StAnthonyB
Well-Known Member
Who here uses the Phil Mill to get their crush on?
Phil Mill
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StAnthonyB
Well-Known Member
I have a motorized Phil Mill I that I'm very happy with. The #1 feature that I like on this mill is on-the-fly adjustment without tools.
I motorized it using a Bodine Gearmotor and a direct drive LoveJoy jaw type shaft coupling (sometimes called a spyder coupling). It runs at a relatively slow 115 rpm and mills about 2 lbs/min. The Phil Mill does not score high on the bling scale, mostly because it's not very big and it's usually mounted below the mill platform. There's really not much to look at. IMO, the Phil Mill I is the most under-rated mill available and it can produce grist equal to or better than any mill and it does it with essentially, only one moving part!
I motorized it using a Bodine Gearmotor and a direct drive LoveJoy jaw type shaft coupling (sometimes called a spyder coupling). It runs at a relatively slow 115 rpm and mills about 2 lbs/min. The Phil Mill does not score high on the bling scale, mostly because it's not very big and it's usually mounted below the mill platform. There's really not much to look at. IMO, the Phil Mill I is the most under-rated mill available and it can produce grist equal to or better than any mill and it does it with essentially, only one moving part!
I use one and it works great. After using it for a few times, I got tired of the hand crank and purchased an adapter from Williams Brewing so I could use a drill.
The philmil probably isn't as fast as some of the other mills but I think the end result is a very good crush.
The one gripe I have with it is the way it is mounted. If you attach it to a table, the grain falls free and makes a mess. I tape a ziploc bag around the exit which helps but still isn't ideal. I just did a search on the philmill and found THIS idea for a stand. I think this will make the phillmill much easier and better to use.
The philmil probably isn't as fast as some of the other mills but I think the end result is a very good crush.
The one gripe I have with it is the way it is mounted. If you attach it to a table, the grain falls free and makes a mess. I tape a ziploc bag around the exit which helps but still isn't ideal. I just did a search on the philmill and found THIS idea for a stand. I think this will make the phillmill much easier and better to use.
Plan9
Well-Known Member
Where does one purchase a Phil Mill? Are they still being made?
StAnthonyB
Well-Known Member
The slow RPM is a good thing concerning quality of the crush, from what I understand. The Phil Mill does give a good crush. Many have the opinion that it is superior in this regard and that it is the slow speed which detracts from it. Although I haven't tried it, I will work at conditioning the malt before crush. I have looked at many pictures online here and there and from what I can tell conditioning the malt is a beneficial technique to learn how to do.
To frame why I ask about mechanizing the Phil Mill I propose that a little labor does not bother me and yet too much labor is not a good thing. My argument has always been that a little sweat makes for better appreciation, and this is particularly applicable to homebrew. But, making the labor the end all is certainly a mistake. In examining ways to keep my beer handcrafted while at the same time not making the process so laborious that I become a slave to the process in a way that is dehumanizing, the beer making process can help us understand that which lays beyond the beer itself. There is certainly a maxima and minima to how much beer is brewed and fermented at one time. I would say that five gallons is good. Ten gallons is better. Without digressing into that discussion any further, producing anything more than a barrel at one time for personal consumption is patently absurd. It would turn a man into a beer making and drinking factory; that which, is no good for the gut, the liver, and by some extension, the soul.
Perhaps that was too Catholic, but today is Sunday; so, I'll let it pass.
Thank you for the ideas on mechanizing the Phil Mill and BTW I love the dog wearing the wig. Hahaha.
To frame why I ask about mechanizing the Phil Mill I propose that a little labor does not bother me and yet too much labor is not a good thing. My argument has always been that a little sweat makes for better appreciation, and this is particularly applicable to homebrew. But, making the labor the end all is certainly a mistake. In examining ways to keep my beer handcrafted while at the same time not making the process so laborious that I become a slave to the process in a way that is dehumanizing, the beer making process can help us understand that which lays beyond the beer itself. There is certainly a maxima and minima to how much beer is brewed and fermented at one time. I would say that five gallons is good. Ten gallons is better. Without digressing into that discussion any further, producing anything more than a barrel at one time for personal consumption is patently absurd. It would turn a man into a beer making and drinking factory; that which, is no good for the gut, the liver, and by some extension, the soul.
Perhaps that was too Catholic, but today is Sunday; so, I'll let it pass.
Thank you for the ideas on mechanizing the Phil Mill and BTW I love the dog wearing the wig. Hahaha.
The Phil Mills are no longer manufactured, but you can still find them occasionally. Here's a link to one source:
http://www.beer-wine.com/product_info.asp?productID=1064§ionID=1
That's a also a good price on the mill. Actually less than I paid for mine four or five years ago.
I haven't found the slow speed to be even a minor issue. You could also use a much higher speed motor than what I am using. I can mill enough grain for a ten gallon batch in 10-15 minutes. The hopper I have will hold about 18-20 lbs, so it's a matter of filling the hopper, starting the mill, check the grist, adjust if needed then go tend to other tasks.
