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Author Topic: Grain Mill Gap Setting  (Read 29179 times)

Offline Frankenbrew

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #15 on: January 22, 2015, 04:10:22 pm »
I used my Costco card for the first day. I think that was .040

I've heard this before. Many homebrewers I know use a credit card to set the gap on their mills.
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Offline ScottBeh

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #16 on: January 22, 2015, 04:41:26 pm »
The best way to determine this IME is sieve testing. 

Offline coolman26

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #17 on: January 22, 2015, 09:27:42 pm »
I have the MM-3 and found that .035 is perfect for me.  I run naked oats and wheat through it first when they are in the mill.  I then dump them on the grain when I mill it.  I found that I need to run it twice to get it all crushed.  I could adjust for it, but twice is easier.  I went to .030 and stuck city.  I use a cooler with a copper manifold. 
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #18 on: January 22, 2015, 10:17:56 pm »
I use a 0.88mm guitar pick to set my gap (which = 0.035"). It works great for BIAB.

that's awesome multipurpose ingenuity there Eric.
I bought some feeler gauges, but they were covered in oil of unknown origin. I wasn't too keen on sticking that in my mill, so I did the math and went digging through my pick stash. It's a Dunlop Tortex green, for anyone interested.
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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #19 on: January 23, 2015, 08:25:34 am »
I use a 0.88mm guitar pick to set my gap (which = 0.035"). It works great for BIAB.

I use Tortex 1.0mm guitar picks.  One millimeter is in between 0.039" and 0.040".

Offline Stevie

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #20 on: January 23, 2015, 08:45:51 am »
My feeler gauge has oil on it as well. It must be there to keep the plates from rusting. I just wipe it off with a paper towel when I get my stack ready.

Offline Delo

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #21 on: January 23, 2015, 08:53:34 am »
I bought some feeler gauges, but they were covered in oil of unknown origin.

I bought feeler gauges that were covered in an oil too.  I used my credit card to adjust the rollers of my mill and tightened them until my credit card was destroyed.  This delayed needless purchases for me for a little while.  I left my mill at its original setting(which I never checked) until a pebble in my malt knocked it out of alignment. My mill is set to .039" using the feeler gauges, but I could have used something else and adjusted them until I was happy with what I was getting.
Mark

Offline Wort-H.O.G.

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #22 on: January 23, 2015, 09:17:42 am »
My feeler gauge has oil on it as well. It must be there to keep the plates from rusting. I just wipe it off with a paper towel when I get my stack ready.

same here..no biggie.
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Offline denny

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #23 on: January 23, 2015, 09:50:33 am »
I adjust for crush, not gap.
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Offline blackislandbrewer

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #24 on: January 23, 2015, 09:56:35 am »
Like TMX said, so much depends on your system. I have a SS false bottom and pump to recirculate, and found that .032 works well as long as I don't have much huskless grain (rice hulls when I do), but that .030 got me a stuck sparge twice. Like coolman26, I run the huskless grains through first, and I double mill them as well. When I BIAB, I leave the gap alone, and just mill everything twice. I use a feeler gauge to set my gap, and check it on every brew day.
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Offline Pinski

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #25 on: January 23, 2015, 10:01:24 am »
I adjust for crush, not gap.

Do you use anything to make sure both sides are even or just eyeball it? I'd be curious to see where you settled compared to the measured gaps.
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Offline denny

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #26 on: January 23, 2015, 10:04:12 am »
I adjust for crush, not gap.

Do you use anything to make sure both sides are even or just eyeball it? I'd be curious to see where you settled compared to the measured gaps.

The JSP adjustable I use only has one end adjustable.  Theoretically, it's to mimic a 3 roller mill.  Whether or not it actually does is of no consequence to me.  All I know is that it's done a great job for a long time.
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Offline Pinski

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #27 on: January 23, 2015, 10:40:05 am »
Right on, that's what really matters.
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Offline TMX

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #28 on: January 23, 2015, 11:21:42 am »
I adjust for crush, not gap.

And this is the way it should always be, but I will add;

knowing the gap setting once you find the correct crush for your system helps to take out the guess work shold you ever have to send your mill in for repair (like I did) or if it gets dropped, or anything happens that might change the setting.

But in the long run it is the crush, not the gap, that matters.

Did that make sense?
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Grain Mill Gap Setting
« Reply #29 on: January 23, 2015, 11:47:55 am »
I adjust for crush, not gap.

And this is the way it should always be, but I will add;

knowing the gap setting once you find the correct crush for your system helps to take out the guess work shold you ever have to send your mill in for repair (like I did) or if it gets dropped, or anything happens that might change the setting.

But in the long run it is the crush, not the gap, that matters.

Did that make sense?
Right. Much like an IBU calculator or a pitching rate calculator, the mill gap doesn't mean anything in and of itself. What it does is provide a baseline for future adjustments, and allows for repeatability once you dial in your settings. Just because 0.035" works for me on my mill and system, that doesn't mean someone else would have the same results with a different mill on their system.
Eric B.

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