17 replies to this topic

[LiverDance]

I'm looking to see what others are using for the gap and what kind of efficiency you end up getting from your mill. What's yours? LD

[dagomike]

I eyeball it. :cheers:Really, I just got it even and a gap small enough to see through, then ran some grain and adjusted it until it looked good. And the only reason I adjusted it was because I needed to flip the rollers for the motor. Otherwise, I'd leave it be.

Edited by dagomike, 14 April 2009 - 09:58 AM.

[denny]

Same here...I have no idea what my gap is. I just look for a good crush. I got 86% efficiency last weekend.

[Gumbo Leviathan]

How long did it take you guys to dial in the efficiency with your mill?My LHBS doesnt seem to crush well enough (or at least I am guessing based on my consistent 55% efficiency).I want to get my own but dont know where to start with the adjustment.

[JReigle]

I just tighten down the gap until the drill seems almost maxed out on torque. This gives a really fine crush and I get great efficiency (80-90).

[LiverDance]

Does anyone have a pic of there crush? How fine is too fine?

[denny]

How long did it take you guys to dial in the efficiency with your mill?My LHBS doesnt seem to crush well enough (or at least I am guessing based on my consistent 55% efficiency).I want to get my own but dont know where to start with the adjustment.

Took maybe 3-4 batches at most. I just kept closing it down until I got a difficult runoff. Then I opened it back up a but and that's where it's been for the last 10 years!

Edited by denny, 14 April 2009 - 11:36 AM.

[dagomike]

How long did it take you guys to dial in the efficiency with your mill?My LHBS doesnt seem to crush well enough (or at least I am guessing based on my consistent 55% efficiency).I want to get my own but dont know where to start with the adjustment.

The great thing about having your own mill, is once you set it, it's very likely to be the same every time. So, everything else being equal, you'll probably have an idea what you're efficiency is after a couple batches.

Does anyone have a pic of there crush? How fine is too fine?

To me, just look for unbroken grains. Also I look at husk shredding to see if it's too tight or running too fast. Unbroken grains obviously won't help your efficiency and more husks you have in tact the better filter you should get, plus less exposed husk material is always a good thing. Finer flour bits is good too, but somewhere seems good. I get around 80-85%.

[BrewerGeorge]

Unfortunately for LiverDance, I bet most of us just eyeball it. There's just no point in getting out the feeler gauges for the mill, especially if you have the JSP like I do. The adjustable JSP only changes one side so the rollers aren't parallel. I'd have to do math if I wanted to find even my average gap numerically.

[djinkc]

Unfortunately for LiverDance, I bet most of us just eyeball it. .................

Gee, LiverDance wants a number. My JSP is .025 in the middle. But as George mentioned it's only adjustable on one side. Since mine is motorized and running at around 200+ rpm that probably makes a big difference. I think the best advice is keep cranking it down until you have trouble and then back it off.

[LiverDance]

I always thought that the gap was this big scientific thing and needed to be ajusted perfectly! I'm really liking the sound of crank'r down and see what happens. I have a monster mill 3 roller so i'm going to close it completly and then slightly ajust outward while doing about a lbs at a time until i like what i see. I'm brewing some liquid stupid this weekend so i'll need all the efficiency i can get!

[stellarbrew]

I haven't really felt a need to mess with the .039 factory setting of my Barley Crusher. I'm happy with the results I get. My efficiencies always calculate in the low 80% range (batch sparge), and I've never had a stuck sparge, nor any husky astringency or clarity problems. My tinkering side was tempted to play with the setting, but my practical side said why try and fix something that's not broken.

[Fatman]

I had the feeler gauge around for sparkplugs, so I used it to drop my Barley Crusher down to about .032. I batch sparge and always get about 75%, and usually in the 80-85% range. The crush certainly looks pretty.

[dagomike]

When I first got my mill, I was set to pullout the calipers and play with my gap. But then I realized how ridiculously imprecise the mills are. It's just basically a thumb screw holding one roller next to a fixed one. Probably not worth fussing too much.

[cbbrown40]

Took maybe 3-4 batches at most. I just kept closing it down until I got a difficult runoff. Then I opened it back up a but and that's where it's been for the last 10 years!

+1 closed it more and more until I had a stuck sparge then opened it back up a tad. I get 80% consistently

[MyaCullen]

Took maybe 3-4 batches at most. I just kept closing it down until I got a difficult runoff. Then I opened it back up a but and that's where it's been for the last 10 years!

+1, but only 1 year with my own roller mill.

[Stout_fan]

... To me, just look for unbroken grains. Also I look at husk shredding to see if it's too tight or running too fast. Unbroken grains obviously won't help your efficiency and more husks you have in tact the better filter you should get, plus less exposed husk material is always a good thing. Finer flour bits is good too, but somewhere seems good. I get around 80-85%.

I'm With DMToo close gets you flour, which you want, but broken husks, which you don't want.Too wide gets you nice intact husks, which you want, but just barely cracked kernels, which you don't want.I have a valley Mill and found the best overall position and used that for many years and still do for average OG brews.Now I double mill my high gravity grists.The first run through is +1 on opening to just crack the kernel and separate it from the husk.The second run through is -1 which pulverizes the grain into very fine bits.My efficiency has gone up 5 to 7% and no stuck mashes.