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abracadabra · 09-25-2007, 11:51 AM

I'm just on the verge of confirming an order for a CrankandStein grain mill when I over hear my LHBS owner laughing about a conversation he had with the guy who makes the things. So I ask him what the deal is.

He says something to the effect that the little rollers are too small to do the job. So the rollers are made with basically teeth to pull the grain thur which results in the grain being shredded rather than crushed. Which in turn makes for poor filtering action of the grain husks.

I don't I want to pay $800+ for something with 2" or 3" rollers but I also don't want to fork out over $300 for a toy.

My question is, is this LHBS owner being an EAC or am I on about to blow a large chunk of change on something less than optimal.

mr x · 09-25-2007, 12:27 PM

I have a three roller model and it seems pretty good so far for me...

Here's a pic from a really really fine crush

http://i13.tinypic.com/4ztlo4g.jpg

abracadabra · 09-25-2007, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr x

I have a three roller model and it seems pretty good so far for me...

Here's a pic from a really really fine crush

http://i13.tinypic.com/4ztlo4g.jpg

So even with a crush that fine you are not having any problems with stuck sparges? And you are not having to add rice hulls.

mr x · 09-25-2007, 01:34 PM

I use a ss manifold for a steam heated MLT, and I can't see any way to stick a sparge with that setup (although I have yet to try a wheat beer). Haven't used rice hulls either.

That crush was from my first brew, and it was superfine because I was using metric feeler gauges instead of standard. What I thought was .035", was really .35mm...stupid metric system.

Evan! · 09-25-2007, 01:43 PM

If you're concerned, just go with the best.

**Brewer3401** · 09-25-2007, 01:45 PM

I have the 3 roller detent model, powered by a 1/3 hp gear motor turning at 90 rpm.

I sent samples of my crush to a professional brewer and he said the following:

"the mill itself seems to do a kickass job - lots of grits with very little
flour given the thoroughness of the crush"

I'm very happy with my mill. I wanted to buy one only that I'd be happy with. I still sometimes think about making one with 3-4" rollers, but for homebrewing that would be slight overkill.

mr x · 09-25-2007, 02:04 PM

I think the 3 roller setup is better than any 2 roll out there.

Dustin_J · 09-25-2007, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan!

If you're concerned, just go with the best.

The rollers on the crankandstein are 1.5" diameter, where the barley crusher is 1.25". If the concern is roller diameter, this may not be the best choice.

Regardless, I think the homebrew shop owner is full of it. I know a lot of people, myself included, who have their own mills and having nothing but good things to say about them. This includes people with Barley Crushers, Crankandsteins, PhilMills, etc... You may get some husk shredding, but I'd guess that depends much more on gap, mill speed, etc...

Don't worry about not being able to form a good filter bed using a Crankandstein, you'll be just fine as long as you control the gap width and speed OK.

iamjonsharp · 09-25-2007, 03:44 PM

I have a crankandstein. It does great. It costs about $100 bucks from http://www.crankandstein.com. I am sure most (if not all) of the other similar grains mills work just as well or better.

abracadabra · 09-25-2007, 03:51 PM

Thank you for the replies

I told Fred to go ahead and make the mill for me.