New Grain Mill

[redrocker652002]

My wife was nice enough to buy me a grain mill for my birthday. It is a 2 roller Hullwrecker. I do BIAB and from what I have been reading the crush size should be somewhere near .025. Does that sound about right? I am going to try it with my next brew and am looking forward to it helping me gain some efficiency and consistency in my brews. Once again, any input is most welcome. Rock On!!!!!!!

 

[bracconiere]

i crush barley at 0.028" for a bazooka tube...just remember to run it slow and easy, that way you don't get that much flour. i think that might clog even a biab.....

 

[DBhomebrew]

Flour's not a problem. Nor are adjuncts.

 

[bracconiere]

Flour's not a problem. Nor are adjuncts.

does it least make the bag heavier?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Lighter. Efficiency is usually better via faster and more thorough gelatinization. More solids into solution, eh?

 

[redrocker652002]

LOL. So, I am guessing .025 to .028 is a good start? It has a hand crank so I think I am ok there. LOL. My next question is, do all grains get crushed except wheat and oats?

 

[day_trippr]

Not except, you need to crush wheat and oats and rye...

Cheers!

 

[redrocker652002]

Not except, you need to crush wheat and oats and rye...

Cheers!

Cool, but if they are flaked do I still run them thru the mill? My next recipe does not have any, just thinking out loud. LOL.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Flaked: You can, but don't need to.

 

[redrocker652002]

Sorry for the stupid questions, just so much to learn and the mind just doesn't stop working. LOL

 

[PCABrewing]

Sorry for the stupid questions, just so much to learn and the mind just doesn't stop working. LOL

Just remember to do something really nice for your wife's birthday

 

[agentbud]

.025 is what I set mine at when I first moved to BIAB and it worked great for me. I do not grind anything that is flaked but everything else goes into the mill.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

curioustity question: with BIAB, is it a single crush or a double crush (run it through the mill twice)? (FWIW: I double crush, hand crank, 2.5 gal batches)

 

[agentbud]

curioustity question: with BIAB, is it a single crush or a double crush (run it through the mill twice)? (FWIW: I double crush, hand crank, 2.5 gal batches)

I think it depends on the grain. Wheat is smaller so you want to be sure those get crushed if you are using them. At .025, I find that everything gets busted up pretty good. I brew on a brewzilla gen 4 now, but I still use a bag so that I can crush finer as I find I get better efficiency. I'll toss in some rice hulls if I am using a fair amount of flaked

 

[day_trippr]

Cool, but if they are flaked do I still run them thru the mill? My next recipe does not have any, just thinking out loud. LOL.

I do not mill flaked grains, but I've read the BiaB folks tend to turn everything into tiny bits

Cheers!

 

[bracconiere]

mind just doesn't stop working. LOL

that's what we all strive for with homebrewing?


edit: you can take that either way...

 

[Dancy]

LOL. So, I am guessing .025 to .028 is a good start? It has a hand crank so I think I am ok there. LOL. My next question is, do all grains get crushed except wheat and oats?

I think thats a good start. I have that mill and adjust it with a credit card as a guide. Some here may cringe at that and tell you to buy a feeler gauge. My efficiency is really good. I use the bag in my Mash&Boil’s malt pipe.

 

[day_trippr]

I just used my fancy digital calipers on my CC collection.
First number is card stock thickness, second is across embossment if existent.

.0270
.0275
.0280
.0295
.0315
.0320, .0490
.0330
.0330, .0520

.027 through .052 is a pretty wide range wrt mill gaps.

I use feelers to set my mills...

Cheers!

 

[bracconiere]

Some here may cringe at that and tell you to buy a feeler gauge

i bought mine to gap my spark plugs?

 

[bracconiere]

.027 through .052 is a pretty wide range wrt mill gaps.

don't sheets of paper have weight ratings? with known thickness?

 

[balrog]

I just used my fancy digital calipers on my CC collection.
First number is card stock thickness, second is across embossment if existent.

.0270
.0275
.0280
.0295
.0315
.0320, .0490
.0330
.0330, .0520

.027 through .052 is a pretty wide range wrt mill gaps.

