Crazy Idea: grain crusher

[Axegod]

I am pretty cheap, and a little creative (sometimes).
I can get a corona style grain mill for $30....but I brew 10G batches: so thats about 25 lbs of grain. I dont feel like cranking or hooking up a drill to a dinky set up for fear of it breaking.

Ok...here is the crazy idea. What if I used a plastic bucket and added some cement...and then stuck a metal pipe/pole through it thereby creating a 50lb rolling pin (and then peel away the bucket) I could then roll the heavy pin over the grain that is spread over a clean patio stone on a stand....after a few passes, the grain should be crushed. I am thinking that a thin layer of grain over about 2 sq. feet will be about 12ozs....

Here are my concerns:
-chipping or concrete dust into the grain
-the pin will still not be heavy enough to crush the grain anyway.

Comments?
(besides spending the $ on a real grain mill and anything about herneas / safety shoes).


Cheers.

 

[The Pol]

Wow, you need to just spend 150 for a mill... I would not roll malt between stones.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

You're guaranteed to get concrete in your beer that way. Ever get concrete dust in your nose or mouth? It doesn't taste good.

 

[The Pol]

Yeah, you will never alleviate the grit and sand that will chip from the concrete...

 

[bradsul]

I've got a cheap Porkert mill (corona style) that I've got hooked up to a cheap corded drill. I made an extra large hopper for it and just set the trigger lock and walk away. It does a fantastic job (mid to high 70's efficiency) and total cost was about 50CDN (though I got the mill for free for Christmas so total cost to ME was only about 4 bucks for a gigantic funnel).

 

[Axegod]

I guess if I added a metal plate instead of a patio stone, it would start to get more costly....but I would also need a way of stopping the dust from the rolling pin from getting into the crush.

 

[FlyGuy]

I've got a cheap Porkert mill (corona style) that I've got hooked up to a cheap corded drill. I made an extra large hopper for it and just set the trigger lock and walk away. It does a fantastic job (mid to high 70's efficiency) and total cost was about 50CDN (though I got the mill for free for Christmas so total cost to ME was only about 4 bucks for a gigantic funnel).

That's exactly what I use, too. And except for my last batch that I messed up the temperature on, I am getting mid 70's too. I got mine for $20 on eBay. So if you can't drop $150 on a good mill, drop about $20 - $40 and you can still get something decent.

 

[Axegod]

I've got a cheap Porkert mill (corona style) that I've got hooked up to a cheap corded drill. I made an extra large hopper for it and just set the trigger lock and walk away. It does a fantastic job (mid to high 70's efficiency) and total cost was about 50CDN (though I got the mill for free for Christmas so total cost to ME was only about 4 bucks for a gigantic funnel).

Maybe thats the route to go....I read a few threads on corona mills here...My concern was about the larger grain bill. You solution sounds good !

 

[WOP31]

Man I say try and let us know haw it turns out!!! Homebrew is the mother of all invention!

Just kidding I have to agree that there are probabaly better more cost (And health) effective ways of crushing grains

Cheers

 

[Onescalerguy]

1 more happy Porkert owner here.Electric drill conversion grinds up 10lbs in 5-10 mins(grind fine and getting mid 80's effic).My first AG i used a very big(10lb)rolling pin and did it on the kitchen table and ended up with not only a bad crush and poor efficiency but also left my wooden kitchen table top bumpy with lots of barley prints.
cheers

 

[raceskier]

Hey, don't foget that man has probably been rolling grain between stones to grind it for something like 10,000 years. It works. Yes, they got some grit in it. They figured out a way to work around that.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Hey, don't foget that man has probably been rolling grain between stones to grind it for something like 10,000 years. It works. Yes, they got some grit in it. They figured out a way to work around that.

This is true, but have you seen their teeth? Cracks, chips, etc...and that's just from the bread!

You'd be better off buying an onyx rolling pin and cutting board versus cement...go for the mill...

I have to admit that I used my wife's coffee grinder...in 2 second spurts...

 

[rdwj]

Hey, don't foget that man has probably been rolling grain between stones to grind it for something like 10,000 years. It works. Yes, they got some grit in it. They figured out a way to work around that.

Cement and stone aren't the same thing

 

[clayof2day]

Hey, maybe we can finally start making use of our appendixes again! [edit] or would that be appendicies?

 

[casebrew]

The stoney bits will fall out in the mash tun. And why worry about them as contaminants, when other brewers are adding Marble dust (gypsum) on purpose?

Lessee, a 5 gallon bucket is 62% of a cubic foot, so 60# of concrete. Tape/wax/soap the bottom coorner of the bucket to make a rounded edge on the roller. Less chipoing that way. Just remember, buckets do have a slight taper, you will need to account for rolling in an arc. Do a test run before spreading the malt. And- wear clean shoes, NOT bare feet- you don't want a batch of 'athletes stout'.

Or, can you borrow a lawn roller? Cylindrical steel drum, filled with water. Or maybe a carpet roller- they are solid iron, small diameter, weigh lots.

 

[Evan!]

Yikes...a freakin' steamroller grain crusher, eh? Hehehe...that's almost as cool as getting Thor to come over and smash your grains with his big hammer...

 

[Axegod]

Or, can you borrow a lawn roller? Cylindrical steel drum, filled with water. Or maybe a carpet roller- they are solid iron, small diameter, weigh lots.

I actually thought of that as well.....but that would almost be as expensive as a real mill.
:cross:

I also thought that the concrete cement may also lead to stuck sparges.

I have been looking around for real mills.|

Cheers,