Just got the new "Cereal Killer" Grain Mill

Just opened up the box and finally got a look at the "new and improved" Cereal Killer grain mill, I'll be giving it a test run for a brew day this weekend. looks fairly solid for a $99 mill. and pretty much ready to roll right outta the box,... stainless steel bearings instead of bronze bushings, Hardened adjustable rollers, has some sticky crud on the outside i gotta clean off??..., Thought I'd post a few photos for anyone that was wondering like i was, figured at the price , it was worth a risk, Time will tell!!

I'm curious to see how it performs for you. I had one of the earlier models which ended up getting replaced. Hopefully they've made some major improvements!

Looks pretty darn nice for $100 delivered.

i unboxed mine last friday, wont be using it for a couple weeks yet. It looks pretty substantial. I have some friends with BC, so one of these days ill be able to compare it.

I got mine a couple days ago. Same as yours, it's got some gunk to clean off.

The only problem with mine is that I went ahead and ordered the additional handle, and that handle doesn't fit. Oh well. I'll be using it with a drill almost exclusively anyway.

EDIT: I contacted Adventures in Homebrewing about the problem with the handle and they got back to me within 10 minutes and said they'll send a new one out tomorrow.

I didn't bother with the handle, thought about it for a back up, but I have a few drills and new i'd NEVER use it! Ha! the gunk cleaned off ok, it was only on the outside luckily. seems like it's real easy to adjust! should stay true! I'll find out Friday !

rev_rend said:

I got mine a couple days ago. Same as yours, it's got some gunk to clean off.

The only problem with mine is that I went ahead and ordered the additional handle, and that handle doesn't fit. Oh well. I'll be using it with a drill almost exclusively anyway.

EDIT: I contacted Adventures in Homebrewing about the problem with the handle and they got back to me within 10 minutes and said they'll send a new one out tomorrow.

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Nice! Jason (that's who i dealt with anyway) seems to be good with working with customers.

Liberty- Have you had a chance to use the Cereal Killer yet? Just wondering how it worked out for ya...

kevdoggx said:

Liberty- Have you had a chance to use the Cereal Killer yet? Just wondering how it worked out for ya...

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it worked great!! Quick!! it was smooth too! stainless ball bearings instead of the brass bushing might be a good thing as they might last a bit longer.says it has hardened rollers too. really easy to adjust, and stayed where it was set. only one brew so far, and my efficiency was 79%,.went up from usually 65-72..still have some volume things to dial in with my set-up but that's another story! doing another brew tomorrow morning, and cant wait! It's a new toy!! for $100 delivered , it'd be hard to beat! ..

(Edit; brewed this weekend with an 83% efficiency)

I got one through the pre sale so i only paid $89. Was worth the wait.

Nicely made for the price with everything you get(base and hopper). Crush is much better than my Corona. Working on getting my gap setting where it needs to be.

Rock Chalk

Chris

On sale today for $89 delivered. I was going to build my own but for $89 it's not worth my time. I'll take it all apart when it arrives and post some pics.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html

Just ordered!!

looks they went up to $99 just long enough for me to order, now there back to $89 !! ha!! oh well,. seems to be a nice unit so far!

CS223, i/we would LOVE to see your dissected pics plus a description of any tweaks/mods you might decide to make.

Prost!
H.O. (a.k.a. Jeff)

The Cereal Killer arrived today in perfect condition. It was packed with care and even had styrofoam protecting the dowels on the base. As promised I tore it all apart, because that's what I do. I intended to build my own mill but for $89, my time is worth more than that. I am not disappointed, rather I'm impressed at the value that this mill offers. Two things I'll point out, the ad says it's anodized and my ohmmeter says otherwise, it's raw aluminum. The ad also says the rollers are hardened, I see no evidence of heat treatment but I didn't want to drag a file across the roller to see.

The mill without the wood base weighs 5 pounds 3oz.

The hopper is made from .0325" aluminum sheet, it is professionally sheared and brake formed. It is assembled with aluminum pop rivets. More than adequate for the job. Two screws secure it to the roller assembly. They thoughtfully slotted the hopper so if you need to remove it, you simply have to loosen the screws and lift it off.





The mill is secured to a wood base with two metric cap screws, the base is 5/8" cabinet plywood. I would have expected MDF on a value mill. There are three locator dowels on the bottom to keep it centered on a 5 gallon bucket.





