Deculming gadget

[bracconiere]

I'm trying to figure out an easy way of blowing rootlets off malt....getting sick of lifting 20lbs above my head and holding it there 20 times to use a box fan....


anyone want to chime in on maybe using something like this? it says it's 1.5 cu.ft., and 20lbs malt fills a 5 gallon bucket which just a bit more then half a cubic foot.....


(i'll probably have to drop the cash like i was pulling a slot handle at a casino, but want some ideas from other people)

 

[day_trippr]

"this" does not resolve.
Try again?

A quick look about and the easiest solution suggests putting the malt in a pillow case, tying it off tight, then sticking it in a clothes dryer for extended tumbling does the job of knocking the rootlets off, then pouring it through a sieve will leave the rootlets behind...

Cheers!

 

[marc1]

I see no link...

 

[Jayjay1976]

"this" does not resolve.
Try again?

A quick look about and the easiest solution suggests putting the malt in a pillow case, tying it off tight, then sticking it in a clothes dryer for extended tumbling does the job of knocking the rootlets off, then pouring it through a sieve will leave the rootlets behind...

Cheers!

That is a great idea!

 

[bracconiere]

i didn't notice i forgot to hit ctrl-v, doh...something like this though


https://www.ebay.com/itm/234143870102?epid=204757793&hash=item36840fec96:g:2OYAAOSwf3NhG4tI
of course they are kinda pricey, what about my fan speed controller and running a shop vac at VERY low speed and vacuuming the malt, i need a shop vac anyway....


edit: experiment incoming, i got a dust buster and i need to clean the dryer, i'll see if i suck it just hard enough, but not to hard. i'll get just the dust...

update, even with my controller on the lowest setting, sucked the barley up...

 

[bracconiere]

@day_trippr the dryer is cheaper then this sieve?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222280630017

 

[day_trippr]

WTH? Don't Do That!

 

[marc1]

When I roasted coffee, I would cool it with a sieve put into a hole in a cardboard box, with the shop vac blower put tightly into another hole on the side. Maybe something like this could work?
Scoop some grain into the sieve, let the rootlets fly off, dump the clean grain and then add another scoop? Not sure how long this would take, but could be more relaxing than lifting everything over your head repeatedly. If you have a large metal sieve, it would be free to at least try out since you have a shop vac already.
Maybe after the dryer trick to loosen the rootlets?

 

[Jaybird]

Would the rootlets fall through the holes of that perf disc I sent you? Maybe a drum made out of that material and a simple gear drive or belt drive?
Cheers
Jay

 

[Konadog]

Maybe use a rock tumbler, they move slow enough and maybe a 10 or 12 inch drum would fit one one.

 

[bracconiere]

Would the rootlets fall through the holes of that perf disc I sent you? Maybe a drum made out of that material and a simple gear drive or belt drive?
Cheers
Jay

definatly, but i think the barley would too...really just some thin sheet metal ends, and stainless screen door screen material around it...and a cheap trigger locking harbor frieght drill to turn it, with the box fan blowing through it? if you want to do something like that up, i'm all ears, i can buy the drill...but i'd need the basket, a way to fill it, emtpy it, and have it turn...

@marc1 good idea, but that's kinda what i do with the storage totes, and i've thought about just doing it in 2 sessions for a lighter load

@Jaybird this reminds me of Married with children, for some reason, "If you draw it he will build it!" lol

yes that the best i could do for a depiction of hardware cloth......

i'm looking at $250-300 for the compact dryer route....think you could put something like on my door for less?

 

[Jaybird]

definatly, but i think the barley would too...really just some thin sheet metal ends, and stainless screen door screen material around it...and a cheap trigger locking harbor frieght drill to turn it, with the box fan blowing through it? if you want to do something like that up, i'm all ears, i can buy the drill...but i'd need the basket, a way to fill it, emtpy it, and have it turn...

@marc1 good idea, but that's kinda what i do with the storage totes, and i've thought about just doing it in 2 sessions for a lighter load

@Jaybird this reminds me of Married with children, for some reason, "If you draw it he will build it!" lol

View attachment 742986

yes that the best i could do for a depiction of hardware cloth......

i'm looking at $250-300 for the compact dryer route....think you could put something like on my door for less?

Let me put pencil to paper. Shoot me a message with approx size length and diameter...

