Grain miller, how important is it?

[Alex4mula]

Fendersrule, thanks fro that picture, Im a visual person so that will help a lot

Tellyho, Are you talking about soaking the grains for a few minutes? I think ive read a smidget about that somewhere, ill look into it though if it gives me more batch to batch consistency.

Gnef, could you throw up a pic of ur set up? I looked into motorizing it and came up with this motor to use
https://www.motiondynamics.com.au/worm-drive-motor-12v-24v-200w-180-rpm-20nm-torque.html
Wondering how to mount it up cuz it doesnt look like the stainlesss rod is keyed.

Bracconiere, thanks for feeding(pun intended) my other hobby lol

Saunassa, tell me about it, I need to set it up already, had it for about 5 years with one round made.

Unless you’re going to crush 16+++ pounds I wouldn’t care too much about motorizing right away. I think many here are very lazy if they complain about crushing 7-15 lbs. Get the crusher and just use it.

 

[fendersrule]

My Makita drill in impact mode makes quick and consistent work. Obviously you don't run it at full speed, but if you run it at low speed, it makes quick good work of it.

A motor-driven system is way cool, but IMO you'd have to be making lots and lots of beer for it to be worth while. Yet another thing that consumes space.

 

[gnef]

Unless you’re going to crush 16+++ pounds I wouldn’t care too much about motorizing right away. I think many here are very lazy if they complain about crushing 7-15 lbs. Get the crusher and just use it.

I consistently crush more than that, even for 5 gallon batches (my 5 gallon barleywine uses almost #45!). Also, in my mind, it isn't about the laziness factor, it is about getting a consistent and predictable crush. Different speeds at the same gap setting will produce a different grist, so an undulating RPM will produce a more inconsistent crush as compared to a motor at a fairly constant RPM.

My Makita drill in impact mode makes quick and consistent work. Obviously you don't run it at full speed, but if you run it at low speed, it makes quick good work of it.

A motor-driven system is way cool, but IMO you'd have to be making lots and lots of beer for it to be worth while. Yet another thing that consumes space.

I would recommend not running your drill in impact mode. Hammer drills impact along the axis of rotation, rather than torsionally with the rotation (as an impact driver does for driving screws). The reason why I could see this being problematic in the long run is for the bearings or bushings, as well as alignment of the side plates. The rollers in the mill are only designed to turn, not move along the axis.

Now, running your mill off an impact driver would be an interesting experiment, but since nearly all of them are 1/4" hex, you would need one of those chuck adapters to try it.

As far as space is concerned, I find my motorized mill being wall mounted takes up very little space. I bring it down when I need to crush, and then put it back up. I never have to move it around, and it is always where I need it. I know not everyone can set up their system like that, but if it can work for you, I'd highly recommend it, it has worked out great for me.

Given the OP's mentality with purchasing, my intuition says that he will be happier setting up a motorized mill as a full measure rather than doing a half measure now and then having to change it later on. My intuition may be wrong though.

 

[Alex4mula]

I consistently crush more than that, even for 5 gallon batches (my 5 gallon barleywine uses almost #45!). Also, in my mind, it isn't about the laziness factor, it is about getting a consistent and predictable crush. Different speeds at the same gap setting will produce a different grist, so an undulating RPM will produce a more inconsistent crush as compared to a motor at a fairly constant RPM.
....

That is why I said unless you will crush more than 16++lbs. Personally I really doubt anyone will notice a difference in a beer crushed rotated manually versus with a drill. What is really important and very noticeable will be the crush thickness used.

 

[kh54s10]

That is why I said unless you will crush more than 16++lbs. Personally I really doubt anyone will notice a difference in a beer crushed rotated manually versus with a drill. What is really important and very noticeable will be the crush thickness used.

If a mill is set to a certain gap (distance between rollers) it should make ZERO difference whether it is driven manually or with a motor.

 

[gnef]

If a mill is set to a certain gap (distance between rollers) it should make ZERO difference whether it is driven manually or with a motor.

If I remember correctly, the speed does make a difference, and is one reason why just telling someone your gap setting is not sufficient in most cases other than a general idea. If you run the rollers faster, I believe you generally need a wider gap (it has been a long while since I did all this research - I setup my mill over a decade ago!).

Ultimately, you need to figure out the best settings for the grist that you want, which will take some trial and error (run a few ounces of grain through, see how it looks, make one change, repeat). In my opinion, the more variables you can keep constant, the better the consistency, and your ability to fine tune your system for the performance you want. We may not all have the same goals when it comes to these things though.

 

[kh54s10]

If I remember correctly, the speed does make a difference, and is one reason why just telling someone your gap setting is not sufficient in most cases other than a general idea. If you run the rollers faster, I believe you generally need a wider gap (it has been a long while since I did all this research - I setup my mill over a decade ago!).

Ultimately, you need to figure out the best settings for the grist that you want, which will take some trial and error (run a few ounces of grain through, see how it looks, make one change, repeat). In my opinion, the more variables you can keep constant, the better the consistency, and your ability to fine tune your system for the performance you want. We may not all have the same goals when it comes to these things though.

You are right, speed does make a difference. But set up properly, including speed, there should be no difference.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

That's correct. I believe 180 to 200 rpm, high torque.