Grain Mills..... Best one, Why?

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Anyone using a Malt Muncher 3? I see they are inexpensive but have roller bearings instead of bushings. Monster mill 3 is back ordered where I shop & I don't want to go back to my corona at this point. Need something soonish.

My barely crusher gave me a lot of grief today. I reversed the rollers to get more use out of it, but still stops working, drill needs to be reversed to re engage etc. About 1,000# grain though it, rollers visibly worn.

If they were available to ship today, I'd consider buying one of those slick SS Brewtec rigs for big bucks, the failing mill got my brew day off to a bad start and it only got worse. Made me want a quality rig..(I did end up with good wort in fermentor in end, but jeesh, long day).

I use a lot of rye malt and some wheat, I think it is harder than barely malt and has dulled the rollers.
 
Dland said:
Anyone using a Malt Muncher 3? I see they are inexpensive but have roller bearings instead of bushings. Monster mill 3 is back ordered where I shop & I don't want to go back to my corona at this point. Need something soonish.

My barely crusher gave me a lot of grief today. I reversed the rollers to get more use out of it, but still stops working, drill needs to be reversed to re engage etc. About 1,000# grain though it, rollers visibly worn.

If they were available to ship today, I'd consider buying one of those slick SS Brewtec rigs for big bucks, the failing mill got my brew day off to a bad start and it only got worse. Made me want a quality rig..(I did end up with good wort in fermentor in end, but jeesh, long day).

I use a lot of rye malt and some wheat, I think it is harder than barely malt and has dulled the rollers.
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yes anyone using the kegco 3 roller like myself also has the same mill as the ones branded as malt munchier 3 mills.. they are the exact same product only branded and distributed with likely a different warranty under a different price (to pay for said warranty and advertising.) They are also sold under another brand name I cant think of at the moment for more $$

We have put over 4 thousand pounds of malt through our kegco 3 roller at my brewpub where I have it setup with a motor on a cart.. it has been maintenance free thus far and works like new. It gets used every week for 3bbl brews. Best $150 Mill I ever bought.
 
Dland said:
Anyone using a Malt Muncher 3? I see they are inexpensive but have roller bearings instead of bushings. Monster mill 3 is back ordered where I shop & I don't want to go back to my corona at this point. Need something soonish.

My barely crusher gave me a lot of grief today. I reversed the rollers to get more use out of it, but still stops working, drill needs to be reversed to re engage etc. About 1,000# grain though it, rollers visibly worn.

If they were available to ship today, I'd consider buying one of those slick SS Brewtec rigs for big bucks, the failing mill got my brew day off to a bad start and it only got worse. Made me want a quality rig..(I did end up with good wort in fermentor in end, but jeesh, long day).

I use a lot of rye malt and some wheat, I think it is harder than barely malt and has dulled the rollers.
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It's not often that I recommend NB, but right now you can score a MM2 for $160. Use the code BREWYEAR at checkout. I replaced my corona with one a year or two ago during the same 20% off sale, and I'm very happy.
 
Tobor_8thMan said:
A question from a potential MoreBeer purchaser "Can anyone confirm if this model has ball bearings or if it has bronze bushings?"
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I have researched this topic extensively and am 100% sure the the malt munchier 3 is the kegco three roller, made in the same chinese factory as the cereal killer aka maltmunchier 2 roller and kegco 2 roller mill. IT IS the 3 roller version of the bullet proof cereal killer. I own both mills along with a MM3 we have in case we ever need a backup for the kegco 3 roller at the brewpub, (CK is my mill at home)
The MM2 is economically made by comparison with bronze bushings which will wear out long before the sealed ball bearing would. this is why the ball bearings are an expensive option through MM on their pro pulley driven option mills.

I'm going to repeat myself here and point out I paid $150 shipped for my kegco 3 roller and have brewed with it for just about a year now milling an average of $200lbs of grain a week and the knurling on the rollers still looks new. The rollers are hardened steel unlike some others (Barley crusher).
 