I don't entirely agree on the sweat equity thing. There's more than enough to keep me occupied while brewing so I don't feel the need to manually grind the grain. Not that I'm that lazy, but IMO the time and effort is better expended elsewhere in the process.
Regarding batch size, I usually brew either 6 or 12 gallon batches. Much depends on what I plan to do with the finished beer. Sometimes I make beer to take to gatherings where I need to bring along multiple kegs and a variety of styles. The six gallon batches permit me to brew more frequently with more style variation, so there can be an advantage to brewing small. I would probably brew one barrel batches at times if I had the capacity.
StAnthonyB
Well-Known Member
Regarding barrel sized brewing, I would whip barrel sized brews if I had a sufficient technique and sets of recipes, etc. Filling two half-barrel cornelius kegs or even finding Golden Gate kegs, for the sake of 'real beer', is certainly laudible. I have considered using a half-barrel cornelius as a secondary and also as a priming vessel due to greater uniformity of priming when dealing with larger volumes. As of right now I am the owner of a Blichmann 14.5 gallon fermenter. I don't see myself buying another one ever again. My family is wrapped up in the Local #17 Sheetmetal Workers Union in Boston. In this way I have no excuse not to be building my own fermentation vessels. Sometimes I'll gaze at the Toledo Metal Spinning website, as they have 50-gallon hopper cones. A cone that size is more than enough for 1-bbl brewing; even open fermentation 1-bbl brewing.
I will agree that there are plenty of things to keep the brewer busy. Cleaning can be a task in and of itself. You wouldn't happen to have a manufacturer's part number on that motor of yours, would you? I may just go ahead and swing by the supply house and rig it up. In motorizing the Phil Mill, perhaps, something to throttle the voltage up and done in controlling the RPM of the motor could be in order in determining crush speed for various malts and their corresponding plumpness. I had totally forgotten about spyders. It has been so long since I rid of my old Chevy. One downside of driving a newer vehicle is that the section of my brain I used to use for mechanical applications has begun to wither. My renewed interest in homebrewing seemingly is remedying that rather quickly. That is a good thing.
Bonus points for using the old five gallon plastic water bottle. I've been eyeballing fashioning one as a hopper along the very same lines for a few weeks now.
dontman
Well-Known Member
The one Phil Mill that I can find for sale is $91 ?!? For $40, maybe $50 I could see ponying up the money for a one roller mill but for only $30 more than $90 you can get a BC mounted, with hopper, delivered.
So, is the Phil Mill available anywhere for $40 or $50?
So, is the Phil Mill available anywhere for $40 or $50?
I don't have the model number of the Bodine Gearmotor handy. The ID plate is on the inaccessible side of the motor and I would have to remove it from the mounts to see the plate. Anyway, there are a slew of Bodine motors to choose from with various gear ratios, torque ratings and power supply requirements. The problem is that they are much to expensive to purchase new. Your best bet would be Ebay or a similar auction site and buy a used one. They will usually list the specificatons so you can pick out what will meet your needs. There are also gear motors other than the Bodine's avaible. You want one with at least 40 inch-lbs of torque and preferably more like 50 or 60. The rpms are not critical. You could run from a very slow 50 rpm all the way up to 400 and beyond, but it's best to stick with the mill maufacturers recommendations on that. The easiest and usually the most economical way to motorze a mill is to use a corded drill motor. If you go that way, be sure to get one with enough power to do the job. A lot of guys use the 1/2" low speed drills from Harbor Freight with good results. HB has frequent sales and sometimes you can buy these drills for as little as $30. You also won't need the spider couplings when using a drill motor.
Here's a heavy duty drill motor from HB which should be more than enough to do the job:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93632
That one is supposed to have a double gear reduction, so it should run slower with more torque and it has variable speed control.
Throttling the voltage on AC motors for speed control does not work very well at all and under a load it's sometimes worse. Gear reduction (or belts and sheaves) is preferable by far IMO.
StAnthonyB
Well-Known Member
Oh no kidding, eh? Thank you very much. You are too kind. You have gone out of your way. That's the information I was looking for anyway; torque requirements. There's a Harbour Freight Tools over on Mill Street in Worcester. I'll take a look and see how things go.
No, not that I have ever seen anyway. Yes, you can get a two roller mill for just a little more. You will also get to enjoy loosening set screws, rotating eccentric bushings, tightening set screws, checking the gap with feeler gauges and repeating it all if it's not right the first time around or when you switch to a different grain. The BC is probably the most popular mill around, so you can't really go wrong buying one. Any malt mill will get the job done and when properly adjusted I doubt you could discern a difference in the grist between them.
I think if I were to buy another mill I would get the bare bones Crankenstein model and build my own stand and hopper:
http://www.crankandstein.net/index...._id=12&zenid=01c857f83c0cca31990aef3c701fe510
That's a bargin for only $76 plus shipping.
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