Esmitee
Well-Known Member
wow, someone else that owns a A Shopsmith!
Mills
- Thread starter frozengator
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
ITV
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if I had a early or later version but I have the spring and ball plunger that is used to provide the settings for the adjustment knobs. I ignored the instructions and tightened the setscrew so the knobs wouldn't turn once I found the setting I liked. I felt that if I left the setscrew loose (to allow adjustment knobs to be adjusted) the vibration from the mill as it was crushing grain would loosen the adjustment knobs causing my settings to be off.
Merak5
Member
I am using a barley crusher, lost the o_ring when a rock jammed the rollers. Cleaned it out and finished the grind. Don't think any grinder will let a rock thru, part of the game. Pretty happy with it so far.
Nebraskan
Assoc. Winemaker
I got a mill for Christmas, this one -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014M8WQIY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 but have no idea who made it (Chinese) or what it compares to. 5" long rollers (2) 1.25" diameter and use my cordless drill to power it. Works great, but my last batch I thought I'd make a finer grind and set it at 0.025" using feeler gauge. BOY was that too fine for normal cooler-made-mash-tun and sparging. I adjusted it after that back out to 0.042". It ran fine doing around 9 pounds of grains at the close setting. Just too fine of a grind. Rollers are set in bearing as well.
I think a lot of these mills are made in China and imported to here. It sure beats the small grist mill I had that used 2 plates and an auger!
I think a lot of these mills are made in China and imported to here. It sure beats the small grist mill I had that used 2 plates and an auger!
Last edited by a moderator:
Soulshine2
Well-Known Member
I'm glad I saw this. I just ordered the same one yesterday and now I feel good about it ,sight unseen. Let me know how you like it after a few uses. Thanks for the heads up about the setting too. I wouldnt have known where to startI got a mill for Christmas, this one -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014M8WQIY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 but have no idea who made it (Chinese) or what it compares to. 5" long rollers (2) 1.25" diameter and use my cordless drill to power it. Works great, but my last batch I thought I'd make a finer grind and set it at 0.025" using feeler gauge. BOY was that too fine for normal cooler-made-mash-tun and sparging. I adjusted it after that back out to 0.042". It ran fine doing around 9 pounds of grains at the close setting. Just too fine of a grind. Rollers are set in bearing as well.
I think a lot of these mills are made in China and imported to here. It sure beats the small grist mill I had that used 2 plates and an auger!
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 1,719
- Reaction score
- 759
I have had my JSP Maltmill almost 20 years and it is still working great. I milled 22 lbs on Christmas day.
My first mill was a JSP non-adjustable, and the mill was a tank. That was 20 years ago, so I can't give exact numbers but suffice it to say I worked it heavily and it gave me a beautiful grist, every time.
I now have a Kegco 3 roller mill, that I just set up (with a lot of help from members, particularly cbier60). It's run by a DC motor and is linked with Lovejoy couplers. It's so far a thing of beauty, though I've not put it through anything other than a couple of test small millings as my entire focus has been on building the main brewery over the last month. I set it to 0.035", and the grist on visual examination looks very good. I'd like to do a sieve test but that won't probably happen, at least not for quite awhile if ever as the sieves IIRC are quite expensive.
I got it for $150. We'll see but so far, so good.
I now have a Kegco 3 roller mill, that I just set up (with a lot of help from members, particularly cbier60). It's run by a DC motor and is linked with Lovejoy couplers. It's so far a thing of beauty, though I've not put it through anything other than a couple of test small millings as my entire focus has been on building the main brewery over the last month. I set it to 0.035", and the grist on visual examination looks very good. I'd like to do a sieve test but that won't probably happen, at least not for quite awhile if ever as the sieves IIRC are quite expensive.
I got it for $150. We'll see but so far, so good.
homebrewdude76
Well-Known Member
I bought a Millars Pilot when they were on sale. No issues after In ignored the markings for settings and used a credit card.
