Morebeer Malt Muncher 2 Mill

[doublehaul]

[Fixed Thread Title -Mod]
I ordered the Malt Muncher 2 Mill my morebeer for $99. The more I look at that thing the smaller it looks. I typically use 12 to 20 lbs of grain per batch. Will I be happy with this mill? It hasn't shipped yet so I might be able to charge my order.

 

[grampamark]

That looks just like the Cereal Killer that I have. I think there must be an assembly plant, somewhere in Asia, that cranks these things out in shipping container quantities, to be marketed under a variety of brand names. The basic mill body is the same, only the base and hopper size varies by brand.

My typical grain bill is 12-15 lbs. I probably spend, at most, 10 minutes weighing and milling grain. My hopper holds 7 lbs so I have to fill and empty the hopper twice per batch. I think of it as something to do while the strike water is heating.

Will you be happy with your choice? I have no clue. The mill will do a fine job of processing the grain. If you’re laid back, and just happy to be brewing, you’ll probably like your choice. If you’re constantly looking at the time and wondering why this is taking so long-maybe not so much.

I’m not a psychologist, and didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I’m not going to speculate on what it takes to make you happy.

 

[mongoose33]

Agree with @grampamark above.

Are you going to be happy with it? What would make you unhappy?

I used to have one similar to this. It did what it was supposed to do. It can be run off a drill (you'll only hand-crank it once before you go looking at that option).

Morebeer doesn't have a reputation for selling crap, so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

[doublehaul]

Ok, let me rephrase - you guys are very literal. Is it going to be a pain in the *** because it's too small? This I believe lists a 6 pound hopper. I have regretted going entry level in the past. Example - I process my own wild game and bought an entry level meat mixer from Walton's. When the mixer arrived it was ridiculously small so I ate $35 to ship back (it cost $100 shipped) rather than live with it. I also have a $99 Costco meat grinder and while it has served me well I will be buying a 1HP upgrade and wished I just went with that originally. I think I've talked myself into a large one here replying (probably too late too change the order though!)

 

[IslandLizard]

It also depends on how much you brew. The $40 handle is definitely not worth it, use a HF drill for roughly the same price.

I bought a Monster Mill MM2 (regular 1.5" diameter rollers) directly from the manufacturer and never regretted it. I made a better base for it that holds my drill too, as if it were a motor.

 

[IslandLizard]

Ok, let me rephrase - you guys are very literal. Is it going to be a pain in the *** because it's too small? This I believe lists a 6 pound hopper. I have regretted going entry level in the past. Example - I process my own wild game and bought an entry level meat mixer from Walton's. When the mixer arrived it was ridiculously small so I ate $35 to ship back (it cost $100 shipped) rather than live with it. I also have a $99 Costco meat grinder and while it has served me well I will be buying a 1HP upgrade and wished I just went with that originally. I think I've talked myself into a large one here replying (probably too late too change the order though!)

Given that history:
Cancel the order, STAT, if you can, until you DO know what you want.

 

[mongoose33]

Ok, let me rephrase - you guys are very literal. Is it going to be a pain in the *** because it's too small? This I believe lists a 6 pound hopper. I have regretted going entry level in the past. Example - I process my own wild game and bought an entry level meat mixer from Walton's. When the mixer arrived it was ridiculously small so I ate $35 to ship back (it cost $100 shipped) rather than live with it. I also have a $99 Costco meat grinder and while it has served me well I will be buying a 1HP upgrade and wished I just went with that originally. I think I've talked myself into a large one here replying (probably too late too change the order though!)

OK, you want something not entry-level? Here's what you do:

1. Buy a 3-roller Monster Mill.
2. Buy an All-American Aleworks motor
3. Build a cabinet or other mechanism to hold both.

Voila! It'll cost you north of $500 to do this, but it's pretty decent. Or, is money an issue here? If we don't know what your resource limitations are, or what your requirements are (hopper size, e.g.) then how can we give you an answer that makes sense to you?

BTW, it takes this setup about 2 minutes to go through 12-14 pounds of grain. The hopper can't hold all of it--maybe 7 pounds--but it's so fast I just keep adding until my grain bucket is empty.