The mill can be reversed on the base which would allow you to mount a small motor directly to the base, you could squeak an 1.5" drive pulley on the shaft. Perhaps a cog belt style to make the best use of the clearance.



With the base & the hopper removed we are down to the mill itself. The front & rear plates are .0625" aluminum each held in place by four screws. The aluminum was cosmetic grade in that it had a blue protective covering to prevent it from getting scratched up during machining, typically this cost more.





The mill is advertised as being ball bearing and indeed it is. The side plates each have a 6800Z bearing for the drive roller.



The idler roller has 698Z bearings pressed into each end of the roller.



The eccentrics engage the bearings and rotate in the side plate to adjust the roller gap. The thumb screws tighten against the slot in the eccentrics.



The rollers are 5 inches long and measure 1.281 inches in diameter and the diameter is consistent the length of each roller. The rollers are fully knurled to depth as evident by the sharp points on the diamonds.



All the fastener holes were chamfered & de-burred. Disassembly and assembly was easy, everything was slip fit. The .053" gap mark indicated is pretty close as verified with a feeler gage. Max gap is .106" and the minimum gap indicated is 0. It's easy to set the gap and lock it in place with the thumb screws which also have a jam nut to keep them from backing off.

About the only improvement that I can think of at this time would be the addition of some thin plastic shim stock on each roller end to prevent roller contact with the aluminum side plates. something .010" would be good. A metal shim could be used as well.

There are a few other views of it posted in my gallery.

In summary, for $89 delivered to the door, it's a heck of a value.

ETA, I ran across some photos of a Barley Crusher that was taken apart, the Cereal Killer is pretty much a dead ringer clone of a Barley Crusher except the Barley crusher has bushings.

ETA

I did some digging and came across the pics of the Barley Crusher disassembled. Wanted to make sure the pics were credited to their rightful owners. I prefer the Cereal Killer construction.

There are some detail pics in this thread: Cleaning the Barley Crusher

And from this blog: Barley Crusher Taken Apart

WOW... Fantastic post, pictures and descriptions CS223!!! Thanks for taking the time to put this together for the membership, it really helps and I think will result in a sales bump for AIH. Just a few thoughts:

the ad says it's anodized and my ohmmeter says otherwise, it's raw aluminum

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Maybe now that you have er apart, you should give it an Alodine coating -- Something tells me (based on your above report) that you might have a bottle lying around

The ad also says the rollers are hardened, I see no evidence of heat treatment but I didn't want to drag a file across the roller to see

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Your picture of the rollers in full view here seem to show some slight discoloration (bottom roller, left edge) which look like burn marks, no?:
http://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/images/1/1/0/8/8/4/ck_botrem-56017.jpg

The thumb screws tighten against the slot in the eccentrics.

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I worry about the thumb screws slipping against a rounded piece, even with a jam nut.

About the only improvement that I can think of at this time would be the addition of some thin plastic shim stock on each roller end to prevent roller contact with the aluminum side plates.

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This might be a good idea to also lessen the risk of dissimilar metal corrosion. Speaking of which... Any thoughts on rust prevention and roller-bearing care?

Thanks again and Prost!
H.O./Jeff

hi_octane said:

Maybe now that you have er apart, you should give it an Alodine coating -- Something tells me (based on your above report) that you might have a bottle lying around

Your picture of the rollers in full view here seem to show some slight discoloration (bottom roller, left edge) which look like burn marks, no?:

I worry about the thumb screws slipping against a rounded piece, even with a jam nut.

This might be a good idea to also lessen the risk of dissimilar metal corrosion. Speaking of which... Any thoughts on rust prevention and roller-bearing care?

Thanks again and Prost!
H.O./Jeff

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Jeff,
If I did anything I'd anodize and color the side plates and engrave some additional gap settings but I don't think it's worth the trouble of removing the bearings. I don't see any issue with dissimilar metal corrosion, it won't be in a wet environment.

The discoloration in the rollers is rust preventative oil or machine coolant. I cleaned the rollers and other parts after photographing and applied a light coat of mineral oil. If the bearings were easy to remove from the roller, I'd Parkerize both of them for rust protection. I did take a file to the side of the roller, it didn't appear hard.