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They are also sold as the "mega mill" here,
https://www.nybrewsupply.com/collec...cts/3-roller-mega-mill?variant=14544667934764
and the "Ibrew" mill here
https://www.ibrew.com.au/products/3-roller-grain-mill-1

Or this store brand, (notice the same incorrectly assembled hopper pics sused by the beverage factory and williams brerwing a while back.
https://www.triplejhomebrew.com.au/3-roller-mill-for-barley-grain-home-brew.html

I could go on all day to prove this point,
http://www.zeppy.io/discover/us/barley-mill-3-roller

some of the sellers assembled it upside down to throw people off who are looking it seems,
https://qatar.desertcart.com/produc...ll-barley-crusher-malt-grain-for-home-brewing

This brand name is used a lot on aliexpress, I own some generic taps that use this brand.
https://www.slideshare.net/sfdsvear...inder3-rollers-wheat-crusher-sturdy-pine-wood
Which while we are at it lets share all the different suppliers on aliexpress that sell these,
https://www.aliexpress.com/af/3-rol...+mill&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20191229180404


In fact you too can buy a pallet of these mills on alibaba and repackage them as any brand mill you would like... The factory will even lazer etch your own name brand and logo in them if you pay enough as 2 brands now including kegco and the new 2 roller "hull wrecker" version is now sold with. (There was a third brand that I cant find that was being sold with hullwrecker stickers over the etching for a while I think this branding failed before it got off the ground )

Heres a wooden base cheap,
http://www.dsia.co.uk/mills-cds-40_...w-acessories-3030-cm-alwyazmjwa-pds-4066.html

and heres an example of what looks to bethe 2 roller version for $45 shipped! (I havent verified if its a legit seller or if this is tha same mill as the CK)
https://www.kumarkets.com/stainless...brew-crusher-grinder-mill-grain-malt-ferroday
 
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Well, looks like NYbrewsupply has the best price, depending on shipping? That second one is from Australia, and I don't even want to contemplate shipping and time.
 
Blazinlow86 said:
I and alot of others had bad luck with chinese mills and the rollers wearing out quickly. I'd go with a monster mill personally if money's not a huge concern. Some will make a big deal that the bushings in the monster mill will wear out faster than the bearings in the Chinese mill and therefore the kego etc mills are better but i would rather replace the 5$ bushings many years down the road instead of having to buy another mill when the rollers wear out once again. To each there own though. I'm a buy once cry once kinda guy at this point. Cheers
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The rollers on these ball bearing mills have only one report by anyone wearing out that Ive ever seen and that was your second hand report of your brewing friend having the issue not you unless something changed? What mill was it you had exactly? because I dont think you knew which one your friend had last time which makes me think it was actually a BC.
I remember you comment pretty well because it sounded biased against chinese made stuff in general you then stated the mm3 was only a few dollars more than kegco... The kegco mill has only gone up in price since its release and the mm3 has come down to $189 for just the incomplete main body or $265+ shipping for the complete mill as sold by others
I'm not trying to be argumentative here but you have made the vague claim about the rollers before when I mentioned I actually use my mill for commercial use and the rollers are holding up perfectly.
Where are the "lot of others" with this issue? Maybe you can point me to the reports or threads on this? All I seem to find are complaints about the "american made" Barley crusher? (like @Dland experience above BTW) The cereal killer mill is one of the most widely used mills here and I have yet to see reports of the rollers wearing out. I seen one report someone made of damaged bearings.. one, and that person replaced them and kept the mill.
Most complaints were resolved with the owners learning how to properly adjust the gap without binding. just go to any of the kegco mill threads or even the cereal killer mill threads and you will find positive experiences reported

The american made rollers on the barley crusher are the only rollers I know of with a common reported problem of being too soft. all anyone has to do is a search here on grain mills and you will see most of the other mills sold are fairly bullet proof

Since I have a brand new mm3 as well as the kegco Ive already put 4,000lbs though maybe I should swap them out and see how well the mm3 actually holds up in heavy use?
 
