Tell me about your Rig

[Scottie]

Hey Folks

I recently posted on how long it takes me to setup for a brew day, one of the major constraints is manually operating my grain mill. For my next English Bitter brew I am looking to double the grain bill and reduce the extract content. This will more than double my prep time so I am eyeing of a worm drive like this one.

I am interested in what others are using to drive their grain mill, I have seen the videos of setups by BillK (Amber Fluid) and Qld Kev and a few others on Youtube. Just curious to what the Coopers Bretheren are using.

[Canadian Eh!L]

Hey Scottie,

 

I also discarded the hand crank for something better. I didn't get too fancy, though. I use an 18v dewalt cordless drill. Set on high speen it ginds 5Kg in a couple of minutes.

[PhilboBaggins]

Low speed, high torque drill. Ozito.

 

Works a treat.[biggrin]

[Otto Von Blotto]

I use good old fashioned man power. [lol]

 

I have thought about attaching a drill to it but I've also found if I start heating the strike water in the urn at around the same time I begin milling, I've finished milling the ~5kg grain before the strike water is even at temperature, so time isn't a problem. I do set aside full days for brewing though.

 

It is probably my least favourite part of a brew day apart from cleaning everything, so maybe I'll eventually find some way to power it other than myself. [lol]

[Canadian Eh!L]

Hey Otto,

 

Those times of grace that we have with our hobby (waiting for mashing, boiling, sparging, etc, etc) should be used wisely around the brewery or the house and yard (ie mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, splitting firewood, hanging laundry, making your next yeast starter, transfering a brew to secondary or to keg or to bottle, running to the grocery store for SWMBO, running to the LHBS for the ingredient the you forgot you didn't have in stock in the brewery, running to the bottle shop becauce you've only 19 bottle homebrew left, etc, etc)[innocent] [biggrin].

[Scottie]

Hey Otto,

 

Those times of grace that we have with our hobby (waiting for mashing, boiling, sparging, etc, etc) should be used wisely around the brewery or the house and yard (ie mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, splitting firewood, hanging laundry, making your next yeast starter, transfering a brew to secondary or to keg or to bottle, running to the grocery store for SWMBO, running to the LHBS for the ingredient the you forgot you didn't have in stock in the brewery, running to the bottle shop becauce you've only 19 bottle homebrew left, etc, etc)[innocent] [biggrin].

 

[lol] [biggrin] [happy]

[Otto Von Blotto]

[lol]

 

I usually use the mash time to clean the mill and anything else I won't be needing again over the course of the brew day. I might mow the lawn again if we ever get any more rain to make it actually grow. Sometimes I've used this time to clean bottles if necessary, but since there's not much else to do, the waiting around is usually accompanied by a beer and if I have someone around, a chat. [cool]