The thumb screws shouldn't slip. If they do, it would be easy to replace them with some cup point set screws. I will add that the roller moves some when you tighten them so you've got to set the gap lightly on the feelers gauge to get it spot on or go up a couple thou in gauges to get your desired final gap.

I thought about cutting a groove in the side plates and dropping in an o-ring that would ride on the ends of the rollers to act as dust shields for the bearings but I really don't see any long term issues, you've got to get flour to pack in there and get forced past the bearing shields.

It will be a few weekends before I can brew again and test it out but I'm confident that it will perform well. I'm wondering if if it will work equally as well for milling flour for bread.

Hi

First post ;-)

I am interested in purchasing the Cereal Killer (good reviews/build quality/price), but I heard bad things about the handle. I know it's small, but is it really so small that it is completely useless? I only brew 2 gallon batches, and my electric drill is heavy and unwieldy. What can you say about the handle? Is it really $5 down the drain, or is it efficient enough for small batches?

Thanks!

Melchizedek said:

Hi

First post ;-)

I am interested in purchasing the Cereal Killer (good reviews/build quality/price), but I heard bad things about the handle. I know it's small, but is it really so small that it is completely useless? I only brew 2 gallon batches, and my electric drill is heavy and unwieldy. What can you say about the handle? Is it really $5 down the drain, or is it efficient enough for small batches?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I didn't buy the handle. It looked way too short to me. It would be easy to make one that had a longer throw.

I got one of these. Showed up early this week....Got the $89 deal with free shipping. Was a little worried because I saw a thread about some previous models that had problems....Ran across it just after I placed my order. Glad to see this thread though. I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet, but I'll try to remember to come back here after I do.

Thanks for the thread!

Hi Melchizedek, all indications are that the handle is a waste of time/money. I'd put that $5 twds an inexpensive variable-speed corded drill.

I plan to pick-up one of these which with a 20% off coupon will only set me back ~$15... I think of it as $10 bucks with the $5 offset:

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-...nch-variable-speed-reversible-drill-3670.html

Perhaps you'll be able to find a similar deal up in Quebec...

Prost!
H.O./Jeff

Thanks for all the pictures and information regarding this mill. I been debating for awhile now if I should build my own or just buy one. The price is $89 plus free shipping! Can't beat that deal. Ordering it tomorrow.

My LHBS thinks that this grain mill is in fact a Chinese product/knock-off. They have the catalogue of a Chinese wholesaler, and one of their mills does look similar to the Cereal Killer.

I don't have any info on that wholesaler, and their Website (rlicl.com) is... weird and useless, at best.

What do you think? I doubt this is true, but what proof do we really have that the Cereal Killer is made in USA?

Melchizedek said:

My LHBS thinks that this grain mill is in fact a Chinese product/knock-off.
What do you think? I doubt this is true, but what proof do we really have that the Cereal Killer is made in USA?

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It very well could be, no country of origin sticker or stamp anywhere on it. The hot stamp on the underside of the base could just be for the wood base plate. The fasteners appear to be metric which would explain that as well. Perhaps the mill is made in China and the hopper & base in the US. There's some b/s reg. that says if some of it is made or assembled in the US, it can be labeled made in the USA. In the end, it I don't guess it matters much because it's still well made for the money & not too much of a step up from a Corona in price.

hi_octane said:

Hi Melchizedek, all indications are that the handle is a waste of time/money.

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Although it comes in handy if your drill dies on you like mine did the other day. It was a PITA to use the handle, but thankfully my grain bill was small.

CS223 said:

It very well could be, no country of origin sticker or stamp anywhere on it. The hot stamp on the underside of the base could just be for the wood base plate. The fasteners appear to be metric which would explain that as well. Perhaps the mill is made in China and the hopper & base in the US. There's some b/s reg. that says if some of it is made or assembled in the US, it can be labeled made in the USA. In the end, it I don't guess it matters much because it's still well made for the money & not too much of a step up from a Corona in price.

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Well put!!, and I'm no fan of China!! and it would be nice to purchase only things made in the USA, and be true to our country, but sometimes, you just gotta purchase what you can afford and be true to your wallet...

Well, it turns out that the Cereal Killer is indeed a Chinese product. Maybe the guy who sells it in the US added the wooden base, thus making it a US-made product "officially" (even though I was told by the manufacturer that they now make the wooden base too, so what part is made in the US then?)