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I just ordered the kegco 3 roller from amazon. $198 with free shipping. I have a 2 roller barley crusher now, but I'm ready for an upgrade. Ill take bearings over bushings any day. Regarding the rollers, they are carbon steel or stainless steel. The stainless looks pretty and won't rust, but is much softer than carbon steel. Pay attention to the product description, personally, I wouldn't buy any mill, bushing/bearing, 2/3 roller, that had stainless rollers. I'd like someone to show me a carbon steel roller that wore out from grinding grain. If someone damages a carbon steel roller, they probably have gravel in their grain.
 
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Dave Sarber said:
I just ordered the kegco 3 roller from amazon. $198 with free shipping. I have a 2 roller barley crusher now, but I'm ready for an upgrade. Ill take bearings over bushings any day. Regarding the rollers, they are carbon steel or stainless steel. The stainless looks pretty and won't rust, but is much softer than carbon steel. Pay attention to the product description, personally, I wouldn't buy any mill, bushing/bearing, 2/3 roller, that had stainless rollers. I'd like someone to show me a carbon steel roller that wore out from grinding grain.
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Normally I would agree with you but I should point out,

The barley crusher was actually advertised as having carbon steel rollers (as well as being american made) and there are literally dozens of threads here talking about people having to send thier mills back for new roller multiple times in some cases.
 
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augiedoggy said:
Normally I would agree with you but I should point out,

The barley crusher was actually advertised as having carbon steel rollers (as well as being american made) and there are literally dozens of threads here talking about people having to send thier mills back for new roller multiple times in some cases.
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Well, that's what I have now, with carbon rollers, and other than being a little discolored, they look brand new and sharp. My shaft, OTOH, where I attach my drill motor, is getting scarred up from the crappy Chuck on my drill. The kegco has a "triangular" shaft to stop the Chuck from slipping. The bigger hopper on the kegco is a plus also. I checked out all the specs and pics, and it seems to be very well made.
 
Dave Sarber said:
Well, that's what I have now, with carbon rollers, and other than being a little discolored, they look brand new and sharp. My shaft, OTOH, where I attach my drill motor, is getting scarred up from the crappy Chuck on my drill. The kegco has a "triangular" shaft to stop the Chuck from slipping. The bigger hopper on the kegco is a plus also. I checked out all the specs and pics, and it seems to be very well made.
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curious here, how much use do you have on your BC and how old is it? every time I here a report like this from a BC owner I wonder if there was a point were BC used better quality rollers or if they changed them due to complaints. Either way its useful info to know.

I do find it odd that the beverage factory would choose to sell them for more $ on amazon without the base than they do on thier own site with the base... maybe you can mention that and get them to throw in the base? its the same base Northern brewer offers on their 2 roll version (hullwrecker).
 
I should also point out that carbon steel is not a guarantee of hardness, that depends on the heat treatment. A low heat treat is still somewhat soft and ductile, and fairly easy to machine. A higher heat treat makes it much harder, but brittle. (Think about your shaft snapping off). The manufacturer has to make a choice between hardness and ductility. Maybe mine is one of the good ones.
 
augiedoggy said:
curious here, how much use do you have on your BC and how old is it? every time I here a report like this from a BC owner I wonder if there was a point were BC used better quality rollers or if they changed them due to complaints. Either way its useful info to know.

I do find it odd that the beverage factory would choose to sell them for more $ on amazon without the base than they do on thier own site with the base... maybe you can mention that and get them to throw in the base? its the same base Northern brewer offers on their 2 roll version (hullwrecker).
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I do woodworking also, so the base is no problem, in fact, I recently made a new base for the barley crusher. (I hate particleboard for any purpose!) I've had the barley crusher for about 2 years, but I got it secondhand from my brother, and he had it for 6 or 7 years.
 