 

[doublehaul]

OK, you want something not entry-level? Here's what you do:

1. Buy a 3-roller Monster Mill.
2. Buy an All-American Aleworks motor
3. Build a cabinet or other mechanism to hold both.

Voila! It'll cost you north of $500 to do this, but it's pretty decent. Or, is money an issue here? If we don't know what your resource limitations are, or what your requirements are (hopper size, e.g.) then how can we give you an answer that makes sense to you?

View attachment 673846 View attachment 673847

BTW, it takes this setup about 2 minutes to go through 12-14 pounds of grain. The hopper can't hold all of it--maybe 7 pounds--but it's so fast I just keep adding until my grain bucket is empty.

Very nice. Yes, $500 is more than I want to spend. I was really just looking for some user experience. Maybe others out there had bought an entry level mill like I'm planning on and found it too small for 10-20 lb batches. I think I will try to upsize to the Monster Mill 2 if morebeer hasn't shipped yet. Thanks for your input.

 

[mongoose33]

Very nice. Yes, $500 is more than I want to spend. I was really just looking for some user experience. Maybe others out there had bought an entry level mill like I'm planning on and found it too small for 10-20 lb batches. I think I will try to upsize to the Monster Mill 2 if morebeer hasn't shipped yet. Thanks for your input.

But such a mill is NOT too small for 10-20 pound batches. There are two things that define size in this regard: capacity of the hopper, and speed of the crush. Both can be controlled, by the speed of the motor and the size of the hopper.

So how large a hopper do you want/need, and what speed of crushing is important to you? You're throwing out an unclear set of criteria here. Lots of people use the Cereal Killer to great effect. IMO, it (or similar) is the best budget-conscious choice, gets you speed and capacity without breaking the bank.

I used a Cereal Killer equivalent for a bunch of batches, all of which were 5 gallon batches. The hopper was something like 7 pound capacity, so I had to add grain to it as it emptied. Could I have fashioned an extension to allow for more grain? Sure. You could even do something like get a plastic water bottle like they use in the stores for people to buy water and bring it home, cut off the bottom, invert it over the hopper, and pour your grain in that to feed the hopper. Or you could buy some aluminum or galvanized sheeting and make a hopper extension. Or, with some models, you can buy a hopper extension.

And you can speed up or slow down the motor. Regardless, unless you're looking for something with the speed of mine, it's going to take 5-8 minutes or so to crush that grain.

I ended buying and making mine as shown above because I've been doing low-oxygen brewing and one of the tenets of that is to crush the grain as close to dough-in as is possible, so the grain flavors aren't oxidizing before they hit the (deoxygenated) strike water.

Did I have to spend $500 to do this? Well, it's certainly nice, and convenient, and helps me do the LODO stuff, but you don't need such a setup to do 10-20 pound batches.

And there's no way I would have spent that were it not for the LODO considerations. I have a low-RPM motor (that's supposed to reduce oxidation) at 200rpm, and even at that low speed, I'm 2 minutes.

Unless your requirements aren't being specified here, a Cereal Killer is more than enough for batches using 10-20 pounds of grain.

 

[IslandLizard]

Or a simpler setup, less $$, also hands free milling:

MM2 $140 (Direct from Monster Brewing)
Hopper $35
Shipping $20
Baseboard - make your own. I reused/repurposed the one that came with mine as a riser.
Harbor Freight Heavy Duty Low Speed drill $50 (or less with coupon). They sell a different model now, same specs.
Total around $200 plus an afternoon to build.

 

[IslandLizard]

I think I will try to upsize to the Monster Mill 2 if morebeer hasn't shipped yet. Thanks for your input.

The only minus with MoreBeer's Monster Mill MM2 is that they only have the 3/8" shaft. They don't have the 1/2" shaft, even as an option. 1/2" is standard when buying from Monster directly.

That's the only thing I did wrong at the time is NOT getting the 1/2" shaft as I thought an older drill I already had could be repurposed to drive the beast. Nope, it only hummed under load.

I run that HF Low Speed drill at about 1/3 of its max. speed of 550 rpm, effectively around 150-180 rpm. I go by the sound, it chews. It has sufficient power and torque to do the job and the 1/2" shaft on the mill is no luxury.

