Malt muncher 3 roller loves to rust

[dhoyt]

So I don't knownwhat the deal is because apparently no one else has this problem but my mill just wants to rust. I bought it on sale from more beer and was pumped, first mill ever. It sat brand new in my garage for a month before I could use it, rusted... got it cleaned up and after it still had stain spots from the rust but I said F it. I used it once and it sat in my garage for a couple weeks, rust. I cleaned it again, used it, sat in the garage a couple weeks, rust. Last time I decided to keep the flour onit hoping maybe it would help keep it dry, rust...Now I am certainly not the only person that brews in the south, in their garage with the humidity and has all their stiff stored there all the time. So what's the deal? No way all yall are pulling you mills apart after every use and storing them in your house. So what's up? Did I get a bunk setup? A on off in quality? I certainly am not going to put up with this if this is how these mills are. What's the story?

 

[NoCornOrRice]

I have the same mill and have no issues yet, thankfully. From the photos it looks like it could be rodent poop rather than rust.

 

[Jayjay1976]

+1 for rodent poop. Check your grain supply.

 

[dhoyt]

That's for the response guys. I will try an upload a better photo. These spots are orange / red and flakey like what you would see with oxidation of metal. I do not have any grain storage and there is no other evidence of rodents.

 

[cubalz]

Are you milling wet grain? I have had a MM3 that I have milled 1000's of lbs of grain on and the roller are spotless. That is odd. Maybe you should contact MoreBeer customer service, see if they have had other similar complaints.

 

[dhoyt]

Are you milling wet grain? I have had a MM3 that I have milled 1000's of lbs of grain on and the roller are spotless. That is odd. Maybe you should contact MoreBeer customer service, see if they have had other similar complaints.

Thanks for the response! I am not milling wet grain. This thing had actually formed rust before I ever used it. I unboxed it and had it half put together. A couple weeks later I went to finish so I could use it and it had rust. I cleaned it, used it, put it on the shelf and two weeks later when I went to use it again, rust.

I contacted more beer and they gave me the humid garage speal and said I should wipe it down with mineral oil after use. That's kind of why I posted here because I feel pretty confident people are not disassembling their mills after every use case what a pain.

I think I will contact them again and see what they say. Was looking for other people's experience before I bring it up to them again.

 

[Golddiggie]

How humid is your garage where you're keeping it?? I've had my MM2 (not stainless rollers) in my basement for almost six years now, and have no rust at all on it. I do run dehumidifiers in both the basement and garage since I have issues otherwise. As in mold grows on the dividing wall between the basement and garage. I have additional steel items in the garage that have no rust issues due to the dehumidifier there.

Might be a good idea to invest in a dehumidifier at least for your garage. Just make sure it seals fairly well so you're not trying to dry out the state as well. I have to empty the garage one at least once a day (sometimes two or three times) during the summer months or when raining a lot. The basement isn't that bad during those same months, but I've have weeks where I need to empty it each day until things got better.

 

[dhoyt]

I don't believe my garage is anymore humid than any other brewer in North Carolina which is why I'm suspicious. I don't have mold or mildew or anything like that. I have a low quality stainless steel sink that doesn't rust. Anything else that could rust in my garage doesn't rust.

 

[dhoyt]

When I called more beer the told me to clean it with barkeepers friend which I did and after it was discolored which I thought was strange. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[smata67]

I'm in Georgia and keep my MM3 in the garage. I do keep it sitting on a piece of scrap FRP to prevent moisture coming up the slab. Your spots do look like mouse urine, so do keep a cover over the hopper. Any rust spots I will scrub off with a SS or brass brush. No real problems here to be honest.

 

[RufusBrewer]

Keep it in an air tight container, like a jumbo Tupperware. Keep some damp rid in the Tupperware container.

 

[franknbeans]

I'm not east coast, but mine is sitting out in the open in my garage and I haven't done anything more than take compressed air to it. It's sitting on top of some homer buckets and narry a spot of rust. I think average humidity here is in the 30-40%'s

 

[dhoyt]

Yeah humidity in NC is like 70 - 80% in the summer so i can't throw out the humidity card but no other homebrewer in NC seems to be having this problem.

 

[Gusso]

I'm in Charleston, SC. I too keep my mill in the garage. Neither my old Barley Crusher or my new Mighty Mill 3 have ever collected rust.

 

[jdauria]

Mine is kept in a basement that can get very humid and damp and spring/summer in the Northeast and have no issues like that.

 

[Dland]

I have a malt muncher 3 I got from morebeer as well, have never cleaned it or wiped it down w oil. It lives in a cellar that is not particularly dry, used a lot, but only w dry grain, no rust yet.

If you are pretty sure rust is coming from the metal in rollers itself, I'd see if rust still shows after giving it a stiff brushing. Take some good pictures and send it to them.

When I got my malt muncher, one of the rollers was machined out of round, which of course would not work. The service rep at Morebeer was skeptical, gave me more gapping and alignment advice. Tried to explain to him I'm a mechanic w some machine experience, finally he had me make a video of it, which showed obvious wobble, then he finally authorized me to return.

I believe it is a pretty good product, but quality control is not 100%. Moorbeer is a good vendor, too in my experience, but you may have to press your case. Have never had them second guess a mispicked or missing item, but had to go always to convince there was a problem with this very same product.

 

[Upstate12866]

In my workshop, high humidity brings soft, feathery rust like a dust of flour evenly over surfaces. A spot of dark, thick rust means I need to see what pipe is dripping on my lathe or jointer from above. Something deposited water there, to my eyes. Could be rodents, or maybe some grain bits left that absorbed water from air (wood dust does ther same thing, like a sponge for moisture) but it doesn't look like general humidity / surface rust to me.

Are these spots on all sides or just the top facing side? That would be a notable clue.

Depending on the metal type you can remove it completely with an acid like vinegar or a chelating, non toxic remover like evaporust. Be careful if it's stainless though, i don't have experience removing rust from things advertised to be stainless and not sure If the finish layer would be affected. Google that first.
The very best non painted or sprayed rust protection for steel is probably a wax finish imho, an oil works on the same principle... but those oils will end up the beer I would think. I think hard finishes will crack away and end up in your grain. They also make a spray silicone for food surfaces that might help.
I would remove most of the rust and store inside from now on if possible.

 

[augiedoggy]

The bar keepers friend will help passivate the surface develop a protective layer. I have not had any of my cold rolled or carbon steel rollers rust like that so my thoughts are at one point it got splashed with moisture while sitting which started the rusting process and no theres enough humidity to keep it going. If it were me, id clean it and store it in a bag with some descendant bags from the dollar store which will absorb any moisture in the bag.

 

[dhoyt]

Thanks! Yeah I have cleaned it with bar keepers friend a couple times. The mill is still in the garage and I take a look at in every time I go in there and it is currently ok. It is winter however and the humidity is low so who knows what's what.