New grain crusher is bad

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sonvolt

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So, I got one of those cheap corona style grain mills - :mad:

I don't recommend. The adjustment is really touchy, and the mill plate (or whatever you call it) is not square. Some grains come out as powder, while others come out without a scratch. Needless to say, it caused my first stuck mash in my brewing career today - not fun.

I have yet to see what kind of efficiency I will get from the crush. My pre-boil gravity reads at 1.036 or so - from 9lbs of 2-row, .5 lbs Biscuit, and .5 lbs Crystal (80L). I'll let ya'll know what the gravity reads post boil later tonight.

Well . . . hop addition coming up . . . .5 oz. Saaz.
 
Some people use them very well. But I still hvae not thought to buy one. I like the ones that the Local home brew shops have. Seems to do a good job and they bought the expensive one... so why not use it:)
 
Beer Snob said:
Some people use them very well. But I still hvae not thought to buy one. I like the ones that the Local home brew shops have. Seems to do a good job and they bought the expensive one... so why not use it:)
Click to expand...

I wish I had an LHBS. :mad:

I get most of my supplies via mail. There is a higher end liquor store in P-Town that has some supplies. There is nothing around here that has a mill, though.

My mash tonight was one huge bowl of goo . . .it was gross!
 
Blender said:
I don't suppose that you could clean it up and return it. I have a Barley Crusher and love it.
Click to expand...

I only paid $11.00 for the damn thing - Northern Tools. Came with a free hat, too. So, I would feel bad returning it. You get what you pay for, though. Can you guys give me links to those products you mentioned?
 
I bought one off eBay. It works pretty well. It's an old fashined handle crank thingie... looks like i've got a midieval torture device in there next to my rack and ironmaiden.
 
sonvolt said:
So, I got one of those cheap corona style grain mills - :mad:

I don't recommend. The adjustment is really touchy, and the mill plate (or whatever you call it) is not square. Some grains come out as powder, while others come out without a scratch.
Click to expand...

I used one that sounds like yours for several years. It was better than crushing with a rolling pin or an exacto knife, but never produced consistent results. I changed to a JSP mill http://schmidling.com/maltmill.htm which I got on sale at my LHBS, and have been a happy camper ever since.

-a.
 
That Barley Crusher MaltMIll looks like a pretty good deal for the price. So does this only slightly more expensive Crankandstein GCM-BCC. I was about to buy the Crankandstein mill, but now I'm reconsidering...

One question I have about both of these drill-driven units. My local HBS has a belt driven mill that looks like a crankandstein. It rolls pretty slowly and does a great job crushing grain. These 3/8ths drill-driven mills seem like they'd be hard to drive at a consistently slow and even speed. My drill is variable only to the degree that I can control my trigger finger. I don't have a speed setting. Do any of you have a problem controlling the grind rate when using a drill to drive the mill?
 
I usually have the shop run my grain through their nice equipment for free! Most places will mill it as long as you buy it.
 
It is nice to have one near by I have to say.... and I have like.... 3 I can get to easily believe it out not. Another real nice one, but it's REALLY out there.
 
beer4breakfast said:
That Barley Crusher MaltMIll looks like a pretty good deal for the price. So does this only slightly more expensive Crankandstein GCM-BCC. I was about to buy the Crankandstein mill, but now I'm reconsidering...

One question I have about both of these drill-driven units. My local HBS has a belt driven mill that looks like a crankandstein. It rolls pretty slowly and does a great job crushing grain. These 3/8ths drill-driven mills seem like they'd be hard to drive at a consistently slow and even speed. My drill is variable only to the degree that I can control my trigger finger. I don't have a speed setting. Do any of you have a problem controlling the grind rate when using a drill to drive the mill?
Click to expand...
From what I understand the mills have to run about 200-300 rpm's. I think it wouldn't be to hard to hold the drill at speed for a minute or 2 as the grain mills.You would start out slow and increase to the desired speed.The Barley Crusher comes with a handle so that is all that I have used so far.I just hand grind while the first water is heating up.
 
Like Thirstyone, my HBS will grind for free. But I like the idea of grinding just before mashing, and a grinder becomes a necessity if you ever start buying 55 pound sacks of grain. That JSP is nice too, but I think I'd go for the less expensive Barley Crusher when I get to the point of buying a mill.
 
sonvolt said:
I wish I had an LHBS. :mad:

I get most of my supplies via mail. There is a higher end liquor store in P-Town that has some supplies. There is nothing around here that has a mill, though.

My mash tonight was one huge bowl of goo . . .it was gross!
Click to expand...
Cape Cod? I got my mill from B3, the grain gobbler. It works well enough but it is hard to keep adjusted and attatched to the bucket. They sell the corona mills for ~$100 here, so the $150 seemed pretty cheap.
 
I use a corona type of mill called a porkert and get excellent results.
My crush is just what the Dr. ordered. great efficiency and no stuck sparges.
Taste of my beer? Outstanding, even if I do say so myself.

I know other roller type mills are suposed to be the cats meow, but for
me the one I have is cheap and effective. I'm satisified.
 
boo boo said:
I use a corona type of mill called a porkert and get excellent results.
My crush is just what the Dr. ordered. great efficiency and no stuck sparges.
Taste of my beer? Outstanding, even if I do say so myself.

I know other roller type mills are suposed to be the cats meow, but for
me the one I have is cheap and effective. I'm satisified.
Click to expand...

How do you get the right adjustment?
 
My Corona works fine, but I really want a Barleycrusher or Crankandstein. I REALLY want the triple roller Crankandstein, but I suppose it's overkill.

My biggest problem with the Corona is that the adjustment isn't consistent - I have to readjust it every time I use it.
 
sonvolt said:
How do you get the right adjustment?
Click to expand...

Started loose and worked the crush tighter until I had a good crush and then each time I crushed, I adjusted, until I got what I consider a great crush for a corona type.

I had to space the distance between the main body of the mill and the removable part with metal washers placed on the bolts that hold it together.
That info I got from the Green Board.:)
 
we started with a corona, set it fairly loose and ran the grain through twice.

we went with the three roller CrankandStein with absolutely no regrets. it was more than we wanted to spend, so we looked around the garage, got rid of some stuff on eBay and viola! it was free.

What a Great Crush: pulverized endosperm, full husks. Great extraction.

a word on the drill: look for a big drill that runs slow. i got a 1/2 inch with a max speed of 750 rpm. put a strip of bright tape on the arbor, i figure if i see it three times a second, that's 180 rpm. i'm still looking for a small motor arrangement to do it right, but the drill works fine.
 
I had to space the distance between the main body of the mill and the removable part with metal washers placed on the bolts that hold it together.
That info I got from the Green Board.:)[/quote] from boo-boo

i bought the cheap made in china knock off of the corona from princess auto that was linked in a previous thread.
had to grind a little off the shaft to get the adjustment to work and then did like booboo with metal bushings to get a rigid attachment.
took 25 minutes to grind 11 pounds of two row last week and had as good a sparge as with the pre-crushed grains i had used before:rockin:
 
Blender said:
From what I understand the mills have to run about 200-300 rpm's. I think it wouldn't be to hard to hold the drill at speed for a minute or 2 as the grain mills.You would start out slow and increase to the desired speed.The Barley Crusher comes with a handle so that is all that I have used so far.I just hand grind while the first water is heating up.
Click to expand...

I only use my drill - a craftsman cordless with a back up battery. I set the torque high and I bet the rpm is in that range. Never had a problem with inconsistant cracking. The only caveat is wheat grain. It is small and hard! I usually crack it separately, then crack it again with all the other grains.
 

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