Wtb Cheap Mill

[Wolfy]

Now that I have some more time for brewing, I was about to buy a stack (or should that be sack) of grain today and a cheap mill, G&G are just too far to drive for each new batch of beer, so it would be nice to be able to buy in bulk and crush it fresh.

However, the Ebay guy selling the 'Cereal Mill Grinder No. 500' AKA 'Carona Mill' has sold out of stock. :blink:
His were about $50 and I'm not sure there is anything else available even close to that price.

So I'm stuck looking for an adequate mill that won't cost too much, it probably wont be used that frequently so a hand mill or the like is fine, unfortunately a new roller mill does not fit within the budget.
Hopefully someone can help me find one here or online - because its either that or a fun weekend of 'housewares' shopping with SHMBO in an attempt to find one.

If anyone knows where I can buy a cheap mill suitable for AG, has a mill for sale, or wants to sell one of their old ones, please let me know.

Thanks

 

[altone]

Now that I have some more time for brewing, I was about to buy a stack (or should that be sack) of grain today and a cheap mill, G&G are just too far to drive for each new batch of beer, so it would be nice to be able to buy in bulk and crush it fresh.

However, the Ebay guy selling the 'Cereal Mill Grinder No. 500' AKA 'Carona Mill' has sold out of stock. :blink:

Aren't those corona mills more suited to creating flour rather than just crushing grain?

I thought they'd be much too destructive on the husks.

Then again, wait for someone whose actually tried one to confirm that.

I could've picked up a Corona King at my local Salvos complete for $40 recently but didn't
because I thought it might be too harsh on the grain.
I'd Better shoot back and see if it's still there if someone says they do an ok job.

If not, Ross at Craftbrewer sells the Marga mill for 100 odd bucks if you can stretch that far
and I know they do a good job.

 

[Woola]

Now that I have some more time for brewing, I was about to buy a stack (or should that be sack) of grain today and a cheap mill, G&G are just too far to drive for each new batch of beer, so it would be nice to be able to buy in bulk and crush it fresh.

However, the Ebay guy selling the 'Cereal Mill Grinder No. 500' AKA 'Carona Mill' has sold out of stock. :blink:
His were about $50 and I'm not sure there is anything else available even close to that price.

So I'm stuck looking for an adequate mill that won't cost too much, it probably wont be used that frequently so a hand mill or the like is fine, unfortunately a new roller mill does not fit within the budget.
Hopefully someone can help me find one here or online - because its either that or a fun weekend of 'housewares' shopping with SHMBO in an attempt to find one.

If anyone knows where I can buy a cheap mill suitable for AG, has a mill for sale, or wants to sell one of their old ones, please let me know.

Thanks

This link may be helpful if you are looking at milling on the cheap. I've done a few AG's with this setup now, all's well so far.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/using-past...84/index26.html

 

[T.D.]

Aren't those corona mills more suited to creating flour rather than just crushing grain?

I thought they'd be much too destructive on the husks.

Then again, wait for someone whose actually tried one to confirm that.

I could've picked up a Corona King at my local Salvos complete for $40 recently but didn't
because I thought it might be too harsh on the grain.
I'd Better shoot back and see if it's still there if someone says they do an ok job.

If not, Ross at Craftbrewer sells the Marga mill for 100 odd bucks if you can stretch that far
and I know they do a good job.

The brewer at Happy Goblin Brewing uses a Corona mill, so I am sure it can do a good enough job. Not ideal, but it'll get you over the line.

A roller mill is better suited, but they will cost more. People have had success with marga mills but if you want a good cheap roller mill you'd be mad not to get the Crankandstein 2S mill. At the current exchange rate it is under A$100 and it has been designed for brewing, unlike the marga.

 

[altone]

A roller mill is better suited, but they will cost more. People have had success with marga mills but if you want a good cheap roller mill you'd be mad not to get the Crankandstein 2S mill. At the current exchange rate it is under A$100 and it has been designed for brewing, unlike the marga.

Thanks for that T.D. yep comes to Aussie $150 with postage.

Hmm, now wheres that credit card.....

 

[hillbillybreweries]

if used properly a Corona Mill can crush you grain fine. I found that when I compared grain crushed at two different brew stores, and also by two homebrewers where one used a three roller mill and the other a valley mill - 2 roller that the extraction rate I got on all was pretty much the same. One big factor depending on your batch size is a Corona is a lot slower than the other mills.

 

[QldKev]

If you can stretch the budget to the grain mills I wouldn't look at the basic flour mills, yes they may do the job for awhile, but you will end up upgrading. By the time you hand over money up front and later updating, it cost more.

The Crankandstein is a decent mill but also look at the Monstermill mm2
http://www.monsterbrewinghardware.com/mm-2.html
Better build specs.

The mm2 works out to about $AUD185 shipped at the moment, and I think it is really worth the upgrade. You will find a lot of brewers (including myself, although I've only had mine for about 10 crushes) on here use the Monstermill.

Also as a side benefit, Monstermill will ship 2 units for the same shipping price, so if you can find someone local get 2 shipped together and it works out only a bit more than the Crankandstein shipped.

QldKev

 

[Wolfy]

If either/any roller mill came in (delivered) under $100, I'd probably whip out the Credit Card also, but I'm not sure they do, you're looking at a fair bit more to get it here.
boddingtons best is only just down the road, I wonder how tempting it was to his Credit Card if we can pay just 1 shipping cost.

But to be honest, if I can get a Corona-type mill it will be adequate for my needs, and still 1/2 the price.

 

[T.D.]

Yeah give it a go, you can't go too wrong for the money.

