Lee Household Flour Mill - my Review / Evaluation
LEE HOUSEHOLD FLOUR MILL
I'm in love with Lee...
The Lee Household Flour Mill is an electric grain mill manufactured by EM Lee Engineering. Purchased new, models start at $556. However, used mills are available at times on eBay at significantly reduced prices. I purchased a model S-600 on eBay several months ago and have been exploring the mill's capabilities since then.
Choice of Four Models
MODEL | MOTOR SIZE | OUTPUT PER HOUR | Operating Voltage
| |
FINE FLOUR | COARSE MEAL | |||
| 500 | 1/6 H.P. | 3 to 5 LBS. | Not Adjustable | |
| 600 | 1/6 H.P. | 3 to 5 LBS. | 20 to 25 LBS. | |
| S-500 | 1/4 H.P. | 6 to 10 LBS. | Not Adjustable | |
| S-600 | 1/4 H.P. | 6 to 10 LBS. | 40 to 45 LBS. | |
The S-600 model I purchased is this company's top of the line flour mill. It is a one-pass variable grind electric mill that uses a unique design for milling grain. It is adjustable from a coarse mill to a very fine flour. To-date, I have used it primarily to mill fine flour from hard spring wheat for bread and soft wheat flour for pasta and cookies. I have also milled a very coarse corn grits (from popcorn).
I have been extremely impressed with the fine flour this mill can produce. The flour I mill from hard spring wheat (red or white) is virtually indistinguishable in feel from a standard, commercial bread or all-purpose flour yet it is entirely 100% whole wheat. I also own a Nutrimill (micronizer) grain mill and I feel that the Lee Household Flour Mill produces a better fine flour.
This mill does have limitations. Like a micronizer mill, it is not capable of remilling flour. It cannot mill bean flour or small size grain such as millet or amarinth. It is difficult to clean. The units that become available on eBay may be missing some parts (most usually the flour receptacle bag and the lid for the grain hopper).
On eBay, I paid $125 (plus $15 shipping) for a working stone-based mill that can mill fine to coarse flour for most of the grains that home-millers use (wheat, rye, spelt, corn). Given the price, I'm willing to live with this mill's limitations, though I would be the first to admit that this mill is definitely not for everyone.
If anyone wants additional information on this mill, please post back to this thread or PM me (I have done extensive searches and have collected most of the information available on the 'net relating to this mill). I would be delighted to exchange information with you on this mill.
===== Selected Internet Resources about the Lee Household Flour Mill ==========
freerangegourmet.com/Docs/LeeFlourMill - the primary source for documents (user manual and other documents) on the Lee Household Flour Mill. All documents are in Adobe Acrobat's pdf format and can be downloaded to your computer.
www.eminstrumentswi.com/lee.html - information on models from the original manufacturing company, Lee Engineering.
Please tell me the other (8) grain mills you've tried. I would be interested in your evaluation of the Lee Household Flour Mill vs these other grain mills.
It would be helpful to know what grain(s) you routinely mill for bread baking and the quantity you mill at a time for each mill.
Thank you - SF
======= PS ========
I sent you a PM to THANK YOU for your initiative in contacting the manufacturer of the Lee Household Flour Mill. I eMailed the manufacturer inquiring about replacement parts (specifically the cloth grain mill receptacle bag, which is the only part that was missing from the model S-600 that I purchased)
I have been corresponding with Tom Thresher of EM Lee Engineering, the company that makes the Lee Household Flour Mill. He provided a current price list for this mill, which I am passing along to interested millers.
1/6 HP motor (slower output)
1/4 HP motor (faster output)
1/6 HP motor (slower output)
1/4 HP motor (faster output)
=== COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION ===
Tom Thresher
electro_mechano@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 1 414 247 1127
3712 W. Elm St., Milwaukee, WI 53209
=== EM Lee Engineering Company site ===
www.eminstrumentswi.com/lee.html
Congratulations on your purchase. You won't be sorry! I bought one when my son was born, so he'd be raised on healthy bread. The mill came with a one-year warranty. That was 35 years ago, and it’s still going strong, and has never needed a repair.
My only advice is to put a note on top that says, "Don't Forget Bag." Once or twice I forgot to put the bag on, and I came back to find the entire room coated with flour!! You do NOT want to go through that!
I'm delighted to hear from another owner of this mill.
Can you tell me whether you clean the mill after using it? The manual recommends it , but do you find it to be necessary?
Aslo, if you do disassemble it for cleaning, do you find it difficult to reinsert the carborundum milling ring? That's the only thing that gives me trouble.
Looking forward to hearing from you. - SF
Hi, SF,
Yes, I do clean my mill after every use. Otherwise, I'd be afraid of attracting grain moths (or worse), or that flour left inside could go rancid. But I'm lazy, so I mill a month's worth of flour at a time, clean the mill, bake two weeks' worth of bread right away, and keep the remainder of the flour at room temperature. That's based on Reinhart's recommendation:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4276/interview-peter-reinhart#comment-21990
Yes, even after all these years, I still hold my breath when replacing the stone. Because it's such a tight fit, it must go in at exactly the right angle. Just lightly set the stone over the circular hole, and wiggle it slightly until it falls in by itself. If it gets stuck, tap lightly it with something soft. I use a meat mallet wrapped in a folded kitchen towel, tapping clockwise around the stone. Again, the key word is lightly. It may take 20-30 taps, but then magically it will fall in.
