Grain Mills - Your opinion?

[boat_eggs]

For those of you who got the Monster Mill with the 2" rollers, what is the advantage with the larger size roller? I'm drawing a blank other than it will mill faster which is a downside to me.

 

[Airplanedoc]

A 2" roller will have hold its edge a bit longer as well since it has more surface area to grind the same amount of grain.


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[sandyeggoxj]

For those of you who got the Monster Mill with the 2" rollers, what is the advantage with the larger size roller? I'm drawing a blank other than it will mill faster which is a downside to me.

The theory I have heard is less tearing of the husks and a better crush. Monster recommends a crush speed of 150-250 rpm. I would call it a "smoother" crush.

Mine is in the mail right now. I went mm2-2.0 with the hardened steel rollers. I expect to be a prolific homebrewer as they say.

 

[Gameface]

As an owner of a 3 roller mill I'd gladly trade it in for a 2 roller 2.0 mill. The biggest reason would be the easier adjustment on the 2 roller mills. The greater crush surface area, greater roller momentum, etc. would be of secondary concern... but a consideration none the less.

 

[FredTheNuke]

I love my MM2 2". I opted to get it fully upgraded and was well worth the money. 2" rollers, hardened ss, and 1/2" drive. Bought the hopper and extension too. Been using a drill to power it for now, but planning to motorize it in the near future.

They offer hardened or stainless. It would be nice if you could get both in an MM3-2.0

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[bad coffee]

If you don't put steel through your mill, you shouldn't need the hardened!

 

[Airplanedoc]

I thought about cryogenic treating mine, simply because it is local, and I could get it done cheap. But decided it wasn't worth the effort for the amount of grain I would ever mill. Unless you are milling on a brewery scale hardening is probably not necessary.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

If you don't put steel through your mill, you shouldn't need the hardened!

Wheat seems to be made of steel. Haha.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I got a Victoria Hand Crank Mill. Haters gonna Hate but I dont mind spending an extra half hour crushing my grains to save a bit of money. It's very very little effort to actually crank. The only thing that's an issue is the hopper, but I'll be jiggering some kind of larger hopper to it.

 

[Wreck99]

They offer hardened or stainless. It would be nice if you could get both in an MM3-2.0

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That must've changed somewhere along the way. When I bought mine, I could've sworn it was hardened stainless steel material. Trying to dig up my invoice because now I'm beginning to 2nd guess that. I remember I had a bunch of roller options to choose from.

 

[augiedoggy]

I got a Victoria Hand Crank Mill. Haters gonna Hate but I dont mind spending an extra half hour crushing my grains to save a bit of money. It's very very little effort to actually crank. The only thing that's an issue is the hopper, but I'll be jiggering some kind of larger hopper to it.

I'm not hating at all...I used one for a year... mine was too inconsistent it would either allow half the grain though without crushing or pulverize most of it to powder....

 

[lhommedieu]

Based on some of the advice given here and elsewhere, I've decided to get the JSP (Schmidling) Model A with the hand crank. I don't foresee myself doing batches larger than five pounds in the near future, and I can always add a larger hopper and motorized option down the road.

Coincidentally, this is the mill used at my local hbss.

Thanks for the excellent thread.

Steve

 

[westo2]

Probably not helpful as they aren't being manufactured currently, but if the Rebel Brewer Mill comes back into production, I can't say enough great things about it. I'm approaching 700 lbs through mine so far, no issues. The thing just works, and works well. I run it off a craftsman drill and it plows through whatever I throw at it.

 

[smccarter]

Used my Barley Crusher for the first and second times today.

Sweet. Worked as advertised.

Efficiency was improved as well. The recipe I brewed today was 10 points higher than the last time I brewed it. Pretty cool I must say.

 

[FredTheNuke]

If you don't put steel through your mill, you shouldn't need the hardened!

The SWMBO prefers it that way...

 

[krduckman]

I just bought a MM2. What is the gap that most folks use? I see on the website it recommends between .037-.055

Oh course I messed with the original gap because I wanted to tinker.


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[dryboroughbrewing]

I just bought a MM2. What is the gap that most folks use? I see on the website it recommends between .037-.055

Oh course I messed with the original gap because I wanted to tinker.


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The 90% efficiency I accidentally hit when I gapped it at .033 tells me I should back it off a little bit. (my BC was much tighter, and I do condition my grain)

 

[stpug]

I just bought a MM2. What is the gap that most folks use? I see on the website it recommends between .037-.055

Oh course I messed with the original gap because I wanted to tinker.