 

[Dave Sarber]

^^^That. (IslandLizards post). I bought the Kegco 3 roller mill with 11 pound hopper. Honestly don't remember which online retailer I bought it from (possibly MoreBeer), but it was about $160 shipped. 1/2" shaft, bearings instead of bushings, large rollers, made my own baseboard, and already had the drill. I run it slow, does 20-25 pound batches in 5 minutes or less.
EDIT: Just googled it, Kegco lists it at $157, didn't check shipping.

 

[doublehaul]

The only minus with MoreBeer's Monster Mill MM2 is that they only have the 3/8" shaft. They don't have the 1/2" shaft, even as an option. 1/2" is standard when buying from Monster directly.

That's the only thing I did wrong at the time is NOT getting the 1/2" shaft as I thought an older drill I already had could be repurposed to drive the beast. Nope, it only hummed under load.

I run that HF Low Speed drill at about 1/3 of its max. speed of 550 rpm, effectively around 150-180 rpm. I go by the sound, it chews. It has sufficient power and torque to do the job and the 1/2" shaft on the mill is no luxury.

Done! Cancelled the Malt Muncher, ordered a MM2 kit direct from Monster. Already have a 1/2" HF drill laying around. More than I wanted to spend but I think I'll be happy with this setup. Love the made in the USA!

 

[IslandLizard]

Done! Cancelled the Malt Muncher, ordered a MM2 kit direct from Monster. Already have a 1/2" HF drill laying around. More than I wanted to spend but I think I'll be happy with this setup. Love the made in the USA!

Bravo! You won't be disappointed.

Now roundup that Harbor Freight 550 rpm Low Speed drill:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-Heavy-Duty-Spade-Handle-Drill-63112.html
I think it replaced the gray model in the picture I got in 2013.

They also have another, even newer model, similar but at 600 rpm:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-Heavy-Duty-Low-Speed-Spade-Handle-DrillMixer-56179.html
Not sure it has anything over the one above.

Or get a real motor, like the one @mongoose33 has.

 

[doublehaul]

Bravo! You won't be disappointed.

Now roundup that Harbor Freight 550 rpm Low Speed drill:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-Heavy-Duty-Spade-Handle-Drill-63112.html
I think it replaced the gray model in the picture I got in 2013.

They also have another, even newer model, similar but at 600 rpm:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-Heavy-Duty-Low-Speed-Spade-Handle-DrillMixer-56179.html
Not sure it has anything over the one above.

Or get a real motor, like the one @mongoose33 has.

I have a 1200RPM 1/2" Drill Master from HF, that's probably too fast?

 

[Dave Sarber]

I have a 1200RPM 1/2" Drill Master from HF, that's probably too fast?

Yep. 200 is good. Most heavy 1/2" drills run 500 rpm, so I run at about 1/3 speed.

 

[IslandLizard]

I have a 1200RPM 1/2" Drill Master from HF, that's probably too fast?

By the time you run it at ~200 rpm there won't be much torque left. But you could try.

 

[Dave Sarber]

I did not look at the linked HF drills above. I have an old Skil electric drill. May not be as convenient as a battery drill, but has enough torque to do the lug nuts on your car. And the battery doesn't need charging.
EDIT: It's not a Skil, it's a Black and Decker.
Luddite Brewing.

 

[mongoose33]

Or get a real motor, like the one @mongoose33 has.

I looked closely at one of these:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/malt-muncher-grain-mill-high-torque-motor.html

and two things that prevented me from getting it was uncertainty about the connection to my 3-roller Monster Mill, and the idea that I might eventually do some real commercial stuff with it, so I bought large.

The one I have is this:

https://allamericanaleworks.com/products/1-2-horsepower-grain-mill-motor-package

Which is on sale at $312; includes the Lovejoy connectors and as such, it's actually pretty decent in price compared to the Morebeer one....except you have to add shipping. I looked back at my receipt; shipping at that time (Nov 2017) was $38. The MoreBeer offering has free shipping.

And with mine I needed to wire a switch, a little bit more expense.

