Kegco Mill?

Yakima 728
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I was at Beverage Factory's store last week to get a C02 fill. They told me the mills were in stock, though I didn't try to buy one... tempted though. If I do I will do it in person rather than on the internet to avoid any of the problems you folks have been having.

Seems they are trying to expand to be a homebrew shop. They just added a fridge for yeast (only had dry stuff when I was there) and pre-measured bags of grain and DME. They also had some 50lb sacks of grain and some equipment (including the mill). But I think they are still working on getting set up. The dude up front told me he was recently hired to help with the homebrew side.

I wouldn't go to them for ingredients today, but I would be stoked if they can come up to par with the more established homebrew shops as they are much closer to me and not far out of my way to work compared to The Homebrewer which is currently my favorite.
 
I was just about to buy the cereal killer (definitely not dropping 300 on an MM3) until i saw this. I'd seen this awhile ago but only read the first page and saw it was a knockoff so wasnt sure about it. But after reading through the whole thread most people seem to think this is a very good value.

Agree this is worth it over the $100 cereal killer? $150 is definitely the most i'd be willing to spend on a mill.
 
Thorsbrew said:
Agree this is worth it over the $100 cereal killer? $150 is definitely the most i'd be willing to spend on a mill.
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This is a tough question. I have been using a $25 corona mill for years, probably have run a couple thousand pounds of grain through it, and guess what, it still works great.

Recently I purchased a Kegco 3 roller, (not because I needed it, just another toy to play with at a great price), and guess what, it works great as well. They both produce an excellent crush. So to ask if this mill is $50 better than that mill, is kind of an unanswerable question IMO. I posted a thread a while ago showing results of the corona vs the kegco 3 roller.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7585881&postcount=26

Best of luck with whatever you decide...ps beverage factory will email you a $10 off coupon...or perhaps an additional 10% off if you call...or perhaps even both ymmv cheers!
 
Appreciate the direct comparison, didnt realize they were so close. :mug:

PS: Does it have to be corona mill branded or will this or this work fine? Visually they appear the same.
 
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Tagging this post so I can remember this crusher brand.....for when I eventually buy one. Is this thing rated to crack whole kernel corn?
 
Thorsbrew said:
Appreciate the direct comparison, didnt realize they were so close. :mug:

PS: Does it have to be corona mill branded or will this or this work fine? Visually they appear the same.
Click to expand...

No, I really meant "corona type mill", as I believe most are all copies made in china these days....

FWIW, I prefer the first link with the cover on the grinding plates.
 
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Thorsbrew said:
I was just about to buy the cereal killer (definitely not dropping 300 on an MM3) until i saw this. I'd seen this awhile ago but only read the first page and saw it was a knockoff so wasnt sure about it. But after reading through the whole thread most people seem to think this is a very good value.

Agree this is worth it over the $100 cereal killer? $150 is definitely the most i'd be willing to spend on a mill.
Click to expand...


I ordered the Kegco 3 roller mill after Wilserbrewer and I discussed this mill in detail. It is definitely a beast and I am perfectly happy with this purchase.

I planned to use one of my several 3/8" chucked drills to power the mill only to find that it needed a 1/2" chuck to fit the drive shaft. I bought a drill from HF that was a 9 amp model which torque is definitely needed. The fine crush, as I have it set pretty tight for BIAB, needs torque to power thru the crush.

Grain mills are one of those items you'll likely stick with and may not ever replace. This 3 roller mill will serve me well as it is nicely made, and the crush I get looks like commercial grinds I have gotten with milled grains.
 
Thorsbrew said:
Appreciate the direct comparison, didnt realize they were so close. :mug:

PS: Does it have to be corona mill branded or will this or this work fine? Visually they appear the same.
Click to expand...

I bought the first one for $20. I ground 5# pilsner and 5# wheat yesterday by hand in 20 minutes during which I stopped three times. (To weigh the pilsner, get a wrench from the kitchen, and to get a tupperware from the kitchen) I put washers between the cover and the body on the adjusting screws. I like it.
 
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bruhaha said:
I ordered the Kegco 3 roller mill after Wilserbrewer and I discussed this mill in detail. It is definitely a beast and I am perfectly happy with this purchase.

I planned to use one of my several 3/8" chucked drills to power the mill only to find that it needed a 1/2" chuck to fit the drive shaft. I bought a drill from HF that was a 9 amp model which torque is definitely needed. The fine crush, as I have it set pretty tight for BIAB, needs torque to power thru the crush.

Grain mills are one of those items you'll likely stick with and may not ever replace. This 3 roller mill will serve me well as it is nicely made, and the crush I get looks like commercial grinds I have gotten with milled grains.
Click to expand...

I might need a new drill then. I have a cordless ryobi with a 1/2" chuck but the torque is low, and a corded dewalt around 5-6 amps thats a bit stronger but is only 3/8.

Well i've been needing a new one for my homemade drill press anyway.

PS: Though would an impact drill be a bad idea? I also have one of those that can power through just about anything.
 
JohnSand said:
I bought the first one for $20. I ground 5# pilsner and 5# wheat yesterday by hand in 20 minutes during which I stopped three times. (To weigh the pilsner, get a wrench from the kitchen, and to get a tupperware from the kitchen) I put washers between the cover and the body on the adjusting screws. I like it.
Click to expand...

Can the handle be removed? I saw people take the handle off some of the corona type mills and screw a hex bolt in to turn with a drill. The handle on the $20 one i posted though looks different.
 
Thorsbrew said:
I might need a new drill then. I have a cordless ryobi with a 1/2" chuck but the torque is low, and a corded dewalt around 5-6 amps thats a bit stronger but is only 3/8.

Well i've been needing a new one for my homemade drill press anyway.

PS: Though would an impact drill be a bad idea? I also have one of those that can power through just about anything.
Click to expand...

Good idea. In fact, the HF drill I bought has the impact/hammer feature which is not used with the mill, but would serve me well for other purposes. I had originally thought a 3/8 chuck would work, but the 1/2 was needed. Most (maybe all) of the HF drills with the 1/2 chuck and high torque amp rating had the impact feature. At least the ones they had on the showroom floor.

One fact you'll need to consider is this mill comes without a pre-assembled base to mount it on. I picked up an unfinished round wooden table top at Lowes Home Imp. The diameter of the top was a slight bit bigger than a 5G bucket they sell there too. I simply cut out a rectangular hole in the table top using the base of the mill as a template. I line the bucket with a plastic bag and catch the milled grains. This mill works perfectly for me.

BTW, I ordered my mill from the Beverage Factory. If you call and order, make sure you chat with the rep and ask for all the discounts they have available. They offer things like saving a certain percentage if you subscribe to email lists...and stuff like that. When all was said and done, I paid $140 which included shipping to SC.
 
bruhaha said:
Good idea. In fact, the HF drill I bought has the impact/hammer feature which is not used with the mill, but would serve me well for other purposes. I had originally thought a 3/8 chuck would work, but the 1/2 was needed. Most (maybe all) of the HF drills with the 1/2 chuck and high torque amp rating had the impact feature. At least the ones they had on the showroom floor.

One fact you'll need to consider is this mill comes without a pre-assembled base to mount it on. I picked up an unfinished round wooden table top at Lowes Home Imp. The diameter of the top was a slight bit bigger than a 5G bucket they sell there too. I simply cut out a rectangular hole in the table top using the base of the mill as a template. I line the bucket with a plastic bag and catch the milled grains. This mill works perfectly for me.

BTW, I ordered my mill from the Beverage Factory. If you call and order, make sure you chat with the rep and ask for all the discounts they have available. They offer things like saving a certain percentage if you subscribe to email lists...and stuff like that. When all was said and done, I paid $140 which included shipping to SC.
Click to expand...

So you think the impact drill is safe to use then? Im just thinking if the constant percussions are safe for the mill. Or even if that would cause inconsistency in the crush (like skipping or so).

As for making a base im not at all concerned about that. I've got a table saw, miter saw, jig saw, scroll saw etc etc (and a shed full of miscellaneous wood). Whatever i need for making anything as elaborate as i need :)
 
Thorsbrew said:
Can the handle be removed? I saw people take the handle off some of the corona type mills and screw a hex bolt in to turn with a drill. The handle on the $20 one i posted though looks different.
Click to expand...

The handle on the one I bought, CHARD GM 150, is held on by an eyebolt. I have seen several suggestions for running them with a drill. If I were to try it, I would use a hex bolt or threaded rod with two nuts, turning that with a nut driver in the drill.
 
Thorsbrew said:
So you think the impact drill is safe to use then? Im just thinking if the constant percussions are safe for the mill. Or even if that would cause inconsistency in the crush (like skipping or so).
:)
Click to expand...


Most impact drills have a switch to turn the impact off and function like a regular drill when impact is turned off. I would not power a mill using impact.

The only downsides to the Kegco 3 roller is as mentioned above, it comes without a base, and it will likely require more drill than a 2 roller mill.
 
Thorsbrew said:
So you think the impact drill is safe to use then? Im just thinking if the constant percussions are safe for the mill. Or even if that would cause inconsistency in the crush (like skipping or so).

As for making a base im not at all concerned about that. I've got a table saw, miter saw, jig saw, scroll saw etc etc (and a shed full of miscellaneous wood). Whatever i need for making anything as elaborate as i need :)
Click to expand...

The drill I bought has an impact on/off switch located at the front of the drill near the chuck. You'll want to run the mill w/o the impact being enabled as hammering motions would cause undue stress on the roller bearings. The drill's speed is variable, so when you start the grind, you need to hit the trigger pretty hard to get the rollers grinding. Once going, I back off the trigger slightly to keep the grind going steady and not full blast. If you get too low rpm's, the rollers will bind up, so I use reverse slightly to clear the rollers, then go back forward as described. Take it for what it is worth, you'll need a powerful drill for this mill.

Since you have all the wood crafting tools, plus plenty of wood pieces for your project, you'll be set for action. Mr. Wilser and I communicated at length about this mill, and I took his advice to heart and bought this Kegco. It is definitely a quality mill at a reasonable price.
 
Got mine and it is missing one of the hopper guides. The box was banged up significantly, so I'm guessing that it fell out somewhere along the way. I emailed Beverage Factory... Hopefully they can send me the missing part.
 
I received mine yesterday. It is a beast compared to my old Valley Mill, which I have used since the 90's. This is built so much more robustly, it seems unlikely I'll need to replace it. But I'll get to work testing that theory.....
 
I thought it would be cool to post mine :tank: have not set up my gap setting yet !!!

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the steel rollers are machined to efficently grab the kernels and pull them through the mill. The detachable handcrank can be removed to install a 1/2" shaft capable electric drill (we recommend a good quality variable speed corded drill, as this mill requires some force to turn quickly, and a cheap drill will not work well).
 
DannyBoy408 said:
Got this in and it works great! I'll recommend the kegco 2 roller mill. $113 with free shipping.

I like how the spacing is easy to see and set. The screws are small and hard to put together with fat hands but I got through together.
View attachment 393933
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Click to expand...

It should be mentioned that these are the same chinese mills also sold as the cereal killer only without the CK branding or wooden base. They are good mills Ive been using mine for 3 years now with no issues. They are also available on ebay and aliexpress without the kegco branding as well but theres not really a huge cost savings and you lose the beverage factories support. (likewise with williamsbrewing if you bought their rebranded version)
 
Well a follow up with beverage factory today gleaned the reply that they have no ETA for the three roller mill. It may be weeks but may be months.

So let's make it clear: do not order this mill from beverage factory. They have displayed a level of gross incompetence with this product and I would expect that this also spills over to their other business
 
After some more emails I finally got a UPS shipping note today. You'd think that they would ship it by two day or something like that after the delay but UPS has it scheduled for delivery on the 26th
 
I got what is essentially the same mill from a friend used for a good price. I'm not sure how to adjust the gap setting. Do you have to loosen a screw or the wing nuts or something? Can it be adjusted to any gap in the range, or only to the labeled settings?
 
FruityHops said:
I got what is essentially the same mill from a friend used for a good price. I'm not sure how to adjust the gap setting. Do you have to loosen a screw or the wing nuts or something? Can it be adjusted to any gap in the range, or only to the labeled settings?
Click to expand...
You have to loosen the two "wing" bolts that lock the adjusting eccentrics in place. You can then turn the adjustment knobs to reposition the eccentrics. Since the adjustment is done with eccentrics, you can set any gap you want. The labeled settings are just for reference. You should actually use a feeler gauge (or equivalent) to verify the gap setting. Retighten the locking bolts after adjustment to keep the gap from shifting during use.

Brew on :mug:
 
Mine finally arrived today. Looking forward to putting it together and building a base and stand for it
 

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