Kegco Mill?

[RPh_Guy]

I have an idea in my head, but not sure if I will go that way.
Thinking about making base that fits on a bucket and milling into the bag, but still need to think it through...dough balls...ya know.

If not that, then mounting it to a sturdy tote of some sort

T

I mounted it onto the monster mill base and mill into a bucket using a drill. Cheap, easy, portable.

 

[ancientmariner52]

I have an idea in my head, but not sure if I will go that way.
Thinking about making base that fits on a bucket and milling into the bag, but still need to think it through...dough balls...ya know.

If not that, then mounting it to a sturdy tote of some sort

T

Off topic (I guess) but concerning doughballs: Since my first all grain brew, I've underlet the mash and sparge water. Heck, the fittings, the valves, the hoses...it was all just there. I've never seen a doughball, it just works, every time. I don't see how a biab would be any different.

 

[MX1]

replacement mill arrived yesterday, looks good on initial inspection. going to try and out it together this weekend, then mail the old one back

 

[MX1]

 

[RPh_Guy]

Shiny!

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Ive been using my kegco 3 roller for 5 batches now. Set it with a feeler gauge, dont trust the markings on the dial, other than that its a solid mill

 

[jaymosbeershack]

What i built for a base

 

[satph]

I ordered and received my 3 roller mill. They shipped it immediately and packed it well. It has bearings as everyone else has reported. I would put the hopper together first, then attach it to the mill if I were to do it again. I think it's easier to get the hopper in a comfortable angle to tighten the screws/nuts without a heavy mill attached to it.

I plan on motorizing with an electric motor and 4L pulley I have laying around. There's been some inflation since this BYO article, I think this 12" V Belt pulley with a 1/2" bore will work, and it's the cheapest I found at $35. Does anyone have any better ideas for a 10" to 12" pulley? Once I get it motorized I'll post a picture.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

I ordered and received my 3 roller mill. They shipped it immediately and packed it well. It has bearings as everyone else has reported. I would put the hopper together first, then attach it to the mill if I were to do it again. I think it's easier to get the hopper in a comfortable angle to tighten the screws/nuts without a heavy mill attached to it.

I plan on motorizing with an electric motor and 4L pulley I have laying around. There's been some inflation since this BYO article, I think this 12" V Belt pulley with a 1/2" bore will work, and it's the cheapest I found at $35. Does anyone have any better ideas for a 10" to 12" pulley? Once I get it motorized I'll post a picture.

When i ordered my kegco mill, i looked into the bearings, and what i read said this mill should be direct drive as the bearings will wear much faster with lateral pressure. Not saying you shouldnt do it, but thought i would put it out there for you.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, the side-loading issue can be removed by using a bearing block between the mill and big pulley.
That said I'm not a big fan of belt-drives, though I understand the alternatives are more expensive...

Cheers!

 

[augiedoggy]

Ive been using a pulley /motor system (bought everything at tractor supply but the motor and mill) for my old 2 roller cereal killer which is exact same mill as the kegco 2 roller mill and made by the same factory who makes the 3 roll kegco and keg king mills...
Its been about 4 years now and many sacks of grain and theres zero wear on the bearings that I can see. The belts however have worn out on me. the motor I have is non reversible and rotates the wrong way for direct drive.

Monster mill actually recommends the bearing upgrade if a person wants to use one of their mills with a pulley /belt drive system.

 

[ancientmariner52]

Side loading will quickly destroy bronze bushings. Properly sized ball bearings will handle reasonable belt tension pretty much indefinitely. You probably have ball or roller wheel bearings on whatever you're driving, and they carry the load just fine. V belts don't need to be super tight, they grip the tapered groove by bulging out where they wrap around the pulley.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Side loading will quickly destroy bronze bushings.

What he said.

You don't need crazy tension belt wise on the bushings, ( or bearings for that matter!).

 

[RPh_Guy]

12 lbs of barley! Future Octoberfest.

 

[augiedoggy]

Just wanted post an update that Ive motorized my kegco with a 170rpm 1/6hp gear reduction motor and drum switch for reverse. I have pushed over 600lbs of grain through it thus far with zero adjustments or tinkering after the first use. the knurling is still sharp and its working flawlessly.

 

[gnor]

Where did you buy your motor?

 

[augiedoggy]

Where did you buy your motor?

ebay... $140 shipped used. its a bodine

 

[TNJake]

So I read someone using 6mm screws and a couple others using 8mm screws.
Anyone know the hole pattern for the base?
I ordered the kegco 3 roller mill yesterday and I'd love to fabricate something at work in time to use it on arrival.

 

[augiedoggy]

So I read someone using 6mm screws and a couple others using 8mm screws.
Anyone know the hole pattern for the base?
I ordered the kegco 3 roller mill yesterday and I'd love to fabricate something at work in time to use it on arrival.

I believe I did the paper pencil rubbing thing myself to get the screw hole layout when I made mine. I dont remember for sure since the mill is at the brewery but I remember the screw had 10mm heads on them if it helps.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Their phone # is right here, and they might be able to direct you to a hole pattern layout.

https://www.kegco.com/home-brewing-equipment/km11gm-3r/#product-downloads

 

[augiedoggy]

So another update, we've put over 3,600lbs of grain through or kegco 3 roller at the brewery now and havent had to so much as even blow it off with compressed air yet... everything is holding up and working perfectly

 

[RPh_Guy]

So I read someone using 6mm screws and a couple others using 8mm screws.

I had to use 6mm. Mine is more recently purchased than anyone else who commented.