I just bought the Millar's Pilot. I have only run some grain through to test and clean, but it seems very nice. I love that it stores in a bucket, and mounts on one.
homebrewdude76
Well-Known Member
SleepyCreekBrews
Well-Known Member
I also have a Cereal Killer that I powered with an old VSR 2-speed drill body and it works very well, had it for probably 5 years now, never a problem.
I wasn't planning to get a mill for awhile yet, but I just found the KegCo 3 roller with hopper for 25% off at beveragefactory.com. I've never ordered anything from them before so hopefully they're a decent site.
To avoid starting another thread I thought I'd ask here... what kind of mill gaps are people using? I just got the Malt Muncher dual roller and set it up for this weekend's coming brew day. Any help fine tuning the gap would be appreciated!
I use .035", and that gives me a good grist on visual, haven't mashed with it yet.
Kind of system dependent. You can go fine with batch sparging with a braid or BIAB. I use a manifold and crush @ .030. I would say anywhere .035-.040 puts you in the norm. Crush a pound or two and look at it. See if your husks are shredded up. Grain crushed and husks intact is what your after. Some of the setting and performance also comes with the speed you run it too.
I had a Barley Crusher. I had it set on .035, and always double-crushed it. Worked fine as a 2-roller.
I now have the Monster Mill 3-roller, also set on .035. I send the grain through only once. It still works well, and I'm getting the same efficiency as before.
motosapiens
Well-Known Member
I sifted through a ton of info last year and got the same mill. very happy with it so far. I had to fabricate my own base out of scrapwood, but that wasn't hard. I've run a few hundred lbs of grain through it and been very happy with it.
I honestly have no idea why someone would want to attach a fancy separate motor unless one just had too much room and money and liked gadgets (or if one was milling every single day). I run mine with a cordless drill and the whole setup is small and light enough that I can store it in a box on a shelf in the garage, and mill grain on the back porch or front porch (depending on wind conditions) rather than coating my whole brewing area with lactobacillus and grain dust. I use it once or twice a week for half the year and have no desire to change anything.
I have a Cereal Killer and think almost the same thing. I have a 10-12 year old Ryobi corded drill I hook up over a plastic bucket and it grinds just fine.
ancientmariner52
Well-Known Member
It might have changed since construction is picking up, but last time I looked pawn shops were loaded with 1/2" corded VSR drills. My B&D cost me $9. Looks awful, runs great.
Barley Crusher here. Works fine, tons of grain have gone through it. It does occasionally jam, but I just reverse the drill once or twice and it usually picks right up. Once in a long while, I have to dump out the grain and refill it to get going. Shrug. It is about 6-7 years old. Use an old beater Sears drill to run it. Gap is set to 0.045 as I have a Zymatic which wants a larger crush. Works fine for my big system as well. Will motorize and upgrade someday, but low, low, low on the upgrade list...
I have had great luck with my Barley Crusher. The only issue is the O ring. They don't last, but the slave roller will turn as long as you have grain going through the mill. That being said, when it craps out, I'll more than likely look at something else like the Crankenstein or MM.
Actually, there are several reasons I went the way I did (Monster Mill w/ a separate motor).
One is that I have been able to slow down the crush. I had to run my drill pretty fast to get enough power to crush the grain; slow down and bog down was the rule.
I'm trying to implement some LODO brewing techniques, and two of the components are to crush as slow as you can (I'm at 180 rpm, far slower than the drill), and to crush as close to dough-in as you can. In both cases it's supposed to minimize oxidation. Fast crushing seems to create more dust, which increases the surface area of the crushed grain--against which oxidation can work. There may also be the generation of some heat.
My new mill setup is much faster--I'm under 2 minutes to crush 12 pounds of grain. I don't have to hold the drill, don't have to play around with it, and the tear-down at the end is nothing. There is none.
