Looking for a malt mill

[bfolse79]

I am looking for a good quality malt mill for some
AG brewing that I would like to do. I am not opposed to buying one used but I'm having trouble finding anything that my wife is willing to let me spend money on. C'mon guys there is no way that I'm the only one in this boat.

 

[boilerbrewer]

I got a crankandstein 2a, and it is great. I recommend it.

 

[Chefboubou]

I recently purchased a Victoria mill, paid 50$ and can't be happier. I got 78% efficiency during my first batch with it! I installed it in a bucket (there is thread about it and it's powered by a drill). I didn't have the justification for the >$150 for a roller mill and I really don't see any now! Good luck!

 

[rkorn74]

Get a monster mill and be done with it. I recommend ordering direct from them as I think you can get a better price. Yes it's pricey up front, but you get what you pay for.

 

[ChefRex]

UPS says that my monster mill will land todayUnfortunately no time to brew this weekend

 

[mikescooling]

They have a mill called (I think) Corona, lots of the kids here use them. How much can you spend on this? You used the words "good quality"; I use and like the MM-3, and that's about $250ish.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U5NZ4I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[DirtyOldDuck]

You basically have two choices - a Corona style mill ($30 - $50 range), or a roller mill made for brewing ($100 and on up). Many people rave about how great Corona mills are (after making adjustments) and say you don't need to spend the money on a roller mill. Many people make great beer with a Corona mill. You mentioned quality, however. I don't think I have ever read where someone praised the quality of their Corona mill - the quality of the crush, yes, but not the quality of the manufacturing of the Corona mill itself. This is not true for roller mills. Also, I have read about people who have gone from using a Corona-style grinder to a roller mill and who loved their new grain mill. Conversely, I have never read where someone said they changed from a roller mill to a Corona-style mill and thought it was an improvement over the roller mill. I am sure you will now hear about the great quality of the manufacturing of some Corona-style mill from one of its users. I am not so sure you will hear from a former roller mill user who now prefers their Corona-style.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Analyze your motives first. Are you certain you are going to stick with brewing for years to come and it is not just a passing hobby? Who am I kidding? Yes. Are you going to stick with AG/BIAB? Are you going to buy in bulk?

If you answered yes to all, consider buying quality and not being afraid to save up your pennies for a few extra months and buy what you really want instead of buying cheap and upgrading as a good mill can and will last a lifetime or more. My first and only mill is a MM 2.0 and I love it. With bulk grain buying I should hopefully soon have paid it off in savings, and it is solid enough that I seriously doubt I will have to repair/replace it, nor do I want to.

 

[Barnesie]

Analyze your motives first. Are you certain you are going to stick with brewing for years to come and it is not just a passing hobby? Who am I kidding? Yes. Are you going to stick with AG/BIAB? Are you going to buy in bulk?

To offer a slightly different take on this, Malt mills are going to hold most of their resale value. Even if you get bored of brewing, you're going to be able to sell a mill for most of what you paid for it.

I have a 3 roller crankenstein. Works great. 2-rollers seem to work great too. In terms of spending money, I'd probably worry more about the cost of motorizing, mounting it and adding a hopper rather then spend more for any particular design, number of rollers, size or specific metal composition. Hand cranking 20# of grain gets to be pretty lame by the last 5 lbs.

Just my thoughts.

 

[AnOldUR]

I'd probably worry more about the cost of motorizing, mounting it and adding a hopper rather then spend more for any particular design, number of rollers, size or specific metal composition.

Mill - $39
Motorized Mill - Priceless

 

[bfolse79]

Thanks for all of the insight guys. I think I will just bite the bullet and buy one of the roller mills. I know this will open another bag of worms, but which is the best? If I am going to spend the money I want the best crush I can get.

 

[amandabab]

I am sure you will now hear about the great quality of the manufacturing of some Corona-style mill from one of its users.

it does a great job, efficiencies in the 80's constantly, but the ones available today seem to be cast in someones backyard and finish machined with a hammer.

 

[planetscott]

Thanks for all of the insight guys. I think I will just bite the bullet and buy one of the roller mills. I know this will open another bag of worms, but which is the best? If I am going to spend the money I want the best crush I can get.

I have a Crankandstein 2S.....It's the lowest priced mill. I've had it several years now have flawless crushes. Everyone in my club has one as well. In fact, the Crankandstein guy is in our club, so it made it easy to get one.....Just drive to his house and pick it up.

 

[Komocabo]

I bought a JSP malt mill from a guy on Craigslist for $60. He had it for several years. It certainly is used... I've put over 100# of grain though it in the past few months and love it. The model I have is not adjustable, which is the only downside. However, I've crushed many types of grain with no complaints. My efficiency has been 75-80% and zero stuck sparges! I've crushed about all of the various crystal malts, rye, special roast, chocolate malt, 2-row, munich, etc... haven't had any issues to date. I just use the hand crank, but really want to motorize it someday... My next big-ish item is a stirplate though, then pumps, then motorize the mill... then... .. ... you see where this goes

Cheers

 

[HoppyLoopy]

tell me more AnOldUR. What size motor and cost and did you build the stand? I like the design. Just got my Millar's B3 today and looking for a good way to mount it.

 

[AnOldUR]

tell me more AnOldUR . . .

The drive is a 177 RPM, 40 in-lb reversing gearmotor from Surplus Center. Think I paid less than 40 bucks for it, but they don't have that model any more. Different used gearmotors pop up there and other places. You just have to keep your eyes open if you're looking to save money.

I made the stand in my garage shop. I was looking for something simple and came up with the tombstone design. I had the ½ x 6” aluminum left over from another project. The hobby box for the electric’s came from Radio Shack and the switches were cheap from Amazon. The switch is forward-off-reverse. I wired it that way incase I ever got a jam or stall, but that hasn't happened. The emergency stop button is overkill, but it looks cool.

The mill is an older Millar's. Not happy with the company and wouldn’t recommend them or do business with them again, but it does a decent job and I was able to get it for $39 from Amazon with a coupon. I’d love to build my own mill, but between lazy and not enough time, it never seems to get done.

I’ve given some thought to selling the stands, but haven’t be able to source the gearmotor at a price that would keep the stand marketable. The stand itself is very simple, but to make money, I’d have to do a pretty large run. It was a fun project.

 

[rustym]

I have about $150.00 in this setup. Very happy with it!