For what it's worth, the layout is the same as the monster mill (I'm using a monster mill base).

Cheers

 

[LittleRiver]

So I read someone using 6mm screws and a couple others using 8mm screws. Anyone know the hole pattern for the base? I ordered the kegco 3 roller mill yesterday and I'd love to fabricate something at work in time to use it on arrival.

I believe they now ship with a simple baseplate that fits on top of a standard 5gal bucket, so you should be able to use it right away (though you'll probably still want to make your own baseplate, to better control dust).

The hole in the baseplate I made for mine is 5.8" x 3.25". The hole pattern is x 6.53" x 2.85". I measured the hole pattern just now from the top of the screw heads, so it should be good, but oversize your holes a bit to be safe. Screws are definitely M6, I just checked them with a thread gauge.

I located the short edge of the hole 2.125" from the edge of the baseplate. That positioning works well for driving it with a drill, and also allows the manual crank lever to be used (though I've never used it).

 

[augiedoggy]

I had to use 6mm. Mine is more recently purchased than anyone else who commented.

For what it's worth, the layout is the same as the monster mill (I'm using a monster mill base).

Cheers

My understanding is the only differences between this clone and the MM3 is the fact that the kegco is metric since its foreign made vs US. The hopper extension bolt on as well.
Oh almost forgot the biggest difference, the kegco uses sealed ball bearing as the standard option... Its a rather expensive upgrade option from mm to the "PD pro series mills" at $479 with no hopper or handle. As the standard mm3 uses bronze bushings..

 

[TNJake]

I believe they now ship with a simple baseplate that fits on top of a standard 5gal bucket, so you should be able to use it right away (though you'll probably still want to make your own baseplate, to better control dust).

The hole in the baseplate I made for mine is 5.8" x 3.25". The hole pattern is x 6.53" x 2.85". I measured the hole pattern just now from the top of the screw heads, so it should be good, but oversize your holes a bit to be safe. Screws are definitely M6, I just checked them with a thread gauge.

I located the short edge of the hole 2.125" from the edge of the baseplate. That positioning works well for driving it with a drill, and also allows the manual crank lever to be used (though I've never used it).

View attachment 631865 View attachment 631866

Thank you! You are awesome!
I have access to all kinds of steel and aluminum fabrication equipment at work so I might over-engineer something on Solidworks.

 

[LittleRiver]

... so I might over-engineer something...

Like this?

 

[day_trippr]

Nah, like this...

 

[scottland]

I just bought one of those.

Quality seems quite nice. The blue plastic came off pretty easy if I went nice and slow.

I can confirm, the rollers are definitely not hardened steel. I’m not sure where that notion came from, but they are definitely not. A file digs right into the roller. Files should skate across hardened steel.

With that said, I think it’s going to be just fine for what I hope to get out of it. My Barley Crusher lasted 10 years. If I can get 15 years out of this mill, I’ll call it a win.

 

[augiedoggy]

I just bought one of those.

Quality seems quite nice. The blue plastic came off pretty easy if I went nice and slow.

I can confirm, the rollers are definitely not hardened steel. I’m not sure where that notion came from, but they are definitely not. A file digs right into the roller. Files should skate across hardened steel.

With that said, I think it’s going to be just fine for what I hope to get out of it. My Barley Crusher lasted 10 years. If I can get 15 years out of this mill, I’ll call it a win.

There are different grades of hardness in different steel making and working technics. A file is designed to be some of the hardest steel out there like a hardened knife blade.

They are cold rolled steel and are in fact much harder than the barley crusher rollers according to others experience and judging by the noticable wear on the barley crusher my business partner at the brewpub owns that he only used for homebrewing vs the lack of any wear on the motorized kegco 3 roller we have now been using to brew 3bbl beers every week for just over a year and likely put somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000bls of grain through at this point.

Ive only seen two negative reports on this forum about rollers on the kegco-malt munchier-cerieal killer- northern brewer mills (all are made by the same company) one report was of a damaged bearing the owner was able to replace. The other report was very vague and as first it was the friend of the guy who had the bad experience but he couldnt remember which mill it was, then later in another thread it was that guy who stated it he had issues with a "cheap chinese" mill he owned along with his friends experience on a similar mill... But in yet another thread the same guy stated He bought the MM3 instead of the kegco because it was only a "couple bucks more" and then went on to bash chinese made hardware in all three threads so personally I take that feedback with a grain of salt.

 

[scottland]

Hey, I’m not bashing the mill, I’m happy with my purchase.

Im just stating, none of the official documentation states the rollers are heat treated or hardened, and my empirical evidence supports that.

We don’t need to get into a pissing match on metallurgy, but these are not heat treated rollers. A single pass with a file digs right in, hardly different than my barley crusher rollers. Cold rolling or working mild steel will increase its hardness, but it’s not the same as a higher carbon steel or tool steel that’s been heat treated.

With that said, the knurling is much more aggressive, and the 1.5” diameter rollers should improve the angle the grain pulls into the mill. This is a much better mill than the BC, and the steel hardness doesn’t concern me. Hardened rollers are likely overkill for a 1.5” 3roller mill in the home brew setting.

I just wanted to clear up the info for anyone trying to compare apples to apples pricing with a similar mill. I would not compare these to other ‘heat treated rollers’. But this mill is less than half the price of a 3 roller heat treated mill, so it sorta makes sense.

The amount of grain you’ve put through yours is impressive. That’s 500 batches at my scale, which would be like 20-30 years of brewing, so that’s fantastic news.

What do you have your gap set at?