Big ol coffee grinder for crushing malt?

I brew quite a bit of beer from DME. 25 gallons a month. Partial grain. Just about to set off on the all grain path. I like to have my own equipment available so am considering getting my own barley crusher(at least eventually). BUT before I invest I have a question. Could I use(if i cleaned it out well) a big ol IGA coffee grinder. You know the type I mean? Weighs about 90 pounds. Has a fine to coarse adjustment arm on the side. Came out of a IGA grocery back in the late 60s or early 70s. My mother used it to grind wheat/corn/barley for bread. Works great for coffee also. But would it work, if cleaned out, for crushing malt?

no idea...are you able to adjust the crush? If so, you might be onto something. I'm guessing even the most coarse crush might be too fine for grain. Might be worth a shot trying anyway.

Are you able to disassemble it to see if you can manually adjust the crush?

I expect it'd just completely shred the husk and you'd be left with no useable filter bed and an "increased risk" for leached tannins. Otherwise, even on the course grind setting it'd likely reduce the grain to too fine a grit.

But, anything is possible. Best bet is to get some grain and run it through.

It can be dissasembled and the gaps can be set to calibrate it. As it is now it was gapped back in the day by my dad for my mom to do a real course grind when set to coarse. Maybe I should just grind a little up and compare it to the result gotten at my local shop and see how they compare? I don't use it for coffee anymore as I have decided I do not want to die in a caffiene fit. So it is just laying there taking up space as it is. I suppose worst case I can sell it and take the proceeds and invest in a mill.

Try it, see what the crush looks like.

Thanks for the advice and info. I will give it a try and see how it comes out.

Please do.

I have an old Bunn Industrial size grinder myself. The kind they use in diners right next to the big bunn drip machines.

I haven't tried it yet but have always been meaning to.

My LHBS has something similar. I'm not sure of the make or model, but it is an old school coffee mill. I'm pretty sure theirs is adjustable, but not on the fly. It gives a pretty good crush, with maybe a bit too much flour, but the hulls remain reasonably intact. I've never had issues with stuck sparges or tannins leeching. Give it a shot. Worst case you're out a few pounds of grain.

Terje

My last batch was run through a kitchen aid burr grinder. It worked well, and yes it was a pain. (small amounts at a time, wont be a problem with yours)

My guess is you have a burr grinder, not a blade grinder like a small home coffee grinder. I don't know for grain, but this is designed to crush beans past two wheels rather than shred with the blade.
Not having ever brewed AG, I think it would work if it is course enough.

Timekiller said:

My last batch was run through a kitchen aid burr grinder. It worked well, and yes it was a pain. (small amounts at a time, wont be a problem with yours)

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Yeah, my Bunn grinder bin would probably hold 8-9 pounds of grain. When I used it for coffee. I was able to grind about 120 lbs per hour.

These grinders are very similar in burr design to Corona mills. The biggest question is whether the anchors on both sides will allow the burrs to part enough to do course malt grind.

I was wondering the same thing the other day as I have a GIANT retail coffee grinder too. I will be interested to hear if it works.

dontman said:

When I used it for coffee. I was able to grind about 120 lbs per hour.

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You must have been bouncing off the walls.

My LHBS uses a Grindmaster grinder. In fact, I find that they don't grind it fine enough, and my efficiency suffers. There are still some intact grains by the time it is done. Conversely though, it would certainly be possible to turn it all into flour!

My money thinks it will work very well if set right...perhaps more people will start using them if the price is right. Those things seem like they could crush a silos worth of grain.

wilserbrewer said:

My money thinks it will work very well if set right...perhaps more people will start using them if the price is right. Those things seem like they could crush a silos worth of grain.

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The motor on this thing is ridiculous. Depending on where its plugged in when I push the button it dims the lights and sounds like when the Ghostbusters flip their backpacks on. The problem I have, and the reason I haven't tested it yet is that it does weigh something like 80 pounds and it trips my GFI circuit in the basement. I need to lug it up to one of the outlets in my kitchen.

I have been working out with free weights for a few months to build the necessary muscles to carry it up the stairs. Soon . . .

dontman said:

I have been working out with free weights for a few months to build the necessary muscles to carry it up the stairs. Soon . . .

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Lazy man suggests an extension cord...j/k. Why is it blowing the GFI?? Too many amps, or is their other issues?

wilserbrewer said:

Lazy man suggests an extension cord...j/k. Why is it blowing the GFI?? Too many amps, or is their other issues?

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I don't know. I do know I can run a 10K BTU AC and a drill and a lamp on the same circuit without tripping it.

When I do run it. I will be sure to let you know how it came out.

Ok this thread has inspired me to play around. I'm not sure if I like it. Take a look:



This has a couple whole grains that made it through but otherwise it looks okay. Not too much flour. I think I'll go a hair finer and try a batch with it.

By the way, this is the .75 second setting. I think I'll be able to grind for a batch in about 30 seconds.

Adjusted grind (I like this one enough to give it a try for brewing tomorrow





(EDIT: I will go one more turn finer after looking at these photos.)

I find this thread very interesting. I think you might be on to something if it works out ok!

I have one of these burr style coffee grinders that I no longer use:

Perhaps I will have to play with grinding some grain and seeing how it comes out. The above coffee grinder can go on sale for as little as $10 if you keep your eyes peeled.

Looks like setting up another craigslist search is in order.

Chips said:

I find this thread very interesting. I think you might be on to something if it works out ok!

I have one of these burr style coffee grinders that I no longer use:

Perhaps I will have to play with grinding some grain and seeing how it comes out. The above coffee grinder can go on sale for as little as $10 if you keep your eyes peeled.

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Funny, I have one of those somewhere in my basement. It was my very first burr grinder. It lasted less than 3 weeks for me before the burr holders started relaxing and the grind became very uneven. You say you're no longer using it. You might have found the same thing.

You better make a nice big pot of coffee if you plan to settle in and grind 10 lbs of coffee with it. Could be there for a couple hours.

We have a burr grinder in the kitchen. The directions that came with it are rather specific about not running it too long at one go (I think two or three minutes is specified) due to motor damage. Only doing a pot's worth of coffee beans at a time, this is hardly an issue. When it comes to grinding up 15 pound grain bills, I think I'd lunch the motor in short order. Those giant restaurant / grocery store grinders are probably good to go, if they put a good crush on the grain. Right now, I'm pretty happy with my Corona mill.

My first batch results are in. Meh. Incredibly easy. Took 4 minutes to grind 11 lbs for my batch. The grind was subpar though. Lots of flour and quite a few whole kernels made it through.

sparge was slow so I can't really go finer to get rid of the whole kernels plus my efficiency was abysmal. ~66% abysmal.

Looks like I'm gonna stick with my corona for the time being.

I've been using an old Bunn grinder for years. Works okay if adjusted just right, but needs alot of fine tuning. Once set, lock it.

sweetwater said:

I've been using an old Bunn grinder for years. Works okay if adjusted just right, but needs alot of fine tuning. Once set, lock it.

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I have a Grindmaster industrial coffee grinder and trying to find out what you set it at to get good crush without excessive flour?

Cheers

ParabolicDestination said:

I have a Grindmaster industrial coffee grinder and trying to find out what you set it at to get good crush without excessive flour?



Cheers

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I would try it at the coarsest setting and take it from there, is that's still too fine you can modify it or replace it....

For those that are thinking this would be a cheap way out, be aware that commercial coffee grinders are very expensive. You might get lucky on CL, but I would be stunned if this became a trend. New ones like those in grocery stores are upwards of $1000.