A couple other hints. After I clean it, I store the cloth bag in the fridge (inside a plastic bag). That way, any flour remaining in the bag doesn't go rancid. Also, it needs washing very rarely that way. Because that leaves the chute at the bottom uncovered, I rubber-band a baggie around the open end, so no grain moths can enter the chute.
When I read about other mills, I sometimes wonder if mine is worth the trouble. But the flour is so beautifully fine that I soon get over it.
Great info- very helpful - thanks for taking the time to reply.
Your experience replacing the carborundum ring is exactly like mine. Because of this, I too find myself milling more than I need for one baking. I agree with you that this is the one major drawback of the Lee grain mill.
Have you ever thought of making your own bag(s) for this mill? I purchased a new flour bag from EM Lee Engineering, and now that I see how it is constructed (and, more importantly, the fabric used) I'm going through my fabric stash to see if I could duplicate it. Most important, I would think, is to make sure the inside of the bag is a little fuzzy in order to catch the flour dust that's generated. I'm contemplating trying to use 100% narrow wale corduroy *inside out* but am not sure it would be fuzzy enough. Any thoughts?
I just got my mill yesterday. Fortunately I've had a pleasant experience cleaning it. Portable electric powered Air Compressor w/ Air Gun attachment for the win! ($30-40 from Amazon). (I use this compressor to clean out dust from my computer among other things--handy little device).
Of course I do dust out this flour mill outside with this air compressor as to not blow dust everywhere inside. I can say my front door now has a light coat of dust on it though lol.
I don't bother taking out the stone as the air compressor gets inbetween.
Do you know if there are any advantages to a carborundum stone vs a ceramic corundum stone?
Is this mill available with steel plates instead?
LEE HOUSEHOLD FLOUR MILL - ORDERING REPLACEMENT PARTS
People who acquire a used Lee Household Flour Mill may find that some parts are missing - often the flour receptacle bag is not included and sometimes the grain hopper (or the grain hopper lid) is missing also.
Tom Thresher of EM Lee Engineering (the company that makes the Lee Household Flour Mill) sent me a replacement parts price list. Every possible part can be purchased from the company (you could actually repair a non-working unit if you know what you're doing). I'm not that mechanical, so I am giving a (very) abbreviated version of the complete list.
LEE HOUSEHOLD FLOUR MILL - COST OF SELECTED REPLACEMENT PARTS
Price List Effective As Of Aug 2009
The cloth bag has a fuzzy interior which captures the flour dust created during milling yet the weave allows excess air to escape. Definitely accept no substitutes!
Hopper Lid: $6
Sometimes just the lid is missing. If you have the hopper but not the lid, try substituting a shower cap.
==== COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION ====
Tom Thresher
electro_mechano@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 1 414 247 1127
3712 W. Elm St., Milwaukee, WI 53209
Hey thanks for this info. I'll be ordering a new hopper and lid as the one I have smells of mildew (50-60 years old will do that I guess -- being stored for many years in humid garage).
In my continuing quest for any and all information on this mill, I have found the original patent, which was filed June 1949 with the U.S. Patent Office. The patent filing is available (for free) on the 'net (instructions how to get it will follow).
I am utterly fascinated by the design of this mill - in contrast to every (non-micronizer) type mill currently on the market for the home user, it does *not* use a fixed groved plate and a rotating groved plate to mill grain. Instead, the milling chamber has a stationary stone ring; grain is dashed against this ring by a rapidly rotating impeller (think incredibly powerful fan) located in the center of the milling chamber. This method of milling grain was part of the original design, as this quote from the patent filing shows:
Aside from morbid curiosity, the patent document may be of use to those who wish to repair a Lee Household Mill. To find the patent on-line, enter this link in your browser
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2627376.html
Scroll down in the page to find the link that says Download PDF 2627376 and click on it.
This is an Adobe Acrobat reader file (pdf file). Your browser should have a plugin to open this kind of file (using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader or other pdf readers). You can save this file to your computer.
The direct link to the pdf file is http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2627376.pdf
I have a S-600 Lee Household Flour Mill that my father purchased many years ago. The mills runs great but the stainless cutters that turn inside the grinding stone have some damage. I would like to purchase a replacement part and a user's manual. Thank you.
Contact the manufacturer directly. They will have this part for your model S-600.
Contact information has been given repeatedly in this thread. For your convenience, I repeat it (yet again)
==== COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION ====
Tom Thresher
electro_mechano@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 1 414 247 1127
3712 W. Elm St., Milwaukee, WI 53209
While I am confident you can obtain the part, the actual repair will (probably) be up to you. When you contact the company, ask if they include instructions as to how to make the replacement. Also ask if you will need special tools.
They may also be able to send you a user manual. If they cannot, please contact me directly (either as a reply to this thread or as a personal message) and I will email you the documentation I have.
My significant other's mother sent us an EM Lee Engineering S-6 Flour Mill--made before the S-600. It's about 50-60 years old she says, and looks like your S-600 but painted a metallic green instead of white. I believe it is probably identical to the S-600 and it also has the course and fine settings.
