MoreBeer UltiMill

[timthetrucker]

I purchased one of these from MoreBeer:

http://morebeerpro.com/products/morebeers-ultimill-ultimate-grain-mill.html

I know they're crazy expensive, but I wanted one for the large hopper and dust control features. I can't believe how poorly this is made, especially when you consider how expensive it is. It has large gaps, half inch by quarter inch, on all four corners where the hopper meets the mill body, more than large enough for grain to spill out.

Like I said, I bought this, in part, for dust control, but these holes are essentially dust vents, venting dust and grain into the environment outside the mill. I contacted MoreBeer customer service and even sent them pictures of this defect. They told me these gaps are normal and exist on all of the UltiMills, not just mine. I have purchased and used many different mills from different sources, like Barley Crusher and Monster Mill among others, but have never seen such an obvious flaw in design. They will refund my purchase but will not reimburse shipping, which was big because it had to ship by truck. Also a concern, the legs of my unit are uneven and wobble on any floor. After this experience, I'm not sure I'll ever do business with MoreBeer again.

 

[atoughram]

Two posts - both of them complaining about a mill? Welcome to HBT...

 

[Hello]

Shipping by truck? You mean freight? That sucks.

Not sure of their policy but if you hate it then resell it or get your refund from them. I can see your reasoning but not sure what else you can do.

 

[timthetrucker]

Yes, I meant by freight. I'm going to return it. I'm just trying to help others avoid the same mistake I made. Just because someone charges top dollar for a product, doesn't mean you'll get a top dollar product. I thought I was dealing with a reputable company. I was wrong.

 

[30Bones]

Two posts - both of them complaining about a mill? Welcome to HBT...

My thoughts as well.

 

[Hello]

Yes, I meant by freight. I'm going to return it. I'm just trying to help others avoid the same mistake I made. Just because someone charges top dollar for a product, doesn't mean you'll get a top dollar product. I thought I was dealing with a reputable company. I was wrong.

I can't speak for Morebeer but if they say there is no fault in the mill then asking you to pay shipping is not uncommon. You'll find this with many vendors. I don't think they have a 100% satisfaction, no questions asked guarantee. Not many companies do. Zappos shoes does but those are shoes and not as awesome as brewing stuff.

I'll tell you, for a product that looks like it has been out since 2010 (looking at an early thread here for example) and very little (no) reviews but yours and some dude that says it is "baaaad" as in awesome, I can't say I'd drop $2k on the thing. However, it is hard to find a leg to stand on here without knowing if others experience the same "flaw" that you experience. Perhaps you can find someone else to has this and see if they have the same opinion. If you can wrangle up people who also support that the mill doesn't do what it should then perhaps they will cover freight shipping back and return your money. It is a lot of money though so I'd be returning it asap to get my $1800+ back.

That said, pictures aside, if the mill isn't doing what it claims to do then you should work with MoreBeer.

Here is what I would expect from the mill:

The all stainless hopper holds a sack of malted grain.

I expect it to hold an entire sack of malted grain without issue.

The included stainless lid keeps dust down and keeps your hopper clean for your next batch.

I expect dust to be reduced but not eliminated.

The mill body itself is also made from stainless steel while the 2" diameter rollers are made from hardened steel for longevity.

I expect this bitch to last my lifetime and my future child's lifetime.

The rollers adjust on both sides providing for a consistent, even gap the length of the rollers. The rollers are knurled in a pattern that we have found over the years to deliver a great crush and consistent feed.

I expect, with reasonable tolerance, that this mill will mill grain without hesitation. That includes no stuck grain locking the rollers even when crushing multiple pounds of dark grain; usually that's a bit harder on a mill as far as I understood.


We use an explosion proof motor, found on commercial mills, because grain dust can ignite if a regular electric motor was to emit a spark. It is a measure of safety to give you and your family peace of mind. The switch on this unit has been upgraded with a sturdy cover, to further diminish the chance of sparking.

The stainless stand allows for a six gallon reception bucket to be slid under to collect cracked grain.

I expect nothing less here than a 6 lb bucket to fit under my mill.

Since grain dust is to be avoided in a brewery we make the bucket-to-stand fit perfectly tight to reduce dust in your brewery.

Again, I expect dust to be reduced but not eliminated. Dust is a crazy thing and gets in places that you think it will never reach. A fridge that is technically sealed with weather stripping may not even be able to combat dust.


So basically, reading their description, quoting it above, my expectations are as such. I think, based on the cost of freight shipping, that I would call Morebeer and just speak to them. See if you can't get a photo of a mill that is on their floor to confirm the gaps. Did you send them photos? See if you can communicate via email with someone who is in a position to really work with you. There is more money on the line and it would behoove them and you to try and work to see if there is truly a flaw with yours or if this is all by design. If it is, and it doesn't make sense to you, then you have to do what you have to do.