That said, I reckon its a foregone conclusion that you will probably end up buying a roller mill eventually...

 

[Wolfy]

greengelly, I've actually got an un-used pasta machine here, but I've read some similar suggestions before and most have indicated that the experiment was a failure due to the smooth rollers etc, might be worth some detailed reading of that thread.

 

[benno1973]

Marga Mill is $139, but with postage this would probably take it up to $150, so as TD said, with the $AUS looking good against the $US, the Crankandstein is probably better.

Having said that, a Corona Mill definitely works, I used one for 5 years or so before I got jack of the effort it took to grind grains. Hmmm... now I think about it, why didn't I just buy a dedicated mill?... :huh:

 

[haysie]

greengelly, I've actually got an un-used pasta machine here, but I've read some similar suggestions before and most have indicated that the experiment was a failure due to the smooth rollers etc, might be worth some detailed reading of that thread.

Arthur and I were using an insinkerator before getting our mills. We both made very good beer. He still has it, make him an offer
If you still live around the corner you are welcome to call in and run your grain thru my mill until new stock becomes available.
Cheers

 

[Woola]

greengelly, I've actually got an un-used pasta machine here, but I've read some similar suggestions before and most have indicated that the experiment was a failure due to the smooth rollers etc, might be worth some detailed reading of that thread.

You're correct regarding the smooth rollers. If they were left smooth you wouldn't be able to pull any grain through. However, have a quick look over that thread, most people (myself included) just get a drill bit and rough the sh*t out of the rollers until they have enough purchase to pull the grain through. After being a bit cautious initially, i ended up fairly aggressive and got a decent roughness sufficeint to pull through 5kg of grain in around 10-15mins (powered by a battery drill on slowest setting).

I'm not saying this method is any better than any other, but in terms of economy it is hard to beat.

 

[BennyBrewster]

I'm after a mill in the near future also and might be interested in sharing shipping costs with someone.

To be honest Im steering towards the MillMaster, yeah its more $$$ but the mm2 and Crankandstein 2S look like toys compared to it.

 

[QldKev]

I'm after a mill in the near future also and might be interested in sharing shipping costs with someone.

To be honest Im steering towards the MillMaster, yeah its more $$$ but the mm2 and Crankandstein 2S look like toys compared to it.

Yep the MashMaster is a nice peice of equip. :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: But the original budget was $100, the MashMaster will be $300 with delivery. :wacko:
The Monstermill / Crankandstein only blow the buget by about $50 odd and will last the average brewer a lifetime.

QldKev

 

[Wolfy]

Thankyou for the offer haysie, I did consider requesting something like that, but I tend to brew infrequently, erratically and at weird times for most people, so it would be more of an inconvienence for the other person than I'd like to impose.

Yep the MashMaster is a nice peice of equip. :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: But the original budget was $100

My 'original' budget was the $50 for the Ebay Corona which I can't get now, I can see the benefit of stretching it to $100 or so for an acceptable roller mill. Sure something really decent would be great, but for the use it would get it's not going to be cost-effective for me, which is why a Corona or soemthing, even if I have to crank it by hand, is equally acceptable. For the price of the MashMaster it would be easier - and cheaper - for me to put up with long drives to G&G.

But hey, anyone else is free to upgrade and on-sell whatever you are using now, at least that may come within the budget. :icon_chickcheers: (just not so sure about the insinkerator TBH!).

 

[altone]

Thankyou for the offer haysie, I did consider requesting something like that, but I tend to brew infrequently, erratically and at weird times for most people, so it would be more of an inconvienence for the other person than I'd like to impose.

Hehe, you and I sound like a match made in heaven :lol:
If you end up not buying a mill you, you could always borrow mine for a bit once I've got it.
Although it would cost you a beer . :beer:

 

[manticle]

Aren't those corona mills more suited to creating flour rather than just crushing grain?

I thought they'd be much too destructive on the husks.

Then again, wait for someone whose actually tried one to confirm that.

I could've picked up a Corona King at my local Salvos complete for $40 recently but didn't
because I thought it might be too harsh on the grain.
I'd Better shoot back and see if it's still there if someone says they do an ok job.

I bought one of them. You can adjust the plate quite easily an can allow anything through from whole grains to flour depending on your adjustments. A bargain at $50. The annoying thing is that not all of it is stainless so you have to make sure you clean it well and keep it away from moisture. To clean it properly you have to separate all the parts, wash it and immediately dry it thoroughly. It does about 1kg at a time, by hand so a bit of a pain but hand grinding doesn't bother me.

I'm glad I bought it - first bits of grain I got I was trying all sorts of innovative (read stupid) ways to crush - first I tried 20 secs in a coffee grinder and second I tried bashing inside plastic bags with a wooden mallet and rolling with a rolling pin.

Did I say stupid? Yes I believe I did.

Sorry I can't help the OP though.

 

[altone]

I'm glad I bought it - first bits of grain I got I was trying all sorts of innovative (read stupid) ways to crush - first I tried 20 secs in a coffee grinder and second I tried bashing inside plastic bags with a wooden mallet and rolling with a rolling pin.

Did I say stupid? Yes I believe I did.

Sorry I can't help the OP though.

Nothing wrong with that, first normal grain I did was "milled" with a Bamix
And it tasted great, although that was a while ago.

 

[Cracka]

greengelly, I've actually got an un-used pasta machine here, but I've read some similar suggestions before and most have indicated that the experiment was a failure due to the smooth rollers etc, might be worth some detailed reading of that thread.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;hl=pasta+mil

:icon_cheers: