What mill? And other stuff

I know that this has been discussed before, but what kind of mill should I get? I've heard great things about BC, MM, and C&S. But which should I get?

I live in the Philippines and I'm not sure if customer service would appreciate sending replacement parts or me sending the mill to the USA and back if anything was wrong with it. So I need it to be really durable and the brand to be reliable, and its really really humid here to so something that won't rust.

Btw I've been wondering, if I bought the mill, say from northernbrewer, would customer service for said brand's customer service still help out?

I had an old post about if i should go an all out investment or to wait and accumulate, here, but I've been so busy that I haven't even done a thing about it! Anyway, I was walking through the streets one day and found a guy with a huge pot, most likely and hopefully 15 gals. I've even found a kitchen surplus and am planning to check it out if they have a large enough pot. so that saves a ton for me buying here. So if I go all out on my USA order it'll be a mill, a plate chiller, a corker and corks, a extract and AG kit, grain and hops, and misc. stuff.
And my eyes have been opened to the wonders of session beers which makes AG even better! And AG is cheaper, another reason is shipping's a b*tch to get over here so another reason to buy grain in bulk.

ps. I'm planning, if everything goes perfect and I do go all out, a big buy either once a year or every 2 years (Really hard to brew when half the year is rain, but perfect fermentation temps though! normally it would be at the 80's over here. Hm, saisons in the hot season, ales in the rainy?)

In your situation I would get an immersion chiller rather than plate. Monstermill makes a good mill with a stainless option. I don't think most shops stock it (they stock the regular hardened steel

Gartywood said:

In your situation I would get an immersion chiller rather than plate. Monstermill makes a good mill with a stainless option. I don't think most shops stock it (they stock the regular hardened steel

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why would a immersion chiller be better? The water temps here never get lower than 70 in the hot season and I hate having to waste so much water.

Bowow0708 said:

why would a immersion chiller be better? The water temps here never get lower than 70 in the hot season and I hate having to waste so much water.

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I agree, I use a immersion chiller and I have cold spring fed well water...But it still takes 25-35 minutes or so of recirculating to get down to pitching temp.

Plate chillers, while can be a PITA to clean are more efficient.

I have multiple immersion chillers, and one therminator. I use the Therminator every time that I can get away with it as it works so much better/faster.

I just used a plate chiller for the first time...WOW....so worth it...and really not that much more money than an immersion...and you don't need a pump it will work with gravity. As far as Mills go....I have a Barley Crusher...it works fine...not super impressed with it but it gets the job done....I had to do a lot of adjusting with it to get it right....I had high expectations it would be amazing and its just so so IMO

I'm for the plate chiller as well, it works so well. The MM2 looks like a good mill. I have the MM-3 with the 1.5 rollers and that works well. I'd get the bigger 1/2" shaft if I could do it again.

Why are people talking about the plate chiller when my real predicament is in what mill to choose?

Whats your question? What do you want from this mill? The "what mill is best" has been beat to death. They are all good, some cost more and will last longer. You have to tell us what you want from your mill? Mill grain to make beer? They all do that. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but we need a question?

The Rebel mill is built like a tank and quality made. I'm pretty impressed with mine. They are currently out of stock, but you can email them with your info and they will put you on the list. There customer service is really good, explain your situation, they may be willing to work something out with you.

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Rebel-Mill-Grain-Crusher.html

zeus53219 said:

The Rebel mill is built like a tank and quality made. I'm pretty impressed with mine. They are currently out of stock, but you can email them with your info and they will put you on the list. There customer service is really good, explain your situation, they may be willing to work something out with you.

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Rebel-Mill-Grain-Crusher.html

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+1 this things a beast.

I would get the rebel mill. I have the MM3-2.0 with hardened rollers motorized on a cart but I have been looking at the rebel mill for those quick and dirty jobs where I don't want to pull out the cart. I had a Barley Crusher before and while it was ok and gave good crush/efficiency, that biitch wore out faster than a 50 year old London street hooker with late stage emphysema. The rebel looks robust and should last much longer than a BC.

mikescooling said:

Whats your question? What do you want from this mill? The "what mill is best" has been beat to death. They are all good, some cost more and will last longer. You have to tell us what you want from your mill? Mill grain to make beer? They all do that. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but we need a question?

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Yeah, this old horse has been beaten way too often and you're right, I need to clear some things up so you guys can help.

How's the durability on the mills?
Has anyone had a mill listed whose rollers/other parts have rusted? (Really humid here)
How easy is it to maintain/use?
Which of them has had the least reports of damage when they arrived? (sending it to them and back would probably cost as much as the mill itself.)
And most importantly, crush quality. (I know that this is subjective, but yeah. . .)

What I like about my rebel mill and the things that made me want to buy it over another brand:

Stainless steel rollers included in price (normally an upgrade on other mills)
Fully adjustable rollers to find your perfect crush (although it ships at the widely accepted adjustment for the best crush)
Power drill compatible
Big 10 lb hopper standard (I think they're working on a additional 10 lb expansion)
Everything is stainless steel

I get an awesome crush and have never had a stuck sparge.

For your humidity, there might be a food grade oil you could treat the mill with periodically but I'm no expert on that.