Grain Mills

[beerbomb]

What is the best value out there for grain mills.
I do 5 gallon batches, every two weeks or so.
I don't need overkill, just something adequate.

 

[Nmnbrewer]

Kegco 3 roller. My 2 cents.

 

[bleme]

Cereal Killer

 

[kh54s10]

It really depends on what you want to spend. I use a $20 Corona style mill for the last 6 3/4 years.

The Cereal killer and Kegco 2 roller mill are said to be the same and get great reviews for $99

There are tons of threads on this with a lot of people giving their personal experiences.

 

[Hopsimus]

I use the Barley Crusher myself. I suspect it is pretty much the same as the Cereal Killer or Kegco.
It works well enough. Easy to adjust. I would rather it had a solid wood base than the particle board it uses, but so far it's holding up. I've only had it for a year though.
I waited for one of those deals where you buy a gift card and get another cheaper one for free. I managed to knock off about 25% from the price that way.

Cheers!

 

[beerbomb]

It really depends on what you want to spend. I use a $20 Corona style mill for the last 6 3/4 years.

The Cereal killer and Kegco 2 roller mill are said to be the same and get great reviews for $99

There are tons of threads on this with a lot of people giving their personal experiences.

$20 is great, where would I find it?

 

[beerbomb]

I use the Barley Crusher myself. I suspect it is pretty much the same as the Cereal Killer or Kegco.
It works well enough. Easy to adjust. I would rather it had a solid wood base than the particle board it uses, but so far it's holding up. I've only had it for a year though.
I waited for one of those deals where you buy a gift card and get another cheaper one for free. I managed to knock off about 25% from the price that way.

Cheers!

What is the price and where could I find it? Thanks

 

[kh54s10]

Amazon, eBay. They are usually called corn mills. For a little more you can get one with a guard over the grinding plates which will keep the grain from flying all over the place.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6WCAL3/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[PADave]

Cereal Killer

 

[beerbomb]

Amazon, eBay. They are usually called corn mills. For a little more you can get one with a guard over the grinding plates which will keep the grain from flying all over the place.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6WCAL3/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I would be tempted to remove the handle and attach a drill.

 

[kh54s10]

I did that the first day. I found a bolt that had the right threads.

 

[soccerdad]

I hand crank mine which is technically a Victoria but same thing as the Corona. Too much dust for my liking with the drill and bold.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I'm a cereal killer guy myself. Hardened rollers, ball bearings, $99.

 

[mongoose33]

Ask yourself what you're going to wish you'd done a year from now. I know people use those corn mills, and @kh54s10 would not steer you wrong w/ his advice, but how big a hopper does it have? How fast is it? Are you going to wish you had that money back to put toward something else?

If you can afford the $99, get a Cereal Killer.

 

[kh54s10]

Ask yourself what you're going to wish you'd done a year from now. I know people use those corn mills, and @kh54s10 would not steer you wrong w/ his advice, but how big a hopper does it have? How fast is it? Are you going to wish you had that money back to put toward something else?

If you can afford the $99, get a Cereal Killer.

I have been wanting something nicer for 6 1/2 years. I took a cookie container and made a hopper extension out of it. It holds at least 7 pounds of grain. I run it with a Harbor Freight 1/2" hammer drill, hammer turned off. It is pretty adjustable and will run through the 7 pounds a lot faster than I want to go.

I am trying to justify the purchase of a Monster Mill 3 roller or even 2 roller. I can't even get to the point where I want to drop the $99 on a Cereal Killer.

I will upgrade eventually....

 

[mongoose33]

I have been wanting something nicer for 6 1/2 years. I took a cookie container and made a hopper extension out of it. It holds at least 7 pounds of grain. I run it with a Harbor Freight 1/2" hammer drill, hammer turned off. It is pretty adjustable and will run through the 7 pounds a lot faster than I want to go.

I am trying to justify the purchase of a Monster Mill 3 roller or even 2 roller. I can't even get to the point where I want to drop the $99 on a Cereal Killer.

I will upgrade eventually....

So you want a reason to justify the purchase of a MM3, eh? Well, here you go:

 

[cloudybrewer]

So you want a reason to justify the purchase of a MM3, eh? Well, here you go:

You should have gotten a 15hp. Why mess around?

 

[murphyslaw]

I did the Corona mill for a couple years before getting a cerel killer. If you've got the budget, it's worth the upgrade. The corona mill is not made for crushing barley. lt was kind of a pain and it shreds the husks, which makes lautering really slow. That can be mitigated somewhat by conditioning the malt first, but still not ideal. I also found that the gap would slip on me often.

Still, it beats buying precrushed grain, and you can save a ton buying in bulk. At the time, my budget was such that I was aways doing things the cheapest way possible. But if you've got the budget, don't be fooled into thinking the Corona mill is just as good as a cheap barley mill.

 

[Jayjay1976]

+1 for the cereal killer. Hands down one of the most gratifying upgrades you will ever make. Corona mills can work fine but there are far fewer variables with a 2 roller mill, which will give you far more consistently predictable results. As a new brewer you already have plenty of things to fuss with; take your crush out of the equation with a good quality, basic 2-roller mill and focus your efforts on fine-tuning other aspects of your process.

 

[newtobrew1981]

I have the malt muncher it works great

 

[newtobrew1981]

FYI the malt muncher is almost identical in every way to the mm3 at a fraction of the price

 

[newtobrew1981]

So you want a reason to justify the purchase of a MM3, eh? Well, here you go:


View attachment 566516

What size is your motor

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Just built out my 3 roller. Mill from kegco, motor from William's brewing. Spent a bit more than I wanted, but I know it will run forever

 

[Jayjay1976]

The malt muncher is *almost* identical to the cereal killer, except that it has brass bushings instead of ball bearings, a small detail that makes the cereal killer a much longer lasting unit. I suppose it's easy to swap out new bushings when they fail, or upgrade them to ball bearings yourself, but why bother if you don't have to?

 

[newtobrew1981]

Well unless they are shielded ballbearings then the would probably fail as well. Nonetheless I've haven't heard any complaints about the malt muncher

 

[mongoose33]

What size is your motor

It's 1/2 HP, but the torque is amazing. https://allamericanaleworks.com/shop/

Part of the reason I bought this particular motor was that it's geared down to 180 RPM. I'm experimenting w/ LODO techniques; one of the tenets of LODO is a slow crush, and one that leaves large particles. Another tenet is crushing JUST before doughing in. This mill/motor doesn't require a lot of fiddling which seemed part and parcel of the BC mill. Another is that I can see an increase in batch size on the horizon. This setup will crush 12 pounds of grain in about 2 minutes.

This also is, I expect, the last mill and motor I ever expect to buy. It's not cheap, but it came all ready with the couplers and such that matched my Monster Mill 3.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Well unless they are shielded ballbearings then the would probably fail as well. Nonetheless I've haven't heard any complaints about the malt muncher

All my research told me bushings are fine for a direct drive setup. A pulley or gear drive system can put horizontal stress on the bearings so ball bearing is better

 

[Jayjay1976]

I don't think it makes much difference, bushings vs. bearings, unless one intends to motorize their mill. In that case, ball bearings are a definite advantage. Sealed units are easy to come by.

 

[Griffin495]

Another vote for the Cereal Killer. Love mine.

 

[LostHopper]

Cereal killer here
No complaints