Today was the first day I have ever made bread from freshly ground whole wheat flour. I ground it up on the finest setting. And WOW, was I surprised how the dinner rolls turned out. They rose every bit as high as rolls made with white flour. I guess this is because the bran is ground up so finely it doesn't cut the gluten when rising (or something). Or perhaps the yeast loved the nutrient rich freshly ground flour? I am not quite sure but it was very healthy, tasty--sweet & nutty without any bitterness--& 20% fiber which is good for a diabetic like myself (versus the 5% or so fiber in white flour).
I am now convinced I can use this flour in place of white flour for everything! I always had problems with whole wheat flour I bought from the store in the past--bread would just not rise high enough, always having to substitute 50% or so with white flour.
My brother and his family loved these 100% whole wheat rolls. They are very picky eaters and several of them (large family) have never really liked whole wheat bread--but they loved these made with freshly ground whole wheat.
Freshly & finely ground whole wheat flour is a godsend!
Additionally, today I made some pancakes with this flour as well and they were noticably more delicious than ones made with bagged flour.
I just snapped a couple pictures for you all of this vintage S-6. The first pic shows the entire mill with the flour collection sack I made for it (using flour sack cloth)--didn't cost me anything to make as I had thread, elastic and a spare chef towel laying around.
The second picture is a closeup showing the S-6 model number on this unit.
Enjoy.
Your mill looks great, glad to see you have it working well.
you're so lucky to inherit it from family. I love the fine flour it can produce. I am sure you will get a lot of use from it.
One small suggestion on settings (based on my experience with my S-600) is to move the adjusting lever slightly towards the "C" (coarse setting) rather than positioning it all the way to the "F" (fine) setting. For example, when milling hard wheat (hard spring or hard winter wheat) I postion the lever about 1/4" from the "F" setting. This puts slightly less stress on the motor and I find the flour to be just as fine as when the adjusting lever is fully on "F".
Try experimenting with the settings. For most baking you'll want a fine flour, but this doesn't mean that the lever has to be fully at "F". For example, rye or spelt is slightly softer than hard wheat, which is why, for rye, I position the lever about 1/3" from the "F" setting (and still get an extremely fine flour).
Your bread looks lovely. Enjoy using your mill. It's always great to hear from other owners.
..with the freshly ground flour produced by this Lee Flour Mill. (Ingredients: only 100% whole wheat--whole kernels with hull/bran--flour produced by this mill, salt & water, sourdough culture.) 20% of the total carbohydrates is fiber, yay! This loaf tastes great!
The Lee Household Flour Mill requires cleaning after every use. Whether you're milling a small amount or the maximum amount of grain that will fit in the grain hopper, a significant amount of flour is always trapped inside the milling chamber.
If you don't clean the mill, the trapped flour can become rancid and contaminate your next batch or it might attract grain moths and other vermin. If you have the adjustable version, flour buildup can make the adjustment lever difficult (or impossible) to move.
The metal components you remove to access the milling chamber can be wiped off with a dry (or slightly damp) cloth. Never get any water on the inside of the grinding chamber. Never get any water on the milling ring.
Getting OrganizedYou'll need a small brush (or you could use a hand-held vacuum cleaner or an air compressor). I like to put a cookie sheet under the mill to hold the components as they're removed. If you want to save the flour as you brush it out, put a bowl with a fine mesh kitchen sieve on top under the flour outlet. Most of the flour you'll brush out is fine enough to be used for baking but there will be a small amount of cracked or whole kernels that you'll want to discard.
Step 1: Remove the Front Cover and PlateUnscrew the front screws and remove the front cover and plate. This exposes the milling ring. As you can see, there's a fair amount of flour on the milling ring as well as on the inside of the front cover. Brush it out and then gently remove the milling ring.
Remove the milling ring. In the adjustable models (600 & S600), there is an inner ring behind the milling ring. Remove it also. Flour residue builds up at the rear of the milling chamber. For adjustable models, wiggle the adjustment lever back and forth to make sure it moves easily.
Now that all the components have been removed and the milling chamber has been cleaned, put the mill on it's side and brush out the flour outlet. Because the milling process releases moisture from the grain, the flour here has a slight tendency to cake, making it a little harder to remove.
This photo was the best one I had to show the location of the outlet. You must have removed the milling ring before this step.
Make sure that all parts are thoroughly dry before reassembling. The most difficult part will be reinserting the milling ring. Other posters to this thread have already dealt with this, so I'll simply link to their excellent instructions.
This is a great thread on the Lee grain mills.. I bought a used one that will arrive today sometime. I cannot wait till I can see how well this mill works... It sounds like it does an exceptional job within it's limits.
I contacted the manufacturer via email today(8/14/13), within minutes they sent me their current website address. So they're not sleeping on their end.. a good sign of the quality of company. There you will find everything about these mills.. parts list/ prices, new units, schematics etc... It is good to know that, even if you buy a used unit, that needs a little TLC - you can replace what is needed to keep these mills running another generation or two!
http://www.electro-mechano.com/products.html
This comment was originally posted in a different part of the forum and by request was added to this section about Lee Mills... ( I've added a few more comments to this as well)
New Owner - 38 year old mill. Well ok.. the owner is older than the mill.
