Grain mills?

Does anyone have any personal experience with hand crank grain mills? I want to buy one which will grind any grains from corn to wheat to rice to oats. Obviously quality is going to be important, the last thing I want to end up doing is grinding out my family's grain on a metate (I like my teeth and would like to keep them, as would my wife & children). Next on the list would be portabillity... I don't want to end up having to lug something which weighs 20 lbs around even a settlement, let alone across the country when on the move. Next would be versatillity, I'd like to be able to make both course and fine flours. Finally would be the price point... I don't want to drop a fortune on one, but realize that quality and reliabillity aren't cheap. Any suggestions?

I use a Schmidling triple roller malt mill to crush barley for homebrew. The rollers can be adjusted to produce a fine flour or a light crush, which is what I use for beer. Remember that you will always have to separate husk from grain if you intend to make flour.
Check them out at northernbrewer.com.

[edit on 16-2-2009 by spookjr]

yah, you will want to make sure you get something adjustable...

that way you can make flour... or you can make cracked wheat cereal...

You'll be impressed with how much you can do with a grain mill... I just got one... and a few 50 lb bags of grain...

When stuff gets bad... I'll have bread, pasta, beer and flour for barter lol

Glad to see others are thinking alont the same lines I am though... I really don't think the o'l "freeze dried" or MRE method is a good one to take... given that you might need to be self sufficient for a long while...

also... I am growing my own Hops as we speak... I'd also recommend getting a few strains of yeast that you want to have... and harvesting to raise your supply up...

That way you'll have brewing yeast... and bread yeast... they are interchangeable somewhat...as long as you're not picky about your beer... (or bread... depending which way you go).

I'm not sure about it's portability, but this is probably one of the best grain mills money can buy, or so I've been told by others. I don't speak from personal experience on this subject by any means. Storing and milling grains has always sounded like a lot of work to me. LOL

you might also want to check out the web site while your there; It's full of good information and tips on survival. Starred and flagged.

Diamant Grain Mill

Hands down the greatest hand mill I have ever seen in my life. Sadly, price keeps it at bay for the time being, one of these days however.

reply to post by salchanra


Good old Lehman's. This store is one of the best sources for non electric items that I know of. The store supplies a large population of Amish in the area. Thus, it is a great source for survival gear or for simply living off the grid. If you are ever in the area of this store, it is well worth the visit.
www.lehmans.com...

reply to post by jibeho


I have favorited Lehmans. TY for this site, grain mills aside, I had planned on starting a topic requesting suggested books on small scale farming and general off the grid topics... I just looked at Lehman's book section and already am planning on placing an order with them based on their book selection alone.

About the mills, however, I hadn't thought about replacement burrs. I guess I was figuring I could disassemble the mill and hone the burrs down myself when they got dull. Now I'm questioning that. Assuming good grain management (ie carefull sorting of the grains to remove any and all foreign objects like little stones and pieces of stalk), what's a good lifespan for burrs?

Spookjr: I was of the belief that husk removal was an optional step. Obviously they're not digestable, but if a person was trying to make sure they got a diet full of nutrients and such, wouldn't the additional fiber be a benefit? (I'm going to come off as sounding a lot older than my 32 years here, but I can't think of many things worse than being constipated in the great outdoors.)

Originally posted by burdman30ott6
reply to post by jibeho

 

I have favorited Lehmans. TY for this site, grain mills aside, I had planned on starting a topic requesting suggested books on small scale farming and general off the grid topics... I just looked at Lehman's book section and already am planning on placing an order with them based on their book selection alone.

Lehmans is great for their books. One of my favorites are the Storey Country Bulletins. You can find some of them on Lehmans, or find them all right here.

Dont have them all yet, but closing in on it. Fantastic for living off the grid, survival, etc...

About the mills, however, I hadn't thought about replacement burrs. I guess I was figuring I could disassemble the mill and hone the burrs down myself when they got dull. Now I'm questioning that. Assuming good grain management (ie carefull sorting of the grains to remove any and all foreign objects like little stones and pieces of stalk), what's a good lifespan for burrs?

If you go with the steel ones, most have them listed at a year, if your grinder is stones, Ive heard years and years without need to resharpen. Ive never needed to replace mine, but I honestly dont use it as much as I should.

Best bet is to figure out how much you plan to process in a given year, then call the manufacturer before ordering and ask specific questions. Not a great deal for demand with hand grinders, so odds are you will be dealing with honest, reputable people.

Agree on the simple homebrew mills. I have used the Barley Crusher with a lot of success. The rollers are adjustable to get to whatever you need.

Agree also on the yeast. Buying some packets of dry beer yeast and bakers yeast is fine idea.