Cheap grain mill - problems, go figure

[brownni5]

About a year and a half ago, I bought my first grain mill, a cheaper ($80) Chinese jobby from eBay. I'm sure any quick search there would point to what I got. I'm already regretting it, I think 10- 12 batches in. Last I used it, it just wasn't grabbing the grain, no matter how wide I set the gap. Ok, eventually it milled the grain, but it wasn't fun.

Looking around, it seems it may just need to be cleaned. That doesn't seem right to me, but I haven't tried it yet either. I guess I don't know where to start there - pulling this thing apart seems scary. The drive roller seems much more worn than the slave roller. Anyone else have this problem? Where do I go next. A somewhat expensive lesson to learn if I bought junk (though, in perspective, only like 3 days of daycare).

 

[bleme]

I also went a long time without cleaning the rollers. When I finally noticed the problem, I bought this brush set from Harbor Freight for $2

I tried the nylon brush first, and it made headway, but it wasn't getting out the harder/older stuff. So I moved up to the brass brush and that got them clean. Now I give the rollers a quick once-over with the nylon brushes before I put the mill away and haven't had any more problems.

 

[brownni5]

Ohhhh, I get it now. Cool - that seems easy enough.

 

[bleme]

Ohhhh, I get it now. Cool - that seems easy enough.

The drive roller was easy to clean. I just ran the drill slowly, forward and reverse, as I moved the brush along. The slave roller required a little more work.

 

[brownni5]

The drive roller was easy to clean. I just ran the drill slowly, forward and reverse, as I moved the brush along. The slave roller required a little more work.

Yeah not what I was picturing when I first asked about this, but so simple! I'll bet this saved me a.ton of money - probably enough for 3 bags of grain!

 

[bleme]

If/when you do end up getting a new mill, you just can't beat the value of the Cereal Killer: $100/free shipping from Adventures in Homebrewing

 

[IslandLizard]

Make sure the slave roller isn't binding anywhere, it should spin freely, or it won't crush anything.

I always check it by giving it a spin from underneath before filling the hopper.

If it's binding clean the side space between the rollers and the frame. Check for alignment too.
I doubt you wore the knurls down in 12-15 brews.

 

[mdscole]

I had a rat find his way into mine. Poop everywhere. Gross. Took the whole thing completely apart. Sanded the base, cleaned the rollers and bushings. The bushings get a little f’ed up. Cleaned with soap and water. Used q tips to get really into the bores for the bushings. Oiled up all the bushing and shaft with vegetable oil and reassembled the whole thing. It works much better now. And it’s clean...and in a rat proof container.

 

[brownni5]

Ok, i cleaned and I've brushed, and now I realize this thing is just a heap. It will mill grain, but constantly loses "grip" and I've got to run all my grain through twice - once coarse, then again finer - even then, it'll lose "grip" at some point. The other day, I used a friend's Keg King mill - not top of the line by any means, but soooo much nicer than mine. The knurls on those rollers were much more aggressive than mine ever were. Can the rollers be replaced? If so, would it even be worth it? I hate this thing, but am also very stubborn and am not yet ready to give up on it. Suggestions? I know the.right answer, but am in a fishing expedition.

 

[augiedoggy]

Ok, i cleaned and I've brushed, and now I realize this thing is just a heap. It will mill grain, but constantly loses "grip" and I've got to run all my grain through twice - once coarse, then again finer - even then, it'll lose "grip" at some point. The other day, I used a friend's Keg King mill - not top of the line by any means, but soooo much nicer than mine. The knurls on those rollers were much more aggressive than mine ever were. Can the rollers be replaced? If so, would it even be worth it? I hate this thing, but am also very stubborn and am not yet ready to give up on it. Suggestions? I know the.right answer, but am in a fishing expedition.

does this mill happen to have dark colored rollers? just curious which chinese mill it is since there are in fact a handful of different ones... I bought one on ebay 2 years ago that was such incorrectly assembled junk I got a refund and the seller didnt even want to pay for return shipping... It was the 3 roller version of this mill

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Grain-Mill...490240?hash=item5b307c82c0:g:TV0AAOSwy~BZ~9FZ

the keg king mills are also sold as cereal killer mills, malt munchier and by the beverage factory. they really are good mills . Ive have one for 6 years and use the 3 roller version in my brewbub every week to mill 3bbl batches of grain with zero adjustments or problems.