Malt mill recommendations

[xozzx]

So the next step for my brewing is to buy bulk grain and mill it myself :)

Ive been looking at a few different malt mills but cant decide which is best. Im happy to pay for a good one that will last a long time, any recommendations?

I like the look of the MaltMiller 3 roller for �£130, tho I dont like that postage is so high for us non mainland UK people (not sure when Aberdeenshire left the mainland). I suppose I could add a 25Kg sack of malt to the order.

Please let me know opinions good or bad about any mills you've used.

Ta

 

[MyQul]

If you dont mind spending a bit of money definately get a roller mill. I've got a corona knock off, whilst it works well for what it is. If I had the money I'd definately swap it for a roller mill

 

[Oneflewover]

I'm in the same boat. I was considering a cheapo mill, but given MyQul 's comment I'm now rethinking! Toss up between bulldog and malt miller roller mills......?

 

[MyQul]

I'm in the same boat. I was considering a cheapo mill, but given MyQul 's comment I'm now rethinking! Toss up between bulldog and malt miller roller mills......?

Dont discount a cheapo mill if that's what you want to buy. Mines great and does the job well but a roller mill will undoubtedly do it better. If you can afford the roller mill get it but if you cant get the cheapo mill. The cheapo mill just requires (I suspect) more time and elbow grease to mill your grain than a roller mill

 

[Oneflewover]

Dont discount a cheapo mill if that's what you want to buy. Mines great and does the job well but a roller mill will undoubtedly do it better. If you can afford the roller mill get it but if you cant get the cheapo mill. The cheapo mill just requires (I suspect) more time and elbow grease to mill your grain than a roller mill

I tend to subscribe to the 'buy cheap, buy twice' school of thought. I don't have much free cash at all, so what I really don't want to do is buy a cheapo and then regret it and buy a roller mill anyway as well. Hmmmmm.......

 

[MyQul]

I tend to subscribe to the 'buy cheap, buy twice' school of thought. I don't have much free cash at all, so what I really don't want to do is buy a cheapo and then regret it and buy a roller mill anyway as well. Hmmmmm.......

In that case buy the roller mill. I got y cheapo one because I got 8kg of grain for frew because of a cock up by GEB and it would have been useless to me unless I bought some kind of mill. As it would have cost me 8 quid for the 8kg (iirc) at the time, I considered that as £8 off the cost of the mill as I got the grain for free, so the mill only actually cost me £12. So worth the risk to buy it, as long as I could get it to mill that initial 8kg I was happy.

 

[Linalmeemow]

Didn't a few people on here find a really good deal on a mill a couple of months ago?

 

[Leon103]

What about those £10 ones from Amazon 🤔

 

[Bigjas]

I have just bought the 2 roller mill from The Malt Miller. I am very impressed with it, milled 2 brews with it and it takes no time at all when attached to a cordless drill. It seems well made, glad I bought it. I fixed mine down to an old FV lid, keeps the dust down to a minimum.

 

[Oneflewover]

I have just bought the 2 roller mill from The Malt Miller. I am very impressed with it, milled 2 brews with it and it takes no time at all when attached to a cordless drill. It seems well made, glad I bought it. I fixed mine down to an old FV lid, keeps the dust down to a minimum.

Cheers. Are the rollers geared together as they are in the bulldog mill so that they both turn mechanically?

 

[Simonh82]

I've got the Bulldog mill and think it's not bad. It is a massive pain hand milling 5KG of grain so you need to be able to attach it to a drill. I found that both my cordless and powered drill weren't strong enough to crush the grain when I had the mill gap set to very fine (I BIAB and pretty much powder my grain). Luckily I have access to a really decent powered drill that chomps through 5KG in about a minute but it does fell like the whole set up will shake itself to pieces when going at that speed. Saying that, it never actually has shaken itself to pieces. I think if I were happy to set the mill gap wider then I could get away with a less powerful drill.

The main drawback to the bulldog mill that I can see is the quality/size of the base it sits on. It was made from very plain pine plan and only just sat across the top of a 25L bucket. This meant I pretty much needed to hug the whole thing and clamp it to the bucket with my arm. Like Oneflewover I've now created a custom base. I made mine out of some left over bits of plywood.

 

[IainM]

You probably want to have a look at this thread. My recommendations are in there.

 

[Bigjas]

Cheers. Are the rollers geared together as they are in the bulldog mill so that they both turn mechanically?

No only one roller is powered by the drill or handle. This doesn’t seem to affect the operation of the mill though. It still chomps through the grain really well.

 

[DoctorMick]

I’ve got the brewferm one, only used it once but it seems decent.

 

[foxbat]

I like the look of the MaltMiller 3 roller for ��£130

I've got that one. It's the dog's nuts. The price difference over the two roller edition was small enough that I just went for it.

 

[Fore]

I got the brewferm one a few years ago. It (normally) comes with a free bucket which is great if you haven't already got one for this job, and it slots perfectly into the groves on the base. It seems to me it's probably a generic chinese producer though, as I've seen almost exactly the same unit from other suppliers. It's the base and matching bucket that set the brewferm apart.

2 brews ago suffered a stuck sparge and so widened the rollers a bit; really just a tiny amount. I use a knife with marks along it to know where I am with the setting. Today's mash went with no problem. One of the two rollers is driven. One of the rollers can be adjusted from both ends. It can be drill driven but I do by hand; only takes a few minutes. It does the job well.

 

[JFB]

Ive got the bull dog one and have had a issue the long washer thingy on the spindle coming out whilst in use. Its not much bother as ive taken the mental housing off the side and my thumb holds it place. (i'm sure that makes no sense ill take a pic latter).
Also ive burnt two old drills out on it.

 

[Norfolk79]

Ive got the bull dog one and have had a issue the long washer thingy on the spindle coming out whilst in use. Its not much bother as ive taken the mental housing off the side and my thumb holds it place. (i'm sure that makes no sense ill take a pic latter).
Also ive burnt two old drills out on it.

I’ve had that damn washer come off too, a right pain in the bum!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[IainM]

Ive got the bull dog one and have had a issue the long washer thingy on the spindle coming out whilst in use. Its not much bother as ive taken the mental housing off the side and my thumb holds it place. (i'm sure that makes no sense ill take a pic latter).
Also ive burnt two old drills out on it.

Do post that photo as I want to look out for that.

 

[Clint]

.."mental housing "...home of the home brewer. ...