Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
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- Hillbilly Popstar
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Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
My old habit was to set my grain mull over my 30 gal mash tun, propped up on a couple 2x4s. It was messy because I always had to stuff the openings around the side with a few towels and I still had some fine powder escape.
It also constantly needed to be re-centered due to vibrations and what not...
So I came up with this little manifold.
It has handles so two people can easily move it around, a groove to perfectly set on top of the rim of the mash tun barrel, and I used a router with a flush trim bit to open er up perfectly under the mill bottom.
Simple, yet elegant.
It also constantly needed to be re-centered due to vibrations and what not...
So I came up with this little manifold.
It has handles so two people can easily move it around, a groove to perfectly set on top of the rim of the mash tun barrel, and I used a router with a flush trim bit to open er up perfectly under the mill bottom.
Simple, yet elegant.
"Making likker with a hydrometer and thermometer is like measuring the length of a 2x4 with a clock"
- Yummyrum
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
nice .
My recommended goto .
https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.ph ... ion_Theory
https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.ph ... ion_Theory
Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Nice setup I think you will be happy!
- Dancing4dan
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Nice!!
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- Twisted Brick
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Thoughtful solution, HbP. That corn grind has to translate into a high conversion rate.
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I wish it were higher than I have been achieving.Twisted Brick wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 4:43 pm Thoughtful solution, HbP. That corn grind has to translate into a high conversion rate.
Hitting between 1.065-1.07 with roughly 2.5 lbs/gal.
"Making likker with a hydrometer and thermometer is like measuring the length of a 2x4 with a clock"
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
It might be your corn instead of processes. Is it milled from cracked corn?Hillbilly Popstar wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:31 pmI wish it were higher than I have been achieving.Twisted Brick wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 4:43 pm Thoughtful solution, HbP. That corn grind has to translate into a high conversion rate.
Hitting between 1.065-1.07 with roughly 2.5 lbs/gal.
I switched to restaurant cornmeal (Restaurant Depot) some time ago and started getting 1.068-1.070 from 2.-2.25lbs lbs/gal. This on crappy metropolitan city chlorinated tap water. Previously, with milled feedstore cracked corn it was 1.062-1.065-ish. Typical mash regime: dough-in at 200F, add HT alpha at 185F, rest 150-180min. Add backset, gluco and malts at 151F; force chill with wort chiller and cold water. The taste seems cleaner and I love not having to mill my corn and just pouring it into the mash tun.
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- Truckinbutch
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I mill whole corn . It has a better shelf life than cracked corn .
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I just recently switched to whole corn.Truckinbutch wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:04 pm I mill whole corn . It has a better shelf life than cracked corn .
I figure it has to have a little more starch available since the cracked corn has a percentage of cob mixed in. Iunno...
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
It's hard to beat $9 for a 50lb sack of triple clean corn though.Twisted Brick wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 7:58 pmIt might be your corn instead of processes. Is it milled from cracked corn?Hillbilly Popstar wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:31 pmI wish it were higher than I have been achieving.Twisted Brick wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 4:43 pm Thoughtful solution, HbP. That corn grind has to translate into a high conversion rate.
Hitting between 1.065-1.07 with roughly 2.5 lbs/gal.
I switched to restaurant cornmeal (Restaurant Depot) some time ago and started getting 1.068-1.070 from 2.-2.25lbs lbs/gal. This on crappy metropolitan city chlorinated tap water. Previously, with milled feedstore cracked corn it was 1.062-1.065-ish. Typical mash regime: dough-in at 200F, add HT alpha at 185F, rest 150-180min. Add backset, gluco and malts at 151F; force chill with wort chiller and cold water. The taste seems cleaner and I love not having to mill my corn and just pouring it into the mash tun.
"Making likker with a hydrometer and thermometer is like measuring the length of a 2x4 with a clock"
- Deplorable
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Thats a good price. Wish it was that cheap here. Sounds like you're at a crossroads of higher price for higher OG, or the lower price, more work lower OG.
For me, the whole corn is almost $.50/ pound cheaper and close at hand. I'm okay with taking the time to mill it. I lose a little efficiency, but not enough to justify the $18.50+ extra I'd pay for every mash. My mashes are 25 gallons, it takes at least 3 to make enough product to fill a 5 gallon barrel. That's an extra $55 per barrel, or I can spend that added cost on the malts, and keep my final cost/bottle $1.50 lower. YMMV
For me, the whole corn is almost $.50/ pound cheaper and close at hand. I'm okay with taking the time to mill it. I lose a little efficiency, but not enough to justify the $18.50+ extra I'd pay for every mash. My mashes are 25 gallons, it takes at least 3 to make enough product to fill a 5 gallon barrel. That's an extra $55 per barrel, or I can spend that added cost on the malts, and keep my final cost/bottle $1.50 lower. YMMV
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I try not to think about it too much, cause if I do it probably wouldn't take much arm twisting to convince myself to just spend the extra money and go the lazy man's route.Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:54 am Thats a good price. Wish it was that cheap here. Sounds like you're at a crossroads of higher price for higher OG, or the lower price, more work lower OG.
