Monster Mill struggle to operate

brentconn · February 27, 2018, 6:22pm

I’ve had my monster Mill for about 2 years now. I’ve never had any problems with it and it’s always worked perfectly. Last night I needed 21 pounds of grain milled. I do the same thing I always do which is fill up the hopper (about 10 lbs) and Let er Rip. When I did the last 5 lb it seemed to just start free spinning and no grain was coming out. I took the hopper assembly off and noticed the bottom roller was not moving. With a lot of force it broke free and there was grain that came out. This happened several times so I am perplexed. I finally got the grain milled butt I’m wondering what is causing this. Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks,

Brent

voltron · February 27, 2018, 8:49pm

It seems homebrew mills (especially three roller) tend to suffer from this as bushings wear. The first step is to make sure your end plates are perfect square and the rollers spin free, then add a few drops of mineral oil to the bushings.

Occasionally grain will also get stuck between the rollers and end plates. This is where going in reverse helps clear the jam.

sneezles61 · February 27, 2018, 10:27pm

Gee whiz Volty, he’ll un mill his barley… Sneezles61

WMNoob · February 27, 2018, 10:57pm

I wonder if a small pebble could cause this issue as well? Anybody here experience that?

uncdeo · February 28, 2018, 12:26am

Anybody have theirs in reverse for a few seconds accidentally while milling

brentconn · February 28, 2018, 12:41am

I checked the gap of the roller end to end and found no issues. I also used high pressure air to blow the rollers and found no issues. I have never oiled the bearings. Where exactly should I apply the oil? I don’t want to get any on the rollers.

Brent

hd4mark · February 28, 2018, 2:01pm

Not sure where the bushing are on your mill but the roller shafts and bushings on my JSP are through the end plates so I just turn it on end and put a few drops of 3in1 on them, give it a spin and wipe off any excess. It can be disassembled if necessary.

I have had pebbles stop the mill a few times. The grinding noise from the expensive mill is a little unnerving. Running it backwards also causes a not good noise but neither has cause any damage I can see. I use a 1//2" electric drill on the shaft BTW.