Grain mills

[Chris]

I have mentioned previously that I am in the market for a grain mill. What do you guys think of the MillMaster Grain Mill?

That is pretty much what I am looking at currently. Any others worth considering?

[rwh]

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i ... MillMaster

A Marga works pretty well if you're space and/or budget constrained. I just modded mine the other day, and it was pretty easy to do. The MillMaster looks like it'd be good enough for a microbrewery!

[Chris]

I have no real constraints to worry about. I want to go delux!

The mill master was designed for micros I think. At least I'd never need to upgrade.

[drsmurto]

I have a marga and it works fine, got it cheap when another brewer upgraded to that millmaster beast.

I can hammer thru 4-5kg of grain in 20 mins (very therapeutic) while i wait for the HLT to reach strike temp.

[warra48]

I bought the MillMaster.

It is a beautifully designed and very solidly built piece of equipment. The rollers are of a larger diameter than any other mill I'm aware of. I particularly like the fact the two rollers are geared, so there will never be any slippage. The roller gap is also easily adjustable, and once set will stay in adjustment.

Previously my best efficiency into the boiler was 87%, after a double decoction Märzen.
The first batch, an APA, I brewed with grain I crushed myself, my efficiency was up to 89%.

I crushed my grain with the optional handle. Took about 15 to 20 minutes to crush 5 kg, feeding it in slowly. If you have a look at the AHB link in rwh's post you will see that lots of chaps are working on motorising theirs. I don't think I'll bother, and I'm happy to hand crush it.

Definitely recommend it if you have the readies to buy one. I think you can get them direct from MashMaster, but also from Ross at CraftBrewer. Up to you.

[Chris]

Thanks for that- I was hoping to get some feedback from someone who has one.

I'd get mine from Ross- he's charging the same price as MM anyway.

[Trough Lolly]

Many years ago I paid $80 for my modded Marga from Grumpies...and it's done a great job for me.

But if I was looking for a mill today and had the money, the MM looks the goods!

Cheers,
TL

[Cortez The Killer]

I've had a marga for a while

Just upgraded to a 3 Roller Monster Mill

I'd definitely go for the 2 Roller MM over the marga if funds allow - it's worth the extra dosh

Cheers

[tazman67]

I thought this might be the right post for this.
Just got my Marga...( yes...Id have liked a MM) got a sack of Marris Otter and a sack of Export Pilsner grain.
I have a question....Whats the best setting for a good crush ?
I have a 55ltre esky with a S/S braid tun filter.
I know the that if I crush not enough I lose efficiency, or too crushed... I risk a stuck sparge ?
Or should I just play and pray ?

[warra48]

The prevailing wisdom is to crush as fine as you can, without getting a stuck sparge.
That means some trial and error for you with your equipment.

However, as a starting point, I adjusted my MashMaster using feeler gauges to measure the gap. I tried a 1 mm gap, but found it was a bit difficult to grind the grain. For my next batch, I slackened it off to 1.2 mm, and it was easier to grind.

Efficiency into the boiler is in the high 80's range with this setting, although my sparging has been slow (but probably not helped by ½ kg each of wheat and rye).

[rwh]

All the info you need is here (login reqd. to see images):

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i ... opic=13486

Essentially, you need to modify the knob to allow you a wider range of settings on the marga. Then you can play with the new settings you created to find the best crush. For me, the best setting is one or two back from the widest, which should be around the 60 thousanths of an inch on your feeler guage.

[matr]

60 thousanths of an inch on your feeler guage.

Or 1.524mm if you work in metric...

[Biernut]

I used a blender handed down by my missus as I didn't have the money to invest in grain mill. Run grain through it in 300gr lots, seemed to do a good job ok, and will see how my foray into a partial mash for the first time turns out in the next three or four weeks.

[Trough Lolly]

... Run grain through it in 300gr lots, seemed to do a good job ok, and will see how my foray into a partial mash for the first time turns out in the next three or four weeks.

Jaysus! My 10 Gallon batch of RIS uses around 15kg of grains - I'd need to set aside a day to do the grains and prey the blender doesn't crap itself!!

I applaud your patience....you'll grab a mill if/when you go all grain.

Cheers,
TL

[lethaldog]

I would say so TL, i used to crush about 150-200 gms specialty grain for my kit brews with a rolling pin and now with the mill i can crush 10 kilos in about the same amount of time, actually probably quicker now ive powered it up

[Trough Lolly]

Yeah, I'd love to power up my mill - it's one of those jobs that I've got to do when I've left work and got oodles of spare time, after winning Tattslotto!!

[lethaldog]

All i did was attached an el cheapo 500w electric drill to it and it works a treat, less than a $50 invesment

[Trough Lolly]

I was thinking of a motor, pulley and belt setup until I saw a similar article on aussiehomebrewer where a cheapo Bunnings drill was secured to a timber block and hooked up to the mill with a spider coupling and it worked a treat! We have several drills around our constantly renovated house but if I dedicated one for the grainmill, I'd expect to receive a call from the divorce lawyer!!

[ilovechocolate2002]

try this one : http://www.breckon.com.au/roller_mills.html (i use a SEMCO)

[Trough Lolly]

A "SEMCO"???

I googled and found;

SEMCO energy gas company
SEMCO windows and doors
The South East Michigan Computer Organisation and
SEMCO teak sealer

Ploise explain?!

Cheers,
TL