Going to buy a crankandstein, but not sure which model to go with

I'm going to buy a crank and stein, but i'm debating on which model to go with. Its either going to be the 2A , 2D or 3E. The main difference I saw between the 2A and 2D is the 2D has a 9 position adjustment feature which makes your adjustments more accurate. Does anybody find this useful to have or is the 2A's adjustment system just fine. Also is it worth it to buy the 3 roller mill over the 2 roller? I don't want to buy something and then wish I had bought something else.

signing in to see the advice and input as im also looking to buy a mill.

So please some one add an opinion.


GG

IMO, without knowing those mills I think you need to know your volume of grain, will you be conditioning the malt, will you be using grains of varied sizes that require you to reset the gap frequently?

I use a Barley Crusher and have started malt conditioning. I can pretty much leave the gap set and have a great crush with 2 rollers. If I was going to be doing massive amounts of brewing for the next 20 years I would buy a 3 roller, Stainless Steel built like a tank mill. Otherwise I would just go for the less expensive model and be ok with it.

I got the base model with a shaft upgrade. Works great and gives me +80% efficiency every time.
If i were to buy another one i 'd go for the 2D.

Just ordered a crank and stein 2d I'm stoked. Milling my own grain!!!

Can you post a link to the mills you are looking at? I'm interested in getting one, too. Thanks.

should be this one
http://www.crankandstein.net/

I have a monster mill MM-2 two roller and it works very well. Very well built and the hopper that it came with seemed much sturdier than the equivalent barley crusher I looked at. The mill and hopper were ~150 shipped. I use a corded drill (bit too much torque for a cordless at ~.035 gap).

VolFan said:

I have a monster mill MM-2 two roller and it works very well. Very well built and the hopper that it came with seemed much sturdier than the equivalent barley crusher I looked at. The mill and hopper were ~150 shipped. I use a corded drill (bit too much torque for a cordless at ~.035 gap).

Click to expand...

this thread was about crank and steins.... and experiences with various models they make.

Here's the one i bought. the click adjustment sounds awesome.

http://www.crankandstein.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=11

I'll be sure to post reviews when i've used it.

My wife Bought me the 2a, with the base and hopper. I have no complaints about it so far. I know that it has done 55 pound of grain so far with out a problem. I am very happy with it. Plus my wife got it for me how cool is that!!!!! Yes I am a lucky man!!!!!!!!

What is the advantage of the 3 roller over the 2 roller?

I have a 2A with the hopper. Crankandsteins are very well built and customer service is awesome. I have run a few hundred pounds through mine and have had no problems. Adjusting the gap is easy on the 2A.

In a nut shell, multiple rollers give better crush of the grain.

The 3 roller mills have a slightly better crush and of course the bling factor. For homebrewers 2 is all you will ever need unless you want to try to go commercial at some point.. Any good 2 roller mill Crankenstein Monstermill or Barley Crusher are all nice. You cant go wrong with any of them. I love my Monster Mill MM-2 its sweet.

Check out the Barley Crusher group buy thread in Classifieds: BC Group Buy.

Best deal on a mill anywhere by far.

2A for me with home-conjured top/ bottom plates and hopper. I have used a cordless, but prefer a hand crank I made. It is fastened to a plywood stand that a five gallon bucket sits under. I have it set @ .035 and have crushed probably more than 150 lbs. I like the setting feature of the 2A.

Why doesn't Crankandstein put full assembled picures up? I looked at there site a couple monthas ago and thought "Just rollers?!" Now i see they have a hopper set-up, but it doesn't show the whole thing together.

They have a little more spendy product - from my limited knowledge - Wouldn't it make sense to just go the extra step and show na "example" of what it looks like assembled?

The 2A is a good value for easy adjustment.

excuse my ignorance on mills but what is the main differences between those roller styles and this style



also, how do you determine how fine to crush the grains.

Plate mills like that do a bit more shredding than a roller mill.

