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Any Experience With Apollo Mills?

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  • Any Experience With Apollo Mills?

    I am thinking about getting an Apollo Econo Mill for a start-up microbrewery with a 7 bbl brewhouse. Anyone out there have experience with one of these mills?
    Sam Rose
    Production Manager
    Funky Buddha Brewery
    Oakland Park, FL
    sam@funkybuddhabrewery.com
    (954) 440 - 0046

  • #2
    Apollo Mills

    Sam, I have had 2 Apollos. Bombproof, reliable, simple 2-roller mill. Roller gap adjustments are somewhat difficult, and the OEM hopper is somewhat small. Great mill for the money.

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    • #3
      Second what BeerSmith wrote. Used our Apollo Econo Mill for four years and never once had a problem with it. Although I checked the gaps regularly, they never needed to be adjusted.
      Mike Hiller, Head Brewer
      Strangeways Brewing
      2277-A Dabney Road
      Richmond, VA 23230
      804-303-4336
      www.strangewaysbrewing.com

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      • #4
        I completely agree with the previous posts. Definitely fabricate an extension to the hopper if you decide to go in that direction.

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        • #5
          I'm going to cast a vote for the nay.

          I just find them difficult to adjust properly. They don't break, but a mill, IMHO, is just one of those pieces of equipment not to skimp on. You can probably find a used Roskamp or similar for the price of a new Apollo.

          And if you DO buy an Apollo, go for plain rollers...or very light grooving on one roller (improves feed a bit, but makes it even harder to adjust.

          Just my $0.02

          Nat

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          • #6
            I have a Apollo but respectively disagree abit. They are sturdy but i've been finding my rollers shift over time and the gap changes which causes a few issues not to mention much cursing and fist shaking on my part

            I've put a locking nut on the pressure bolt which does help but if anybody has any better ideas i'm all ears.

            I've heard good things about these guys and their mills.



            I'll be taking Apollo apart later to try and find a better gap which mills better than what it's set to now.

            Dave Woodward
            Tofino Brewing Co

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            • #7
              Oh I had a German Engel Mill at my previous position and loved how well it millled the malt! My favorite part is how it had (Achtung!) written right on the front.

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              • #8
                Apollo Mill

                We have one, I cut the nose off and redesigned because we couldn't keep the gap consistent. The new design gives more flexibility with adjustment and really locks it in place. We found the problem with the rollers moving and welded the frame to the axles blocks. The bolts used are narrower than the axle blocks holes thus they move no matter how tight you make it. We also added a hopper extension to load larger quantities. With these changes it works but I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out the movement in the rollers, not that big a deal if you don't care about alcohol content in the beer, a very big deal when you have to brew to a 4% abv per state regulations.

                If I had to do it over again and had the money (key have the money) I wouldn't purchase one of these. If you are tight on cash they work you just have to modify and watch the gap. The modifications are pretty inexpensive however.
                Trent
                Shades of Pale
                Park City UT

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                • #9
                  Would you be so kind to e-mail me a pic of this modification? I'm wanting to find a way to get consistency out of our setup. If I could get the husk and coarse bits down to a reasonable level i'll be a much happy Brewer!

                  dwoodward@tofinobrewingco.com

                  Dave,

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                  • #10
                    Apollo Mods

                    Attached are the mods for others that are interested.
                    Attached Files
                    Trent
                    Shades of Pale
                    Park City UT

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                    • #11
                      I'm digging up this old thread in the hopes one of you folks using an Apollo could explain how the hell the adjustment bolts work. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to what the smaller left and right bolts do, I get that the large one just tightens the entire gap, but the left to right gap is really goofy to try to get even. This sucker does walk open pretty easily, usually I need to tighten it back down after three batches or so.
                      Colin
                      Seventh Son Brewing Co.
                      Cols, OH

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                      • #12
                        Shoot me your email and I can send you the diagram from Apollo. Or just email them and they will send it to you. That being said its not quite as simple as they lay it out. The two smaller bolts adjust the roller on that side. Clockwise widens the gap and counter loosens it. The big middle bolt is just supposed to adjust the tension on the rollers but as Im sure youve found out it adjusts the gap as well. Also it seems on mine that with too little tension on the middle bolt the side adjustments dont work well. You can use the side bolts to get it where you want and leave the feeler gauges in between the rollers (helps to have 2 sets) unless you happen to have something else the right size to put in there. Then you can tighten down the middle bolt and not lose your adjustment. You should probably set it just a bit looser than you want because it will close the gap a tad when you tighten it. They are tough mills but just too much pita to adjust if you are serious about optimizing crush. Im not an expert on this mill by any means so maybe someone else has a better method. After screwing around with it a bit I can see the merit in the mods shown above. And the little hopper is nearly worthless so get a bigger one fabricated.

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                        • #13
                          Once you understand the way to setup the gap it's bombproof.

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