What To Look For in a Grain Mill?

[day_trippr]

I sent an email to Mister Crankandstein to see if he has any gear motor recommendations.
As an engineer I find ways to NOT do stuff like hold drills On brew day mornings I load this up and turn it on and do other stuff while it does its thing...

Cheers!

 

[GoeHaarden]

I sent an email to Mister Crankandstein to see if he has any gear motor recommendations.
As an engineer I find ways to NOT do stuff like hold drills On brew day mornings I load this up and turn it on and do other stuff while it does its thing...

View attachment 851242

Cheers!

Nice mill cart/cabinet. Much more elegant than mine. But yes, having a motor makes milling hassle free.

FYI, I'm not sure the embedded email page works on his site, but he usually responds to an external email within the same day.

 

[day_trippr]

He did respond this morning. In short, he was unaware of American Ale Works' demise, then he stated a capable motor would be expensive, and suggested looking at eBay and Graingers. Was hoping for a make and model but I got a hunt instead

Could move the all-in-one Spike higher in the list of contenders but I'll wait to see how well received it is with some time behind it...

Cheers!

 

[Willy]

Grainfather has got a grain mill that comes with an electric motor, no drill needed. Looks really nice but no cheap though I think you get what you pay for. This costs more because it is a more robust solution. I don't have one but it sure looks nice.
https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/grainfather-electric-grain-mill/?v=7516fd43adaa

Here's a video to see it in action.

 

[GoeHaarden]

He did respond this morning. In short, he was unaware of American Ale Works' demise, then he stated a capable motor would be expensive, and suggested looking at eBay and Graingers. Was hoping for a make and model but I got a hunt instead

Could move the all-in-one Spike higher in the list of contenders but I'll wait to see how well received it is with some time behind it...

Cheers!

Bummer. Yeah, I searched for a long time for a geared motor without success before just caving in and getting Ale Works motor. Without an easy solution, I'd probably be looking at the Spike mill too. I do like how compact it is.

 

[whovous]

I am one of the lucky few to actually own a Spike grain mill, having ordered early in their pseudo-kickstarter.. If cost and waiting times don't bother you, it is a great choice. But be prepared to wait, and then wait some more.

 

[Whisky River]

Now that I’m up to brewing 8-10 batches a year, I think it’s finally time to bite the bullet and get my own grain mill. I do mainly BIAB 5 gallon batches.

Should I splurge for the 3 roller or will a 2 roller suffice? Which brands are high quality and which should I steer away from? Anything else I should seek out or avoid?

Thanks!!!

I could be wrong but my understanding is that the primary advantage of a three roller mill is to enable the mill to crack the grain kernel open while leaving the husk largely intact by forcing the kernel through the tight bend between the top rollers and the bottom roller. For a traditional mash/sparge set up this is really helpful because it allows the endosperm to be exposed for conversion while leaving the husk intact to create the filter bed. But for BIAB the crush is much finer, letting you pulverize the grain to expose as much of the interior as possible without the need to worry about leaving the husk intact or how quickly the grain bed will drain because of the relatively huge filter area that the bag provides. Thats why I always understood that a good 2 roller mill was better and cheaper for BIAB than a 3 roller mill, especially if you find one that has a really small minimum gap size. I think some of them bottom out at .030 or .035 and I think you can crush a lot finer than that for BIAB. Im no expert, just repeating what I’ve read and come to understand from others in the hope it will help, there might be benefits to the more expensive 3 roller mills for BIAB that I’m not aware of, but with the cost of these things nowadays, it might save some $$$ to skip the third roller if doesn’t do anything you need.

 

[GoeHaarden]

I think some of them bottom out at .030 or .035 and I think you can crush a lot finer than that for BIAB.

My Crankandstein 3GT (3-roller geared) has a range of 0.025 - 0.065.

When I did BIAB with a Wilser bag I would bottom it out and get 82-85% mash efficiency. It absolutely destroy the husks leaving not much that resembled a whole kernel. Now I run an AIO that requires a wider crack to be efficient and I almost open it completely leaving nice cracked husks. Mash efficiency (~75%) is not as good, but my recirc and clarity is much better.