I am new at milling my own flour. What turned the tide for me is making whole wheat tortillas with stale flour.. YUCK! After reading that whole wheat is not really the whole wheat, I said that just from a nutritional reason, I want to start grinding my own.
I bought this unit used and got it only yesterday. It needed a good cleaning because it has sat unused, since 1987. I'm an aircraft mechanic and recognize high quality materials and engineering. These mills are amazing how robust they are made. It cleaned up looking just like new because it is either made out of heavy aluminum castings, or stainless steel parts.(mostly not all). You would never guess it is this old. There was a time in this country when things were made to be maintained.These are fine examples.Not engineered in a way that made replacement cheaper than repair or designed to become obsolete. This mill's design has withstood the test of time in both function and longevity. A quality seen only in industrial quality equipment today. Parts are VERY expensive because they are so well made.
I want to do a video on how it operates or at least take quality photos to better show what I'm talking about. This mill, uses a very high speed centrifugal action to press the incoming grain against the stationary carborundum stone. It is a man made stone from silicon carbide which can only be cut with diamond hard tools. Very hard surface. The company says they will last the life of the unit and not wear out. (if you don't drop it) New stones are about $175.
The centrifugal action of the grain propeller also creates a vacuum that pulls lots of air through the grinding chamber and keeps the chamber cool. (The temp of the flour was 90 degrees when finished and room temperature was near 80.) This high volume of air keeps surfaces cool and blows the grain (flour) into the exit chute through an adjustable ring that meters from very fine to coarse.
Another interesting topic is how the feed system works. That spinning plate (propeller) that pushes the grain around and against the stone, self adjusts the size of the feed opening out of the hopper. When the chamber is full of grain, the weight of the grain, puts more load on the motor, slowing the motor and plate down... as it grinds, the weight decreases and the speed of the motor increases, opening the passage to allow more grain to enter. The system does not exceed the limits of the stone or motor. It makes for a very consistent feed and flour consistency. The down side of this system is that small grain is metered at a different rate than larger grain. In other words, it lets too much of the small stuff in and it strains the motor and limits of what the stone can grind. I read somewhere that you can mix large and small grain but have not tried it and do not see this in the literature that came with the mill. It makes sense if you have a higher proportion of large grain than small.
The motor does have a thermal cut off switch that will prevent the motor from getting too hot, which will, eventually, ruin the motor if you do over load the system. If it does ever turn itself off, it is a warning to the user that you have either used too small, too oily or wet of grain. It can also be caused by the collection sack overfilling (2/3 or more full). It will not ruin it the first time, but the damage will accumulate till there is a failure. Motors are about $400 if I remember correctly.
These units were designed during or just after WWII. The manual states "These mill are powered with Lee Universal Motors, which were destined for aircraft use during the war" As a result their output is maximum for the minimum amount of weight. Actually the horsepower output is about four times that of other motors of equivalent dimensions."
I did not have the size set to the finest setting and did not think it would make much difference (one or two "clicks" from the finest setting". When cleaning the mill, I noticed that it would have been significantly finer if it was set to it's finest setting. The company also makes milling machines for the tool and die industry. The Lee mills are build and engineered with this same precision.
Cleaning is not that bad but it requires the disassembly of four parts. Mine came with a bottle brush so I could clean the chute and other places with a single pass. I want to get a small, long bristle paint brush to get into some of the other areas...
I may add more as I discover more about this mill...This mill was sold about 1975 but the literature looks to be from the 1940s or 50s. Replacement stones were $7.85... Oh have times changed.....
I'm going to make bread tomorrow... It was tortillas last night for something quick to make and they were very tasty!
I think I've found a new love! :)
Happy baking everyone!
You will love the Lee, and the S600 is a great model. I would set it to one notch to the left of fine, and run some wheat berries through it and see how you like. I love the engineering of the Lee. One thing, it is designed to adjust the feed automatically for wheat berries. If you try something, like rice, it will not feed properly and so you can only put in a small amount at a time, once it is finished add some more. Other than that, it is a great mill.
Ray, sorry, I don't have a #100 sieve, so I don't know. I can tell you that the Lee can make very fine flour. So far I have owned a few Lee's, a Komo, and an All Grain Mill, and when set to a fine setting, the Lee makes the finest flour, though it takes longer than my other mills. Lee's regularly show up on ebay - usually missing the hopper and the collector bag. I have not tried to mill anything other than wheat berries, so I can't help on the corn or soybeans question.
Ada, I bought brushes from ebay that were 5/16" x 5/8" x 1 1/4 long. They fit an S6 which is an earlier version. I suggest you measure yours to be sure of the size . I think these are the ones I bought - http://www.ebay.com/itm/21-32-x-5-16-x-5-8-Replacement-Electric-Carbon-Brush-2-Pcs-/230913558169?hash=item35c3854699 , though he now lists length first. It turned out that the motor was burned out, so I never found out how well the brushes worked out.
Ada, they sit in a brass holder, you only need the width and the height right, the length can vary. If it is too long, you can always cut it down to size.
