Need New Grain Mill

[Tom R]

The hopper and base didn't suit me either, so I made my own with 3/8" plywood and 1/8" acrylic. I also made acrylic sides.

The base was made to fit on either a retired plastic fermenter, or directly onto my MLT. For some dumb reason I get a kick out of watching the grain go through the mill. Easily amused, I guess...

 

[GoeHaarden]

The hopper and base didn't suit me either, so I made my own with 3/8" plywood and 1/8" acrylic. I also made acrylic sides.

The base was made to fit on either a retired plastic fermenter, or directly onto my MLT. For some dumb reason I get a kick out of watching the grain go through the mill. Easily amused, I guess...

Nice work. That hopper looks sweet. I'm digging the see through aspect of it, would be cool to watch.

How do you like that CS mill? Any regrets?

 

[Gusso]

So here I sit with about 25 minutes left in the mash on what should be a relaxed brew day. But the Beer Gods frowned on me early in the process when without warning my grain crusher went Tango Uniform on me about half way through my 12 pound crush.

You know how you take some things totally for granted? Well that's how I thought about my mill. It's a Barley Crusher that I got back in 2008 according to the shipping invoice. It's just a tool, like a hammer, that I never gave much thought to. Until I needed to pound something.

I finally limped through a "crush", though it remains to be seen what my efficiency ends up being. Bottom line, SWMBO'd gave prior approval on my loan application to get a new one.

I remember a thread maybe 6 months ago talking about peoples' favorite crushers. Any feedback or regrets from what y'all have purchased? I've been mostly happy with the Barley Crusher even though their was a fair amount of displeasure with them from other owners who commented on the previous thread. I don't want to spend an arm OR a leg on a new one but I do brew at least 15-20 times a year, so I'm not averse to spending $$$ for quality.

Suggestions?

Timely thread. The other day I spent over an hour grinding 14# of grain on my 15 year old BC in a 90+ degrees garage. The mill has performed well over the years until fairly recently. Time to move on. RIP BC.

 

[Gusso]

Anyone have experience with this 3-roller geared mill at More Beer?

https://www.morebeer.com/products/mighty-mill-3-roller-grain.html

That's what I'm eyeing as a replacement for my BC. Mid August, tho...

 

[Tom R]

Nice work. That hopper looks sweet. I'm digging the see through aspect of it, would be cool to watch.

How do you like that CS mill? Any regrets?

It's a great mill. If I had it to do over, I'd get the same 3D.

Never had an issue with rollers getting stuck. Maybe that's due to their "grain-engaged gearing", I don't know. I just know that I can start it when fully loaded, and it grinds away.

I really like the detented adjusters, makes it so easy to adjust to a new setting and back again. 9 settings to choose from, changing .005" per click. I suppose with a little fussing you could lock it in-between detents, but I've never felt the need.

Crankandstein doesn't have the flashiest website (newly revised), but they sure make a nice product.

 

[bracconiere]

Anyone think a geared mill is worth the extra $$$?

yeah, my mill is 12,13,14 whatever years old....and yeah i have to use a pairing knife to keep getting it to catch the free roller. not quite bad enough to drop $150-175 on a new one yet, but getting there.....(that's been milling 20lbs of malt a week that whole time)

 

[matt_m]

Two reasons I didn't like theirs:
1) Hopper design and capacity
2) Unclear on how much adaptation a motor would require.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I think I'll get rid of my mill and start using a rock and crush it the old school method.

 

[GoeHaarden]

It's a great mill. If I had it to do over, I'd get the same 3D... they sure make a nice product.

Thanks man. I think I'm sold on the CS.

yeah, my mill is 12,13,14 whatever years old....and yeah i have to use a pairing knife to keep getting it to catch the free roller. not quite bad enough to drop $150-175 on a new one yet, but getting there.....(that's been milling 20lbs of malt a week that whole time)

Yeah, I get it's expensive but I have a tendency to talk myself into buying equipment that is cheaper/less quality because I think I could get by. Only to replace it later with something better. Spending that much more money. I don't plan on buying another mill after this...ever

 

[bracconiere]

Yeah, I get it's expensive but I have a tendency to talk myself into buying equipment that is cheaper/less quality because I think I could get by. Only to replace it later with something better. Spending that much more money. I don't plan on buying another mill after this...ever

that was my point, if you can get a mill with 2 driven rollers.... go for it!

 

[Broothru]

Timely thread. The other day I spent over an hour grinding 14# of grain on my 15 year old BC in a 90+ degrees garage. The mill has performed well over the years until fairly recently. Time to move on. RIP BC.

My grainbill for today's inaugural brew session was only 9.5# (blonde ale). Ripped through the job no sweat though the battery on my drill ran out just as the last grains were falling into the catch bin. Glad the grist wasn't 9.75#. I didn't check the battery charge before hand (dumb on me), though I thought is was over half charge. It's 18 VDC, 2AH capacity lithium. A full charge would get me through 14+ pounds on the Barley Crusher, but this crusher apparently chews through batteries due to the extra load. At least I don't have to drag out my corded impact drill for a 5 minute job.

I'm overall very pleased with the Monster Mill, and really am impressed with its performance. The three roller design is definitely superior to two.

 

[GoeHaarden]

Au contraire! I think you should definitely buy the Crankandstein 3GT and give us all a first hand report! I was about ready to buy an MM3G. Now I'm not so sure.

Ordered. I'll report back.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on a Crankandstein 3GT.

Someone talk me out of it...

How about until we know the specs/info of the mill you may be wasting your money.

 

[GoeHaarden]

...you may be wasting your money.

Unlikely, given the specs/quality of the other homebrew mills offered by CS. But I do consider myself a bit of a gambler...