Cheers
Jay

 

[austbrewer]

Metal paint stirrer does the trick

 

[bracconiere]

Metal paint stirrer does the trick

i'd imagine that would be good for knocking the rootlets off in a bucket. but seperating would require something else.

right now i can get the rootlets off by dumping the malt in a storage tote and just mashing the kernels up with my hands.

@austbrewer Do you malt your own also?

 

[hout17]

So like a chili roaster but with smaller perforations? Lol and I have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

[bracconiere]

Lol and I have no idea what I'm talking about.

damn man! that's exactly what i need, i know what i'm going to be googling for the rest of the day! first glance they cost the same as the compact dryer, and the dryer is self powered....but i saw one that was only $16...i think rotissere basket, will be another good keyword....


if i can find a cheap enough big one, then all i'd have to do is wrap some SS screen door stuff and around it, and duct tape it on.....

 

[hout17]

Here's one that looks reasonable just don't hook it up to propane lol. I linked the pic to the site.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I've bought malt that still had the rootlets on it.

Why do they need to be removed?

 

[bracconiere]

I've bought malt that still had the rootlets on it.

Why do they need to be removed?

taste like grass....

 

[camonick]

Google “seed cleaner” or “fanning mill” and see if any of the descriptions or photos might do what you want.

 

[bracconiere]

Google “seed cleaner” or “fanning mill” and see if any of the descriptions or photos might do what you want.

then i'd be looking at $1000s!...i think the $250 compact dryer is kinda the same thing....

 

[bracconiere]

well, i tried the drier again, but this time i tried it with some SS screen duct taped over the vent...i honestly didn't think the tape would hold, lol


but i let it go for 20 minutes, beautifully clean, and i didn't lose any malt this time! definitely think i need to save up for a few months, and drop the change on the compact drier dedicated for cleaning malt...

 

[shelly_belly]

How about modifying a compost tumbler? Or even building something similar with a recycled plastic drum.

 

[bracconiere]

How about modifying a compost tumbler? Or even building something similar with a recycled plastic drum.

View attachment 743828

not a bad idea! go to town on it with a 1/16" drill bit? or maybe just use the rotozip to cut some 6x6" squares and cover them with the SS screen?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

well, i tried the drier again, but this time i tried it with some SS screen duct taped over the vent...i honestly didn't think the tape would hold, lol


but i let it go for 20 minutes, beautifully clean, and i didn't lose any malt this time! definitely think i need to save up for a few months, and drop the change on the compact drier dedicated for cleaning malt...


View attachment 743608

How are you going to get all of the malt debris out so that y our laundry doesn't look like it was in in a grass catcher on a lawnmower?

 

[bracconiere]

How are you going to get all of the malt debris out so that y our laundry doesn't look like it was in in a grass catcher on a lawnmower?

vacuum. worked the last time. but i did have to pull the vent tube off to get the missing pound of malt out of it, lol. that's why this time i did it with the screen over the exit vent. worked good. but i do want a dedicated drier for doing it in. and some more permanent modding done to it.

just at $300 for the drier, it will be a few months till i can afford it.

got any ideas how i can have a slightly more permanent removable SS screen to slap in this one till then? once again crazy how creative juices flow!

you gave me the idea of velcro tape! thanks man!

 

[Dr_Jeff]

possibly look on CL for a used dryer, likely in the $50-125 range or FB marketplace

 

[bracconiere]

possibly look on CL for a used dryer, likely in the $50-125 range or FB marketplace

there is one here for $150, i'd jump on it, but it's 220v electric, i only have the one plug. if it was gas it would work, because it'd be 120v, and all need is the drum spoinning and blowing air through it, doesn't need to be hot...

 

[marc1]

there is one here for $150, i'd jump on it, but it's 220v electric, i only have the one plug. if it was gas it would work, because it'd be 120v, and all need is the drum spoinning and blowing air through it, doesn't need to be hot...

Interesting! Run the vent right out the window? Make the neighbors say hmmmm........

 

[bracconiere]

Run the vent right out the window?

the one i want dedicated, i was thinking i'd put out on the back deck. and just let the vent blow onto the ground, and shovel it up once in a while...

 

[DBhomebrew]

and shovel it up once in a while...

Get a chicken. Add a high-protein egg to your daily diet.

 

[bracconiere]

Get a chicken. Add a high-protein egg to your daily diet.

more like a goat, and milk....