They are re-releasing this:
http://www.organicsbylee.com/LeeHouseholdFlourMill
Maybe the manufacturer can help you. The SKU for the replacement cleaning brush is M150701043
Nick, thanks for the link. It looks like the new model had some improvements. I like the idea of a smaller footprint, that was one downside of the older models. I like the idea of a flour bowl, though when you read the manual, you see that it uses a cover while running, I made something similar for my older model, I didn't like trying to get all the flour out of the collection bag. Also the on off switch is a nice upgrade. I think the price point may make it a tough sell. At that price, it is quite a bit more than the Komo, and it may be tough to convince many to choose the Lee, especially since the warranty is only one year. It will also be interesting to see what impact this had on the price of older Lee's
Could those of you who successfully created your own bag or bin post details on the design -- shape, size, material (store/brand to buy)? A couple posters even wrote that they use bins/bowls -- these designs would also be of interest.
I did try the harbor freight vacuum bags mentioned earlier but the mill shut off quicky with a bit of smoke. I'm not sure if it was due to the bag or another reason (I had not cleaned the inside of the mill at the time) but I'm a bit wary of the vac bag now.
TIA
Tia, the Harbor Freight bag worked fine on mine, I am not sure what is going on with your machine- the only weak part of the mill is that it is a universal motor, rather than an induction motor, so brushes can wear out, or it can overheat and hurt the motor.
Now I use the bags to feed into a pitcher. First, I built a little stand to elevate the mixer, then cut the bottom off the harbor freight bag so that it is a tube, then made a circular piece of wood so that it would fit inside the harbor freight bag, and form a friction fit with the inside of the plastic pitcher that I use for collection. Another method would be to use a rubber band to wrap the other end of the bag onto a container .
Thanks a bunch for responding and for the pictures. I never expected a response about the harborfreight bags since that original post was from so long ago! Since you are here, some more details on my attempt and questions--
When I got the used mill, I didn't clean it and decided to test it as-is with the HF-vac-bag with the lever at F setting. After 2-seconds the motor quit, some smoke appeared from the back, and I pulled out the plug. The motor would not work when I plugged back.
The next day I opened the front (plate, stone, ring) and cleaned them all. There was some old stuck flour (not large quantities but some) in crevices and on these parts. After this, I operated the mill in my yard WITHOUT any flour collection bag and let it empty into a large stockpot. I only ground about a cup of wheat but the motor ran strong/well.
After seeing your post, I'm again tempted to give the HF-bags a try. In your setup I see you've got the HF-bag behaving like a chute into the picther. I assume you've sealed the vacbag-pitcher connection to avoid flying flour, right? So you would rely on the sides of the vac-bag to provide the air-escape route. Makes sense and I might try this.
I've attached (see bottom of message) a picture of the vac bag i picked up at harbor freight. It looks a bit different from yours in that it isn't as "fluffy". Hope that's only because you've been washing yours or something and not because they changed the material.
A few questions:
Do you grind at the F setting? (I bought this mill specifically to get the finest flour possible, so that's what I would like to do)
How much flour (and at what setting) are you able to grind in one continuous session with the setup in your picture?
Finally, everybody recommends cleaning the mill after every session -- is it really every session regardless of amount ground? For example, I only ground 1-cup yester
day. Is it really essential to clean before running it again?
Thanks for the patience. After the poor start, i've decided to move forward in incremental steps with this beautiful (got to say, the hunk of metal is pretty appealing) mill.
Tia, you have the newer model ( they changed from grey to white ) so hopefully it isn't the motor. I know the earlier models had a sensor in the motor that caused it to shut off if it overheated, I assume the new ones do as well. That would explain why it would not restart when you plugged it back in.
Yes, you are using the same HF bag as I am. I actually have a few of the stock Lee bags, but don't use them, because i find it difficult to empty them. I have not washed the HF bag, and that one has been in use for a few years.
Correct, I use the sides of the HF bag to vent air, and the flour goes into a gallon pitcher. You can tell when the grinding is done because the speed of the motor gets faster, so it sounds at a higher pitch, and the bag puffs up in the middle.
I do seal the bag to the pitcher - I use the small wooden circle you see in the bottom right of the first photo - I wrap the HF bag around it , then force fit it into the pitcher and it seals tightly. You can always just use a rubber band to seal it to the outside of the pitcher, though when you take off the rubber band, you will find that flour has collected around the outside of the pitcher, that is why I went with the inner ring method. Using either method, you will need to shake the pitcher and the bag before you disconnect the bag from the pitcher, to get the loose flour that sticks to the bag to fall out. The new model that is for sale has a page that lets you buy parts, and the bowl cover is about $12.00. http://www.organicsbylee.com/P/44/Dustskirt. If that had been available when I got my first Lee , I would have gone that route. I am not sure whether they raised the output chute when they redesigned of the new model, so I don't know if a 4 quart pyrex bowl will fit under your model. I just ordered one after looking at it a few minutes ago, to try it since having it on the stand that I made it a bit of a pain. I will let you know what I think of it once I try it out.
I have never measured how much I can mill at one time, I usually use a quart container to fill the hopper, and I have probably gone a quart to a quart and a half of berries at a time, though I am sure it could do more, since it holds a gallon of flour.
I have cleaned my Lee a few times, I definitely don't clean it after each use, and don't think it is necessary.
