Mills

[frozengator]

Ok, wife wants to know what I would like for Christmas. And I said a mill. My problem is which one. I am thinking Monster MM2. Or Barley crusher. Anyone have an input on this please?

 

[NeoBrew]

So, you just throw a grenade into a crowd and wait to see what happens????

This is a hotly debated topic. You are going to find lots of opinions. I think it is a good idea to decide what your price point should be. That will help you narrow things down.

I am a big believer in the MM3. I started out with a Captain Crush back before Northern Brewer was bought out. I CANNOT recommend one of those. They were great about it, but they replaced three of them before finally allowing me to return it in exchange for a MM3.

The MM3 has been great for me. I've had it a couple years now. It is solid, well built, and does a great job for me. I drive it with a Harbor Freight low speed drill. I only do 5 gallon batches and have no problems with this setup.

I know there are less expensive options that people also use for many years with success. I'll let them weigh in on those.

 

[frozengator]

LOL. Yeah. I was more or less fishing for any flaws on the cheaper ones. I was looking at the MM3 until the brew shop I stopped at had one and he made the comment he wished he just got the MM2

 

[rkausch]

I run a barley crusher on a custom table with a harbor freight motor. It has worked great for years. The MM3 looks awesome too, but I have no experience with it personally.

 

[frozengator]

Any complaints rkausch? Nice setup by the way

 

[chickypad]

I am one of those who the Barley crusher pooped out on after less than 1000 lbs of grain. I got a cereal killer recently, hoping it's true as some say that the slight difference in design will last longer. And you can get them for $99 with base and hopper on AIH. If I had budgeted more money I would probably have gone with a Monster mill either MM3 or MM2 pro.

 

[schematix]

If she’s buying then I’d go with an MM3-Pro.

 

[rkausch]

I really have no complaints! I’ve had one issue in the 4 years I’ve run it, and that was about 3 months ago. My grain had a small rock in it that jammed the rollers, so I had to dump all the grain out of the hopper and start over. The rollers were not damaged and once I cleared it, it ran just fine. I’ll dig up the sketchup plan for the table and post it here later

 

[brewcat]

I recently bought an mm2. Have only done two batches, but so far it has been awesome. I expect it will last a long time. I brew 5 gallon batches and will likely only mill 200-300 lbs a year.

Go with the 1/2'' shaft in case you want to motorize later.

 

[Sailingeric]

not sure how much she wants to spend but I have been happy with my Cereal Killer and it was only $100

 

[Dog House Brew]

If she’s buying then I’d go with an MM3-Pro.

This^^^^^
I’ve had an MM3 for years. I bought mine when Monster first started. It has the stainless rolls. It has milled a lot of grain w/o any issues.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Monster mills are high quality and with that quality comes an increased price. I have a MM2 with 1/2" shafts and love it. Just depends on how much you want to pay.

 

[mongoose33]

I have intimate knowledge of both those mills.

Barley Crusher: not on a bet. Want to buy mine? I'll give you a deal.

Monster Mill: I just bought the Monster Mill 3-roller mill. What a beast. Yeah, it's more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I have it hooked up to an All-American Ale Works motor, and it's....just wonderful. See below.

Pay the extra for the 3-roller and then when you can afford it, add a motor. You will not regret it.

 

[rkausch]

I have intimate knowledge of both those mills.

Barley Crusher: not on a bet. Want to buy mine? I'll give you a deal.

Monster Mill: I just bought the Monster Mill 3-roller mill. What a beast. Yeah, it's more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I have it hooked up to an All-American Ale Works motor, and it's....just wonderful. See below.

Pay the extra for the 3-roller and then when you can afford it, add a motor. You will not regret it.

View attachment 550186

While I’m sure you have your reasons, please share them. If you’re so dead set against the barley crusher, explain why. I’ve had nothing but good luck with mine, and have had zero need to spend more on a more expensive mill. What rpm and gap are you running? Does that make a difference in your brew day? For point of comparison, I’m running 190 rpm and .039 on the gap.

What actual problems have you encountered on the barley crusher?

 

[November]

I have a barley crusher. It worked for a few months and has since quit. Regardless of the setting my drive roller just spins and doesn't crush. The only way I can get mine to work is if I put a large o-ring on one of the rollers so they both turn. That works ok, but it's pretty inconvenient since the o-ring has to be replaced every so often which requires taking the mill apart. I plan on buying a 3 roller like an mm3 next year.

 

[mongoose33]

While I’m sure you have your reasons, please share them. If you’re so dead set against the barley crusher, explain why. I’ve had nothing but good luck with mine, and have had zero need to spend more on a more expensive mill. What rpm and gap are you running? Does that make a difference in your brew day? For point of comparison, I’m running 190 rpm and .039 on the gap.

