which grain mill to get

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BARLEY CRUSHER!!! :rockin:

MyBarleyCrusher.jpg
 
The barley crusher is adjustable. The one from morebeer isn't (it's out of stock, anyway). Every owner of the barley crusher has only good things to say about them. I'd go with that one.
 
I am another proud owner of The Barley Crusher. Although I have not owned other crushers, I'm sure that if you bought this one, you wouldn't be dissapointed.

Cheers,

Rhino
 
Yep, she rocks. I also use my Black & Decker 24v cordless drill on it.

028877535647.jpg


It milled 21 pounds on Friday, then another 9 pounds on Sunday, and still has enough juice for me to hang new blinds yesterday. It keeps on going and going.

I picked it up at Lowes at Christmas for $39 bucks and it came with a nice tool bag too.
 
That's one enormous tool you have there Ed! Oh, I have a Barley Crusher as well and highly recommend it.
 
Well, not to change your mind. .. the barley crusher is a great mill. I have the Crankandstein CGM-2A or something like that. Its fully adjustable (has an adjusting bar), and the hopper holds 9 pounds of grain. I use my 18 volt Skil drill to power it.

Here's the pictures.

3548-Grainmillupgrade2.JPG


3548-crankandstein2.JPG


3548-crankandstein.JPG
 
Man, crankandstein or barley crusher... I like the way the barley crusher is put together, though 1.25" rollers and the crankandstein has 1.5" rollers... I don't like how the crankandstein isn't closed. They look to both be very well made, but I think i'd rather go with the barley crusher. Thanks for another option though! :D
 
Beirmann,

Not to hijack but what are your feelings on the crankenstein. I love the funnel and theres just something about Crankenstein that sets the mood.

I am leaning towards buying it but can you give me a real world review.

Thanks
 
Two Dog's Brewing said:
Beirmann,

Not to hijack but what are your feelings on the crankenstein. I love the funnel and theres just something about Crankenstein that sets the mood.

I am leaning towards buying it but can you give me a real world review.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Its a nicely made mill. I've never had a problem with it. It is very rugged, easily adjustable, and is user friendly.

As far as not being closed in-- I originally made my own housing for it that was essentially closed in-- found it to be less friendly than the commercial one I recently added to it. It really doesn't spit any grain out, and there is little mess. I think it really boils down to what you want. I think the Barley Crusher is probably a fine mill. I'm more than happy with mine, though.

All in all. . . I don't know if one is superior over the other.

One thing though-- you buy the Crankandstein, and you ONLY get the mill-- you have to buy the hopper and the base, or make one yourself (which isn't that hard).
 
Here's a pic of my old, personally designed housing for my mill: I like the commercial hopper and housing much better. Its a classic example of me trying to engineer something better than what was available.. . I should have known better.

3548-GrainMill.JPG
 
Two Dog's Brewing said:
Thanks for the info. Actually they make a kit now with the base, mill, and hopper all together for 139 bucks.

Im gonna order next week

http://www.crankandstein.com/cgm-bcc.htm
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Yeah, not sure if it is worth anything, but I wavered back and forth on the BC and Crankandstein. Last week I said enough is enough and ordered the Crankandtein package linked above. It came down to the reviews I read and the larger roller size. Plus on the site there is a very basic, yet all encompassing warantee. I do not want to get into the Tommy Boy debate, but that was one more grain of sand that tipped the scales to CS for me.

The only thing I would say is there is no communication from the company on the order and I placed it on Friday. I will send them an email today. I paid by paypal, so I have an order invoice. Just would be nice to know it was shipped or have an eta.
 
Barley Crusher. Definitely. Definitely. Mine is just, well, just the bees knees. Ha. Seriously, though, BC is the way to go.
 
This is the one I got and I have run over 200 lbs of grain thru it this year: Crankandstein CGM-2D
Here it is mounted (got tired of the drill)
1332-P1010109.JPG
 
Real men make their own barley crushers!

7956-mm012.jpg



7956-DSC00176.JPG


But hey, if I didn't make my own then I would have bought the schmidling mill. Just my preference, to me it looks be more solid and the rollers are longer. Actually I believe that they are all very good. Just like any tool, it needs to be tweaked until you get it dialed right.
 
the_Roqk said:
Just my preference, to me it looks be more solid and the rollers are longer. Actually I believe that they are all very good. Just like any tool, it needs to be tweaked until you get it dialed right.
Click to expand...