 

[flyfishMT69]

How do u run these drills on low speed? From the manual on the 2 HF drills linked above, it sounds like speed is controlled by finger pressure. I was hoping for a dial to set so I could just lock it on.

 

[doublehaul]

Duplicate

 

[mongoose33]

How do u run these drills on low speed? From the manual on the 2 HF drills linked above, it sounds like speed is controlled by finger pressure. I was hoping for a dial to set so I could just lock it on.

How do u run those HF drills at low speed? It sounds from the online manuals like it's off finger pressure. I'd like to just dial it down and lock it on.

Hose clamp. Tighten until you get the speed you want.

 

[Dave Sarber]

I was looking at Monsters site today and all the different models. I'll stick with the Kegco 3 roller, but I noticed that MM hopper extension will also fit the Kegco. I'm on it!

 

[mongoose33]

I was looking at Monsters site today and all the different models. I'll stick with the Kegco 3 roller, but I noticed that MM hopper extension will also fit the Kegco. I'm on it!

I checked that out at one point, just did so again. It's about $50 including shipping, at least to my address. I don't understand why shipping is so expensive, it's almost certainly coming unassembled. And the weight isn't THAT much.

Galvanized sheet steel is pretty cheap (24x36" at Menards, $9.99). If you know someone with a brake maybe you could cut it to the right dimensions and have it bent into shape. It's just held together with screws and nuts.

 

[Dave Sarber]

I love Menards, but they don't have them in Arizona. Sheet metal is hard to find around here.
Before I worry about the hopper, I want to build a rolling cart, similar to yours. Just have it perched on a 7 gallon bucket right now.

 

[mongoose33]

I love Menards, but they don't have them in Arizona. Sheet metal is hard to find around here.
Before I worry about the hopper, I want to build a rolling cart, similar to yours. Just have it perched on a 7 gallon bucket right now.

Couple of things to consider re: cart and hopper.

Cart: Mine is the size it is because I had a scrap piece for the top; the dimensions were good for what I needed. It's 27" x 16". It was a good size.

BTW, an easy way to build it from the ground up is to get a moving dolly from the home store (assuming you have one nearby) like this:


They come in different sizes; seems I remember one size is 18x30. You can remove the carpet and build the cart right on the platform with casters. It's also cheaper, usually, than buying the casters separately. Costs circa $10-12.

As you design it, make sure the buckets or whatever you're using to catch the crushed grain fit under it. On mine, because of the crosspiece in front, about 2.5" distance between the bucket mouth and the top. Turns out, it allows a fair amount of dust to escape through that gap. I can put a big "shim" under the bucket to bring it up to the top, which reduces the dust.

The other thing is about a hopper. I don't want one for mine because the unit is pushed under the end of a workbench; a hopper would block that. But if I had a free hand and no such constraints, I might build a hopper off the end of the cart, such that grain would flow down into the regular hopper; in other words, a hopper that feeds the hopper. Could be wide, could be tall, depends on your 'druthers. And it would be cheap.

Here's a pic that sort of describes it. The extended hopper could be a plastic water bottle, bucket, a wooden box constructed for that purpose, whatever.

 

[Dave Sarber]

Yeah, I found the sheet metal at Home Depot. Go to that store at least 3 times a week, and never spotted it before. Good idea on the furniture dolly! Now I just need to rummage through my plywood stock.

 

[doublehaul]

So I got it halfway setup with the Harbor Freight Bauer 1/2" drill. I need to secure and support the drill still, but it's enough to get by for now. I tried a .040" gap and it seemed like there was still alot of whole uncracked grains, so I set it to .038". Am I living dangerously jumping right into this crush? I never paid much attention to the brew store crush other than that had it set on #4 which was probably .04"

 

[Dave Sarber]

I use .025.

 

[day_trippr]

^That^ is BIAB level crush for barley, yes?

fwiw, I run a 3v2p herms rig and have my two-roller CK mill set for .032, and my old BC wheat mill set for .025...

Cheers!

 

[Dave Sarber]

I have a 120 quart Igloo cooler I made into a mash tun, with a slit PVC pipe manifold (a work of art, in my opinion). Works great with .025 crush.

