26 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

I made a pale ale today with WLP001, Rahr Pale Ale malt, some C40, Columbus hops and then two ounces of German Hull Melon hops late. Then I prepared for a brewday tomorrow. I have an ultra-fresh pack of Wyeast 2124 and I went to smack it and the pack opened up. Never had that happen. I quickly turned the pack to keep everything inside and stuck it into a plastic bag. I made a starter for it and I think it's okay. Then I went to mill the grains for the batch I plan to use the 2124 with... Vienna, some CaraFoam, and this Avangard Pils I bought. I connect the drill and go but the mill is acting like no grain is being milled. After 30 seconds of milling with the drill... there's like 10 kernels of grain in the bucket. Pour everything out of the hopper, inspect the mill, all good, try again... no go. So I connect the hand crank to the mill. All good. I get a quarter of the way through the hopper and connect the drill. No. Back to the hand crank... good. I finish with the hand crank and the grain looks nicely milled. WTF? Sometimes this hobby is humbling.EDIT: I have had a couple beers but I'm not impaired in any way. No idea wtf is happening with the mill.

Edited by KenLenard, 15 November 2014 - 08:38 PM.

[matt6150]

You have the drill going in the right direction?

[Big Nake]

You have the drill going in the right direction?

LOL. First thing I checked. Seems like the only thing I use my drill for these days is milling grain so it's ALWAYS going in the right direction. Someone on another board mentioned that the kernels in this Avangard pils are smaller and tightening the gap on the mill might be good. But no one said it would futz up your mill!

[djinkc]

Sounds as if the passive roller isn't moving.

[Big Nake]

Sounds as if the passive roller isn't moving.

But why will it move when I use the hand crank? Weird right? Plus... I milled early this morning for the batch I made today and the mill worked nicely with the drill. Tonight when I milled for tomorrow's batch... WEIRDNESS!

Edited by KenLenard, 15 November 2014 - 09:52 PM.

[matt6150]

Was the drill chuck slipping on the roller shaft?

[Clintama]

You might need to have your rollers reknurled. My Crankandstein started doing this same thing and that's what it needed. Fortunately this company will resharpen for the only price of shipping both ways.  Look at them closely and if the tips are rounded, that's the problem. 

[positiveContact]

have you cleaned out your rollers lately?  did you try starting the drill very slowly?  have you tried lubricating the passive roller bushing things?

[johnpreuss]

When I have that problem I switch the drill to reverse hit the trigger for a second or two, switch it back to forward and all is good.

[Big Nake]

Was the drill chuck slipping on the roller shaft?

No, the drill was turning the roller but nothing was going through. 

have you cleaned out your rollers lately?  did you try starting the drill very slowly?  have you tried lubricating the passive roller bushing things?

When I'm done with the mill, I take a leaf blower to it and clean it "off" but not really clean it "out". I have never taken it apart or cleaned it thoroughly. I guess it's just bizarre that the hand crank worked. Also bizarre that the mill worked earlier in the day with some Rahr Pale Ale malt.In other news, it appears I was able to save my 2124 although the packaging failed. The starter was active this morning and smelled very nice so that was good to see. 

When I have that problem I switch the drill to reverse hit the trigger for a second or two, switch it back to forward and all is good.

I did that too. I was considering the idea that something was stuck in there and needed to be 'reversed out' but that didn't seem to do it. I will inspect it carefully when I have a chance and see if anything stands out.EDIT: This second batch I was milling last night had some CaraHell in it and that particular grain has always seemed to be very HARD. Almost like wheat. I know that doesn't make any sense but even when I pop a kernel of CH into my mouth, it's like a rock. No clue if that's part of the issue but even with the hand crank I occasionally hit a rough spot here or there. Ah, what we do for beer.

Edited by KenLenard, 16 November 2014 - 07:25 AM.

[positiveContact]

No, the drill was turning the roller but nothing was going through. When I'm done with the mill, I take a leaf blower to it and clean it "off" but not really clean it "out". I have never taken it apart or cleaned it thoroughly. I guess it's just bizarre that the hand crank worked. Also bizarre that the mill worked earlier in the day with some Rahr Pale Ale malt.In other news, it appears I was able to save my 2124 although the packaging failed. The starter was active this morning and smelled very nice so that was good to see. I did that too. I was considering the idea that something was stuck in there and needed to be 'reversed out' but that didn't seem to do it. I will inspect it carefully when I have a chance and see if anything stands out.EDIT: This second batch I was milling last night had some CaraHell in it and that particular grain has always seemed to be very HARD. Almost like wheat. I know that doesn't make any sense but even when I pop a kernel of CH into my mouth, it's like a rock. No clue if that's part of the issue but even with the hand crank I occasionally hit a rough spot here or there. Ah, what we do for beer.

