Demus

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I need some opinions from all you grain grinders out there. It seems like the pre-crushed option has been creeping up lately plus I'd like to take advantage of the 50 pound sack savings on 2-row. Grain mill prices are all over the map. I'd hate to spend $300 on a beautiful stainless steel contraption that doesn't do any better than a $30 bench mill from Amazon. I'd also hate to waste the $30 on something that's going to end up in the trash can because it doesn't do the job. What do you think are the best bang-for-the-buck mills out there and why?

jmprdood

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Opinions are all over the map - but I love my ugly junk corona mill. So one vote for the cheapo mill here. Let the debate begin!

Cheers!

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tally350z

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I really like my Barley crusher..

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Drunken Tortoise Brewery
Primary - Indian Brittish Ale, Belgian Pale, American BarleyWine, Partigyle from BarleyWine.

Secondary - Hibiscus Mead.

Kegged- Slightly Smoked APA,
Dry Irish stout.
Bottled - Rum Oaked Porter.

Golddiggie

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Being in FL, you might want stainless rollers, depending on where (and how) you plan to store the mill...

I really love my Monster Mill MM2-2.0 with the hardened rollers, hopper and hopper extension. Being able to load it up with up to 39# of grain at a time is just epic. The stainless roller option is of material about the same harness as their standard rollers. So it won't wear any better than that (just more rust resilient). IMO, with proper storage, even in FL, you can get away without stainless rollers.

I looked at the ugly mills and, for me, it would have been more work to get it into an actual usable state for milling grain. Then there's the grain that can get flung out of it while in use. Plus the small hoppers you see (the metal ones) that means I'd be constantly filling it for each batch. I really didn't want to MM something together to try and do the job that another mill does right out of the box.

Basically, you have to decide what's most important to you. Going cheap, going with something that will probably last a while, or something that you'll never need to replace. I actually expect my MM2-2.0 to be milling grain long after I'm taking a dirt nap. The fact that it comes ready to use from the manufacturer (minimal assembly required) was of huge benefit to me. BTW, I did have a Barley Crusher for a bit. With the small diameter rollers, it can't even start to compete with the MM2-2.0 mill.

There are a LOT of threads/posts about the different mill options. Almost everyone raves about what they have, or have currently.

Monster p0rn:

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Hopping Tango Brewery

跟猴子比丟屎 ・ Gun HOE-tze bee DIO-se

On Tap: Caramel Ale, Mocha Porter II, MO SMaSH IPA
Waiting/Carbonating: 12.5% Wee Honey II, 8.9% Old Ale, English Brown Ale, Lickah ESB, Mocha Porter II
Fermenting
K1: MO SMaSH IPA
K2:
K3: TripSix
On Deck: Caramel Ale
Aging:mead
Mead [bottled]:Oaked Wildflower Traditional, Mocha Madness, Blackberry Melomel, maple wine


...the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

TyTanium

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Is that blood on the left side of that picture? Testing the gap with your fingers again?

Golddiggie

Recipes 

Not mine... Guess I missed a spot from the last yakass that made some smarky comment about my mill.

The thing really is a monster... I swear I can hear it taunting me at times when I've put less than 20# of grain in the hopper...

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My RocketHub Project

Hopping Tango Brewery

跟猴子比丟屎 ・ Gun HOE-tze bee DIO-se

On Tap: Caramel Ale, Mocha Porter II, MO SMaSH IPA
Waiting/Carbonating: 12.5% Wee Honey II, 8.9% Old Ale, English Brown Ale, Lickah ESB, Mocha Porter II
Fermenting
K1: MO SMaSH IPA
K2:
K3: TripSix
On Deck: Caramel Ale
Aging:mead
Mead [bottled]:Oaked Wildflower Traditional, Mocha Madness, Blackberry Melomel, maple wine


...the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

BreezyBrew

Recipes 

Off topic! -- Where did you get that bucket? It's sweet!

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Golddiggie

Recipes 

Restaurant supply store... You can also get them from Amazon...

__________________
My RocketHub Project

Hopping Tango Brewery

跟猴子比丟屎 ・ Gun HOE-tze bee DIO-se

On Tap: Caramel Ale, Mocha Porter II, MO SMaSH IPA
Waiting/Carbonating: 12.5% Wee Honey II, 8.9% Old Ale, English Brown Ale, Lickah ESB, Mocha Porter II
Fermenting
K1: MO SMaSH IPA
K2:
K3: TripSix
On Deck: Caramel Ale
Aging:mead
Mead [bottled]:Oaked Wildflower Traditional, Mocha Madness, Blackberry Melomel, maple wine


...the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

Demus

Recipes 

That monster mill is sweet indeed. I pretty much do 5 to 6 gallon batches so it might be a bit of overkill. Plus I'm down to brewing about once per month (if I'm lucky) so it would take some time to cover the investment. Anyone know of a happy medium between 20 pounds at a time and the cheapy Corona mill? How many pounds fit into that thing anyway? My grain bills are usually in the 12 to 18 pound range, so 4 or 5 at a time wouldn't be that bad....

Demus

Recipes 

How many pounds can you fit in it at a time? The crush has been pretty good? How many batches have you done with it?