller was evenly spaced between the two walls that hold it.

I think that this may be the key for that passive roller because it is no longer offset to one side. Before this fix it was too tight to one side causing it to turn very difficulty while the other side had a gap so large that full grain kernels could slip right in. The roller turns very easy by hand now. I don't think I'll mess with the hopper like I mentioned before and just give the mill another shot with passive roller centered.

When the passive roller was turning, the cereal killer worked great. Hopefully, making sure that passive roller is properly centered will keep it rolling!

 

[caphector]

Has anyone had good experiences with this mill? It's currently on sale for $89, and if I stand a chance of getting a good one I might get it.

 

[mistercameron]

Has anyone had good experiences with this mill? It's currently on sale for $89, and if I stand a chance of getting a good one I might get it.

Sure, se people have reported no problems, but I'm not certain they went into the same detail. You can always buy and return it of it doesn't work out. I think they have some work to make these things consistently. I'm on the fence about getting a replacement, but right now I'm leaning toward another mill. I just don't want to deal with another potentially finicky mill. Even if the gap is set correctly, are there other manufacturing defects? Who knows. It's a brand new product.

 

[joshstokes122]

Has anyone had good experiences with this mill? It's currently on sale for $89, and if I stand a chance of getting a good one I might get it.

I think it will work great after my adjustments. Don't trust the "factory defaults" of the mill. Take the time to check out the moving parts and set the gap correctly.

I think my issue was with the passive roller being stuck to one side. If you can't spin the rollers freely by hand with no grains, make sure the rollers are centered in the mill. When I had both rollers turning, this mill did a great job.

The off-centered or wobbly roller didn't have a big impact on my brew. In fact, I saw a 7% increase in efficiency compared to getting my grains crushed at my LHBS. 70% to 77%.

 

[steve071]

I cancelled my order a long time ago when the negative comments started rolling in. I ended up getting a crankenstein 2A for $99. I don't see any of these issues with the crankenstein. No wobble, even gap and set up perfectly to work great right out of the box. Don't have to worry about centering the rollers or the passive roller not spinning. Got great crush with wheat (chocolate) and 2-row with only one gap setting. I'm sure the monster mill and the maltmill are even better but I think what I have is good enough for the price.

 

[t3e871]

I bought this as my first mill for the $89 shipped price. I have not used it yet, but the passive roller was canted so I took it all apart and made some adjustments. Now it looks to work great.

Also they have started adding a rubber o-ring to the roller that will contact the passive roller and keep it moving.

I think I'll be happy with it after tweaking the rollers a little.

 

[tator2k]

I believe they discontinued the shipment of the CK as part of their pre-order. Due to many complaints from customers regarding roller alignment. I called and as was offered an upgrade to the Barley Crusher for $20.

 

[t3e871]

I screwed around with the CK grain mill for an hour tonight. Like I said earlier, I haven't used it yet, but I think I have it tuned up to put a decent crush on the grains.

There are some issues with the rollers being coplanar for sure. There's no way I could get a consistent gap across the width of the rollers, no matter how much I adjusted. The biggest issue occurs when you get the eccentric thumb screws holding the passive roller in the location you need; when you tighten in place, the screws push on the eccentric thumb screws and close the gap on the rollers.

My solution was to adjust eccentric thumb screws with a .065m feeler gauge stuck between the rollers, one side at a time, and once I tightened the screws to hold the roller in place, the gap closed to about .035. Repeat on the other side and your as good as you will get.

I also added another 0-ring to the passive roller (it shipped with one), to provide drive friction to the passive roller.

After a LOT of tinkering with the rollers and the chute (retaining screws) I think I finally I got the mill solid and in working order. I think it will do a decent job with a drill attached, but like others said I don't think the handle will work at all.

I would not consider mine "adjustable" any longer, after mucking with feeler gauges, and pliers I finally was able to torque the adjustment screws and lock the roller in place (I hope) and I do not want to have to repeat this any time soon!

 

[Rickochet]

I saw that the Cereal Killer is on sale again for $89 with free shipping. Any updates on the quality of this mill?

 

[t3e871]

I have used it for 5 batches now and it's a decent performer. I can't compare to anything else because this is my first and only grain mill. First thing is the rubber O-rings they installed on the drive roller (to provide friction and drive the second roller) disintegrated after 2 uses. I found the rubber o-rings mutilated in my mash tun. It still works fine but you have to make sure your drill is going in the proper direction to pull the grain through and drive the second roller. I'm not sure how other mills work in this regard. Second my efficiency has increased almost 20% from crushing my own grain. This thing can turn grain into flour and I get dough-balls in the mash tun now. I never had a problem with dough balls using the home brew-store crushed grain - but I consider this a good problem.

 

[bottlebomber]

I have used it for 5 batches now and it's a decent performer. I can't compare to anything else because this is my first and only grain mill. First thing is the rubber O-rings they installed on the drive roller (to provide friction and drive the second roller) disintegrated after 2 uses. I found the rubber o-rings mutilated in my mash tun. It still works fine but you have to make sure your drill is going in the proper direction to pull the grain through and drive the second roller. I'm not sure how other mills work in this regard. Second my efficiency has increased almost 20% from crushing my own grain. This thing can turn grain into flour and I get dough-balls in the mash tun now. I never had a problem with dough balls using the home brew-store crushed grain - but I consider this a good problem.

Supposedly they've fixed some of these problems... I've been holding out for a monster mill but just haven't been able to justify the $250 for the one I want yet. I'm really considering getting this and getting a year or two out of it before passing it down to someone.

 

[LibertyHillBrewery]

Well I ordered one of the "new improved" Cereal Killer grain mills a couple weeks ago, Guess they started Shipping yesterday,7/9/12 not sure where I'm at on the order list, Looking forward to trying it out,

 

[bucfanmike]

Well I ordered one of the "new improved" Cereal Killer grain mills a couple weeks ago, Guess they started Shipping yesterday,7/9/12 not sure where I'm at on the order list, Looking forward to trying it out,

I went for one also, will be moving from my corona mill in a bucket. Mine will be here friday. forgot to pull the trigger, had it in my cart for 89, ended up paying 99.

 

[LibertyHillBrewery]

I went for one also, will be moving from my corona mill in a bucket. Mine will be here friday. forgot to pull the trigger, had it in my cart for 89, ended up paying 99.

I did the same thing, but was only $10 more, so not too bad.. mine will be here on the 16th!!

 

[hi_octane]

LibertyHillBrewery, bucfanmike... How's the latest version of the CK performing? Can you also let the forum know if the following chief criticisms have been corrected:

- Crank handle is too short.
- Play or slop in the bushings.
- Hopper attachment is weak.
- Out of round and/or non-centered rollers.

Thanks!
H.O.

 

[LibertyHillBrewery]

- Crank handle is too short. -I didn't order one because i knew i'd be using a drill

- Play or slop in the bushings. - they changed from bushings to stainless steel bearings and roll real easily and feel tight

- Hopper attachment is weak. - the hopper is rivited aluminum and held on by a two bolts. its not indestructible by any means,but i have no problems picking the whole unit up by it without worry..

- Out of round and/or non-centered rollers. - I was checking for that with feeler gauges while setting the gap and it was barely measurable..Barely! i couldn't see it by eye. i"m sure a bigger diameter roller would be an advantage too, but it gave me a good crush and up to 83% eff. on my last brew..

definitely a lot more of a mill than i thought i'd get for $99! (now $89 again) ..now to see what the life span will be..but for brewing once or twice a week, it should be fine for me. Cheers!

a link to a couple pics....https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/just-got-new-cereal-killer-grain-mill-341900/