But as you said it doesn't really matter in the end. The mill received great reviews, and that's what counts!

Who are you defining as the mfg? rlicl.com? I tired to look them up and the catalog you referenced and only came up with R&L International(Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Although I did notice a few wort chillers associated with this Chinese company's name...

Yes, that's right. I was told that their Website is under construction. They are a wholesaler who seem to manufacture a whole lot of brewing products, but I was surprised to see the Cereal Killer as one of them, considering that it's supposedly made in Michigan. It doesn't change anything to the quality of the product, but I was a little surprised (and, frankly, disappointed) to see that the Cereal Killer is in fact made in China (at least for the most part).

I just received my Cereal Killer in the mail, and there is no indication whatsoever that it was made in Michigan, as seen in the other thread. Perhaps there was never an issue as to whether this mill was made in the USA? Do your mills all have this "made in Michigan" indication?

Hmmm... Now I'm concerned that the mill Melchizedek just received might not be from the same source as that which CS223 deconstructed which has the "Made in Michigan" stamp (as seen in the attached).

Oh wait, any chance there's a town in China named "Michigan" ???

Melchizedek, can you closely compare your mill with the pictures CS223 posted and report back as to a match? Thanks.

Prost!
H.O./Jeff

Digging around and doing a reverse look up on the phone number comes up with Kero's Creative Craftsman, which is a custom woodworking business so it's highly likely that only the base is/was US made. As I mentioned elsewhere, I have some photos of a Barley Crusher disassembled and they look identical except the BC lacks the bearings and the additional screws. I could post the BC pic but it's not mine, if I can find the BC thread, I'll link it. Anyone know if it's US made?

I did compare my mill with those pictures, and as far as I can tell, they are identical, except for the "signature" at the bottom. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Charles Kero, considering that the manufacturer said that they now produce the mill with the base. Maybe I received a newer unit that already had the base and thus could not be marked as "made in Michigan".

Here's how I got the info:

- Our roller mill is same function as monster, But different manufacturer. Ours are made in China. Same quality but more cheap.
- Could you just tell me then, is your grain mill similar to the Monster Mill as you mentioned, or similar (or identical?) to the Cereal Killer ( http://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html)?
- The Cereal Killer from Adventure would be supplied by us.
- Why then does the seller say that it is made in USA? Is it simply because he added a wooden base?
- Not sure. Before we have no wooden base, but now ours is with the base.

Just curious, I can't find where "Adventures" claims it it made in the U.S.

I don't think they do, the only "proof" I had was the picture from these forums. I did not express myself correctly (English is not my mother tongue)

(but it's written in the comments they posted)

So, are you guys finding any time to brew with all this investigating??

I ordered mine yesterday.....as I would perfer to buy all American made products $89.00 vs. $140.00 plus is a big difference. I can save that extra cash for grain, or my next home brew gaget.

well I pulled the trigger on one of these as $89 shipped is awesome and I could not pass it up. I am disappointed that it's not US made as stated but for what I am getting for the price I paid I cannot complain as I also ordered a March 815 pl-c brewing pump and together they are the same price as a higher end mill with the base and hopper. and now I will finally have a mill and a pump!!!!
I am like a kid waiting for Christmas I can't wait to play with my new toys!

Little update, got to use my mill today. I set the roller gap to 0.036" per recommendations for BIAB. I also conditioned the malt per this thread, using about 3 oz of water in a 5 gal bucket while mixing & misting. I used my 1/2" drive air drill which runs at 500 RPM to drive the mill. The mill did an awesome job, met my every expectation for the quality of crush. No problems encountered, it does take some power to run the mill. No regrets on this purchase.

If using BIAB why do you need to condition your malt, because if the grain "explodes" its not a big deal.
Though with a 1.25 inch diameter, I can see the grains more likely to explode, instead of be crushed, and stay intact.

My question is if the metal is soft, how durable is it? How long until the knurls wear down?
Didn't one of you say the steel did not seem hardened?

I just saw this at Adventures in Home Brewing.
http://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html?AffId=160

That handle does seem very short, how long would it take to grind 10 pounds?
I would imagine its hard to hold/rotate with such short strokes, and would have greater torque than a longer handle.