First Crush with Monster Mill

[chays99]

Any feedback? I set it to .04 with feeler gauges.

 

[jammin]

Looks too coarse IMHO.

Seriously though, you really need to run a few mashes and start tightening it up until lautering becomes a chore. Then back off a hair. You don't want to get jammed up when mashing lots of wheat or black barley or whatever.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Tighten it up man, there are way too many uncracked grains. The widest setting I use is about .035 and often go lower. And I always condition the malt. It keeps the husks intact and crushes the hell out of the kernel.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Looks terrible- tighten that thing down! You'd probably get 50% efficiency with that crush. Remember -- run your drill/motor as slow as possible without stalling to minimize pulverizing the husks.

 

[chays99]

Thanks guys. I thought it was to loose. I will tighten it down and try again.

Thanks again.

 

[mabrungard]

I'm finding that 0.035" is a good gap for my MM2-2. I also condition the grain before crushing.

 

[chays99]

I'm getting a bit frustrated trying to find the right gap. This one is .035. I didn't condition. Any comments?

 

[passedpawn]

That doesn't look good at all. First crush looked better. Crank it down, man!

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Yep. There shouldn't be any uncracked grains. That has more uncrushed than crushed. Crank it down to about .032 and run it back through. Some malts have smaller kernels, some are really plump. I run a handful through to check my crush with every new malt. Also make sure that your settings aren't moving during the crush. I replaced the bolts that lock in the settings on my barley crusher with finger screws but if I don't use pliers to tighten them down the settings will slip.

 

[mabrungard]

Yeah, I had problems with the gap adjustment screws slipping on my mill too until I tightened the thumbscrews with pliers.

I find that a proper crush will produce a moderate amount of flour and all kernels are broken. There is not enough flour in the crush above.

 

[jammin]

Here is a collage of last nights crush if it helps. MM3 2.0 with 2% conditioned malt:

 

[Darwin18]

Yeah, I had problems with the gap adjustment screws slipping on my mill too until I tightened the thumbscrews with pliers.

I find that a proper crush will produce a moderate amount of flour and all kernels are broken. There is not enough flour in the crush above.

That's a "problem" that I've seen with my new MM-2 as well. The last batch I had the feeler gauges out and was checking/rechecking every couple pounds of grain. I'll give tightening the thumbscrews down with pliers a shot.

 

[mabrungard]

That is a much better looking crush.

 

[BigRedHopHead]

tighten down the set screws with pliers. I had that same problem losing my gap. I check before each crush. Use a sharpie to mark where the set screws are on the block. That way you can visualize if they have moved. I also do this with the gap adjustment knobs.

 

[WileECoyote]

Yeah, I had problems with the gap adjustment screws slipping on my mill too until I tightened the thumbscrews with pliers.

I had this problem too, I use a 4" crescent wrench to tighten the thumb screws enough, you don't need to crank them down, just tighten a bit more than you can do with your fingers.

Check your gap before and after you crush, Ill bet the gap is slipping, there is no way that is a .35 gap crush.

I have a MM-2.2 , do not condition my grain, and have my gap set at .38 thousand gap and I get quite a bit of flour.

Cheers

 

[reinstone]

I'm finding that 0.035" is a good gap for my MM2-2. I also condition the grain before crushing.

Yep. I went with a wider gap and efficiency suffered. I would be sure to condition the malt with the gap that tight.

 

[reinstone]

Also, i would replace the gap screws with screws from the hard ware storethat take allen keys. My gap doesnt budge.......but dont over do it!

 

[Accidic]

I get a good crush for Barley with Rahr, Great Western, and any specialty that I've thrown at it at .036 gap but I gap it with snug fit of the gauge between the rollers (I use two to make sure I have them even). I, too, have the MM2 2.0 model.

If I condition the malt I've gotten as low as .024 without excessive tearing of the husk but I really don't find this necessary.

My advice would be to go in the general neighborhood that you cannot find any whole grains left behind after crushing and the hulls you do see aren't torn to pieces. If you've got exceptionally fat barley that might be a higher number, if it's a little smaller maybe as low as a .032. I have not had any instances of needing to go below that number and my extraction efficiency is usually in the 80s. I have pushed too far a couple times and got a bit of astringency but I'm not positive it had to do with my crush. Either way, each mill is a little different so it'll depend in part on what your mill crushes efficiently at. And if you're really worried about it just go a little low and spritz your grain with a little water a couple hours before crush and you should be fine.

Edit: Best place to have typo ever... In a model description.

 

[Frige]

I have a gear drive motor on mt mm2 and all it will handle is .041. I just run it though twice and its fine. I think I will go recheck just to make sure it has not moved.

 

[MNDan]

To solve the thumbscrew problem, replace the two screws with 1/4-20 by 1.25 or longer bolts that are fully threaded. I replaced mine with hex bolts.

Be careful removing the thumbscrews and replacing with bolts - I had a problem where the ends of the thumbscrews had deformed against the adjustment knobs, so that when I removed them they trashed the threads on the way out. If I were buying a MM today, I wouldn't even use the thumb screws. Go out and get the hex bolts so that you can start with a good screw that never has to be fully removed once you start using it, since I think the ends of the screws are always going to get deformed against the hardened knob.

My two cents...

 

[BlackFurnaceBrewing]

So, am I the only one that tightens the MM2 up to 0.024"?

 

[chays99]

Thanks for the feedback. I will tighten down this weekend and post again.

I've been pretty frustrated trying to get it right. I got the mill for Christmas and haven't been able to brew until recently due to complications from a surgery that screwed up my ability to do any lifting. I'm eager as hell to get this mill dialed in and brew again!

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I had back surgery a few years ago and brew days used to be an exercise in cognitive dissonance ...love to brew but could barely walk by the time I got everything cleaned up. I finally broke down and bought a pump. I could not be happier now that all that heavy water and wort gets moved without me picking it up! And the mill will be a godsend once you get it dialed in.

 

[chays99]

I appreciate all of the feedback fellas. Here we go for the third time.

.035 with the thumbscrews tightened down with pliers.

 

[chays99]

Be careful removing the thumbscrews and replacing with bolts - I had a problem where the ends of the thumbscrews had deformed against the adjustment knobs, so that when I removed them they trashed the threads on the way out. If I were buying a MM today, I wouldn't even use the thumb screws. Go out and get the hex bolts so that you can start with a good screw that never has to be fully removed once you start using it, since I think the ends of the screws are always going to get deformed against the hardened knob

I noticed that one of the thumbscrews backed out very difficultly today. Sounds like I might have the same problem. How did you deal with it?

Thanks.

 

[jammin]

Crush is looking muuuch better, sir!

 

[Accidic]

I thought the thumbscrews came tapered on the ends. Maybe I'm failing at visualizing but how do they burr the threads?

 

[MNDan]

I noticed that one of the thumbscrews backed out very difficultly today. Sounds like I might have the same problem. How did you deal with it?

Thanks.

Get in touch with them. And I'd recommend not backing the screws all the way out if you don't have to - having a few bad threads at the end isn't a big deal - it's when I backed them all the way out again that I had problems.

 

[m00se]

I set my MM2 2.0 to .035 and couldn't seem to get any of the grains to fall through. The roller just spun while the grain sat there. Is there any tricks to get the gap down that low .035 and have the grain crush? Conditioning?

 

[gab]

I set my MM2 2.0 to .035 and couldn't seem to get any of the grains to fall through. The roller just spun while the grain sat there. Is there any tricks to get the gap down that low .035 and have the grain crush? Conditioning?

Any chance your drill is on reverse (if you are using one)?