For the first few years, I used either F or one click more coarse than F. However, I did read an article that suggested that milling it that fine was not that great an idea, so now I mill a few clicks coarser than F, then use a regular sifter to sift out the coarsest parts, though it is usually a teaspoon to a tablespoon per a few cups of flour. As long as you have all the parts, milling at F should be no harder on the machine then milling at the coarsest setting, since the chute limits the amount of grain that can enter the milling chamber at one time, though of course, F will take far longer than a coarser setting. Good luck and post if you have any more questions.
I just tried cut open the vac-bag bottom and let it run into the crockpot. Ran it in my yard but with the bag reaching pretty much the bottom of the pot, almost no flour flying. However, my mill only ran about 2 minutes (longest run yet) before stopping. Faint burning smell again. I'm hopeful that the motor will come back to life after a couple hours but there's clearly something wrong with this motor.
Any idea whether this could merely be a symptom of brushes going bad or is the motor bad in the first place? I've seen posts by you on this thread about replacement brushes, so may have to go that route before making mods like you have.
Also TIA = thanks in advance :-) :-)
I took the motor cover off, just two screws holding them. Inside is a solid metal finned-cup (fan?) that rotates. This fan however clearly catches a bit at one point every rotation. I wonder if that's what's causing the motor to heat and shut off. How do I get this fan/finned-cup off? (Allen wrench doesn't work in the small center hole). Thanks again.
I got the fan cover off (it was an allen screw but on the side). The inside of the fan cover was charcoal black, clearly residue from the carbon brushes. Wiped that off. The smell I referred to from motor "heating" was clearly the smell of carbon (same as inside the fan cup). There is still about an 3/4-1" of brush remaining, so I don't think the motor cutting out after so short a grind cycle is brush related. The motor runs strong but cuts off in 1-1/5 mins. Takes about 1/2-hour to run again. Sorry for the incessant posting. Attaching a couple pics for those who have never seen inside the rear of their mill.
Yes, the solid metal cup with the fins is the fan for cooling the motor. If that is hitting the guard, that could be causing the problem, it should spin freely. I would put the fan back on, and try to adjust it so it does not hit the guard and spins freely. Then try to run it without berries and see how it works. I bought an older model Lee a few years ago, and the prior owner had cooked the motor, it would run for a few minutes under load ( grinding berries ) then stop. Unfortunately, the armature is a very unique design, and I could never locate a replacement, or find anyone that would rewire it, so it was only good for parts. Hope you have better luck.
If anyone is interested, I did buy the new Royal Lee bowl cover - and unfortunately, it does not fit the spout of the White Lee Household mill. Also, it is not a similar material to the Lee oem dust bag, nor the HF vacuum bag, and seems to be much more solid - you can't blow air through it .
Updated to say that I cut the top part of the cover, sewed in a triangle of fabric, and added an adjustable elastic to the top part, and now it fits the discharge chute perfectly, and the bottom of the bag fits a standard 4 quart Pyrex bowl - but the bowl does not fit between the legs of the machine, they must have increased the distance between the legs a little on the new machine.
Thanks for the update about the oem dust bag.
On a related note I ended up purchasing another s-600 and I am happy to report that the harborfreight bags work fine. I let the machine run empty for a few seconds to fluff out the bag before filling the hopper. So if the oem flour bags are missing this is a good route to go.
That's the good news bad news about the Lee. The engineering is very impressive, but if a prior owner really abuses it, they can burn out the motor, and that is something that just can't be replaced. I have a dead one in my attic somewhere that I bought on ebay as well, though my luck has been mostly good. Glad you got another one and that it is running well.
I had to return a two of these (with exactly the same motor problem described in this thread) before finally landing one that works. Weirdly the defective ones were in phenomenal cosmetic condition while the one that works is the ugliest one! So far I've just been grinding 2 or so cups per batch (because my previous experience makes me worry that the motor on these units is fragile.) I would hate for this to become a paperweight.
What could constitute as abuse that would burn out the motor? Any maintenance tips to stay ahead?
Sorry to hear you got two bum ones. I have bought 6 or 8 on ebay ( several were for friends ) and only got one burned out motor - though it worked just like you said - spun well for a minute or two then overheated.
The easiest way to burn out a universal motor is to overload it so that the rpm slows, which causes the fan to slow, which decreases the cooling, and then the wiring overheats and shorts out. The basic design prevents that, since as the motor slows, the opening that admits more grain closes.
If you use it to grind berries that are well dried, and don't try to grind things that are not recommended , you should be fine.
Abuse would include trying to grind an oily grain or seed or nuts- the oil will clog the stone, so the arm that tries to fling the berries has to work much harder, and the milling chamber itself gets clogged up. If you are nearby and turn it off as it starts to struggle, not much of a problem, but if you walk away, like I do, and it happens, the motor can burn up pretty quickly. The same is true if you sprout berries, then try to grind them before they are fully dried.
Finally, the whole engineering is based on the berries being a particular size, so that they won't fall into the milling chamber unless the motor is at a certain speed . If you use it to grind something it is not designed to grind, it may feed too fast and overheat. A great example is that for many mills, there is a suggestion to mill first on a coarse setting, then mill again on a finer setting. The Royal Lee FAQ is pretty clear on that issue , and in response to the question , Can I remill flour it says Emphatically NO ! and then warns that it will damage the motor.
