Affordable grain mill?

Hey all -

- I'm on the lookout for an affordable grain mill. Does anyone have any suggestions? Through some googling I've seen some adjustable dual roller mills for about $125 or so... Is that pretty much the standard price for a good mill, or am I missing one?

Additionally, I've read some about these mills and from what I've seen roller mills are preferred over the burr grinder type. Do any of you experienced folks have any insight on these?

Thanks
Cheers

Cranknstien 2S for 76.00 http://www.crankandstein.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=12

They sell a base and hopper for 35.00 or you could just make your own.

I have this mill and it works very well.

I have a Barley Crusher Malt Mill.
http://www.barleycrusher.com/barleycrusher.php
It works very well.

Thanks guys -- both look like good options. I remember reading about the crank and stein mill in a book, but had forgotten about it until I just saw the name.

Really when it comes down to it, this is something that will be operational for some time to come so dropping $125 is justified when you factor the lifespan.

thanks again

I just picked up a barley crusher on craigs list for 70 :rockin:
seams do be a great mill will be trying it out on saturday
I didnt like the cheap mdf board it was on so made a new board out of paperstone

SantaClaus said:

Hey all -

- I'm on the lookout for an affordable grain mill. Does anyone have any suggestions? Through some googling I've seen some adjustable dual roller mills for about $125 or so... Is that pretty much the standard price for a good mill, or am I missing one?

Additionally, I've read some about these mills and from what I've seen roller mills are preferred over the burr grinder type. Do any of you experienced folks have any insight on these?

Thanks
Cheers

Click to expand...

Roller mills are preferred by those who prefer roller mills. I use a "Victoria" knockoff of a Corona mill I bought for $17 from "Discount Tommy" on eBay and I prefer it a lot. Sure, there are people who don't like them; what people like is what they've got. But I'm here to tell you that I've used my cheap junk to make 15 batches of beer over a period of 16 months, and I routinely hit all my numbers when making beer. Today, it ripped through a 20# grain bill, no problems.

I had a corona mill and it was fine by hand (sucked cranking it though). I hooked it up to a drill and it started to go down hill thereafter. It couldn't handle the low rpm's of the drill. I have a crankandstein like maida7 (the 3E) and really like it. Like rico said though, it is a matter of personal preference. I'd bet that you will get a lot of use out of a corona too.

i also had a corona mill a long time ago. SUCKED doing malt for a 12 gallon ipa ( over an hour and exhausted ). changed to my jsp maltmill with a drill, done in about 5 minutes, and feeling great.

I had a corona knockoff. It was ok. Then I threaded a 5/16" bolt in the main shaft and cut off the head. I attached my 1/2" drill and it became a fine mill.

Then I upgraded to a 2 roller SS monster mill, and I'm happy.

B

bad coffee said:

I had a corona knockoff. It was ok. Then I threaded a 5/16" bolt in the main shaft and cut off the head. I attached my 1/2" drill and it became a fine mill.

Then I upgraded to a 2 roller SS monster mill, and I'm happy.

B

Click to expand...

If you've still got that mill, and are willing to sell it, AND if the price is right, ...well, holler.

What's your definition of affordable, as you can see many of us use the corona style mill (the same one that CHarlie Papazian gets 87% efficiency with) that can range anywhere from 15-40 dollars, and can be easily tweaked. We have a big thread on it here. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/

Another option is the modded 20 dollar pasta machine from Michael's Arts and Crafts, plenty of folks are getting great efficiencies with them as well. There is a great thread about that here as well. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/using-pasta-maker-mill-grain-75784/

SantaClaus said:

Thanks guys -- both look like good options. I remember reading about the crank and stein mill in a book, but had forgotten about it until I just saw the name.

Really when it comes down to it, this is something that will be operational for some time to come so dropping $125 is justified when you factor the lifespan.

thanks again

Click to expand...

The crank n stien (and most all roller mills) is a very heavy duty build and could easily last a lifetime. The rollers are big hunks of steel.

Rossnaree said:

If you've still got that mill, and are willing to sell it, AND if the price is right, ...well, holler.

Click to expand...

Sorry, It's long gone. I live in NYC where an extra mill 'lying around' is taking up usable space.

Cheers,
B

maida7 said:

The crank n stien (and most all roller mills) is a very heavy duty build and could easily last a lifetime. The rollers are big hunks of steel.

Click to expand...

As is a Corona mill, a big hunk of steel, very heavy duty and will likely never wear out.

Note: I am in not comparing the two mills, they are different mill types.

I too use a corona mill with a drill. I think the general consensus is that you can "probably" get a better grind with less tearing with a roller mill. Doesn't matter at all if you are doing batch sparging, IMHO, as you can typically grind pretty fine with no problems with stuck sparging and get high efficiency. Using either, you will need to adjust to get the grind you want for the efficiency you desire. Obviously the roller mills are a different class, but both can do the job better than many store bought grinds.

Thanks for the insight guys - sounds like either will do the trick. I like the idea of using a drill instead of hand cranking, I cranked out 12lbs of grain the other day and while it wasn't intolerable, it was a good workout.