So I want to buy a mill...

[cyburai]

There are many;

Valley http://www.web.ca/~valley/valleymill.html
Corona http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-grain-mills.shtml
Crankandstein http://www.crankandstein.com/
Barley Crusher http://www.barleycrusher.com
MaltMill http://schmidling.netfirms.com/maltmill.htm
Huskbuster http://www.beertools.com/html/articles.php?view=150
Automatic Mill http://www.stpats.com/mills.htm
etc.

What should I look for, and what should I expect to pay?

Recommendations are always welcome.

What others are out there?

[Blktre]

The C and S is the king of mills.......but kinda pricey. The maltmill and the Barley Crusher are awsome mills too. Just make sure the mill you buy is adjustable. A detent is even a plus. This makes adjusting tons easier w/o having to put a feeler gauge in the gap. If you dont get a detent, you will have to use a feeler, make adjustments, and using a perm. marker, mark lines on the casing to signify what the gap is set too. A 3/8 drive is plenty stout enuff and this size can be motorized w/o any worry. Id stay away from the others imo.....As in any case when you dial in your crush, you will need to take different size malts, run them thru, adjust your gap taking notes on the proper crush for a particular size kernal. I have my gap set fairly wide and make 2 passes. This enables me to use any size kernal i want w/o adjusting and milling seperatly. I must say i do this cause my mill is adjustable, but has no detent. But running thru twice only takes a minute or two more and for me, i get a awsome crush, my eff. is in the 80's, and ive never been stuck.

[Jensen]

I am a big fan of Jack Schmidling mills. I have had mine for 15 years and it has worked great! I just use a drill mounted to it because I have been to lazy to hook up a motor to it. The features that Andy mentioned are a must though-- make sure the mill you get has them.

[philip]

For what its worth, I have the Barley Crusher. I am very pleased with it.

[shane]

WOW ,just checked out the valleymills site and they went up 50$ !!!But I have owned one for over two years and have to say it is 100% problem-free.And thats at over a ton ran through it........cheers

[fergmeister]

I bought the Maltmill w/double adjustments of one roller. It does the optimal thing. It cracks the grain and doesn't shred the husk. You get a husk filter bed like you are supposed to and cracked grain. I get great efficiency, It works with all of the grains I've used, you can adjust the gap, and it works. Alberta's price was high just over $200 with the 10% discount, but it comes with a crank so you can mill small amounts w/o a drill, but for real grain bills the drill is the ticket and if you get a big crush you can adjust for a second round. 80% efficiency is the best you can do with grain because of husk and undigestable starches. With the HERMS/HLT and the pump running a long recirculation I think I'm maxed w/o the evil tannins. It's all about the crush and the gap adjustability. Wharever you decide on get a quality adjustable roller mill and you'll like the results. Stay away from the plate mills.

Input from the Tower of Power

[Bill]

I ordered a Barley Crusher online this morning for $127 delivered. This includes 2 knurled rollers that are adjustable at both ends with one being passive (shipped at .039 and this setting is marked so you can always go back to it), handle, wooden mounting base, 7 # hopper, life-time guarantee on parts and shipped pre-assembled.

From the searching I did, I couldn't find a bad review of the Barley Crusher, the worst thing that people said about it was that it didn't have pre-marked/notched adjustments on the rollers. I own a Sharpie and a feeler gauge, so I think I can tough it through.
I also liked the fact that the handle and mounting base are not considered 'extras'.

[kevputo]

So I realize this is an extremely old thread, but still seems to be the most applicable for my search for a grain mill.

First, a few of the links in the original post are no longer valid. Here are some updates:

Valley: Search result shows they don't make these anymore
Crankandstein: http://www.crankandstein.net/
MaltMill: http://schmidling.com/maltmill.htm
Automatic Mill: Couldn't find any info when searching for this, other than a company that makes large agricultural mills

Other than those changes, the rest of the links are still valid. Anybody know of any new companies/products to consider? I didn't find anything else of interest in a general search. Apparently there have not been any huge advances in the field of small scale grist milling in the last half-decade. Shocking, I know.

Based on comments in this thread, I've narrowed it down to Crankandstein, Barley Crusher, and MaltMill. All of these have a version with adjustable rollers, but I'm having trouble finding any info on which of these has detents for adjusting the gap.

