Oat Flaker for Grain mill?

[Chris Walker]

I've searched a few threads where people are asking if it's OK to use a grain mill to flake oats but I would like to go the other way.

I have a Marga Oat Flaker (see pic) which has given many years of kitchen service making porridge.
I am wondering if it would work for crushing malt?
It's quite small, but I am only interested in relatively small grain bills anyway approx. 6Lb.

My questions...
1. Can the rollers be set to the correct gap width? not sure how to accurately measure this as I don't have feeler gauges and the flaker only has a 1, 2 or 3 indicator on the adjustment wheel.
2. The rollers are grooved, will this cause a problem?

 

[eric19312]

That looks like it would work. Appears to be a three roller mill. Get a bit of grain and try the three different settings and see what works best.

 

[Calder]

Drop some grain in there and see what you get. If you only have 3 positions, you will not be able to any fine adjustments.

 

[Chris Walker]

Thanks for the replies. I will get some malt to run through it but being new to AG I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for.
I have only bought milled malt so far and from 2 different stores - both looked different. Even from the same store the 2row looked like a different crush than the crystal. I wonder if they buy it in pre-milled depending on the type? - ie not all done at their store.

To make things more complicated I am choosing the BIAB method and have recently been reading a number of posts and articles saying it is OK (and actively encouraged) to have a much finer crush, in some cases to the point of almost flour. I believe the philosophy is that you can improve the mash efficiency and not have to worry about a stuck spare. The last part I don't understand. If it's really fine, surely even with BIAB you will possibly get dough balls or clumping which is not going to be efficient? Also is clogging up the sparge the only concern?

Anyway, part of the fun is experimenting so I think I will do a 3 gal. SMASH (2row and cascade) on a medium setting (actually although there are only 3 numbers on the adjustment dial, there are positions in between to give more adjustment) and see how it goes. It will be cheap and no big deal if it doesn't turn out too great.

 

[JohnSand]

Hi Chris. Use a whisk to break up dough balls. I recently read on another thread a recommendation for your mill. Read post 20, maybe you can reach out to that member and get advice. A search on HBT turns up more results for that mill also. Good luck, report your results.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/grain-mill-recommendations.648011/#post-8266371

 

[Chris Walker]

Hi Chris. Use a whisk to break up dough balls. I recently read on another thread a recommendation for your mill. Read post 20, maybe you can reach out to that member and get advice. A search on HBT turns up more results for that mill also. Good luck, report your results.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/grain-mill-recommendations.648011/#post-8266371

Hey John thanks for that! much appreciated.

 

[Chris Walker]

Update 1:
I just got some Maris Otter malt for a SMaSH beer experiment and set the roller to maximum gap.
Ran a cup full to test things out and it looks pretty good (pic attached), but I think I might go a little finer.

Will post another update with brew day results.

 

[davealicious]

grain looks pretty good, check out braukaisers wiki on malt conditioning, he's got some pretty rad pics on proper grain crush, and conditioning may help you to get a better crush without worrying about turning it to flour.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Malt_Conditioning

 

[Chris Walker]

Update 2:
So I just put 8Lb of the Marris Otter through the mill.
I think the crush came out pretty good and I did hit my intended OG (and some.)

What I would say is 8Lb (which is certainly not a huge grain bill) is not fun to crank through by hand.
It does the job OK, but I think you end up drinking more beer while doing it than you end up making!

I considered fashioning a shaft so I can drive it from a drill, but I'm concerned as to how well it will hold up.
This has been a great mill for years of flaking oats (very small batches in comparison) and I don't want to break it by using it for malt.

I'm now on the look out for more "purpose built" mill. Seems the Barely crusher gets good reviews. Only seen one negative (apart from price) that very hard grains can cause the shaft to slip?

 

[kh54s10]

I'm now on the look out for more "purpose built" mill. Seems the Barely crusher gets good reviews. Only seen one negative (apart from price) that very hard grains can cause the shaft to slip?

I don't know where you are getting your reviews. Yes the Barley Crusher is one that is often bought, but I read a lot of people have them wear out quickly. And customer service is wanting.

If I was looking for a low priced mill I would go with the Cereal Killer from AIH or the Kegco. I think they are the same mill.

If going expensive my choice would be a Monster mill.

There are a couple other good choices available.

Personally I would stay away from the Barley Crusher.

 

[JohnSand]

I have a Millar's Mill and love it. Also not cheap, but fast and easy to hand mill, two pounds per minute.

 

[Toga]

Stay away from the barley crusher. It does a good job at first but the knurling on the rollers wears out quicker than most mills causing slipping. Also sending it in for warranty repair under the "lifetime" warranty is a joke. A bit of searching on here and other forums will show many who suffered from their barley crusher purchase in the end.

I second the cereal crusher from adventures in homebrewing if you want a solid mill but want to keep the cost to a mininum.

The millar's mill is nice too however the current version is expensive. I have a 2nd gen millars mill which is identical to the cereal crusher from adventures. It has taken quite the pounding and is still rocking.