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Dave Sarber said:
Well, that's what I have now, with carbon rollers, and other than being a little discolored, they look brand new and sharp. My shaft, OTOH, where I attach my drill motor, is getting scarred up from the crappy Chuck on my drill. The kegco has a "triangular" shaft to stop the Chuck from slipping. The bigger hopper on the kegco is a plus also. I checked out all the specs and pics, and it seems to be very well made.
Click to expand...

Have you considered grinding a flat onto the shaft? I have loads of circular grooves caused by my drill chuck slipping on the shaft - I've procrastinated grinding a flat on mine, but maybe tomorrow :).
 
passedpawn said:
Have you considered grinding a flat onto the shaft? I have loads of circular grooves caused by my drill chuck slipping on the shaft - I've procrastinated grinding a flat on mine, but maybe tomorrow :).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought about it, but I'd have to take it apart, not a big deal, but I felt an upgrade was due. I'll probably pass on the BC to some struggling noob.
 
augiedoggy said:
The rollers on these ball bearing mills have only one report by anyone wearing out that Ive ever seen and that was your second hand report of your brewing friend having the issue not you unless something changed? What mill was it you had exactly? because I dont think you knew which one your friend had last time which makes me think it was actually a BC.
I remember you comment pretty well because it sounded biased against chinese made stuff in general you then stated the mm3 was only a few dollars more than kegco... The kegco mill has only gone up in price since its release and the mm3 has come down to $189 for just the incomplete main body or $265+ shipping for the complete mill as sold by others
I'm not trying to be argumentative here but you have made the vague claim about the rollers before when I mentioned I actually use my mill for commercial use and the rollers are holding up perfectly.
Where are the "lot of others" with this issue? Maybe you can point me to the reports or threads on this? All I seem to find are complaints about the "american made" Barley crusher? (like @Dland experience above BTW) The cereal killer mill is one of the most widely used mills here and I have yet to see reports of the rollers wearing out. I seen one report someone made of damaged bearings.. one, and that person replaced them and kept the mill.
Most complaints were resolved with the owners learning how to properly adjust the gap without binding. just go to any of the kegco mill threads or even the cereal killer mill threads and you will find positive experiences reported

The american made rollers on the barley crusher are the only rollers I know of with a common reported problem of being too soft. all anyone has to do is a search here on grain mills and you will see most of the other mills sold are fairly bullet proof

Since I have a brand new mm3 as well as the kegco Ive already put 4,000lbs though maybe I should swap them out and see how well the mm3 actually holds up in heavy use?
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No need to rehash this debate once again as it's pointless at this point. I borrowed my friends beverage factory/ kegco version when my barley crusher rollers stopped grabbing and had the same issue. I bought a monster mill and so far it's great. Maybe the bushings will wear out but that's no big deal imho. As with anything people have different experiences. Maybe yours was made before or after my buddies and its better for whatever reason. Maybe they all aren't exactly the same. And who knows maybe the rollers will wear out on the monster mill to. Cheers
 
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Malt muncher 3 is $150, but when I went to order it is back ordered "until early January".

I inquired about delay for fancy new ss brewtec mill & was told "sometime January" turns out it is made in china too. I do like the look of the rollers though, looks like they crush better than knurled rollers. I guess they can do that 'cause it is belt driven.

I should be able to get a few more batches out of barley crusher. Going to wait to order whatever new mill when it is in stock.

I'm sure I could make one if had too,... if ships from china stopped or something...{;
 
I got the Malt Muncher 3 from MoreBeer earlier this year. It is selling for $150 right now, but on back order until January. I've only put about 100 lbs through it thus far, but am very pleased with the purchase. It holds its settings just fine and has basically given me no hassle at all. I figured if I had issues MB would stand behind it. I do like the 3 roller concept, particularly because I intend on running primarily European malts through it. The fixed .060 in the first pass takes care of these plumper grains no problem. I read about people having issues with the Viking Malts (though I have found that other European malts have these larger grain sizes also), but have had no problems at all with them. Highly recommended at this point.
 
