[jeffjm]

Not to hijack the original discussion, but Martin, can you expand on how you condition your malt? Do you just spritz it while stirring? Does the moisture have any adverse effect on the mill over time?

[mabrungard]

Oh boy! Yes it certainly can have a big effect on the mill if you pre-condition incorrectly! Getting the grain too wet will cause the flour to cake onto the rollers and you will utter expletives!!!!

I've found that using a visual criterion to the wetting process is relatively safe and effective. OK, you probably can notice that your grain will produce a dust when you move the grain around in your bucket or bin. That dust will also coat your hand as you move the grain. What I do is mist the grain mass lightly and mix the mass with my hand. I stop the misting as soon as there is little dust getting into the air and onto my hands. The grain will still seem 'dry', but it will have moistened the husks just that little bit to help prevent them from shattering as they pass through the nib. I do suggest letting the grain sit for about 15 minutes to help distribute the moisture further around the kernels.

I have not noted any rusting of the rollers due to the pre-conditioning. The rollers are still pretty dusty after milling and I don't think they would rust as long as your mill storage environment isnt' humid.

[denny]

I have an adjustable Schmidling mill, which has worked flawlessly for a long time, maybe 20 years.

Close to the same here...maybe 15 years with a Schmidling adjustable.  It's still going strong after all that, but if I ever have to buy a new mill I'll get the same thing again.

[Stevie]

Yeah Martin, I didn't feel like dealing with a 3-roll. Had a bit of buyers remorse at first, but now I know i made the right choice.

[yso191]

In my 2 years of homebrewing I have had 3 mills:  A Cereal Killer, a Captain Crush and the Schmidling.  I gave away the first, sent the 2nd back for a refund and even though I have only put 3 brews through the Schmidling, it is clear that it is the best of the three.

Maybe I'm a moron, but I couldn't get the first two to work worth a hoot.

[Stevie]

My issue with the captain crush is a very high price tag for something made of acrylic.

[jimmykx250]

In my humble opinion, the fixed-gap Schmidling MaltMill is the best bang for the buck on the market. No other mill company has the long track record that Schmidling enjoys.  I have owned a couple of fixed-gap MaltMills.  The first fixed-gap Schmidlng Malt Mill that I owned has crushed over almost 5 tons of malt at this point.  I crushed just shy of 2 tons of malt with the mill before selling it, and the guy who purchased it from me has crushed close to 3 tons of malt with it. 

I currently own a fixed-gap MaltMill that I hand crank and a motorized 3-roller Monster Mill (only Hercules could hand crank a 3-roller Monster Mill).  What Steve in TX mentioned about the Monster Mills is true.  They will bind if not aligned carefully.  There's more play in the Monster design than there is in the Schmidling design.  Once setup, Monster Mills work well, but they are not nearly as plug-and-play as the Schmidling mills.  A Schmidling mill can be unpackaged and put to use in under half of an hour.

I own a schmindling as well and like it alot. Very well built and adjustable gap. I was lucky enough to buy it used from my Local brew supply shop for 45 bucks. Never looked them to see what they go for new butI feel I got one hell of a deal. These things are built to last. I did rip the hand crank off and ground a flat on the shaft so i can run my cordless dewalt on it.

[Slowbrew]

I know I always say this but...  people tend to like the mill they have.

I have a BC.  I've used it for 7 years and it has always worked great until last Spring when it started having issues pulling grain into the rollers.  The main roller would spin but no grain would go through. 

The kicker for me was when I sent the question to the guy who built it.  He asked me to ship it to him and he would fix it.  I did and he did repair it and did it for no charge.  From what I can tell he resurfaced the rollers.  It works like brand new again.  Service is important to me.

The mill works great.  The service is great, if you need it.  The design is simple and it holds the gap adjustment perfectly.  What more can I ask for?

Like I said at the start though, people tend to like the mill they have.

Paul

[yso191]

I know I always say this but...  people tend to like the mill they have.

I have a BC.  I've used it for 7 years and it has always worked great until last Spring when it started having issues pulling grain into the rollers.  The main roller would spin but no grain would go through. 

That is the issue I had with the BC and the Captain Crush.  The BC started doing it after about a year, and the CC did it right off.

[AmandaK]

I know I always say this but...  people tend to like the mill they have.

I have a BC.  I've used it for 7 years and it has always worked great until last Spring when it started having issues pulling grain into the rollers.  The main roller would spin but no grain would go through. 

That is the issue I had with the BC and the Captain Crush.  The BC started doing it after about a year, and the CC did it right off.

I have never liked my Barley Crusher. Mine had the same "sticks all the time" issue. I would give it away if anyone local would take the stupid thing.

I've bought a MM3 and direct drive motor, but have yet to set it up yet.

[Stevie]

Use a square of some sorts when mounting your mm3. Will save you a bunch of headaches. After seeing all the carpentry work you have done, I'm sure you can handle it.

[AmandaK]

Use a square of some sorts when mounting your mm3. Will save you a bunch of headaches. After seeing all the carpentry work you have done, I'm sure you can handle it.

Thank you for the pro tip Steve! I'll use that once I get the motivation to set the thing up.

[hopfenundmalz]

Use a square of some sorts when mounting your mm3. Will save you a bunch of headaches. After seeing all the carpentry work you have done, I'm sure you can handle it.

That is how I did it. Only used it once so far.

[69franx]

A little more follow up. For those of you with the JSP adjustable, did you buy one end or both end adjustable? What is the difference? If just one end, does the gap size differ across the length of the rollers? I guess I'm confused with the difference. I think the JSP is the one for me, after having used one in a LHBS recently, have used a MM 3 roller at other LHBS, just think that is overkill for what I am currently doing.

[jeffy]

Mine only adjusts at one end, but it is an old one.  I run the grain through a small section in the middle and usually have the rollers set as close as they go.