# Grain Mill ?



## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

I am looking for a grain mill and would like some info on yours. Also, do you use it a lot? How hard is it to grind? How about... just tell me about yours .
Thanks


----------



## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I have a really old Porket grain mill that looks way too much like a Corona and it does work well but that is a lot of hand cranking.. 
They can be found on amazon for good price but there are a few other hand crank models that are probably much better but the price will go up the easier it is to use.


----------



## Rachel (Mar 5, 2012)

I've heard the country living grain mill is the bomb, but it is 429..i am saving up for one! It is hand crank but apparently pretty easy and makes fine flour. You can get a motor for it too as well as a corn/bean auger.


----------



## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I have a Wonder Mill Jr. "Delux"

http://thewondermill.com/

When I got it several years ago, the mill, a set of steel burs, and 2 sets of stones ran about $250.00. I like it, it does what is supposed to and is pretty rugged. I grind everything with it, dried peppers, dehydrated eggs, corn and wheat....

It does take a little work to grind large quantities of "stuff" but if you are just grinding enough grain to make a loaf of bread or pan of corn bread, only takes a few minutes.

It is easy to clean and use. If I to needed to buy another mill for some reason, I would "probably" buy the same one.


----------



## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

We use our mill about 3 times a month, mainly as a way of keeping our wheat stocks rotated.

We have the Country Living grain mill. I'd rate it at 4.9 stars (out of a possible 5). It grinds wonderfully, isn't hard to turn, and grinds everything that we think to run through it.

The only reason that I took partial points off is that it has a few more parts to remove when cleaning than the Diamant that we really wanted. However, the Diamant costs over three times as much ($1300).

We bought optional accessories for it, including the power bar, corn and bean auger (we actually used it for about 2 years for corn before buying the larger auger), hopper extension, and hopper lid. We also purchase the parts kit, but have not had to use anything in it (besides the corn and bean auger). Using a bicycle to turn it has been discussed, but it hasn't gone any further.

We have owned a Corona mill, and it wasn't bad considering the price. If you go with a Corona, I have a few suggestions:

1. Bolt it to a good sturdy surface.

2. Start wit the plates set a bit wide and slowly adjust them closer until you get the grind that you are looking for.

3. Adding small amounts of grain slowly produces better results and easier turning.

4. If you will be grinding a lot, remove the handle and replace the shaft with either threaded rod, or a bolt with the head cut off. Use a locking nut to keep the new shaft from loosening, and use a hand drill to turn the mill. It's much easier and faster.

5. If you decide to grind wheat and you like finer flour, after the first run, sift it and run the coarse hulls back through the grinder.

Last year we purchased a Back to Basics mill, which we haven't tried out yet. Emergency Essentials recently ran a special of $50 (with free shipping) and we picked it up as a spare, or to loan out. If you have the money to spend, and you think that you may ever have to grind during an extended power outage, I whole heartedly recommend the Country Living.


----------



## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

k0xxx, Rachel

I just looked up the "Country Living Grain Mill", looks like a nice one. Should give you many years of dependable use and with that big wheel should be pretty easy to crank.


----------



## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

lilmissy0740 said:


> I am looking for a grain mill and would like some info on yours. Also, do you use it a lot? How hard is it to grind? How about... just tell me about yours .
> Thanks


This is my setup...just added a wood shelf to hold the manual cast iron mill and a Marga grain roller. The motorized grist mill is a C.S. Bell with extra fine burr set. We grind both soft and hard wheat for flour and use the roller to make fresh rolled oats.


----------



## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

bunkerbob said:


> This is my setup...just added a wood shelf to hold the manual cast iron mill and a Marga grain roller. The motorized grist mill is a C.S. Bell with extra fine burr set. We grind both soft and hard wheat for flour and use the roller to make fresh rolled oats.


Bob, I get a bad case of "jealous" every time I see your "setup".


----------



## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

We have the Wonder Mill, Country Living grain mill, and the Margo. Wonder Mill for lazy, Country Living for more energetic days. the Margo (I am to understand but have not tried from Peggy Lawton) you can make cereal like Wheaties. If memory serves me you soak the wheat berries over night. I have this information somewhere. Drain them off then you set them out to dry. /then you roll them through the Margo. As stated I have not tried this.


----------



## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Wow, you guys have some setups. I currently use my Vita Mix. But looking for non electric and cheap. Bob, dop you have to put your wheat into all 3 to get fine flour? Thats what I really need, something that gives me fine flour.
Frey, never even thought of how Wheaties is made. That is really cool.


