Grain mill for Christmas

I'm getting one, hopefully. And if not for Xmas on my birthday which is Jan 10. Anyway, I need some suggestions on what to get. I plan to use it for all-grain batches so it needs to be able to handle 10lbs of grain. I don't need a hopper that big mind you, it justs needs to be able to handle that amount of work repetedly over the long hual. Also, I don't care to hand crank. My main concern is the quality of the crack followed closey by convenience. Finally, I was hoping for something around $50. She could go as high as $75-80 but I would prefer to keep it around 50.

Any suggestions? They will all be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

That seems to be the uncharted valley in terms of new grain mills. Low, you're looking at a Corona mill around $20-30, and the next step up is a roller mill at $80, a torn down version from Crankandstein. Anybody chime in here if I missed something in the middle.

That $80 at Crankandstein isn't going to get you a grain mill, just the rollers. Realistically you need some sort of base and some sort of hopper to direct the grain. If you want a roller mill, you're going to spend $100 (Crankandstein, Cereal Killer, Barley Crusher are all competing at that lowest price point), but if you don't want to spend that you're going to either have to find one used (never seen that, but hey, it could happen) or go to a corona mill, which will be $20-$40

You don't want to get a corona mill, spend the extra bucks and get a roller mill. Make sure they are adjustable. There is no difference between getting your grain crushed for you and getting a corona mill.

Assuming you are going to use the mill over the long term (more than a year or two), I would suggest you continue saving until you can buy a good quality mill setup. I have a no name mill and it has served me well for a few years, but it has had its frustrations. On brewday, if your mill does not work well it ruins your day. The next mill I purchase is going to be of higher quality and dependability. Cost will be secondary.

Dr Malt

asterix404 said:

You don't want to get a corona mill, spend the extra bucks and get a roller mill. Make sure they are adjustable. There is no difference between getting your grain crushed for you and getting a corona mill.

Click to expand...

Reading other threads on the topic there are many people that have been using Corona mills their entire brewing "careers". I guess the quality of the mill would be more hit or miss though.

The big difference is in buying in bulk Save money) and consistency (know what to expect).

A corona mill will get you both those things. If you ever want to experiment with grain conditioning and tight crushes you will have to get an adjustable roller mill. I have one so I am biased but it is my single favorite piece of equipment after my brew pot, MLT, and immersion cooler. I can not imagine brewing without it. It is pricey but I consider it well worth it.

Well, since somebody already did the obligatory "hey, let's dump on the Corona mills," that must mean it's time for me to jeer at people who spend $100 or more on them roller-dinguses.

But.....I ain't gonna do that. Instead, I'll take the high road and just say that I've milled a lot of malt in 2.5 years with my Corona, with no issues at all. Cost was $23 delivered from Discount Tommy on eBay, and nothing for an old water jug for a hopper and the old bucket I mounted it in and the drill I already had that I drive it with.

For more info, search on "Ugly Junk"

rico567 said:

Well, since somebody already did the obligatory "hey, let's dump on the Corona mills," that must mean it's time for me to jeer at people who spend $100 or more on them roller-dinguses.

But.....I ain't gonna do that. Instead, I'll take the high road and just say that I've milled a lot of malt in 2.5 years with my Corona, with no issues at all. Cost was $23 delivered from Discount Tommy on eBay, and nothing for an old water jug for a hopper and the old bucket I mounted it in and the drill I already had that I drive it with.

For more info, search on "Ugly Junk"

Click to expand...

Been using my Corona for almost a year now and have to say it's the best $25.00 I've ever spent. It gives me a consistent 78-80% efficiency using BIAB/No Sparge. I picked it up here in the Classifieds from another member & modified it a bit with some hardware I had in the garage. Would I like to have a new roller mill, sure. Can I justify spending the money after having a Corona Mill, nope. Just my $.02...

If you want to get the most bang for the buck for $50, get a Corona style mill (maybe used off ebay) and a heavy duty drill from Harbor Freight. (And consider that you are rolling the dice with anything electrical from Harbor Frieght...)

A Corona mill will work well enough, even if it's not as sexy as a roller mill. I built mine own roller mill, but I've seen enough coronas in action to know that their crush is just fine.

You aren't going to get any kind of roller mill, new, for close to $50.

Additionally, you could maybe mount a water jug upside down on a corona mill for a hopper. With a roller mill, it's probably going to be a bit more work to mount a hopper.

+1 to the corona! And don't let people tell you its no good, its simply not true. Once its set up, there's no fuss.
I too get high 70's efficiency with mine, and the whole station was less than $30, minus the drill but with either you need one if you don't want to crank.
If you want to hold off and save more dough for a roller, that would be fine too, its your $.
I don't see the benefit to spending $70 EXTRA to end up with comparable results, that's brew bucks for at least 3 more batches to me!

Cheers!

Think about it. Say you bought a Corona. You get to buy bulk and crush your own on YOUR schedule to YOUR satisfaction.

Then you can start saving money for a Roller Mill (IF you decide you need to upgrade).

Then if you buy a Roller Mill, you can turn around and SELL the Corona to a new brewer for just about what you paid for it (Assuming you bought used).

Or you could Pay It Forward and GIVE a new brewer a start on AG and DIY crushing...

Well said. For me, my corona paid for itself literally on the first bag of 2 row I bought.

Cereal Killer has worked great for me. Mine was $100 shipped. Then soon after they went on sale for $80. Now I see they are back to $100 and out of stock.

amcclai7 said:

Finally, I was hoping for something around $50. She could go as high as $75-80 but I would prefer to keep it around 50.

Click to expand...

The Corona type mills are the only option in this price range. I have been very satisfied with mine.

Because I am currently trying to buy a mill I can tell you.....

Currently Sold Out....
...............Cereal killer, Barley Crusher, Rebel.

So if it has to be now you can chose.


....a Corona type mill or a Monster mill or a Crankenstien.

I just received a crankandstein as an early Xmas gift. Ran some old grain through today to clean it per instructions. Holy smokes, the crush is very nice compared to my local home brew shop.

I chose it because it was the cheapest mill I could ask for. I ended up mounting it to an old cabinet but a price of 2x4 on a bucket would be feasibility got the $77ish 2s model. Adjusting the gap doesn't look like the funnest thing to do, but come on, how often you actually gonna do that?

Edit: probably no one cares, but my mother who purchased it wanted me to know the Guy that runs it was very nice. Our Xmas came early due to my step daughter going to Idaho with her father, and when my mother checked the status of the shipping to see if it would come in, in time, turns out he forgot to.ship it and overnighted it for free so it would be in on time.

Just fyi. I like good people.

Barley Crushers seem to back ordered/long wait from the manufacturer, but some homebrew shops have them in stock.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Sounds like a Corona Mill it is. The main reason I want one is to save money (buying grain in bulk) and convenience (not having to stop by the LHBS everytime I want to do a batch) Homercidal put it well. Why wait in order to buy a roller mill when I can get a corona right now? If i do decide to upgrade one day the corona will have easily paid for itself by then and I'm sure I could even sell the corona if I wanted to.

Is this what I would be looking for?

Old Fashioned Corn Grinder | Discount Grain Grinder Mill | Best Prices Corn Grinder

That is the mill I have and I find that it works fine. I'm sure it isn't as good as some high price ones but I'm not going into production, just for myself. BTW, if you look on Ebay the same guy's mill sell for a bit less most of the time.

Believe it or not , walmart also has one for under $30 free shipping to store. These are heavy so shipping from ebay or amazon may make walmart a good option. I was lucky enough to get free shipping on mine from ebay, total cost of the mill right at $20.

Even at 30, your milling station should be well under your budget.