I would agree with that. I think they are all equivalent, more or less. I do like the Crankandstein, but I'm sure I'd like any of the others if I'd gone that route as well.

As far as not hearing from the company when you ordered-- I had the same thing. It arrived less than a week later at my doorstep, no problems. :D :mug:
 
the_Roqk said:
Real men make their own barley crushers!

7956-mm012.jpg



7956-DSC00176.JPG


But hey, if I didn't make my own then I would have bought the schmidling mill. Just my preference, to me it looks be more solid and the rollers are longer. Actually I believe that they are all very good. Just like any tool, it needs to be tweaked until you get it dialed right.
Click to expand...

man, if i had the ability to cut, drill, countersink and thread aluminum and knurl SS in any way I would not have to buy anything for this hobby o mine except the raw materials.:( Nice Grain Mill!!!!! :rockin:
 
Ryan_PA said:
The only thing I would say is there is no communication from the company on the order and I placed it on Friday. I will send them an email today. I paid by paypal, so I have an order invoice. Just would be nice to know it was shipped or have an eta.
Click to expand...

The guy behind the curtains for the operation was on vataion when I posted this. I have since recieved 2 shipment notifications.
 
I have a morebeer mill..the Grain Gobbler, and also a Malt Mill, which looks like the same thing as the Barley Crusher. The Malt Mill wins HANDS DOWN. The B3 one is pretty annoying. It drove me nuts from day one and I finally replaced it. For all the talk B3 does about it being the best mill ever, I expected a LOT more. It tore itself apart in many ways and was a total PITA to use.

I got my Maltmill with a gear drive so the drill spins both rotors...it's fantastic. Grinds grain fast and well and is made of durable parts. It came mounted on a board with rubber bumpers so it sits securely on a 5 gallon bucket. Great mill.

Cheers :D
 
There aren't many points of potential failure in a grain mill, so you're not likely to be disappointed with one over the other. The two best are the Crank and the BC. Both a great, both have their advantages. You're not going to regret buying either one, so just hit "Purchase" and be done with it.
 
HOLY CRAP 67coupe390!!! Is that a cutting board or a friggin chopping block on your DIY grain mill!!!! HAHAHHA!!! ROFLMAO!!! now THAT'S BUILT TO LAST!!!!!! Seriously, nice mill 67coup390!!
 
Grimsawyer said:
HOLY CRAP 67coupe390!!! Is that a cutting board or a friggin chopping block on your DIY grain mill!!!! HAHAHHA!!! ROFLMAO!!! now THAT'S BUILT TO LAST!!!!!! Seriously, nice mill 67coup390!!
Click to expand...
The base is 1 1/2 maple butcher block and the hopper is the same but cut to 3/4. Shes the HD model for sure! thanks for the complement:D
 
Im trying to decide betseen the Crankandstein and the Barley Crusher. I think that Im leaning towards the CS. Im not sure which model I am after though. I will probably wind up making a base, hopper, and hopper holder. A couple questions:

Is there any reason to go with stainless steel rollers?

What is the main benefit to a three roller mill? For the same price I can get a three roller or a two roller with detents to make adjusting the rollers easier.

Any ideas welcome.

- magno

EDIT: also what do the folks at Crankandstein mean when they say "dual eccentric adjusters"?
 
I just ordered the Crankandstein. Im going with the two roller adjustable without the detents. I will make my own base and hopper, and I will get a bucket from a grocery store or restaurant. Now to get a cooler and make my AG dream a reality.

BTW does any one know what the knurl of the Crankandstein is? The Barley Crusher has 12 TPI.

Any suggestions on mounting the mill above or below the base? I will have it above unless someone has a reason to do otherwise.

- magno
 
I mounted my 3 roller CS underneath a board (12" wide scrap) and clamp that to a wall mounted drill press. I cut two saw blade wide slits in the board so I can suspend a 5 gal bucket underneath. If you are going to use some kind of power drive (drill, etc.), I STRONGLY suggest whatever you do make it so you can clamp it down, and not just set it over a bucket. With hard grains like wheat the rollers may bind (particularly if you try for a fine grind like me) and if your set up in not held down well, the whole thing will want to spin around and send grain everywhere.
 
I just got and tinkered with my CS today. Wow! This thing is hella cool. The crush looks a million times better than LHBS and that is with the out of the box adjustment. I would have to say this was worth every penny.
 

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