I use the JSP Maly Mill - it is great, but I just checked out their page today and it seems they have suffered a fire that destroyed their facilities and are no longer in business. I have a Malt Mill adjustable mill and it is great. I've had it for 5+ years and it still works great.

All of that to say, if you can get your hands on a Maly Mill buy it - it is a lifetime piece of equipment.
 
sikkingj said:
I use the JSP Maly Mill - it is great, but I just checked out their page today and it seems they have suffered a fire that destroyed their facilities and are no longer in business. I have a Malt Mill adjustable mill and it is great. I've had it for 5+ years and it still works great.

All of that to say, if you can get your hands on a Maly Mill buy it - it is a lifetime piece of equipment.
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Well I'll be darned... I just verified.

Jack Schmidling has been making those for a loooong time. I have one that I believe was case-hardened (I bought it from a commercial enterprise that was upgrading).
 
passedpawn said:
Well I'll be darned... I just verified.

Jack Schmidling has been making those for a loooong time. I have one that I believe was case-hardened (I bought it from a commercial enterprise that was upgrading).
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Jack had gone out of business years ago, long before the fire. He retired, had no one to take over the business, and so stopped manufacturing or selling new equipment (or any of the other supplies he sold, like cheese making stuff,) but LHBS could still occasionally get replacement parts he had lying around. The fire wiped that out too.

The JSP Malt Mill was indeed the best available in its time. It was fun in its way, as you pretty much had to build out as you liked from the bare bones mill he produced, unless you actually found the janky little hopper and crank appealing. But the mill itself was superb.

When mine finally needed replacement, I got the Monster MM2 Pro, with the 2 inch rollers. I was impressed with how far homebrew mill technology has come since the introduction of the JSP. I'd highly recommend this one. Sadly, some of the mills available don't seem to rise even to the level of the old JSP Malt Mill, taking a step backward.
 
Robert65 said:
Jack had gone out of business years ago, long before the fire. He retired, had no one to take over the business, and so stopped manufacturing or selling new equipment (or any of the other supplies he sold, like cheese making stuff,) but LHBS could still occasionally get replacement parts he had lying around. The fire wiped that out too.

The JSP Malt Mill was indeed the best available in its time. It was fun in its way, as you pretty much had to build out as you liked from the bare bones mill he produced, unless you actually found the janky little hopper and crank appealing. But the mill itself was superb.

When mine finally needed replacement, I got the Monster MM2 Pro, with the 2 inch rollers. I was impressed with how far homebrew mill technology has come since the introduction of the JSP. I'd highly recommend this one. Sadly, some of the mills available don't seem to rise even to the level of the old JSP Malt Mill, taking a step backward.
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The rollers on mine are still as good as the day I bought it, and it was old and quite used at that time. I don't know why these rollers have lasted so long and others (barley crusher) seem to have issues shortly after being put into service. The rest of the mill though is quite poor - the masonite/pressboard body and hopper. I was considering building a full new assy around the metal roller box, and then motor/coupling etc. Instead, I think I'm just going to buy a full motorized mill and pass this one on to the next guy.

Regarding his cheese press, it would work but I'd never recommend that style. The dutch style, which is a large lever arm upon which one can hang weights, is superior in that it allows controlled force on the cheese. For the casual cheesemaker, any improvised weights will work as a cheese press. Cheese enthusiasts will ultimately end up with the dutch style, so it's the correct one to buy first.

Jack Schmidling seems to have been around and active in the community for a long time. I've always gotten a kick out of this early post from John Palmer on the legendary Homebrewing Digest. But you'll see, just a few posts below, active participation by our boy Jack. From the look of Jack's blogs and online stuff, he is quite the Renaissance man. I'd love to live next door to a guy like that.

http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/1192.html#1192-6
 
passedpawn said:
From the look of Jack's blogs and online stuff, he is quite the Renaissance man. I'd love to live next door to a guy like that.

http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/1192.html#1192-6
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Yep, he seems to have led a charmed life. Never had to work -- just found that people would pay him to pursue his hobbies and tinker around! Every neighborhood would be enriched by having a guy like him around.
 
