Forgive me...it's been a year

[EskiBrew]

:clap:

 

[mixale]

So what is the best malt mill V.

Crankenstein or the Barley Crusher?

Santa doesn't know which one to get

 

[Vossy1]

Who's a lucky boy then mix :party: I've no 'take' on what's best as I've not used either yet. I did do a lot of reading round on JBK when I was on, and on THBF, and have seen a lot of US site stuff too. Aleman really finally sold it to me by pm, something to do with the crush as per my previous post. There also seem to be a lot of folk who'd like a Crankenstein but who won't stretch to it cost wise. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Todays fettling was a real PITA. The motor has the smallest mounting slots you can imagine, they'll only take M5 bolts which for a motor of that size is ridiculous, and they're lower down on each side of the circular casing than the periphery of the housing so you can't just put a mounting plate across from one side to the other. Determined not to spend any cash on this project (xmas ) and use what's to hand the mounting plate was made from some left over aluminium angle

I had to raise the mount on the bolts using nuts under the mount to hold it away from the body. Then I drilled through the vertical section of the mount and bolted a wooden batten to the mount. The idea was to make the batten movable to take up slack in the belt which may happen over time, however on speaking to the father in law he said it wouldn't be needed based on the hours of use we give it, so one less job...always welcome
I fitted the motor in the top of the cupboard and was surprised by how much it impacts on the space available (should have thought that one through ) In this guise the hopper has to be tilted toward the front in order to fit

I'm seriously thinking about putting the motor under the mill and making the entire area to the batten on the cupboard the hopper then I can just chuck the grain in easily :hmm: the only thought worrying me is the dust around the motor in the bottom of the cupboard.

 

[EskiBrew]

It is a tight squeeze in there eh :clap:

 

[Baldbrewer]

Nice job !
Re dust on motor, how long will motor run for?
Can the hopper come out so you can brush down the motor?
As long as your not running it for hours and never clean it it should be ok.

Shame you can't extend the drive shaft and mount the motor externally but that kinda defeats the object of having it in the cabinet :hmm:
Building brewing kit is half the fun eh?
:

 

[PD]

Do you fancy moving nearer to Rotherham Vossey ?
I could do with a good neighbour like you............handy.

 

[Vossy1]

:lol: It's being a funny build this, lots of thoughts.... I'd err...never have thought of...like do I really want/need a hopper to take 20kg's of grain. I know I weigh it all into a bucket at present, but I have to do it in 5kg lots (scales max) so it's just as easy to get the mill started and add the grain as it's weighed. That leads to the thought do I want a 20kg receiver for the crushed malt.
In the past I've put the bucket on my shoulder and doughed in slowly, but quite frankly It's a pain, and quite often I scoop smaller more manageable amounts so it's not so much effort.
Worth a note that the motor is 0.5HP as on a few of the US sites there's a lot of mention of 0.25HP motors getting 'stuck'.
Baldbrewer, I'm still thinking of moving the motor underneath, thanks for your input on the dust. I may make a shield for it if I do, just to reduce the potential for dust ingress. I'd also considered a slave pulley so the belt drive could go in various formats/directions but never got round to it. I have tested the motor/mill today, all works fine but by crikey it's noisy :shock: due to the cupboard amplifying and the lack of rubber vibration spacers on the mounts me thinks...more jobs ...love it really :lol:

 

[EskiBrew]

thanks for your input on the dust. I may make a shield for it if I do, just to reduce the potential for dust ingress.

Assuming the motor has a fan which draws air in from the rear and through past the rotor, I wonder whether you could make a tube type ventilation pipe which connects through the side of the case - the idea being to draw clean air in from outside the cupboard which is then passed through the motor and exits into the cabinet??

You might be able to use some of that plastic type expandable ducting like used on cooker hood extractors - you'd need to shape something to attach it to the back of the motor or perhaps just use duct tape to attach :hmm:

 

[Vossy1]

Yep, good point M :thumb: ....and the electrics I was stripping out at the beginning of the build....an extractor fan pushing air out....now what could I have used that for :x :lol:
Progress has been slow. I've moved the motor under the mill, a much better set up. I've also gone with the adjustable motor mount, as the motor was simply too heavy to man handle easily for a fixed position. The batten pictured is 2mm wider on one side than the other so the bracing sections (4 small pieces either side of large batten) are slightly deeper than the motors batten.I've put a brace of stainless strip across and this means the central batten can move up and down. I've also started on the hopper, it'll now be full cupboard size