What actual problems have you encountered on the barley crusher?

Oh, it's a poor mill, judging by the numerous complaints that you can find here on HBT. If I were going to get a similar type of mill, I'd probably get a Cereal Killer.

Mine hasn't been a champ by any means. There have been times when it jams, when I have had to remove all the malt from the hopper to get it going again.

If you've had luck with yours, that's good--I don't wish you ill. However, I would never buy another one, and I strongly suggest people look at all the other options.

 

[rkausch]

Oh, it's a poor mill, judging by the numerous complaints that you can find here on HBT. If I were going to get a similar type of mill, I'd probably get a Cereal Killer.

Mine hasn't been a champ by any means. There have been times when it jams, when I have had to remove all the malt from the hopper to get it going again.

If you've had luck with yours, that's good--I don't wish you ill. However, I would never buy another one, and I strongly suggest people look at all the other options.

Thanks for the info. As I mentioned, I’ve been pleased with mine, but I’m just one data point. Certainly more data is better, and if the general consensus is against the mill, I’m more than happy to help others make a better, more informed decision. Anyways, my apologies if my earlier post came off as flippant or offensive, certainly not my intention. Cheers!

 

[MaxStout]

I like my MM2, but would like it better if it had ball bearings instead of sleeve bearings. That said, it's been very reliable the past 3 years I've used it. Just don't side-load the drive shaft. If you direct drive it, that won't be an issue.

Some people like the Barley Crusher, but before you invest in one, take a look through this thread. They're not exactly known for their customer service skills.

 

[shelly_belly]

I bought myself this one for Christmas. I got it and the base for $113.97 shipped. I think they have a 15% off deal now. I'm on a tight budget so I hope this one holds up. There's not much history on it that I could find.

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/MALTMUNCHER-DUAL-ROLLER-MILL-P4174.aspx

 

[chickypad]

Some people like the Barley Crusher, but before you invest in one, take a look through this thread. They're not exactly known for their customer service skills.

It's this. I thought it was great for about the first 700 lbs, then it stopped pulling grain. Took it apart, cleaned and oiled, thought it was fixed for another 50 lbs or so then it happened again. Except this time I had to do maintenance every single batch with multiple starts and stops despite only doing 3 gal batches now. I just decided to go with a new mill rather than paying for shipping and trying to get it fixed with all the unsuccessful stories.

 

[MaxStout]

It's this. I thought it was great for about the first 700 lbs, then it stopped pulling grain. Took it apart, cleaned and oiled, thought it was fixed for another 50 lbs or so then it happened again. Except this time I had to do maintenance every single batch with multiple starts and stops despite only doing 3 gal batches now. I just decided to go with a new mill rather than paying for shipping and trying to get it fixed with all the unsuccessful stories.

Yikes. A mill shouldn't require that much constant maintenance, but unfortunately, there are some other stories like yours. Sorry you had to go through that hassle.

Curious--what mill did you end up getting?

 

[chickypad]

I hope I don't regret another lower cost mill but I went with the cereal killer based on the info in some threads. I'm only doing 3 gal batches these days so I'm hoping it will last a good long while. If I was still doing 10 gal batches I think I would have gone with MM2 pro, or maybe the MM3.

 

[MaxStout]

I hope I don't regret another lower cost mill but I went with the cereal killer based on the info in some threads. I'm only doing 3 gal batches these days so I'm hoping it will last a good long while. If I was still doing 10 gal batches I think I would have gone with MM2 pro, or maybe the MM3.

Those are certainly tempting, at around $100. The CK's rollers are a little smaller, 1.25 dia x 5 long, vs 1.5 x 6 for the MM2. I haven't heard anything bad about the Cereal Killer around here. If I was buying a mill now, I'd give it serious consideration, as I don't brew a ton and I'm a tightwad.

How does it handle hard grains like wheat?

 

[chickypad]

Yeah same size as the Barley crusher, with bearings though. Haven't done any wheat malt through it yet.

 

[revco]

I just pulled the trigger on a Monster MM2Pro, stainless all around. Pretty penny, but it's one of the best mills you can buy. I've had the Barley Crusher for probably five years and while it's been a good mill, it's recently started to act up on me. I have less than 1000 pounds through it, which should be nothing for a mill. For me, I decided to buy again, but it's the last mill I will ever need to buy.

 

[frozengator]

Just realized there are different levels of monster mills too. [emoji57]

 

[PADave]

I have a Cereal Killer and have not had any problems yet. But if someone else was offering to buy I'd go with a monster mill.

 

[Jtk78]

I bought a Cereal Killer about a year ago and have had no issues with it. I read too many horror stories about the barley crusher when I was doing my research.

