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Author Topic: malt mill  (Read 5534 times)

Offline mainebrewer

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malt mill
« on: October 01, 2017, 04:30:36 am »
My Barley Crusher has stopped feeding grain again and I've decided not to have it refurbished again since I only get about 2 years out of it before it needs to be redone (I put 350-400 pounds of grain through it per year).

I've narrowed the search down to either a JSP Maltmill or a 2 roller Monster mill.

Most mills seem to do a pretty good job of milling the grain so I'm looking at longevity. What are the experiences of those of you with either of these mills and the time (or the amount of grain) before the rollers need to be re-knurled or other repairs are needed?
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Offline BrewBama

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2017, 05:55:18 am »
Though I've only had my JSP for a couple years, it's still going strong. Others have had the JSP much longer.


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Offline Stevie

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2017, 08:15:13 am »
My monster mill is 4 years old, not sure how much grain I’ve milled. Still love it.

My old LHBS in Dallas used two gear drive JSPs. They must have milled at least 2k lbs of grain per week. Every so often one was down for parts.

Offline mainebrewer

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2017, 04:12:09 am »
Thanks for the replies.
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Offline jeffy

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2017, 05:14:43 am »
I have had a JSP mill for at least 15 years, maybe more, and never had any problems.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
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Offline stpug

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2017, 02:40:48 pm »
Between those two brands, pick your pony and enjoy!  Both are great and rock solid.

Offline a10t2

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2017, 04:03:57 pm »
Are you by chance using a drill? My thoroughly unscientific opinion is that most problems with homebrew mills are caused by bushing wear through misalignment.
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Offline mainebrewer

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2017, 04:06:25 am »
Are you by chance using a drill? My thoroughly unscientific opinion is that most problems with homebrew mills are caused by bushing wear through misalignment.

I don't use a drill. I run the mill with a direct drive motor connected with a spider.
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Offline mainebrewer

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2017, 04:46:44 am »
Between those two brands, pick your pony and enjoy!  Both are great and rock solid.

I guess this is what it comes down to in the end. Thanks all for the comments.
"It's not that people are ignorant, it's just that they know so much that just isn't true." Ronald Reagan

Offline a10t2

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #9 on: October 05, 2017, 12:54:28 pm »
I don't use a drill. I run the mill with a direct drive motor connected with a spider.

I've got nothing then. I'm always trying to figure out how I've managed to put 4000+ lb of grain through my BC without any issues.
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Offline Stevie

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #10 on: October 05, 2017, 02:17:18 pm »
Misalignment of the frame can also cause damage to the bushings. A good carpenters square is essential when mounting a mill.

Offline mainebrewer

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #11 on: October 05, 2017, 05:20:34 pm »
I don't use a drill. I run the mill with a direct drive motor connected with a spider.

I've got nothing then. I'm always trying to figure out how I've managed to put 4000+ lb of grain through my BC without any issues.

I wish you could figure out how you have done that because it would save me some aggravation and money. :)
The knurling on the rollers is substantially worn down when compared to how it felt after the last refurbish two years ago.
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Offline 4swan

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2017, 06:40:47 am »
I've been having problems with my barley crusher not feeding the grain as well.  I think I've found a solution to my problem- I don't know if it is yours as well.  I noticed that my non-powered roller was not rolling.  When I cleaned the axles of the roller by blowing air around it,  it works again for a while. 

I think it is a two part problem.  First I think malt dust is clogging up the axle by the housing over time, especially when it is humid.  Second I noticed that the hopper has a gap on the side where the metal was cut and bent.  Sometimes grains will fall through this gap and get between the hopper bottom and the roller.  And then sometimes the resistance of having a grain between the hopper and the non-powered roller is enough to stop the roller from moving.

Today I tried my solution.  I took out the hopper and placed tape over the gap- on both sides, so there would not be a sticky side open.   That way no errant grains would fall the wrong way. I did not have any issues milling today, whereas last time my mill stopped feeding about twenty times.  I will have to try it out a few more times to test my hypothesis, but I'm hopeful.
« Last Edit: October 11, 2017, 09:09:57 am by 4swan »

Offline mainebrewer

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2017, 10:40:42 am »
I've been having problems with my barley crusher not feeding the grain as well.  I think I've found a solution to my problem- I don't know if it is yours as well.  I noticed that my non-powered roller was not rolling.  When I cleaned the axles of the roller by blowing air around it,  it works again for a while. 

I think it is a two part problem.  First I think malt dust is clogging up the axle by the housing over time, especially when it is humid.  Second I noticed that the hopper has a gap on the side where the metal was cut and bent.  Sometimes grains will fall through this gap and get between the hopper bottom and the roller.  And then sometimes the resistance of having a grain between the hopper and the non-powered roller is enough to stop the roller from moving.

Today I tried my solution.  I took out the hopper and placed tape over the gap- on both sides, so there would not be a sticky side open.   That way no errant grains would fall the wrong way. I did not have any issues milling today, whereas last time my mill stopped feeding about twenty times.  I will have to try it out a few more times to test my hypothesis, but I'm hopeful.

I will try this. Nothing ventured, etc.
The last time the mill stopped feeding grain I did take it apart to see if I could find the problem. There was nothing I could see that was wrong (other than that the knurling on the rollers was worn) and there was no crud on the roller bearing surfaces. I put a little mineral oil on the bearings to see if that might help. It didn't. Let me know how your experiment turns out.
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Offline narcout

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Re: malt mill
« Reply #14 on: October 11, 2017, 01:41:23 pm »
The knurling on the rollers is substantially worn down when compared to how it felt after the last refurbish two years ago.

That was the issue with my BC as well.  I ended up replacing the rollers which fixed it.
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