Mill gap setting?

radagast · June 4, 2018, 9:58pm

So, after getting extremely frustrated enough with my Captain Crush after 3 years, I broke down and purchased a Monster Mill MM3. I am going to borrow a set of feeler gauges from work tomorrow to set my gap before my first attempt to use it this weekend. YouTube setup guide recommends 40/1000’s gap for initial setting. On the Captain Crush I never measured but set at the indicators of 3 on top and 2 on bottom and was getting right around 75% efficiency. What does everyone set their gaps at so I can determine where to start?

Rad

porkchop · June 4, 2018, 10:20pm

I have a MM3, and have it set to 0.032”. Mash tun with bazooka tube, no issues.

brew_cat · June 4, 2018, 10:58pm

I always crushed at .030 with m cereal killer using my tun never a problem. .025 for biab. .040 seems awfully wide. Who recommended that gap

loopie_beer · June 4, 2018, 11:14pm

I have a JSP and have my gap set at .032 as well. I use a traditional MT with falsebottom.

Grantmesteven · June 5, 2018, 2:24am

I have the same mill. Doesn’t seem to like the smaller gap. Last weekend I did three beers set at .035 and got 77-81% efficiency using biab. Tried setting it at .030 but couldn’t get it to grab my grain and crush it. Hope this helps

porkchop · June 5, 2018, 2:29am

How long have you had that issue? I’ve had mine for several years, and I’ve recently had feeding issues. I think it’s because I had dust build-up on the top non-driven roller, and as soon as I cleaned it off really well it has worked flawlessly since.

Grantmesteven · June 5, 2018, 2:52am

This was my first time using it. I may have had the bolts a little misaligned. It chews up the grain really well now, I was going to try adjusting to .030 again with my next batch this weekend. When I first loaded it, it didn’t want to budge and the drill would bind up and force up against my hand with a lot of force. I than began feeding it while running and it worked for a little while but what’s the point of doing that? It nearly takes both my hands just to control the drill with this beast mill. It’s well built.

brew_cat · June 5, 2018, 9:49am

I guess it’s different since it’s basically milling twice so it’s crushing finer even at .035 I guess. Looks to be a bit overkill

radagast · June 5, 2018, 12:50pm

I watched a youtube video on how to set it up and they said they set it at .040. Before I posted this, that’s the only thing I had to go on. Thanks for the tips! I was thinking from previous threads on here it might be too large as well. I’ll give .032 a shot and see how it works.

Rad

radagast · June 10, 2018, 7:58pm

Got my new MM3 in the mail this week and got to use it for the first time today. Set the gap at .032 and got 80% efficiency pre-boil. Man! I should have given up on Captain Crush years ago!! This thing is a dream and works perfectly! I started the drill and initially it wasn’t grabbing, reversed it, then tried again. Plowed through a 15 lb grain bill in under 3 minutes.

Rad

radagast · June 29, 2018, 12:43pm

Bit of an update to this thread. Have to give major props to NB’s customer service team. Posted a review on our host’s site of the Captain Crush saying I was done with it. I had an email from customer service within a week asking what they could do to help and asking for details on issues I was experiencing. I explained the situation and that I had already replaced the mill. They then sent me a UPS tag for a return and gave me store credit for the full purchase value of a 4 year old mill!! If that’s not customer service bending all the way over backwards I don’t know what is.

Rad

uncdeo · June 29, 2018, 3:40pm

Were ankles grabbed?