Let's talk Mills

[mjensen52402]

The money you save on shaving and haircuts. When in a bind shower only once a week. Like money in the bank.

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[daryl]

Lifestyle....yeah, that's the ticket. I'll use that the next time I need to convince my wife that I need some new equipment.

The value of membership just went up boys!

[czubak]

Well I sold my cereal killer today ad ordered a JSP Schmidling bare bones mill. I plan to make my own hopper deck and clamp it to my brew stand when needed rather than make a base or motorize it (yet). I have an idea for a hopper, but won't be sure it will work until I have the mill and can do some measuring.

[czubak]

So I ordered my mill from JSP, they are a "mom and pop" business. I ordered a barebones mill, gear driven and accidentally left case hardened rollers when I checked out. Got an email today that case hardening will take 2-3 weeks and it's not needed for the average homebrewer.

We just had a mill in for repair and it was 16 yrs old and the wear on the rollers was not much. We will make you mill today then and it will ship tomorrow. I will also refund your money via pay pal. Thanks and Happy Brewing!!!

Anyone looking for a great mill, great service, made in the USA, lifetime warranty and a more than reasonable price tag, look into a JSP maltmill. I just bought my last mill

http://schmidling.com/maltmill.htm

[czubak]

Well I have had this mill for a year and motorized it over the winter. Unsure if I have posted a parts list here yet. If anyone wants grain milled let me know.

Here are the specs, prices and part numbers

All in all I am into this for a total of $235 roughly.
1750rpm 1/3 or 1/2hp motor. I can't tell, the tag is beat up and it's OOOOLLLLD, but it was FREE from a coworker. $Free
Table was built by my father $Free
JSP maltmill, barebone model, adjustable. $175 shipped
12" sheave $39.05 http://www.grainger.com/product/CONGRES ... ?$smthumb$
2" sheave $7.45 http://www.grainger.com/product/CONGRES ... ?$smthumb$
(3 pack) $7.95, I have 2 left if anyone wants one to do this. http://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON- ... ConfigId=1
60" belt $3.50 (local hardware store had them on clearance)
HVAC floor vent ~$6
Old 5 gallon bucket I cut the bottom out of and large funnel I have had since I started brewing and rarely used ~15

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment. ... tid=245726

[Matt F]

Nice. That project has been on my to do list for quite some time. I have most of the parts lying around already but have not worked it in. Maybe this year.

[czubak]

Thanks, I more or less copied Joe's as far as the table dimensions. Future plans may be adding a drop leaf to one or both sides for the laptop, hops/scale on brew day as well as some wheels to make cleaning up the grain dust a bit easier from time to time.

[crcyclone87]

Chris,

I might have to take you up on the offer to mill some grain. I took advantage of the club grain buy and bought a bag of grain but I don't have a mill yet. I need to make a batch for the Homebrew Festival and it looks like I will have some time Tuesday to brew. Will you be around any time on Monday and I could stop by with my grain and have it milled?

[czubak]

Chris,

I might have to take you up on the offer to mill some grain. I took advantage of the club grain buy and bought a bag of grain but I don't have a mill yet. I need to make a batch for the Homebrew Festival and it looks like I will have some time Tuesday to brew. Will you be around any time on Monday and I could stop by with my grain and have it milled?

I'll be home tomorrow afternoon or Monday after 5:00. Be glad to help out.


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[crcyclone87]

Monday after 5 works for me. I will text you before I head your way.

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[daryl]

I have been checking out mills. What I have found is that the Barley Mill seems to have a reputation of failing after 2-3 years of use...it looks like the repair requires replacement of the rollers.

So, I have been investigating options.

Has anyone had any experience with the Kitchen-Aid attachment for grinding/milling?

http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KGM-St ... ey+crusher

For $87.51 - that would be within my budget. And I have been very happy with the quality of the (commercial-grade) KitchenAid products.

Thoughts?

[czubak]

No idea how that will work with grain. Keeping the husk's as intact as possible is the key here.

You are welcome to swing by and use mine whenever you want to brew until you make your decision. I had the cerial killer and it worked just fine. I changed to what I have now because I wanted a larger hopper. Mine has what I consider several perks over the $100 mills. Lifetime warranty, made in the USA, geared rollers, easier to adjust.

[daryl]

I found some info on HomeBrewTalk....sounds like the KitchenAid is great for flour, but not cracking grains for brewing. And, it seems it would be slow too.

Thanks,
Daryl

[Matt F]

That grinding to flour thing is pretty typical. My suggestion would be buy a mill made for brewing or just buy your grain already milled. I can't speak to reliability of other mills, but my crankandstein (basically monster mill today) has not failed me yet. Purchased in 2003. I power it with a $40 drill I picked up at Harbor Freight now but just used whatever drill was around before recently. I think Joe has a barley crusher at BIY and I am guessing he mills a lot of grain.

[czubak]

That grinding to flour thing is pretty typical. My suggestion would be buy a mill made for brewing or just buy your grain already milled. I can't speak to reliability of other mills, but my crankandstein (basically monster mill today) has not failed me yet. Purchased in 2003. I power it with a $40 drill I picked up at Harbor Freight now but just used whatever drill was around before recently. I think Joe has a barley crusher at BIY and I am guessing he mills a lot of grain.

Joe has the same mill I have