I use feelers to set my mills...

Cheers!

It's like the woodworkers who say to shim something the thickness of a playing card.
They vary.

 

[AZ Maverick]

I have a two roller Hullwrecker and do BIAB.
I set my rollers with a feeler gauge for .028" even across the rollers.
I use my 1/2" geared drill to run it at a nice 300-500 rpm.
I run everything in my grain bill through it with one pass.
I'm very happy with the results that I get.

 

[redrocker652002]

I think thats a good start. I have that mill and adjust it with a credit card as a guide. Some here may cringe at that and tell you to buy a feeler gauge. My efficiency is really good. I use the bag in my Mash&Boil’s malt pipe.

I have feeler guages from my old points cars when I was a kid. Not sure how clean they are though LOL. I have read the credit card idea and found that to be a pretty popular way of doing it. Kinda try it out. More stuff to learn for sure.

 

[redrocker652002]

i bought mine to gap my spark plugs?

I am going to show my age, but I used mine to gap the points in my old ford's distributor before they had HEI. LOL. I am now old. LOL

 

[redrocker652002]

I have a two roller Hullwrecker and do BIAB.
I set my rollers with a feeler gauge for .028" even across the rollers.
I use my 1/2" geared drill to run it at a nice 300-500 rpm.
I run everything in my grain bill through it with one pass.
I'm very happy with the results that I get.

View attachment 814442

View attachment 814443

Awesome. thanks.

 

[AZ Maverick]

BTW, I don't know if the design has changed - but my Hullwrecker had some gaps on the bottom flange that allowed grains to filter through without being crushed.
I simply taped over the gaps to solve that problem.

 

[bracconiere]

I used mine to gap the points in my old ford's distributor

that's the thing that spins around right? guess i'm showing my age.....

 

[redrocker652002]

that's the thing that spins around right? guess i'm showing my age.....

LOL That's what mine did, but hey, that was a long time ago. LOL

 

[bracconiere]

LOL That's what mine did, but hey, that was a long time ago. LOL

well i've heard at least if you get drunk at the bar now you can sumble home and your can get it's self back!

edit: and the 80's were fun!

 

[wsmith1625]

LOL. So, I am guessing .025 to .028 is a good start? It has a hand crank so I think I am ok there. LOL. My next question is, do all grains get crushed except wheat and oats?

I like to crush wheat and rye at a tighter gap to make sure they get crushed properly. There's no magic number for base malts. Go as tight as you like and check the results. I like a fine crush that produces some flour but doesn't completely shred the husks. Take notes and see what works best for you.

Also, a shop vac with a brush attachment does a great job cleaning the mill.

 

[day_trippr]

my Hullwrecker had some gaps on the bottom flange that allowed grains to filter through without being crushed.

That's another solid clue that the Hullwrecker mill may be a direct descendant of my Cereal Killer mill, as the base grain chute you have is identical to mine - including those gaps

Cheers!

 

[agentbud]

I just used my fancy digital calipers on my CC collection.
First number is card stock thickness, second is across embossment if existent.

.0270
.0275
.0280
.0295
.0315
.0320, .0490
.0330
.0330, .0520

.027 through .052 is a pretty wide range wrt mill gaps.

I use feelers to set my mills...

Cheers!

sounds like my wife's credit card collection

 

[agentbud]

edit: and the 80's were fun!

Late teens and early 20's during the 80's. Best music and no social media. You only got caught if you were stupid. It just doesn't get any better

 

[bracconiere]

Late teens and early 20's during the 80's. Best music and no social media. You only got caught if you were stupid. It just doesn't get any better

i was 10, playing with gun powder, and pool acid.....wandering the streets doing as i please!

 

[redrocker652002]

Late teens and early 20's during the 80's. Best music and no social media. You only got caught if you were stupid. It just doesn't get any better

No truer words spoken. All I had to worry about was money for gas and beer and where I was going to hang out with my buddies on weekends. Great times for sure. Growing up sucks. LOL

And as far as music, it was the best music ever. LOL.