I researched the crap out of the mills prior to buying one and I saw to many my mill has isu=sues regarding the barley crusher. IM sure they're great mills but I'm in Alaska and it's a PITA to receive something only to have to mail it back and postage is speedy. That and I would rather build the mount and hopper my self I can do a better job cheaper right here at home.

kkocher13's thread has gone sideways. I'm finding it very enlightening though.

The local homebrew supply house has a Corona style (pictured above - white) that he said I coud use whenever I want (during store hours) - he also states he has good luck with it. I see they cost considerably less. There ust besome advantage to the roller style, no?

CAn you adjust crush size easier, or grind more grain faster?

Makes also less flour.

I have a two roller and three roller (three roller is actually monster as crankandstein hadn't opened back up yet) Crankandstein and now have my 3 roller Monster Mill coming in soon. The Crankandsteins look the same now as they did when I purchased them years ago so I feel I can comment on the quality of them. They are by far the best mills I have purchased. I also have the Barley Crusher, which is why I went with Crankandstein (one roller on the BC would constantly just free-spin causing me to have to adjust my cranking all the time). I have never had a problem with any of my other mills and have been using them for years. I motorized my Crankandstein/MM and have kicked myself for not buying these sooner as it turns 30 minutes or more on the BC (hand-cranking as the BC is horrible motorized to me) into literally a couple minutes.

The occasional rock gets past me sometimes and is no problem for the Crankandsteins, the BC would seize up. I have not noticed any problems from the rocks and other debris getting through either. I had left my 2 roller Crankandstein out while I deployed for six months and got back to a rusty mess. After cleaning the rollers with a brush it works just like it did before I left. These things are really awesome.

Either mill you choose will be more than adequate for hand-cranking, but to motorize I would stay away from the BC. And I only bought Monster after my first Crankandstein, because after the split, Monster had their site up first and the ruggedness was just a bit better than the old Crankandstein (although this is just my opinion and is not based on any scientific data). I was in the same boat as you a couple weeks ago (left most of my brewing equipment back in the states), and chose another Monster Mill based on my use of the Crankandstein, BC, and MM, plus the MM has a way better hopper. Unfortunately I will be hand-cranking until I return to the states and then putting this one with the motor in my garage for many more years of happy brewing, hopefully.

Finally getting back to this. I ended up going with the crankandstein 2d. I'd recommend it to anybody. I've brewed three batches and nailed 75% efficiency with each batch using a batch sparge. Its so nice not to have to guess if my process was off or a bad crush. I've run it with a Dewalt 1/2 inch drill so far. No issues what so ever. Probably the best brewing purchase I've made to date. They really are built like tanks and the click adjustment is sweet.

If any one ever has questions about a C&S, please ask away. I sell them on my site, and we use a 328D at the store now, and used to use a 3D prior to getting the 328D. I am pretty knowledgeable about how they work, and they are certainly a high quality, precision piece of equipment. The owner of C&S is a friend of mine also, so anything I do not know I can ask the man directly.

I highly recommend a C&S mill for anyone in the market.

Thanks,

Ed

I forgot to add this. I bought the crankandstien from Brewmasters warehouse. Great service as always. And Ed, thanks for the upgrade to the 2D. You really do run a great operation.

Thats Funny I also got a 2D mill the click adjustment is awesome. What did you build for a hopper and base?

I just used some 3/4 inch birch plywood I had laying around for the base and top cover and an old water cooler carboy I snagged from work as my hopper. Simple and effective. I wanted to make sure I had a good system before I go over the top with the hopper and base build. Now that I know it works I will begin construction of my grain cart.

wanted to revive this thread instead of starting my own.. i'm thinking of purchasing a 2D with the base and hopper, but the images of the base/hopper look like it is only compatible with their 3 roller models.. looks from the picture that the height of the 2 roll models would leave a couple inches of space between the hopper and the base.. has anybody used these together, if so do you have a picture?

Does anybody know if its safe to brew with propane in a garage? I assume leave the garage door open but is that enough? I don't want to contaminate my home with carbon monoxide.