Grain Mill

[wedge]

looking at getting a grain mill soon. What does every one recommend!!!



Where should i get it from?


Thinking about the valley, noticed the australian $ is fairing a bit better than the canadian one!!!


How does this make brewing better/easier cheaper.


I'm mostly thinking of the cost saving

 

[Batz]

I am sure you will get lots of different answers on this wedge , I can only speak for what I have , that's a Valley Mill and I am very happy with it.

I have never seen a Barley Crusher close up but I've heard they are equally as good. ( big d has one )

I ordered mine from Canada

 

[adelaidehomebrew]

I recently stumbled across an old electric coffee grinder, the same ones as the supermarkets have. Whith a bit of tweaking it gives a great grind on the coarse setting. May not be everyones cup of coffee! but it works just great for me!

 

[Hoops]

Good to see people improvising in true homebrew style. Sounds like a great idea!
How much did it set you back?

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

I use a Phil Mill1. It is a single roller and a plate. Gives a pretty good crush. The fabricated hopper can hold up to 6 kgs of grain. And it was given to me as a present by a brewer who upgraded to a Barley Crusher .
Now if I had $300 I would love a BC.

C&B
TDA

 

[big d]

wedge
i scored a barley crusher from northern districts brewing supplies in nsw.
was gonna order a crusher from o.s but had the xmas bucks and bought local.
im very happy with it as im sure batz and others are with the valley mill.
for what its worth i reckon you will get great results with either brand.
the choice is yours when it comes to crushers.

cheers
big d

 

[big d]

one thing i forgot to mention is in the barley crushers favour is that you can set your gap more finely whereas i believe the valley mill has pre determined settings.
eg i can set mine up or down x amount of thou where as you cant do this with the valley.

 

[wedge]

buggers, i was pretty much set on the valley mill!


Do you guys save that much money doing it this way!

 

[Batz]

Same with the Valley Mill , make dust with it if you want
8 settings

 

[Batz]

I used a Porkett before , and was OK for the price , sorry Goat has put his hand up for it

 

[Jazman]

what about custom as my oldies may bring back a bc for me fron the usa when they are up to their limit on duty free

 

[Batz]

It cost me nothing in duty or GST , and it was over $250 AUS. at that time

 

[big d]

sorry batz
barley crusher wins hands down.
if i go from zero to .100 then i have one hundred settings if i go up a thou at a time.

but differences aside once you find the setting that gives the efficiency your happy with then you vary rarely adjust it.

you can save money going via o/s but you can wait awhile as well.i was impatient.i wanted a valley mill.
batz done well on time and duty.

jaz i reckon customs will be intrigued as it lights up the metal detectors.

you may pay duty depends on the day/night

 

[GMK]

I too own, bought a Barley Crusher....

Another advantage the BC has over the Phill and Valley is the BC has ar eally deep Knurl on it.....

Really crushes the grain.

 

[Justin]

Another BC owner. Had it's first run yesterday, got 75% efficency so perhaps could tweak the setting a bit more to up this but I'm more than happy with 75%. I had a go cranking it by hand for about half a kilo which was easy and fast but I had a drill handy and hooked it up and oh my goodness I will never crank by hand again. Makes real light work of it and it just chews through the grain.

Jazman, I got someone to bring me back mine from the states in their luggage. Cost me $165 Aus total (including the delivery within the states to get it to where my friend was). With the base and hopper if weighs 7lbs (so I guess about 3.5kgs). I got the guy to leave the hopper unconstructed to save space, he just supplied the rivets and I put it together here.

As a whole I'm pretty happy with it.

JD

 

[wedge]

any apposing arguments batz?

 

[Jazman]

Justin im trying to get one with out the hopper as i can make on also i dont want the timber base i have emailed him so see what happens

 

[Justin]

Should be fairly helpful I would think, he was a fantastic help to me, I sent him probably a dozen emails and he responded will to all of them with great helpful responses. However, if you are just after the mill have you checked out Crankstein's website. These guys sell just the mill, no hopper, no base. About the same price $90US (CGM2S) and $120US(CGM2A). They also sell them on US ebay with the CGM2A for about $105US. Postage for these mills was:

QUOTE FROM Crankstein:
As you can imagine, its a bit expensive to send stuff half way around the
world! I use the US Post office, as they have the best deal going, and a
reasonable delivery time. They have two shipping options, Global Priority, and Airmail Parcel Post. Global prioity is delivery in 3-5 days, and Airmail Parcel Post in 4-10 days. They are very close in price for your location. Delivery costs for the CGM-2S will run $42US, and $40US for each option respectively, If you wanted to get the 2A instead, it will run $50US, and $48US respectively.

Quote from BC Products;
Justin, the Barley Crusher with 7 pound hopper Air Mailed would be $165.00 USD, approx. 10days. Sent by Parcel Post the price would be $145.00 4-6 weeks. (The US Post Office state 4-6 weeks but since 911 it has taken longer to recieve goods shipped overseas because of delays in customs.)

Note: this last quote refers to the total cost of the mill plus the shipping.

These are just a couple of email I have received when looking for mills. Hope they help.

JD

 

[Batz]

Iam a bit out numbered here wedge , as I said I am happy azz with mine

Your choise sure you would be pleased with either

 

[Justin]

I'm sure you will be happy with both too. The BC just worked out logistically for me, otherwise I probably would have bought the Valley too. It is a flash looking mill.