I put a bucket under the mill, dump the grain in, turn on the mill, and in 2 minutes I'm heading to the garage to dough-in.
I suspect also that at some point I'll increase my capacity to 10 gallons and the ability of the mill to chew through grain fast but slowly will matter even more.
One of the beauties of brewing is that everybody gets to make their own choices.
Well stated @mongoose33 !
I forgot to mention, I have ALWAYS had a medium sized paint brush with my mill. After every use, I use the brush to remove all dust from and around the rollers. Might be why I made over 7 years with the same barley crusher? I too am doing LoDO lite and it has helped my IPAs, or at least that is what I keep telling myself. I have not had an ale turn brown since starting that over a year ago. Not sure I completely buy into all of the techniques, but I am reasonably sure there is something here that we should pay attention to. I have not tried wetting my grain before milling, but I know folks who swear by it. I also keep telling myself I am going to buy a benchtop CNC metal lathe and make my own mill someday...who knows, maybe I will make one with 3 inch roller diameter by 12 inch length!
I forgot to mention, I have ALWAYS had a medium sized paint brush with my mill. After every use, I use the brush to remove all dust from and around the rollers. Might be why I made over 7 years with the same barley crusher? I too am doing LoDO lite and it has helped my IPAs, or at least that is what I keep telling myself. I have not had an ale turn brown since starting that over a year ago. Not sure I completely buy into all of the techniques, but I am reasonably sure there is something here that we should pay attention to. I have not tried wetting my grain before milling, but I know folks who swear by it. I also keep telling myself I am going to buy a benchtop CNC metal lathe and make my own mill someday...who knows, maybe I will make one with 3 inch roller diameter by 12 inch length!
Agreed
My mill turns at around 180rpm with tons of torque. I have had no issues with it free spinning when loaded with grain.
Also another thing is that with it all mounted and on a switch it frees up your hands to do other things. No need to push the trigger.
It maybe a little slower than when I ran it off a drill, but it is so much easier to use now.
ITV
Well-Known Member
Agreed as well.
My experience was that my Milwaukee cordless and 3/8" corded drill could not properly power my 3 roller mill (caption crush), both drills would get very hot. After powering my mill with a 1/2 HP motor, I have not had any problems milling over 50 lbs of grain at once.
My mill cabinet doubles as a weigh station and storage for my accessories (weigh scale, flask and stir plate, tri-clover fittings, etc).
Honestly I’m over 3,000 lbs of grain in my Barley Crusher waiting for it to finally die so I can justify buying a new toy. Yes it stops pulling grain from time to time but a long plastic spoon nudge on the trail roller gets it going every time. Oh yah.. the barley crusher did outlast my $50 Harbor Freight high torque drill, was going to buy something better but Not for $200...just got another Harbor Freight and it’s doing fine.
Seriously what did that Mm3 and mother set you back?
Seriously what did that Mm3 and mother set you back?
I haven't clocked the RPM of my arm, but it's way under 180. Maybe 30? Plenty of torque though.
Alright, but I'm bringing my own mill.
motosapiens
Well-Known Member
that makes a sort of sense to me. I won't make fun of LODO, but simple and traditional is more my thing.
fwiw, my on-sale dewalt 1/2" drill that I needed for other home projects has no problem cranking the mill on the low speed setting (for screwing screws rather than drilling).
motosapiens
Well-Known Member
I'm only doing 5 gallon batches. It takes me a minute or two at most to mill the grain. Can't think of anything else useful I could do with that time. Now mash and boil, that's where I multi-task and work on motorcycles, do dry-fire practice for USPSA, bottle previous batches, walk dogs, make dinner, and otherwise make myself useful.
I'm not a LODO disciple. At least not yet. Unless I can demonstrate to my satisfaction--and others' satisfaction!--that it's better, significantly better than what I can brew using traditional techniques, I won't probably continue with it.
But I've had enough success with it that I'm interested in continuing with it.