Sorry for the ramble, really, but I think there is a better way to go about this than to complain on a home brew website and think that will resolve anything. On the other hand, it is useful to provide a review of a product that has virtually no reviews. For $1800+ and this seemingly funny claim by Morebeer that this mill is somehow going to provide peace of mind for your family, I would want to be sure this is functioning how it should be. I mean, they're the ones who basically set the bar for potential ignition, which I honestly never thought of with grain mills before, so now perhaps that is your angle on getting them to speak with you and ensure you do not have a flawed product.

It is a measure of safety to give you and your family peace of mind.

Just be nice, no one wants to deal with a moody customer.

 

[30Bones]

Hopper can hold 50# of grain, but only a 6 gallon bucket can fit underneath it?

 

[Hunky]

A little bit of caulk?

 

[kickflip_mj]

is it me or do those welds on the hopper look terrible?

 

[30Bones]

The welds look terrible and the inside of the hopper on their site looks to be held together with straps and rivets. For the $ I would have looked right past it just from the pics on their site alone

 

[timthetrucker]

Hello,

Not trying to resolve anything here, I'm working with MoreBeer to try to resolve it. Just using the forum for one of it's purposes: sharing my experiences with this product and company. I want others who might consider buying this to know that I think it's a piece of junk. If I had seen more than the one review saying it's "baaaad" I might not have made this mistake. As for the rest of your suggestions like talking to them or sending them pictures, if you read my original post, you'll see I've done that.

 

[30Bones]

You joined here to bash a company and a product. No more, no less.

I get why you posted it and I would be ticked too, it's the way you did it that comes off in poor tastes to some (including myself) and why I can never really trust reviews since most don't review things that are "great" or "okay", but they jump at the chance to bash a product or company when it's not 100% the way they like it.

 

[timthetrucker]

You joined here to bash a company and a product. No more, no less.

I get why you posted it and I would be ticked too, it's the way you did it that comes off in poor tastes to some (including myself) and why I can never really trust reviews since most don't review things that are "great" or "okay", but they jump at the chance to bash a product or company when it's not 100% the way they like it.

Almost true, I started a new account to leave a bad review. I was already a member but can't remember my old email address or password and frankly don't care. I mostly read threads and rarely post or share. My old username is "titobandito" and I've left some favorable reviews. I'm not sure what I did that's so offensive to you and why you feel the need to be so aggressive towards me. This kind of trolling is exactly why I rarely post anything. But you already know that, since you know exactly what I'm thinking, "no more, no less."

I agree that most people don't post reviews unless they're passionate, either pro or con. I'm definitely that way. Most people are aware of that and use discernment when reading reviews.

Here's one a wrote for a conical fermenter I used to have: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/reviews/7-gallon-conical-fermenter-2.html

 

[BungBrewing]

Maybe this is a silly question, but why would you pay over $2000 (with freight) for this mill? The specs on their site are so unimpressive I'm surprised they can even sell them (only 1/3 hp motor, only 6 lbs per minute, etc.) The best feature (at least on paper) is the 60 lb capacity hopper, but since you have to stop the mill to switch buckets anyway, wouldn't a 30 lb hopper that you fill twice work just as well? Whatever you already paid for freight, you can double it and that's your loss on this venture.

For that kind of money (>$2000), you could have bought a MM3-2.0 (with hardened rollers), an explosion proof (1/2 to 1 hp) motor, hardware, electrical, pulleys, etc, and probably still have over $1000 left to go to a local machine shop to build an incredible stainless table and hopper that would put the UltiMill to shame.

Also, I don't see your review on MoreBeer's website yet... Why not?

 

[timthetrucker]

I submitted my review on MoreBeer's website. I was sure to follow their guidelines. The website says they will post it within 48 hours.

 

[logdrum]

I couldn't care less that you joined to post these pictures-that unit looks like crap. Absolute junk construction. More Beer should be embarrased by that product. Thanks for the warning (not that I was gonna shell out that kind of bones...)

 

[timthetrucker]

An update: MoreBeer is standing behind their product and giving me a full refund. I still think it's a terrible product, as it is right now, but a decent company for backing up what they sell.

I ended up ordering a Jimboney mill from maltmills.com. I've read several great reviews of his mills.

 

[30Bones]

An update: MoreBeer is standing behind their product and giving me a full refund. I still think it's a terrible product, as it is right now, but a decent company for backing up what they sell.

I ended up ordering a Jimboney mill from maltmills.com. I've read several great reviews of his mills.

How big are the rollers?

 

[timthetrucker]

12" rollers

 

[logdrum]

That's proper of them. Thumbs up!


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