----------



## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

lilmissy0740 said:


> Wow, you guys have some setups. I currently use my Vita Mix. But looking for non electric and cheap. Bob, dop you have to put your wheat into all 3 to get fine flour? Thats what I really need, something that gives me fine flour.
> Frey, never even thought of how Wheaties is made. That is really cool.


the Country Living does the job. no need to use more than one tool. I grind mine and makes a good flour for breads, biscuits etc.


----------



## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

lilmissy0740 said:


> Wow, you guys have some setups. I currently use my Vita Mix. But looking for non electric and cheap. Bob, dop you have to put your wheat into all 3 to get fine flour? Thats what I really need, something that gives me fine flour.
> Frey, never even thought of how Wheaties is made. That is really cool.


About 4 times through for nice fine flour for breads or pizza dough


----------



## kilagal (Nov 8, 2011)

I have 3 mills. The first one I bought I got used from the paper. It cost me $l25 it is a Magic Mill made by Bosch. The next one is a KTek I got it free when the neighbor passed away and her kids (all my age) didn't want it. And the last one is a Country Livn. The reason I have it is a friend had boughten it for Y2K. Then ended up marring a non prepper. She sold it to me for $50 and it even has the bean augers and extra handle thing. Sometimes you just need to let people know that you are looking for one.


----------



## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

Having a grain mill is very useful. Making homebrew from fresh grist is the best.


----------



## stokems (Jun 15, 2012)

I have a schmidling malt mill wich works great when I'm brewing beer. I'm sure


----------



## DKRinAK (Nov 21, 2011)

lilmissy0740 said:


> Wow, you guys have some setups. I currently use my Vita Mix. But looking for non electric and cheap. Bob, dop you have to put your wheat into all 3 to get fine flour? Thats what I really need, something that gives me fine flour.
> Frey, never even thought of how Wheaties is made. That is really cool.


Quality and cheap do not do together.

You might consider this as a true investment.

Others haven't mentioned the Retsel mill.

http://www.retsel.com/?gclid=COzxqciJ1LACFSoZQgodhx3i4A

THey offer both powered and manual. The outfit has been around since at least the early 70s and has always been considered the Cadillac of mills.

YOu get what you pay for, I'd suggest made in the USA if at all possible.

Magic Mill ran for years & then was sold. THe new owners ran it into the ground.

http://goldengraingrinder.com/parts/ is the guy that started Magic MIlls - and he has parts for the older machines - and some very nice new ones. Again, a person that has been doing business forever...


----------



## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Keep your eyes open*

About 30 years ago I bought a new County Living hand mill for around $50. It works fine, but any hand mill is a bit of work. I've always thought that a family with busy children would like to grind wheat with a hand mill.

About 10 years ago I found a Corona corn mill at a yard sale for $5. It was probably a Y2k purchase by the original owners. I have never used it, but am glad to have it as a backup mill. We would do well do have a gluten free mill and this could be the one. Read garage sale ads, and if on craigslist, it might be listed.

My best score ever, after looking for an electric mill for 35 years was a Retsel. I was reading craigslist ads daily, doing a grain grinder and grain mill search to zero in on one, no matter the category it is posted in. Wow. It is a wonderful mill. I think having a spare set of stones would be a great idea, but it makes great flours. The person selling the mill did not realize what it was worth. They could have sold it for 10 x what I paid for it.

There are often ads in the wanted section of craigslist for mills.


----------



## siletz (Aug 23, 2011)

I have an electric Nutrimill grain mill and a Wondermill Jr hand mill. The electric is much easier on a day to day basis for making flour. As long as there is electricity, I will use it to make all of our flour. However, we bought the hand mill not only in the event we don't have electricity, but it also will crack grains for animal feed and grind oily things which the Nutrimill does not. I would not waste my time with any of the really cheap mills, though, as I don't think they do a very good job and just add frustration to the day. This is an item worth saving up for.


----------



## arwenmark (Mar 23, 2014)

This is an OLD thread

I just wanted to say I have a Marathon Uni-mill about 30 years old. I have not used it much for many years, but it still runs just fine, I store wheat and corn and rye but I don't use them much NOW, but have for In Case!

I would love to get extra stones for it, but not easy to find these days, for instance there is one uni-mill on ebay right now, and NO extra stones. It was the top of the line electric of it's time, it also has a hand crank in case you need it, that would be slow going, but probably not much worse than many cheap hand crank ones are.


----------

