Just got the new "Cereal Killer" Grain Mill

[gizmodog51]

wow! i'm so glad i joined this forum ....... a cornicopia of infomation........

i just ordered the cereal killer from AIHB.

sale is still going strong & FREE shipping.....yea!:rockin:

mine order was shipped friday..12 oct

GD51

cereal killer arrived yesterday, 17th . packed very secure & assembled. quality describes what I see, best price out there on a roller mill. looking to mill some grain this week-rnd or sooner...thanx AIHB!

update:25 oct crushed just two lbs of grain today for my last extract/seepage recipe and the killer worked great!

 

[sweetcell]

sub'ed. seriously considering ordering one. off to count my pennies...

 

[Guidry]

I did, what I ended up doing is measuring the error then compensating the adjustment by that amount so it tightened where I wanted it. In your case, set the gap to .030" and tighten so it ends up at .035. A cup point setscrew would probably solve the problem.

Do you happen to know, or can you easily measure, the specifics on these set screws? Otherwise, my method is trial and error.

Thanks!

 

[HarryGrowth]

Got the shipping notification. rock solid. Hopefully!

 

[mrgstiffler]

Got the shipping notification. rock solid. Hopefully!

Me too!

 

[dbrewski]

Got mine yesterday. The bin is a bit flimsier than the barley crusher I have, but the rollers look good. Slightly different setup but I like the markings on the roller housing showing gap size. My bin was detached when it arrived. I just put it back on and tightened the screws, but the way it's designed the bin part is not all that securely fastened. Haven't milled with it yet, will try it out this weekend.

 

[Bricks41]

Still waiting for my shipping notice :/ let us know how your grind turns out!

Cheers!

 

[dbrewski]

Used it yesterday. It cranked through my grain bill better and smoother than my barley crusher! The only thing I noticed is that I'm going to need to check the gap manually. I think the default gap resulted in a little too fine grind.

I can now say that it's a nice unit, worth every penny. The flimsy bin is the only knock.

 

[Bricks41]

Sounds good, thanks for the feedback! Mine should be delivered tomorrow.

 

[buildzit]

Woot! Just got my shipping notice. Here tomorrow. Will be ready to go this w/e. Testing with an IIPA. 20lbs+ should give a nice test.

 

[Mumbly]

Got My Cereal Killer yesterday.it arrived while i was at work, and didnt get a chance to check it out till close to 11pm. it looked good, upon closer inspection today one of the rivets on the bottom of the hopper closest to the "Dead" (not sure what else to call it) roller was missing. hopefully it shouldnt affect operation, and worse case scenario i can put a small stainless bolt in there, but has anyone else had this on the latest shipment of them? for me its not a major deal, and with how well it looks built (besides that one small issue) for $89 to my door, i wont complain.

 

[Bricks41]

Upon delivery of mine, the crankshaft was busted through the side of the box. Doesn't appear to have damaged anything. Hopper can distort and bend fairly easily which I expected. The "dead" roller wasn't being secured on the side opposite of the crank by the locking bolt. I had to mess with it and reset the roller before the locking pin would keep it from moving.

Haven't milled anything yet and might be a few weeks before I do....

 

[McCullster]

Just received mine on Tuesday and immediately disassembled it down to the last bolt. Not much to it, but I was unable to get the active roller through one of the aluminum sides (the rod that the hand crank or drill attachment fits on would not pass through through the stainless steel bushing all the way).

Mine shipped with a little too much bearing grease packed in and it was all over the rollers and inside walls of the grain mill. A little dishwashing soap and hot water with a dish brush took care of that though. Before the cleaning, the active roller would spin a little bit (maybe 3 rotations), but now if I spin it it's like the Wheel of Fortune all up on that spindle. Any idea what would be good to lubricate these bearings?

I've been keeping an eye on this mill for a little while through a few of the other "sales" its had, and it definitely feels like they fixed a few - and detracted - a few things.

For starters, the bushings have been swapped from brass bushings to stainless steel in my model. I also don't find an issue with the construction of the hopper, only the hopper attachment to the actual mill assembly. Two small bolts for the 7lb hopper? What about if I had gotten the 15lb? Oh, that's the same two small screws.....I guess we'll have to see when I start milling grain.

Also, there was a model before that had "Made In Michigan" burned into the underside of the wood base piece. No more. It's just your basic average grade wood. You can tell they mass produced these things and the cut and finish on the sanding could have been better on both sides. The wood seems frayed on the underside in the roller hole of the wood and makes it easy to pick off small splinter pieces of the wood, giving it this uneven grain look.

For $89 bucks and free shipping? You get a very capable grain mill. I'm very happy with my purchase, and can't wait to try it out. The roller and mill assembly overall is great, but with the detractors being the hopper attachment and low-grade wood of the base, I can't help but feel that the best part of this mill (the pricing and quality of the rollers) is also the part that means the most.

 

[gizmodog51]

there's a food grade grease thats used in the food industry.

where to find it may be problematic but i suppose anything can be found using the web.....

maybe a commercial food service store that sells restaurant equipment may have food grade grease.
if the bearings used had been seal shielded no grease would be needed.