I'm fairly confident that my MM2 is set to .037 - pretty sure on that - and I get a pretty consistent 80% brewhouse efficiency (fermenter) batch sparging on my system.

 

[Wreck99]

I just bought a MM2. What is the gap that most folks use? I see on the website it recommends between .037-.055

Oh course I messed with the original gap because I wanted to tinker.


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Mine is set to .037 right now. Wonderful crush.

 

[muench1]

Just to chime in, there are a few mentions of the Mashmaster Minimill from Australia in this thread. I've seen it mentioned elsewhere at times too. I actually have one, and the thing is a beast. Those driven rollers work like magic. The only trick to it is that since both ends are adjustable, you need to have both sides dialed in the same or you're gonna have a bad time. I bought because 1) it's frickin' awesome, and 2) I brew gluten free and the adjustability and gear drive mean I can easily mill the different sized (and often very tiny) gluten free grains.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I received my Maltmill from JSP last week. Today I had my first chance to mill out some grain with it. Since this is my first mill I have nothing to compare it to. That being said, it ran the grain through with a minimum of fuss and the crush was spot-on. You do need to put a little shoulder into it, but I assume that would be the same for all hand-crank mills. Since I just happen to have a 1/2" angle drill-motor just sitting in it's bag, I think that hooking it to this mill will be in the cards before my next brewing session.

Ordered it direct from JSP and it was shipped the next business day. I hope I get the decade or more of service out of this that others claim. And for $135 including shipping, the price can't be beat.

If you are in the market for a mill I would suggest you give this one a look.

Cheers!

 

[abeasst]

I'm totally confused by his post, but to get this back on track. I used my MM3 again this weekend and pushed it to the max by completely filling the hopper and it chewed right through my grain without a hiccup.

 

[passedpawn]

I received my Maltmill from JSP last week. Today I had my first chance to mill out some grain with it. Since this is my first mill I have nothing to compare it to. That being said, it ran the grain through with a minimum of fuss and the crush was spot-on. You do need to put a little shoulder into it, but I assume that would be the same for all hand-crank mills. Since I just happen to have a 1/2" angle drill-motor just sitting in it's bag, I think that hooking it to this mill will be in the cards before my next brewing session.

Ordered it direct from JSP and it was shipped the next business day. I hope I get the decade or more of service out of this that others claim. And for $135 including shipping, the price can't be beat.

If you are in the market for a mill I would suggest you give this one a look.

Cheers!

I have been driving my JSP with a 1/2" drill. No problem. That's a great mill.

 

[brew_ny]

I looked at the crankenstein mill when I first was going to buy a mill but for what a cereal killer costs I just couldn't do it

S_M

 

[Puddlethumper]

I have been driving my JSP with a 1/2" drill. No problem. That's a great mill.

How do you secure the drill so the mill turns instead of the drill-motor?

 

[stpug]

How do you secure the drill so the mill turns instead of the drill-motor?

It's a total guess, but I would guess it's by hand

 

[bigken462]

Guys I'm sorry about the post. I was replying to another thread this morning from work when my computer was locking up throwing script messages at me. I was trying to edit the post and hit the back button a few times to try to recover the last 30 minutes of typing. Honestly, I have no idea how I wound up in this thread. I've asked the mod to delete it.

Sorry for the confusion it caused. I'm sure you guys were thinking I was smoking some bad crack or drinking too much brew. Lol

Kenny

 

[brew_ny]

Guys I'm sorry about the post. I was replying to another thread this morning from work when my computer was locking up throwing script messages at me. I was trying to edit the post and hit the back button a few times to try to recover the last 30 minutes of typing. Honestly, I have no idea how I wound up in this thread. I've asked the mod to delete it.

Sorry for the confusion it caused. I'm sure you guys were thinking I was smoking some bad crack or drinking too much brew. Lol

Kenny

no worries homebrew early in the day does that to me sometimes

all the best

S_M

 

[Puddlethumper]

It's a total guess, but I would guess it's by hand

LOL. That occurred to me a few minutes after I posted it. Having a senior moment here guys!

 

[Puddlethumper]

Guys I'm sorry about the post.

Sorry for the confusion it caused. I'm sure you guys were thinking I was smoking some bad crack or drinking too much brew. Lol

No worries, man. I was actually thinking of asking where you got the stuff from and if they had any more!