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Post by gusso on Apr 2, 2022 12:19:37 GMT -6
Yes, it comes with a metal base. The base covers about 2/3 of the bucket.
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Post by Ken on Apr 6, 2022 13:41:54 GMT -6
Okay, new mill is in the house. The assembly of the hopper and then getting the hopper on onto the mill housing is a little wonky but I got it. I also see that the mill's default gap setting is .45. I think my first mill's setting was at .39 so I tightened the gap a little bit. I really like the geared design. I see that the THIRD roller is NOT geared so I wonder if it's possible for rollers one and two to roll but three to get stuck with a piece of wheat or something. Time will tell. I have a cream ale planned for Saturday morning and I will report back with what is hopefully a breathless account of how well the mill performed. Gusso, did you futz with the gap and if so, where did you set it?
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Post by gusso on Apr 6, 2022 14:01:36 GMT -6
I put it to the smallest gap. I mash in a bag.
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Post by Ken on Apr 6, 2022 15:09:44 GMT -6
I'll be looking at the crush closely. I think I posted a pic of my current crush in this thread so that could help. I've been in the habit of crushing twice with a slightly larger gap.
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Post by gusso on Apr 6, 2022 15:26:04 GMT -6
I never crush twice. I just crush the shit out of it once!
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Post by Ken on Apr 6, 2022 15:31:14 GMT -6
I never crush twice. I just crush the shit out of it once! That seems possible especially when compared to a passive-roller mill. I assume the geared mill is going to crush no matter what. I'll try to get a feel for it this weekend. If it looks like I can tighten the gap, I will.
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Post by Ken on Apr 8, 2022 9:40:49 GMT -6
Gusso: Do you remember anything about milling some grain prior to using the mill? Was there something like that? I think I threw out the sheet that came with the mill but I feel like there was something like "use 8 ounces of grain and mill it as a test and to possibly remove any machining oils, etc". Am I dreaming? I plan to brew tomorrow.
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Post by Ken on Apr 8, 2022 10:03:09 GMT -6
I haven't made a cover for mine as of yet. I haven't noticed much of an issue. Mando did make something for his, iirc, it's just cardboard. Also,the hopper is bigger than advertised. It's listed at 7# but I get near 10.It's actually listed as 7kg or 15 pounds. Most of my batches have 10 pounds of grain so I should have room to spare in the hopper.
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Post by gusso on Apr 8, 2022 10:35:09 GMT -6
MoreBeer website says 7 pounds. Anyway, I usually get 10-ish in there.
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Post by gusso on Apr 8, 2022 10:36:11 GMT -6
Gusso: Do you remember anything about milling some grain prior to using the mill? Was there something like that? I think I threw out the sheet that came with the mill but I feel like there was something like "use 8 ounces of grain and mill it as a test and to possibly remove any machining oils, etc". Am I dreaming? I plan to brew tomorrow. I ran a pound or so through it.
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Post by Ken on Apr 8, 2022 10:46:36 GMT -6
Gusso: Do you remember anything about milling some grain prior to using the mill? Was there something like that? I think I threw out the sheet that came with the mill but I feel like there was something like "use 8 ounces of grain and mill it as a test and to possibly remove any machining oils, etc". Am I dreaming? I plan to brew tomorrow. I ran a pound or so through it. I think I have some rarely-used stuff like Victory or something. I'll sacrifice that later today. Thanks brother.
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Post by gusso on Apr 8, 2022 16:19:19 GMT -6
I milled 14# today. I got about 12 in the hopper. Looking at a Tripel tomorrow. Damn, I wasn't thinking, I should have thrown in a few ounces of acid malt. I was going by an Austin Homebrew recipe that somebody raved about. I guess I can do it in the morning or add a tad of citric acid (only acid I have on hand) to Bru'n Water.
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Post by Ken on Apr 9, 2022 9:31:53 GMT -6
Okay, just crushed grain for the first time with this mill. I ran about 8 ounces of Abbey Malt through the mill first. I bought some for a recipe awhile back and never used the rest so it was okay to sacrifice. The crush looked really fine so I adjusted it a bit. What I also noticed is that it seems like your drill requires more force to get this thing to roll because it's geared (I assume). Like, I hit the drill and it felt like the entire mill and hopped were going to flip over. I milled the Abbey Malt and tossed it out and then added 9 lbs of grain to the hopper and it just fit. So this hopper IS NOT 15 lbs for sure. I could maybe fit 10 which is fine. Today it was 9 because one pound today is flaked corn. It milled fine but it really requires some force compared to my passive-roller mill. The crush still looked pretty fine so I might adjust it back again. With a pound of flaked corn in this batch I'm mildly expecting a stuck runoff but we'll see. Otherwise it was fine. gusso : Have you noticed that the tension on the crush seems to change as you're milling? Like it feels very strong for awhile but then the turning of the rollers seems "looser" and more free for a few seconds and then it gets "heavy" again? Hard to explain but on my old mill that meant that the passive roller was not rolling. But I leaned over and watched the gears and both rollers were spinning. I'm clearly new to this so I'll adjust and update as I go. Cheers & thanks for the direction.
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Post by brewbama on Apr 9, 2022 9:59:17 GMT -6
Of course, I’ve not used one of these geared mills, but it sounds like the gears are binding. Maybe they ship it tightened down to secure the rollers.
What are you using to find your gap? Credit card, feeler gage, other?
What happens if you adjust to the widest setting? Do you get the same ‘flipping’ sensation?
If the gears are fixed to the rollers and it is set to the tightest gap, it makes sense that the gears could bind.
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Post by Ken on Apr 9, 2022 10:06:59 GMT -6
Of course, I’ve not used one of these geared mills, but it sounds like the gears are binding. Maybe they ship it tightened down to secure the rollers. What are you using to find your gap? Credit card, feeler gage, other? What happens if you adjust to the widest setting? Do you get the same ‘flipping’ sensation? If the gears are fixed to the rollers and it is set to the tightest gap, it makes sense that the gears could bind. There is a dial built right into the mill with markings. My one mill was set to a factory default of .39. This one was around .45 when it shipped. After I assembled everything the other day I connected my drill and everything turned properly so the mill is ready to go... I'm just new with this type of mill. There is some serious torque action and I'd bet I'm not using the word "torque" properly. When you hit the button on the drill and the mill wants to act like it might flip over as opposed to milling... that felt weird. All that said, once it was milling it clearly did a nice job crushing the grain. Observation: When I got water and grains in the MT and stirred, I saw something I haven't seen in years: Dough balls. That tells me that my crush is finer than usual and I could see that just by looking at it. How Gusso has his on the tightest setting is beyond me. I got the doughballs squared away and I'm now watching to see if there is a stuck runoff. I am also looking to see if I get an efficiency boost and my hydrometer is standing by. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the session goes.
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