I've had a Schmidling Malt Mill for over 20 years. It still works fine, but it's probably time to think about replacing it. There's some slop in the bushings and you can hear it when it moves. But I'm still making good beer with it!
 
Tobor_8thMan said:
I had a JSP Malt Mill. Purchased in the late 90's. About a year ago I noticed I wasn't getting a very good crush. Yes, checked the gap. That's when I purchased the MM3. Believe I posted this info in another thread.
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When you say you werent getting a good crush do you mean the grain wasnt going through the rollers well? because if the gap is consistent and tight enough and the rollers have the grip to pull the grain through I fail to understand the physics behind the grain not getting crushed correctly at that point.

I can also say having both a 2 and 3 roller mill that I do not see any measurable difference in performance as far as how the grain is crushed.
 
augiedoggy said:
When you say you werent getting a good crush do you mean the grain wasnt going through the rollers well? because if the gap is consistent and tight enough and the rollers have the grip to pull the grain through I fail to understand the physics behind the grain not getting crushed correctly at that point.

I can also say having both a 2 and 3 roller mill that I do not see any measurable difference in performance as far as how the grain is crushed.
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No, I wasn't getting the type of crush I had gotten in the past. Checked and verified the gap setting. Still not getting type of crush I had gotten in the past. Was either getting almost no crush or too fine of a crush. Yes, the gap set screw with tight. Something was slipping. MoreBeer had a special on the MM3 and I decided it was time for a new mill.
 
Tobor_8thMan said:
No, I wasn't getting the type of crush I had gotten in the past. Checked and verified the gap setting. Still not getting type of crush I had gotten in the past. Was either getting almost no crush or too fine of a crush. Yes, the gap set screw with tight. Something was slipping. MoreBeer had a special on the MM3 and I decided it was time for a new mill.
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Sounds like the bushings were worn.
 
Off topic, but I’m pretty sure Jack Schmidling also designed and marketed the “Whirlygig” rotating sparge arm for fly sparging.

I saw one in use at a group brew at Bobby M’s house years ago and thought it a little silly....what did I know, I was a follower of Denny w/ the fast and cheap batch sparge method :)

Jack did sell quite a few whirligigs I’d imagine.
 
I bought today the MM3 kit including mill, hopper, and base from NB for a total of $212. That is almost $100 less than elsewhere.

I used the code brewyear to get extra discount. Can't wait to use it instead of relying on the homebrew shop to crush the grains.
Cheers!
 
Brewdogbrew said:
I bought today the MM3 kit including mill, hopper, and base from NB for a total of $212. That is almost $100 less than elsewhere.

I used the code brewyear to get extra discount. Can't wait to use it instead of relying on the homebrew shop to crush the grains.
Cheers!
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Basically the same price as the chinese look alikes. When I bought mine the same thing happened. It was only slightly more expensive than the malt muncher etc and I didn't need to order online so a no brainer. The monster mill grabs the grain alot better at tighter settings. The first time I used it with my M18 I had to change the clutch setting to get it going which i never did with the previous chinese mills. The Chinese mills seem to be hit and miss. Some have great luck and some don't . I couldn't really find anyone with a monster mill that had any issues and didn't want to chance it. Cheers
 
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I am on my third mill. My first was a nonadjustable schmidling mill which I sold because I wanted an adjustable mill. I used it for 8 years with no problem. My next mill was a monster mill MM-2 which I purchased in early 2008. I brewed 30 gallon batches, split with 3 other guys. I wore the rollers out on that mill in about 5 years but did mill ~800 pounds of grain per year. In 2014, I replaced it with the MM-2Pro with heat-treated 2" rollers. This mill is a beast and I think it will likely outlast me as I am back to 10 gallon batches.
 

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