Tomorrows jobs, finish the hopper and put the tensioning system on, sounds grand but is really very simple :lol: If you look at the middle picture above the motor batten will have an angle bracket on it, as will the small chock of wood at the base (which will be moved up slightly) A bolt will be passed though the motor angle bracket then through the base angle bracket and a nut placed on the bolt...as you tighten the nut it will pull the motor batten down thus tensioning the drive belt....simples. Last but not least, I had a play with the mill last night with some rice, on 3 different setting...the results

 

[EskiBrew]

Excellent - have you had any more thoughts on noise conduction? - I bet that cabinet acts as a right soundboard

 

[Vossy1]

:lol: ...yep, one big amplifier :shock: There are 2 supports for the motor and on the second one I've used a small stiff rubber foot/bellow between mount and motor, it certainly made a difference. I'm not sure what I can do really, I could line the battens with silicone sheet but would it create too much movement :hmm: ...it's 60 shore so stiffish, but not that stiff if you know what I mean....any suggestions.

 

[Northern Brewer]

Nice one JP - about time too :thumb:

what is the first recipe going to be?

 

[Springer]

I am :? V, like in the old days, like when you helped me with herms and stuff
Why the cupboard ? I remember reading about dust in the brewery being bad ? (never mind breathing the dust )
Why not take the mill outside to do the job, considering how much time it will be in use, to avoid the hassle?
Will be going down this route myself, fancy doing the malting bit, ..............off to Mr. Farmer to buy the grain Malting barley :) ..............by the hundred weight. :lol:
S

 

[Vossy1]

Why the cupboard ? I remember reading about dust in the brewery being bad ? (never mind breathing the dust )
Why not take the mill outside to do the job, considering how much time it will be in use, to avoid the hassle?

Good questions S When I built the new 3 conical cupboard I did so up to the boundaries of existing furniture, ie, the old brew cupboard, so if I want to add something, ie, the mill, it has to fit into the same space, as there simply is no more room. As for the dust, I live in a area with a lot of that black mould, the sort you usually get in bathrooms. When I 1st built the brewery table it attacked the varnish...yes really :shock: ...so covering everything in a starchy powdery deposit is asking for trouble. As for taking the mill outside, it's a definite no go :thumb: ...I'll pm you about that

what is the first recipe going to be?

It'll have to be a bigger beer for TST....what are the chances of making a good beer whilst dialing in a system that's not been used for near 2 years :shock: :lol:

 

[Frogfurlong]

what are the chances of making a good beer whilst dialing in a system that's not been used for near 2 years :shock: :lol:

Sod's Law dictates that you will create perfect beer first time, however the system will need to be retweeked due to a technical problem immediately after the brew and you won't be able to recreate it.

Sod's Second Law states: It'll look like the purest pint. It'll pour like angels tears. It'll smell like the bread of heaven.... It'll taste like a $2 hooker :lol:

 

[Vossy1]

F :lol:
Finally managed to drop back on this today and got quite a bit done The hopper is near complete, the tensioner's in place, and I've fitted a shoot to divert grain into the collecting bucket

I might have a play tomorrow with a method of semi sealing the collecting bucket to prevent dust going everywhere. I've seen on some of the US forum that they use garage door draught excluder around where the shoot enters the lid of the collecting bucket...could be worth a punt, could even attach an extractor fan seeing as I stripped it out of the cupboard before starting this project :hmm:

 

[Steamedbeech]

Excellent post V shame your not local you could've popped round and borrowed mine :whistle:

 

[MacKiwi]

:shock:

Christ, you could dispose of a body with that thing!

 

[EskiBrew]

Nice work V :clap:
I like the grain funnel and the chute :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

Finally got some more time on this today. Unhappy with the noise being created by the open nature of the cupboard to date I tested the bottom section where the motor's housed with some loose panels to box it up...great improvement, so there was only one thing for it, and anyone who does woodwork will know how much work is involved :shock: ...but anyway...the frame is in place, the new shoot to divert the grain into the collecting bucket is done. Just need to get 2 pieces of ply to box it off and the base is done. This boxing off also means I don't have to worry about the dust generated by the milling affecting the motor in any way.

I've decided I'm going to reduce the height of the cupboard and fit a flip top lid for ease of loading and all being well it should be done in the next week with a view to using it in anger the week after....lots more jobs to do :P