 

yeah - i just use compressed air to clean mine.  not sure if a leaf blower is concentrated enough to really get the dust out but maybe.

[johnpreuss]

Up until the last 3 batches - when I finally got an air compressor - I just used an old paint brush to clean mine out

[Clintama]

I've never seen the need to clean them, but if I did I'd use the paint brush method. I keep one close by for cleaning the dust off of the surface in the mill stand. 

[shaggaroo]

Did you start the rollers turning before adding the grain? That's what I do.

[Big Nake]

Did you start the rollers turning before adding the grain? That's what I do.

No. But I never do. I dump the grains from a bucket into the hopper and giddy up. Never had an issue with it before.So I mentioned earlier that this Avangard malt is described as having smaller kernels and someone on another board said to tighten the roll gap. Personally, to my eye... the grain looks like any other. I would describe it as having 'typical plumpness'. But if it WERE slightly smaller, would that be enough to keep the passive roller still and not allow grain through? Does not compute. Also... this particular grain bill was 7 lbs Avangard pils, 2 lbs of Vienna, some carahell and melanoidin. You would think that with it all mixed together... no problems.

[MakeMeHoppy]

My barley crusher is a little weird. If I fill the hopper first I sometimes have problems like this (alhough I never considered putting the hand crank on). So I find if I put a small amount of grain in and just start the crushing, I can then fill the hopper and not problems.  I can see when I do this the grains are sometimes laying straight across the rollers and when I do the small grind they orient to being vertical to go through the mill. I suspect when I just fill the hopper the weight prevents the first grains from getting oriented correctly to go through the rollers.

[Big Nake]

My barley crusher is a little weird. If I fill the hopper first I sometimes have problems like this (alhough I never considered putting the hand crank on). So I find if I put a small amount of grain in and just start the crushing, I can then fill the hopper and not problems.  I can see when I do this the grains are sometimes laying straight across the rollers and when I do the small grind they orient to being vertical to go through the mill. I suspect when I just fill the hopper the weight prevents the first grains from getting oriented correctly to go through the rollers.

Interesting. I have never had it happen before but that doesn't mean anything. This was the first use of this Avangard pilsner malt so I may see it again, I may not and I may be hand-cranking some grain for awhile! Cheers.

[positiveContact]

My barley crusher is a little weird. If I fill the hopper first I sometimes have problems like this (alhough I never considered putting the hand crank on). So I find if I put a small amount of grain in and just start the crushing, I can then fill the hopper and not problems.  I can see when I do this the grains are sometimes laying straight across the rollers and when I do the small grind they orient to being vertical to go through the mill. I suspect when I just fill the hopper the weight prevents the first grains from getting oriented correctly to go through the rollers.

 

i occasionally have had a similar issue but not lately.  i still practice the same precautionary actions that you do though.  i never fully run it empty until I'm done once I have it started.

[Clintama]

Before mine got completely dull, I had to give the undriven roller a little nudge from time to time. It got to where I was standing by the mill the entire time nudging it. Getting it reknurled completely solved this and I don't have to touch that roller anymore. 

[passlaku]

Sounds like your Barley Crusher is in need of a manufacturer tune up.  Let me save you some time and cut and paste what he initially sent me when I emailed him about a similar problem:

 

[font="'courier new', courier, monospace;"]A couple things I would suggest to try is to take a wire brush to the rollers.This will remove any residue that may have built up over past batches.You can also try to take the mill apart and give it a good cleaning. ( no water)  try wiping the  end of the rollers and the side plates off and reassembling the mill. sometime dust and residue will build up between the rollers and the side plate that will make the idle roller stick. If you do take the mill apart  to clean it, one other thing you can do is spin the idle roller 180 degrees, so the side that's on the right is now on the left.If the knurl on the roller is starting to get dull they tend to dull more on one side than the other. So spinning the roller around will  give that roller a somewhat  fresh knurl.[/font]

 

After doing what he instructed to no avail, he told me to take off the base and the hopper and send him the mill at this address:

 

[font="'courier new', courier, monospace;"]B C Products Enterprises Inc[/font]

[font="'courier new', courier, monospace;"]430 Capac Rd[/font]

[font="'courier new', courier, monospace;"]Berlin Mi[/font]

[font="'courier new', courier, monospace;"]48002[/font]