 

[day_trippr]

Wow. Well then, you're a much braver soul than me

Cheers!

 

[Dave Sarber]

Wow. Well then, you're a much braver soul than me

Cheers!

As you can see, it's hinged, and none of the PVC is glued, so it's removable for cleaning. I like it.

Just used this 2 days ago with 38 pounds of grain and 15 gallons of water, still had about 5" from being full.

 

[day_trippr]

If it works it works, but that'd scare me into using a lot more rice hulls

Cheers!

 

[Dave Sarber]

If it works it works, but that'd scare me into using a lot more rice hulls

Cheers!

Never have used rice hulls. Just the husks from the grain. I made the slits with a cutting wheel on my body grinder, just measured the slits with a feeler gauge @.030. My first attempt was with slits at .060, but that didn't work well.

 

[augiedoggy]

That looks just like the Cereal Killer that I have. I think there must be an assembly plant, somewhere in Asia, that cranks these things out in shipping container quantities, to be marketed under a variety of brand names. The basic mill body is the same, only the base and hopper size varies by brand.

Yup, cereal killer, malt muchier, kegco 2 roller and most of the other brands like the ones coming out with the logos etched (northern brewer) in them are all the same mill from same factory.. They also make the 3 roller variant, all have real ball bearings vs the bushings which is a key indicator of what mill you have.. The monster mills are going to have cheaper bronze bushing unless you pay $600 or more for the upgraded pulley drive version.
Ive been using the cereal killer at home for over 6 years now and the 3 roller version at the brewpub with thousands of pounds of grain through it with no problems, both motorized. I bought a used Bodine 170rpm gear reduction motor for about $80 which is more than powerful enough and use one of those green $10 drum switches from ebay to have reverse when/if needed.

I use a credit card for gap thickness (.030) and its worked fine for me with no rice hulls and recirculation but YMMV.

 

[augiedoggy]

I checked that out at one point, just did so again. It's about $50 including shipping, at least to my address. I don't understand why shipping is so expensive, it's almost certainly coming unassembled. And the weight isn't THAT much.

Galvanized sheet steel is pretty cheap (24x36" at Menards, $9.99). If you know someone with a brake maybe you could cut it to the right dimensions and have it bent into shape. It's just held together with screws and nuts.

I found the hopper extension for much less somewhere although I dont know where and I can confirm the MM hopper extension bolts right up to the kegco 3 roller. I'm going to assume it costs $50 from MM for the simple reason that they can charge that much.. Same reason their mills cost what they do.

 

[Dave Sarber]

I found the hopper extension for much less somewhere although I dont know where and I can confirm the MM hopper extension bolts right up to the kegco 3 roller. I'm going to assume it costs $50 from MM for the simple reason that they can charge that much.. Same reason their mills cost what they do.

MoreBeer charges $50 for the extension, Monster charges $30, but the shipping to my location is over $30. I bought sheet metal and hardware at Home Depot for $30 and made my own.

 

[augiedoggy]

Very nice. Yes, $500 is more than I want to spend. I was really just looking for some user experience. Maybe others out there had bought an entry level mill like I'm planning on and found it too small for 10-20 lb batches. I think I will try to upsize to the Monster Mill 2 if morebeer hasn't shipped yet. Thanks for your input.

I also suggest buying the 3 roller kegco mill for $150 its mechanically superior to the standard mm3 due to the ball bearing it has vs bushings. Like I just mentioned above I use one at my nanobrewery to mill about 150 lbs of grain a week on average and its been going strong for almost a year and a half without any maintenance needed. I use my 2 roller CK for 10 gallon brews at home and find personally that I have no reason to upgrade. I just refill the hopper as needed.

 

[augiedoggy]

MoreBeer charges $50 for the extension, Monster charges $30, but the shipping to my location is over $30. I bought sheet metal and hardware at Home Depot for $30 and made my own.

They seem to have gone up
more with shipping than I paid but I can no longer find it for less anywhere. Ironically the whole standard hopper assy which is more complex, costs less... I guess monster is selling more hopper extensions due to folks using them on both MM mills and the clones.