Grain mill settings

[Whamolagan]

What are the borg setting their mills at.

[HerbMeowing]

I recently reset Teh Barley Crusher from 0.039 factory-setting to 0.036.
Notable (3-5 point) increase in brewhouse eff.

No change noted in the lautering flow; although ... it seems to take a little longer to vourlaf.

[Beer Warrior]

I stick my drivers license in and tighten it down until I can just pull the license out. Of course my Tennessee license is pretty thin.

[Gymrat]

I have just kept my barley crusher on .039. The finer you crush the more efficiency you will get but the more stuck sparges you will get as well. I have had several stuck sparges so I have no intentions of closing the gap any further.

[Beer-lord]

I have mine at factory default of .039 and have never adjusted it in 2 years thought I've been thinking about double checking. It seems to still work fine for me.

[alb]

I haven't moved mine from the factory setting, but does it need to be adjusted from time to time?

[Beer-lord]

It depends. If you take care of it, it should be fine for a while but like all moving machines, adjustments may have to be made.
Here's a good video to keep linked to.

[FrozenInTime]

My grain mill is a flour mill that goes on a Kitchen Aid mixer. I set it to the coarsest setting, gives me just about right crush but does give me more flour than I care for. Never stuck, I use a home made bazooka on my tun. BUT, the hopper is WAY to small, takes too long to crush the grist.

[Ibasterd]

Anyone use a corona style mill like the one pictured. I can get one for about $25, and was wondering if it's worth while. I only do 2 1/2 gallon batches and typically only use about 5 pounds of grain at a time. I don't think adjusting the grind is as specific as a roller mill. I think it's pretty much by eyeball and examining the results.

[The_Professor]

Anyone use a corona style mill like the one pictured. I can get one for about $25, and was wondering if it's worth while. I only do 2 1/2 gallon batches and typically only use about 5 pounds of grain at a time. I don't think adjusting the grind is as specific as a roller mill. I think it's pretty much by eyeball and examining the results.

I have one. I have not motorized it at all, I.E. I turn the hand crank. It works fine for a small batch. You are right about the adjustment. I usually get a bit more crushed than I would get from commercially crushed grain. I just stay away from totally making flour.

[BigPapaG]

Anyone use a corona style mill like the one pictured. I can get one for about $25, and was wondering if it's worth while. I only do 2 1/2 gallon batches and typically only use about 5 pounds of grain at a time. I don't think adjusting the grind is as specific as a roller mill. I think it's pretty much by eyeball and examining the results.

I use this style of mill ( a very generous gift, it was! )

It is rock solid, tried and true technology from the Late 19th / Early 20th century.

I find it to be just right for steeping grains and small partial mash preps. (0-5 lbs)

If you remove the thumb screw holding the handle on, you can chuck a drill motor on it to save some time but... I feel it crushes better when cranking by hand...

Besides, I find it theraputic to crank along to some of my favorite music whilst the water heats!

I have had it for several years it seems, and have set the grist plate twice. I never have to grind more than once. The crush is good and the amount of shake is minimal.

I do not believe it would be appropriate for full volume biab or ag. A bigger, better mill would be the answer there.

[FedoraDave]

I have the hand-crank corona style, too. I like it. I find I can crush all my grains while the strike water is heating, and it times out nearly perfectly.

As far as the setting, I've only had to adjust it once, recently, because it became a little loose, and I was getting too many whole grains falling through. And while it seems weird, strange, and wrong, I never took a measurement when I first set it. I just adjusted it until the grist looked similar to what I'd been getting from Northern Brewer. Yep, I eyeballed it, and I was brewing at 75% efficiency from Day One.

Maybe when I'm on vacation in a couple weeks, I'll actually calibrate it, but maybe not.

[Ibasterd]

Used my brand new corona style mill today. Adjusted the gap until I liked what I saw and went for it. I had good efficiency too. 75% to 80% up from somewhere near 60%! Plus it was fun.

[GUI_Center]

I set my monster mill 3 to 0.038". I did however measure from 0.032" up to 0.042" so that I can change on the fly if needed. I have never needed to as my crush at 0.038" gets me very good efficiency.