GD51

 

[buildzit]

Mine came Wednesday with the same problem Bricks had. Crankshaft had busted through the box. Could definitely use some bubble wrap in the box. It seemed to rotate good putting the drill to it though. Hopper seemed as good a quality as the Barley Crusher my LHBS stocks. Virgin run this w/e.

 

[najel]

I use food grade lube for my espresso machine, to lubricate gaskets etc. So espresso retailers online have it for sure.

 

[buildzit]

Changed up recipe at the last second but still ran 16 1/2 lbs through it with no problem. Used a 1/2" Milwaukee drill which turned it with no hesitation. Gapped it at .039 and had a very nice crush to the grains. Hit 75% efficiency so feel like it was spot on what I was after.

 

[pm5k00]

Received my Cereal Killer 10/17 and used it 10/22. I left it on the factory gap setting and got 77% efficiency, was planning on double crushing but my battery died for my drill, and I had to put a pair of vice grips on shaft and rotate by hand. The mill worked well, hopper could be a smaller gauge, and wood was damaged on the bottom, but still a steal at $89 shipped.

 

[Bricks41]

Sorry to post here as well, but I just tried mine. When it's gap is set to anything smaller than the factor notch saying .53, grain won't get crushed. The drill just spins the roller without grabbing any grain. When I up it, it will eventually pull through....

Suggestions?

 

[Rickochet]

Sorry to post here as well, but I just tried mine. When it's gap is set to anything smaller than the factor notch saying .53, grain won't get crushed. The drill just spins the roller without grabbing any grain. When I up it, it will eventually pull through....

Suggestions?

That is unusual. Mine works like a charm set at .035". A few questions to help diagnose: Do the rollers spin freely when you turn them with your finger? Is the gap set evenly from end to end? Is your drill turning in the correct direction?

And don't apologize for posting here--we like to help!!! Keep us posted!

 

[Bricks41]

Rollers spin freely yes... Set as even as I could, pretty darn close... Drill turning in correct direction, yes.

I only put 1.5 lbs in to test, could the lack of weight on top keep it from getting started? With that said, the hopper was half full with only the 1.5.

 

[Guidry]

I had that same exact thing happen to me. Panic set in, then frustration, THEN I realized my drill was spinning in reverse.

 

[Bricks41]

Mine was spinning in the same direction as it was when it started grabbing grain. Spinning roller down or clockwise.

 

[Rickochet]

Rollers spin freely yes... Set as even as I could, pretty darn close... Drill turning in correct direction, yes.

I only put 1.5 lbs in to test, could the lack of weight on top keep it from getting started? With that said, the hopper was half full with only the 1.5.

My 'Killer will even take a tight .020" gap and provide some very, very fine milled grain... almost like flour. If the rollers spin freely and the gap is set correctly, I could only figure that the rollers are spinning in reverse. The weight in the hopper is not important either-- it should work right down to the last few grains. For an experiment, try it with your drill turning the opposite way from which you first tried. Also, double check your gap with feeler gauges.

 

[Bricks41]

Ok well I'll give it another go... As I said, I have 24 lbs to get through

 

[CS223]

That is unusual. Mine works like a charm set at .035". A few questions to help diagnose: Do the rollers spin freely when you turn them with your finger? Is the gap set evenly from end to end? Is your drill turning in the correct direction?

And don't apologize for posting here--we like to help!!! Keep us posted!

I have mine set to .036 and it crushes like a boss. If you're not spinning the wrong direction, then maybe your drive coupling is slipping i.e. drill chuck, pulley etc.

 

[Bricks41]

I have mine set to .036 and it crushes like a boss. If you're not spinning the wrong direction, then maybe your drive coupling is slipping i.e. drill chuck, pulley etc.

I'll look at it further in the next few days. It appears when it set to anything below .5 the grains "slide" against the rollers instead of being pulled through. It appears both the shaft and roller continue to move regardless of speed. Could it somehow be a torque issue? Of course its not an issue where the drill seizes up when grain goes through but I digress... perhaps I'll give it another go with another pound tonight to troubleshoot.

 

[Rickochet]

I'll look at it further in the next few days. It appears when it set to anything below .5 the grains "slide" against the rollers instead of being pulled through. It appears both the shaft and roller continue to move regardless of speed. Could it somehow be a torque issue? Of course its not an issue where the drill seizes up when grain goes through but I digress... perhaps I'll give it another go with another pound tonight to troubleshoot.

I just ran a pound through mine to try to see what may be happening to yours. Mine works slick as a whistle. Again a few questions:

• Have you checked the gap with feeler gauges?
• Does both of the rollers have at least .005" end play?
• Have you tried to mill in reverse of your initial try?

 

[Bricks41]

Still need to get feelers, but I'm absolutely positive I'm rotating it in the right direction. Describe "end play".

 

[Rickochet]

End play is the movement from side to side for each roller. If I was heading over your way soon, I'd sure stop by to take a look. I spend some time in Columbus from time to time for work.... AEP. Don't hold that against me! Can you do a video of the operation?