 

[LJvermonster]

Cereal Killer has been great for me! I don't brew terribly often though .

 

[sikkingj]

I’m a big fan of the JSP MaltMill. I’ve had it for 4 or 5 years now and it’s works without a hitch.

 

[V-Fib]

I've had a Barely Crusher that I use a battery powered drill with. I try to keep it as slow as possible but thats still way over the recommended RPMs for the mil. If I had to guess I've put 200-250 pounds of grain through it and its going just as strong as the day I got it. I do change the gap setting when I'm milling wheat bat so far I've had no issues with things coming out of alignment or anything. I guess the next 200 pounds of grain will be the test to see if it holds up.

 

[ButcherBoy]

Crankandstein 3D mill powered via a Shopsmith 510, using a pulley arrangement calculated to turn it at 100-120 rpm. (I can increase the speed if needed, but I never have) The mill is rugged and easy to adjust, the Shopsmith easily keeps it running smoothly. I have run around 400 pounds through it by now, never a problem.

 

[AkTom]

I have MM?... a mystery mill. I bought it in a whole setup. I don't know what it is, but I love it.

 

[VTX1300]

My wonderful wife and son got me the Kegco 3 roller mill. Just set the first batch thru it yesterday. Don't have it powered yet, but didn't take much effort to go thru the whole batch. LOVE IT!!!

 

[frozengator]

Ended up getting a 90 dollar one off Amazon. Plus some other goodies for brewing. After doing research I said lets see how much this one is used and go from there. So now I have to go buy some grain and give it a shot

 

[ITV]

Crankandstein 3D mill powered via a Shopsmith 510, using a pulley arrangement calculated to turn it at 100-120 rpm. (I can increase the speed if needed, but I never have) The mill is rugged and easy to adjust, the Shopsmith easily keeps it running smoothly. I have run around 400 pounds through it by now, never a problem.

What a brilliant idea. I have the first year Shopsmith 500 and never thought to power a mill with it.
Do you have any pictures of your setup?

 

[ITV]

I started out with a Captain Crush back before Northern Brewer was bought out. I CANNOT recommend one of those. They were great about it, but they replaced three of them before finally allowing me to return it in exchange for a MM3.

I have a Captain Crush and had issues with it at first. Once I realized that I needed to break it down and run compressed air thru the bearings between uses, it performs flawlessly.

I used to wash it down with water (per the instructions) and that ended up gumming up the rollers which would prevent the free wheeling roller from spinning.

Now that I have it mounted on a cart with a proper motor to drive it (American Ale Works) I couldn't be happier.

 

[sikkingj]

I forgot to mention getting the mill is nice, but you will most likely want to motorize it. Williams Brewing has a sweet kit (https://www.williamsbrewing.com/TRIPLE-ROLLER-GRAIN-MILL-MOTORIZING-KIT-P4173.aspx), everything you need to make it work.

I had to piece everything together - I’ve finally bought everything, but no time to build, so I’m still hand cranking. Let me tell you 25 pounds of grain is a bit of a workout.

 

[frozengator]

I have a Captain Crush and had issues with it at first. Once I realized that I needed to break it down and run compressed air thru the bearings between uses, it performs flawlessly.

I used to wash it down with water (per the instructions) and that ended up gumming up the rollers which would prevent the free wheeling roller from spinning.

Now that I have it mounted on a cart with a proper motor to drive it (American Ale Works) I couldn't be happier.

That is what I really wanted, but with the poor reviews I backed out. Now with what your saying on using air, I can see why on some reviews they state I is great at first but after a couple 100lbs ran through they have problems

 

[NeoBrew]

I have a Captain Crush and had issues with it at first. Once I realized that I needed to break it down and run compressed air thru the bearings between uses, it performs flawlessly.

I used to wash it down with water (per the instructions) and that ended up gumming up the rollers which would prevent the free wheeling roller from spinning.

Now that I have it mounted on a cart with a proper motor to drive it (American Ale Works) I couldn't be happier.

I'm glad you are happy with yours. There were a lot of great features designed into the thing.

On mine the rollers would not stay put when adjusted. They would loosen up and twist in their bushings. This would leave the rollers non parallel in the middle of a crush. I would find bronze shavings on the platform under the bearings when I used it. I actually did blow mine out with compressed air after every use. It's my understanding that they worked out some of the issues in later versions of the mill. But there is no way to know which version you have as there are not serial numbers. Like I said, after 3 failed units (NB took them all back with no reservations) I decided to return the last one and get the Monster Mill 3 roller. It doesn't have some of the nice features of the CC, but it is built like a tank and just works every time I go to use it.