Auger angle?

[CharlosCarlies]

We're just about to get started installing our auger and was wondering how much the angle affects the operation. From what I understand, flatter is generally better, but is there a maximum angle you guys would avoid? The out on the bottom of the mill seems to be angled at ~45 degrees, and it would make our life a lot easier to just keep it that way.

Any noticeable effect on crush quality? Are we ok just sticking w/ 45 degrees?

Thanks and cheers!

[lhall]

It depends on the style of auger. I wouldn't go more than 45 degrees, you'll be beating up the grist too much.

[CharlosCarlies]

It depends on the style of auger. I wouldn't go more than 45 degrees, you'll be beating up the grist too much.

Thanks Linus!

[Elevation_Beer]

We recently installed 3" flex auger from our silo to mill. Due to some location constraints we had to install the auger at a fairly high angle. The manufacturer, Chore-Time, says not to exceed 60 degrees. We installed the auger at 60 degrees from the silo and have not had any issues. I think beating up the malt is less of a concern pre mill. The angle of our auger out of the grist hopper is 45 degrees. For us, this has worked out so far!

Christian

[TGTimm]

We use 3" Flex-auger to feed our mill from two sources. Due to space constraints, we also go to around 60 deg. on some stretches. The manufacturer (Chore-Time, IIRC) recommended this as a maximum. We do seem to produce a lot of dust in the mill room, but how much of this is from the auger and how much from the mill is difficult to determine.

It makes sense that the lower the angle on an open-center auger, the less the grain gets rolled back through the center and the less it gets abraded. How much this really matters in terms of brewing I don't know.

The really confusing part of the installation instructions for the Flex-auger is the bit where they suggest avoiding "left-handed turns". Left handed from where?

In our experience, the main problem encountered with the open-center auger is overloading. If that open center gets filled with grain, everything stops and it's time to pull that huge spring out of the tube--don't do this.

[CharlosCarlies]

Thanks a lot guys, you've definitely alleviated most of my concerns! We're just barely over 45, it's pretty much a straight shot, and we're only augering about 15 feet so I'm thinking we'll be fine.

Hope yall are enjoying the holidays!