I'm a scientist by training--and by temperament--and the only way to honestly assess a new technique is to....well, assess it. Honestly and fairly. The results will be what they are. And I'll eventually report on them here.
This reminds me of how we get used to things that are better. I don't HAVE to have power windows in my car--well, maybe I do, not sure a crank is even an option any more--but who wants a crank window when they can have power windows and control all the windows in a car from the driver's seat?
And who doesn't like voicemail? Or texting? Maybe a few Luddites, but I find they make my life easier and more productive.
My guess is, if you had my mill setup for 5 batches or so, you'd only reluctantly return it to me and go back to your former methods. I like things that make my life easier, simpler, faster, more efficient. I can't afford everything I might want, but this I was able to afford. I like it.
The same reasoning (and some Christmas cash) led me to purchase a Millar's Mill.
I also like simple, reliable, inexpensive equipment. I was happy with my Corona Mill. I like the traditional feel of hand milling my own grain. It took no more time to mill than to heat my strike water. Then I moved up to ten gallon batches. Twelve pounds of grain through a Corona was a light workout, 24 is masochism. Several Amazon reviewers commented that the Millar's Pilot mills so quickly and easily that they do not need a motor. I have only done a cleaning/test grind, I'll report my results when it's warm enough to brew another batch.
I also like simple, reliable, inexpensive equipment. I was happy with my Corona Mill. I like the traditional feel of hand milling my own grain. It took no more time to mill than to heat my strike water. Then I moved up to ten gallon batches. Twelve pounds of grain through a Corona was a light workout, 24 is masochism. Several Amazon reviewers commented that the Millar's Pilot mills so quickly and easily that they do not need a motor. I have only done a cleaning/test grind, I'll report my results when it's warm enough to brew another batch.
motosapiens
Well-Known Member
My guess is, if you had my mill setup for 5 batches or so, you'd only reluctantly return it to me and go back to your former methods. I like things that make my life easier, simpler, faster, more efficient. I can't afford everything I might want, but this I was able to afford. I like it.
I'm glad you like it, but I don't see the point of spending money and space on a dedicated appliance that i use for 2 minutes a week (saving me approximately 1-2 minutes). Doesn't seem faster enough to make up for the increased complexity.
Very happy with my MM3+ and allamericanaleworks motor.
LarMoeCur
Well-Known Member
HBD. I have almost the same set up. Except I added a speed control dial which has made my milling even easier. No more trying to hold the trigger halfway I just lock the drill trigger on full. The controller has on/off switch and I control the speed with the dial. I got a drill and controller for like 40 bucks on a Harbor Frieght sale day.
https://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html
But it isn't just two minutes, and it's LESS complex. It obviates the need for taking stuff out, getting buckets set up, getting the drill attached, getting it setup so the drill is aligned, then getting the grain in the hopper, then double-crushing it which I no longer have to do. Two minutes from start to finish with my new mill and motor.
On top of that, I suspect at some point I'll be going to 10-gallon batches and larger grain bills. This is the mill for things like that.
I appreciate that, for you, none of this is perceived as an advantage. That's fine--everybody gets to make their own choices. I have friends who drive $40k SUVs, where I am perfectly happy with my Ford Focus.
That is what I did. I speed control down my 1/2” Skill still that is from the 70’s. The setup works great.
Everybody's different. There is, imo, a point to having a dedicated mill station. If you brew often and/or doing 10G batches or bigger, I think adding a dedicated motor to a grain mill is definitely worth considering.
I'm more in the same boat as you. The most I brew is 5 gallon batches and I haven't gotten to brew as often as I'd like either, so a basic cordless drill and bucket (which I'm currently using) is my best option for a milling station.
homebrewdude76
Well-Known Member
The drill has a speed control on the trigger, I can slow it to a crawl if I want.
Think this drill was $45. Bought it to slow bore some holes in trees.
Similar threads