Due to my cheapness, I'm leaning towards the Barley Crusher. Can anyone confirm if this unit has detents for adjustments?

Thanks,

Kevin

[meisel]

So I realize this is an extremely old thread, but still seems to be the most applicable for my search for a grain mill.

First, a few of the links in the original post are no longer valid. Here are some updates:

Valley: Search result shows they don't make these anymore
Crankandstein: http://www.crankandstein.net/
MaltMill: http://schmidling.com/maltmill.htm
Automatic Mill: Couldn't find any info when searching for this, other than a company that makes large agricultural mills

Other than those changes, the rest of the links are still valid. Anybody know of any new companies/products to consider? I didn't find anything else of interest in a general search. Apparently there have not been any huge advances in the field of small scale grist milling in the last half-decade. Shocking, I know.

Based on comments in this thread, I've narrowed it down to Crankandstein, Barley Crusher, and MaltMill. All of these have a version with adjustable rollers, but I'm having trouble finding any info on which of these has detents for adjusting the gap.

Due to my cheapness, I'm leaning towards the Barley Crusher. Can anyone confirm if this unit has detents for adjustments?

Thanks,

Kevin

Monster Mills are the best quality for the money. I wouldn't even consider anything else at this point. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get the 1/2" drive shaft and ss upgrade. MTC

[philip]

I have a Barley Crusher and it does not have detents, but mine is about 7-8 years old. The newer ones may have detents.

[kevputo]

[/quote]
Monster Mills are the best quality for the money. I wouldn't even consider anything else at this point. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get the 1/2" drive shaft and ss upgrade. MTC[/quote]

Can you elaborate a little on your upgrade recommendations?

I only have a 3/8" drill right now, so a 1/2" drive would require me to get a bigger drill, jump straight to setting this up with a dedicated motor, or use a hand crank. Does the 3/8" shaft get bent easily?

Have you had rust or wear issues with the alloy steel? I'm a little concerned about rust, since I'll probably end up storing this in my garage, and unless I really up my production I won't be using it more than once or twice a month. Could probably find room for it in my storage closet inside though if max environmental control is critical. If wear is the issue, how many years/batches/miles would you estimate you put on yours before it became an issue?

Hope I'm not pestering you too much on this. It's just that those 2 upgrades and the cost of a new 1/2" drill would more than double my cost of entry into the world of milling.

If that really is the best route, I'll just save my pennies awhile longer and do it right.

Thanks,

Kevin

[kevputo]

I have a Barley Crusher and it does not have detents, but mine is about 7-8 years old. The newer ones may have detents.

The more I think about it, the less concerned I am about detents. Seems like once you mark the set point for different gaps it shouldn't be a problem. Would you agree?

Kevin

[philip]

Would you agree?

I would.

[meisel]

Monster Mills are the best quality for the money. I wouldn't even consider anything else at this point. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get the 1/2" drive shaft and ss upgrade. MTC[/quote]

Can you elaborate a little on your upgrade recommendations?

I only have a 3/8" drill right now, so a 1/2" drive would require me to get a bigger drill, jump straight to setting this up with a dedicated motor, or use a hand crank. Does the 3/8" shaft get bent easily?

Have you had rust or wear issues with the alloy steel? I'm a little concerned about rust, since I'll probably end up storing this in my garage, and unless I really up my production I won't be using it more than once or twice a month. Could probably find room for it in my storage closet inside though if max environmental control is critical. If wear is the issue, how many years/batches/miles would you estimate you put on yours before it became an issue?

Hope I'm not pestering you too much on this. It's just that those 2 upgrades and the cost of a new 1/2" drill would more than double my cost of entry into the world of milling.

If that really is the best route, I'll just save my pennies awhile longer and do it right.

Thanks,

Kevin[/quote]
For the record I've never had any problems with my MM, it runs off a cheap corded drill, I built a base and hopper out of mdf and it works like a charm. I expect it will last longer than I will. If I were to do it over again, I would go with the upgrades I mentioned because it would allow me to upgrade to a bigger drill, you can find cheap ones off harbor freight. Check out this link: http://www.brews-bros.com/index.php/top ... mill-cart/
I like what that guy did, I could see building something similar if I were ever in the market for a new mill. I don't think you'll run into any quality issues with any of the other mills mentioned, I just have my preference. Lee

[Swagman]

C&S



God Bless
Swagman