I wonder if the ones that were in great shape cosmetically had been abused early on, then just stored somewhere, and when someone later found it, they plugged it in and thought it must be working fine. It is rare to see an ebay listing where someone has actually ground berries in it before selling it, since the seller often knows very little about mills.
As to maintenance, if you let it run with no berries for long periods of time the bearings can go bad, because they are not designed for that ( I often turn it on, and come back 10 minutes later, and don't consider that long - so half hour to an hour would probably be long, and even then, it would probably take several such sessions ) It is not an impossible repair, like the motor, but it does use an odd sized bearing, IIRC, I think I just took one from the one with a burnt out motor, and it is a little bit of a pain to replace, but not too difficult., Other than that, it is a great machine. I probably dust mine out once every 6 months or so, but other than that, it doesn't require any maintenance.
Emphatically, NO! Re-milling flour which has already been milled in the machine can damage
Thanks for the thoughtful response. If I understood correctly, just following the manufacturer's recommendations to grind only dry grain of a recommended size should keep away serious motor problems. Since I pretty much only intend grinding wheat, it is reassuring. One of these days I'll interface a cut harborfreight bag to a large bin (like you have) -- that should permit grinding more wheat than i can currently without swapping bags.
Random comparison of this mill for others who stumble on this thread-
I've been using a wondermill for years. Have also used the retsel milrite. The wondermill is a great mill -- very convenient and fast, grinds fine (one can turn the dial well past the pastry setting) and is bulletproof (zero maintainance) -- but the Lee's output is still superior. So putting up with some clean-up inconvenience is worth it for me. However, if a tad coarser (but still fine) flour is acceptable, the wondermill is far more convenient than the Lee. The Retsel otoh is the most inconvenient (cleanup, size/weight) and doesn't grind anywhere as fine (in one pass.)
I have an eBay Lee 600s flour mill. I have had Lee Flour Mills for many years, starting with a 500, but the suction through through the hopper in this particular one is so strong that it is very difficult to take the hopper lid off while operating. I grind only clean dry wheat, yet the engine pulls and slows when I grind - sometimes almost stops. The turn off switch has never activated, but I probably unplug before it needs to. The feed seems way too fast to me. Do these problems ring a bell with anyone? The brushes are fine. The governor looks good. I love the look and flour of these old mills, and would love to keep this one going. Thanks so much.
Annie's Mom, I have a 600s, and yes, the suction is very strong - I place the lid on upside down, so it lets in a little air. If I put it on right way, it is extremely hard to remove and seems to put a strain on the motor.
Not sure what you mean when you say the governor is good.
You probably know this from the 500 ( I had a few of those as well ) the feed is controlled by the design of the hopper feed tube, the front plate and the front disk which turns with the motor. Springs on the disk keep it close to front plate, and the front plate and back of the feed tube are designed to keep the berries from entering the milling chamber, then as the disk speeds up, the disk moves towards the back, letting the milling chamber fill, then the machine slows down, which causes the disk to forward forward and again restricting berries from entering the chamber. So reasons that it would slow down to nearly a stop is that the motor is not as powerful as when it was made ( either a bearing is seizing, or some of the windings had shorted out ), or the springs on the disk are too weak keeping it from closing enough , or the berries are finer then normal.). It may be pretty hard to sort out exactly what is causing it. One thing to try is to open it up and make sure the milling chamber is empty, then add a 1/4 cup of berries to the hopper, turn it on and see how it does. If it goes very fast at first, slows down a little , then grinds all the grains, then speeds up to a high speed, I would guess that the grain size is not a problem, nor the feed tube. Then repeat the test doubling the amount of berries in the hopper and note the results, and keep repeating until the motor starts fast, then continually gets slower, until it almost stops, I would turn it off, turn it so that the milling chamber is facing up, then carefully remove the hopper, take off the face plate, then pour whatever is in the milling chamber into a measuring cup and post the results. I will do the same and if there is much more in your chamber, that tells us that there is a problem with the feed mechanism allowing too many berries into the chamber. If, OTOH, the amount is the same as I get, then my guess is the problem with the motor or bearings, and you will have to sort that out. Bearings are usually not all that hard to find , though the last one I replaced from a Lee Household mill with a burned out motor. Motors are extremely difficult to get rewired, you might call around to see if you can find someone who deals with fractional horsepower universal motors . The armature is very unique, so it is unlikely you will find another one. In my case, I bought one from ebay, and it ran fine for a few minutes, then slowed to nearly a stop. I replaced the brushes, and it continued, so I ended up keeping it for parts. While the Lee is a great design, the universal motor is the Achilles heel. Good luck.
Thank you so much for your response! So here are the results: (1) 1/4 c wheat berries - performed just great. Went fast, then slow, lovely sound, and completely ground the berries on extreme right “F” setting. (2) 1/2 c berries - ground them all, no bad slow down, ground them all. (3) 1 cup berries - still no real problem - ground them all. (4) 2 cups berries - right away I had problems. The engine was struggling. I shut it down when it sounded as if it could stall. I then opened up the mill and measured the contents in the chamber and the contents measured 1/3 cup.