For me, the whole corn is almost $.50/ pound cheaper and close at hand. I'm okay with taking the time to mill it. I lose a little efficiency, but not enough to justify the $18.50+ extra I'd pay for every mash. My mashes are 25 gallons, it takes at least 3 to make enough product to fill a 5 gallon barrel. That's an extra $55 per barrel, or I can spend that added cost on the malts, and keep my final cost/bottle $1.50 lower. YMMV
But the purist in me like doing things from scratch, plus I like that I can make high quality drink for pennies on the dollar. I think last time I worked the math I was around $7/qt for straight corn likker.
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I hope that cost is including your water, labor, and whatever energy source heats your boiler.
I dont factor the cost of water and energy or my time. Just grains and yeast. My straight corn whiskey cost me $7/gal @60% for grain and yeast.
If I were to factor in all the vodka I made from the years supply of discarded feints, I could lower my per gallon material cost considerably across all the booze I made last year.
I'm with you. I take some pride in the fact that I'm making good quality spirits for under $2 a fifth. Milling my own grains in a mill I brought back from the dead just adds to it.
I dont factor the cost of water and energy or my time. Just grains and yeast. My straight corn whiskey cost me $7/gal @60% for grain and yeast.
If I were to factor in all the vodka I made from the years supply of discarded feints, I could lower my per gallon material cost considerably across all the booze I made last year.
I'm with you. I take some pride in the fact that I'm making good quality spirits for under $2 a fifth. Milling my own grains in a mill I brought back from the dead just adds to it.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Yeah, that includes enzymes, adjuncts for nutes and pH, propane, grain and a rough estimate for water.Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:50 am I hope that cost is including your water, labor, and whatever energy source heats your boiler.
I dont factor the cost of water and energy or my time. Just grains and yeast. My straight corn whiskey cost me $7/gal @60% for grain and yeast.
If I were to factor in all the vodka I made from the years supply of discarded feints, I could lower my per gallon material cost considerably across all the booze I made last year.
I'm with you. I take some pride in the fact that I'm making good quality spirits for under $2 a fifth. Milling my own grains in a mill I brought back from the dead just adds to it.
"Making likker with a hydrometer and thermometer is like measuring the length of a 2x4 with a clock"
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Nice work man! I've got a wood CNC and that gives me some ideas!
Almost finished this grinder last winter but then it got put on hold. It's a cheap $25 amazon grinder that we have sunk in much more time and $$ than it's worth, but hey the material was all free and it was a fun project. We have legs out of square tubing cut, just needs welded on, and then probably replace the drill with a motor and variable power control.
Figure we can easily enough swap out the grinder if it fails on us, for another mere $25
Had a hard time finding a plastic tube in our scrap pile the width needed, so went with some steel, and then had to shorten it, so that one could pour into the hopper without a ladder.
Almost finished this grinder last winter but then it got put on hold. It's a cheap $25 amazon grinder that we have sunk in much more time and $$ than it's worth, but hey the material was all free and it was a fun project. We have legs out of square tubing cut, just needs welded on, and then probably replace the drill with a motor and variable power control.
Figure we can easily enough swap out the grinder if it fails on us, for another mere $25
Had a hard time finding a plastic tube in our scrap pile the width needed, so went with some steel, and then had to shorten it, so that one could pour into the hopper without a ladder.
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Awesome. Huge hopper for that 5 gallon bucket
:)
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I thought the same thing.
"Making likker with a hydrometer and thermometer is like measuring the length of a 2x4 with a clock"
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I never considered the cost of the enzymes in. I'd have to do the math on how far the liter bottles go.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
I want your scrap pile. That is very heavy duty. Remove the hopper and add a ramp and you could use it to lift cars to allow easier access.BlueSasquatch wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:15 am
Had a hard time finding a plastic tube in our scrap pile the width needed, so went with some steel, and then had to shorten it, so that one could pour into the hopper without a ladder.
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
i love the grain mill, nice job hillbilly
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Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
Thanks
"Making likker with a hydrometer and thermometer is like measuring the length of a 2x4 with a clock"
Re: Grain Mill Upgrade! My shine life is gettin easier.
That plastic conical would make a sweet fermenter if it hasn't had anything toxic in it.
:)