 

[govner1]

I believe the stuck mllling on the MM3 is caused by very slight sticking of the shafts in the bushings. Giving it a quick turn each use fixes it but if you've dumped in 15lb of grain that's hard to do. But also it seems like if I turn it on and toss in a handful it never sticks. Then I can dump in the rest and its fine. Might help too that I loosened the bolts that attach the mill body to the table. There wasn't detectable binding but maybe combined?

I used a 3 roller MM3 for 9+ years with the occasional need to reset the rollers but overall it was a great mill. I motorized it with an All American Aleworks system that runs at 180 rpm and was very efficient and the crush was near perfect.
Several of my brew buddies used it routinely as well.
I’ve since inherited a custom made mill that utilizes both a belt and gear drive. The rollers are slotted and it runs at 150 rpm which I’m told is the ideal and avoids shredding of husks which reduces tannin extraction even more than 180 rpm.
Ultimately, I think the MM3 is terrific. In fact, I gave my old motorized mill to a brew buddy.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Unlikely, given the specs/quality of the other homebrew mills offered by CS. But I do consider myself a bit of a gambler...

What about the items I asked about in post Need New Grain Mill

 

[GoeHaarden]

What about the items I asked about in post Need New Grain Mill

Huh?

 

[mbg]

I have the Mighty Mill 3 and I'm very happy with it. Didn't get the larger hopper as I'm restricting my batch sizes to 5g or less. My LHBS uses one to crush grains for home brewers and a couple of local brew pubs. I like the shaft in particular because the end of the shaft is a 1/4 hex made to fit perfectly in a screw gun / impact. They are typically stronger than your basic 3/8 drill. I use a Ridgid or Makita impact to drive it crushing grain with no problem and it never drains the battery for a single batch of beer. The rollers are also easily adjustable for your desired crush. I think I paid $179 for it from More Beer. I'm happy with it.View attachment 735859 View attachment 735860

Thanks for the quick review. My 17 year old Barley Crusher needs a replacement and MoreBeer has $30 off $180 right now - may have to bite. Just hoping I can adapt my gear motor drive on my BC over to this mill (or time to use my drill?).

 

[odie]

Anyone think a geared mill is worth the extra $$$?

absolutely. I had a mill with the second roller just free wheeling...so many times it would just "hang up" and not spin. very annoying having to reach under and "flick" the static roller back into action.

Got an el cheapo "DY-386" with both rollers geared together off ebay or amazon (don't recall) and have been super happy ever since. Slow but unstoppable.

 

[Gusso]

Thanks for the quick review. My 17 year old Barley Crusher needs a replacement and MoreBeer has $30 off $180 right now - may have to bite. Just hoping I can adapt my gear motor drive on my BC over to this mill (or time to use my drill?).

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the Mighty Mill 3. Like you, my old Barley Crushed has seen better days. Being a penny shy for the $30 discount, I ordered a cheap item to put me over the top (needed it anyway). I hope the mid August date is accurate.

 

[Dog House Brew]

This MM-3 is one of the very early models when Fred started. It has the 1/2” shaft and stainless rolls. I went the cheap route and used an old Skill drill. The router speed controller works great to slow it down. I’ve found that the roller sticking came from having my base too tight. The rollers need just the slightest ability to move. I just leave the mounting bolts finger tight, solved my locking issue. I do wish they were in bearings instead of bushings. I can’t imagine having a mill work any better than this mill. I’m guessing it has had 3,500 pounds through it. I think the gap is set at .032

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I’ve found that the roller sticking came from having my base too tight. The rollers need just the slightest ability to move. I just leave the mounting bolts finger tight, solved my locking issue.

I need to keep this in mind next time I use my mill. I normally tighten the roller cover (I'm not writing about the gap setting screws) with a tool. Maybe I am making too tight?

 

[Dog House Brew]

I’ve found that even though the mounting bolts were square, they somehow made it bind. I think that slight play in the end caps let the rollers roll free. I tried food grade lubricant, air hose blowing it clean, and the bottom roll would still lock. I reach under and check it before I start it. I’ve not had an issue since. The newer models may have different bushings now. Like I said, mine is way back in the infancy of Monster.

 

[mbg]

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the Mighty Mill 3. Like you, my old Barley Crushed has seen better days. Being a penny shy for the $30 discount, I ordered a cheap item to put me over the top (needed it anyway). I hope the mid August date is accurate.

Ha - we're in the same club. I ordered a pound of rice hulls. I currently have my BC mounted to a board and driven by a reversible gear motor through a Lovejoy coupling. Will need some mods to reuse this motor or maybe just use a drill?

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I’ve found that even though the mounting bolts were square, they somehow made it bind. I think that slight play in the end caps let the rollers roll free. I tried food grade lubricant, air hose blowing it clean, and the bottom roll would still lock. I reach under and check it before I start it. I’ve not had an issue since. The newer models may have different bushings now. Like I said, mine is way back in the infancy of Monster.

Thanks for the input. Definitely, something I will keep in mind/try next milling.

 

[GoeHaarden]

For those that care. The Crankandstein 3GT

 

[Gusso]

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the Mighty Mill 3. Like you, my old Barley Crushed has seen better days. Being a penny shy for the $30 discount, I ordered a cheap item to put me over the top (needed it anyway). I hope the mid August date is accurate.

It shipped today. Should have it shortly.

 

[BFD_BrewGeek]

 

[BFD_BrewGeek]

DIY drive coupling with 24VDV, 300 RPM geared bicycle motor, operated at 150 RPM with speed controller. Very good, slow and steady crush.

 

[day_trippr]

Rube Goldberg would be hella proud!