I did turn the hopper lid upside down to get rid of that strong vacuum. With the 1/2 cup test I had forgotten to turn the lid upside down and felt the engine started to struggle, and seemed to stop when I turned the lid upside down. But no such luck. With the 2 cup test, the lid was upside down.
I have an old Lee 600s with a burned out motor. If there were something on the old one that I could salvage for this, that would be great. In trying to fix that mill, I found people who do understand and repair such universal motors, but so expensive! Over $150 to diagnose and then expect to pay $500 - $600 more to fix. So I can’t really go that route . . . .
Thank you so much for your help!
Sorry - checked my notes. The slow down - stop problem was with 1 cup of berries not 2 cups of berries.
Thanks!!!
Annie, I will run a test this weekend and report back. To be clear, you put one cup of berries into the mill, turned it on with the lid slightly ajar, and it slowed to a crawl, and you stopped it and the milling chamber had 1/3 of a cup of berries and ground flour, correct?
Obviously, if you want to continue to use it, you can load it with 1/2 cup of flour, let it run till it speeds up, then reload in half cup increments.
It is unlikely that there is a part from the old one that will work, what happens is that when the motor overheats, the heat causes the insulation on the wires on the motor to melt, causing the motor to have less power. Each time it is used after that, the motor tends to get hotter, making more insulation fail. When it is empty and you take off the plate and spin the disk by hand, does it spin freely? Also, and this is extremely unlikely, but have you taken the cover off the back, ( there are 2 screws ) and checked to make sure the dome shaped thing on the back with fins ( which is the cooling fan ) is not rubbing when you turn the disk. If it is rubbing, that could slow the motor down - it is held in place by an allen screw. Again, it is a long shot, but if we decide it is the motor itself, there is little you can do with it but save it for parts.
Yes, that is exactly right.
When I take the plate off and spin the disk by hand, it does spin freely.
I have had the back off to check the brushes, but I didn’t check the fan. I’ll do that tonight.
Thank you so very much!
IIRC, if you took off the back to check the brushes, you already removed the fan.
You have probably guessed I’m not very mechanically inclined. Fan. . . What fan . . . . I’ll look again, because before we were just looking at brushes . . . . Thanks!
It does not look at all like a fan. It looks like a dome with fins.
Annie, what wheat did you use? White or red, spring or winter?
For our test I used Durham red winter wheat. Lovely clean wheat . . . .
So today I (1) ran 1/2 c wheat through until nothing left in chamber. It worked fine. (2) Immediately ran another 1/2 cup wheat through until nothing left in the chamber. It worked fine. (3) Immediately ran another 1/2 cup wheat through the chamber and the motor almost immediately started pulling down. When it sounded very slow I pulled the plug and left it as is for 2 hours. When I came back I plugged it in and it ground the remainder perfectly. This tells me something, but what I don’t know. (I still think the wheat feeds too fast - the 1/2 cup set on “F” grinds in under a minute. I know my old Lee mill would have taken longer.). Thanks!
So I did my test today. I turned it on and let it whir at full speed for a few seconds, then dumped in 1 cup of spring wheat and put the cover on upside down, loosely. It slowed down a bit right away, but the speed did not change after that, and I waited till there was still some grain left in the tunnel, turned it off, and turned it upside down to empty the wheat berries that had not gotten into the milling chamber. I then turned it on its back, and took off the silver plate, and dumped the contents of the milling chamber into a cup - it was about 1/4 cup of flour and partially ground berries.
While it is possible it is feeding berries too quickly, your test of 1/2 cup, then 1/2 cup, then 1/2 instead suggests that the motor is overheating . I believe you can continue to use it in 1/2 cup increments, but while it may have a different problem, my guess is that the motor is just wearing out. Wish I had better news for you. I agree that 1 minute sounds very quick to get through a half cup, though I have not timed mine, since it is hard to know when the milling is done.
I’m so grateful for your comments, your time, and your help. I wish these were fixable, but - ah well . . . .
My Partner he got me one yesterday . I used mine today it is amazing. Would love to pm back & forth on it as you said you have researched onle. I saw there wasn't easily found info. Did ypu happen to find the manual as I was trying to online didn't find one love to know what all you have learnt. Thank You so much.
I don't recall if I ever saw a manual, but if you have any questions, just ask. It is pretty straight forward as long as you are milling dry wheat berries. You don't want to mill anything oily that will coat the inner stone, and if you sprout berries, you want them fully dry before you put them in the mill. I found that the finer the setting, the longer it took, and ended up usually milling on one click from the finest setting.
Was wondering if you had a list what could be grinded for example Corn. If anyone had.. Thank you
Hi-I’m grinding hard wheat, durum, rye, spelt and kamut mostly to fine consistency. I hear pros and cons to used vs new mills. I hear cleaning is harder with new mill. Guessing the new 1hp motor probably slower to heat and possibly faster to grind? Opinion? I’m grinding prob 5# a week or so. Thanks!
Andy
Hi-I’m grinding hard wheat, durum, rye, spelt and kamut mostly to fine consistency. I hear pros and cons to used vs new mills. I hear cleaning is harder with new mill. Guessing the new 1hp motor probably slower to heat and possibly faster to grind? Opinion? I’m grinding prob 5# a week or so. Thanks!
Andy