I guess what I'm saying is that a well manufactured mill can do both of what you described. Well, I guess my experience only applies to 3 rollers really...

 

[day_trippr]

My Crankandstein 3GT (3-roller geared) has a range of 0.025 - 0.065.

Could you relate the make and model motor you are driving your mill with?

Cheers!

 

[GoeHaarden]

Could you relate the make and model motor you are driving your mill with?

Cheers!

I can get this for you on Saturday when I get back.

 

[doug293cz]

A geared mill reduces shear on the kernels and husks significantly compared to a mill with one driven roller and 1 or 2 idler rollers. This keeps husks more intact even at smaller mill gaps. I BIAB and mill with a gap of 0.022" typically. I noticed a huge difference in amount of intact hulls with the geared vs. idler mill (both 2 roller.) Here's the motorized mill I have now ($157 on Amazon.) The gap adjustment mechanism is not as well engineered as more expensive mills, but it works, and gap spacing has been stable for me. The grain hopper is only held together with tabs rather than screws/bolts, and needs to be checked often. It also mills quite slowly, but you can fill the hopper and walk away. Even with the negatives, I would buy again. It would be cost effective just to get the geared motor and toss the mill, if you wanted a better built mill.

Brew on

 

[hilljack13]

I have the new Spike grain mill as well. Going from hand crank to this push button is freaking awesome. I'm still trying to dial in the crush. anything 40 or below and I end up with a good bit of small bits at the bottom of the tank. I'm using a G40 and haven't had this issue until using the mill. My last setting was @.045 and seemed to do better without loss of efficiency. I'm still considering going slightly higher.

 

[day_trippr]

Are you Spike mill owners using a feeler gauge to correlate the indexed "gap settings" vs the actual gaps?

An 0.045 inch gap - bump to bump on a knurled roller mill - is a rather large gap by my experience with two difference mills, where I was using an 0.030~0.032" gap for barley quite successfully...

Cheers!

 

[hilljack13]

I don't have any gauges, I started with what others said worked, .040 and ended up with massive amount of crush outside the G40 basket. Didn't have that previously. So I moved to .045. I am brewing right now so I'll be able to check in just a bit how this size crush is working for me.

 

[hilljack13]

I don't have any gauges, I started with what others said worked, .040 and ended up with massive amount of crush outside the G40 basket. Didn't have that previously. So I moved to .045. I am brewing right now so I'll be able to check in just a bit how this size crush is working for me.

Pre boil SG was 1.054, expected 1.051 so my crush .045 on my Spike mill is working fine for me.
Still have a decent amount of grain in the boil so I might consider. 048 next go.

 

[GoeHaarden]

Could you relate the make and model motor you are driving your mill with?

Cheers!

Here is the nameplate on the side. Also labeled as geared 1:10 ratio. I'll try to open up the wiring panel to see if there is any other info inside.

 

[Saunassa]

I bought a Hull Wrecker from NB and used it many years. Worked fine for Biab.
Now I have a Monster mill 3 pro. An acquaintance that brewed quit and when he heard I brewed he gave it to me for free. I believe my beer is better and more consistent crush and efficency.

Oh and I kept the hull wrecker 2 roller mill for those times I brew outdoors at the farm or small batches. Easy to turn with the hand crank.

 

[odie]

gear driven is a must.

3 roller? eh...2 will get it done all day long

 

[Rob2010SS]

I'm also with those of you who said you pulled the trigger on a Spike Mill. That thing is amazing, best investment to date. I do find it interesting, though, that on our MM3 mill that we were using previously, we were milling at .036". In talking with the engineering team at Spike, they said they wouldn't recommend that as the mill will easily make flour. I did try a bit at .036 on the Spike Mill and it for sure was too tight. I'm running at .040" pretty consistently now.

I did not use gauges on their mill to verify their gaps. I had our system pretty dialed in previously with the MM3 at .036" where numbers were typically spot on. Since we've switched to the Spike Mill, we're overshooting OG by 3-4 pts pretty consistently, every batch. So making adjustments for that.

 

[Rob2010SS]

In case anyone cares to see it...