How many pounds by hand?

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Barley_Bob

Barley_Bob

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My LHBS has a Corona Mill on site, which is available free of charge to homebrewers. I'm a fan of free, so, naturally, I put off buying a mill as long as humanly possible. Let me tell you, I have spent a lot of time crushing grain by hand. I finally caved today and ordered a mill, and I feel this moment can't pass without notice. So, in homage to the hours I spent cranking away, I am curious to know how many pounds we've crushed by hand as a group, as well as who holds the crowns for most crushed by hand in one sitting and most crushed by hand in a lifetime.

So, without further ado:
One sitting - 33lbs
Lifetime - ~100lbs

As a side note, I have to say that rye malt an carapils are an absolute nightmare to crush. It's like grinding gravel. I'm not going to miss that at all.
 
I did ~15 lbs when I first got my mill. That was the one and only time I did it that way. After that I used the drill.

I attempted to crush about 10 lbs with a rolling pin on my 2nd AG batch. The online store I ordered from forgot to crush my grain. That was not a good beer. I had to add several lbs of DME to make up for the bad crush.

That's when I got my mill.
 
Prob 12-15 lbs in a sitting and prob not more than a 100 lbs total before motorizing my Corona mill.

Kudos to you for sitting through 33lbs of grain, I don't know I would have.
 
I've probably done 800 lbs by hand. I just don't have the dedicated room to store grain. I just buy it as I need it and crush it there. Gives me the opportunity to shoot the bull.


Sent from the kingdom of beer.
 
Sorry for your pain, My nice and cooperative LHBS crushes my grains free of charge, Places it in a nice plastic bag and in a beer box. Real handy and easy. Thanks Summer Sun Garden and Brew.
 
passedpawn said:
20# in one sitting, 20# total.

I said screw that, removed the handle, and attached a drill.

I bought the mill at my LHBS when they upgraded to the giant sucka.
Click to expand...

Exact same story, replace 20 with about 14. Perhaps if the mill was bolted to something more securely than a gravity fit on the catch basin it wouldn't have been so bad. One arm on the crank, one arm holding the works together. Forget that. Replace "forget" with another word of your choosing with the same starting letter.

Speaking of which, I really do have do come up with a semi-elegant motorized setup for that mill one of these days.
 
I like running my mill by hand. I feel more connected to the grain. I go slow and just really enjoy it, plus I feel like it does a better job than when I have used a drill. That said 1000+ lbs here. I think I will always hand crank my mill.
 
Hand cranking is part of my therapeutic hobby of brewing. Wheat is the PIA for me -- I keep anticipating something akin to a grain elevator explosion. I tend to do 10 to 15 pounds at a time ~ have prob done 250 to 300lbs total since I was given the mill. I'll get a new kayak ahead of a power mill. And I've got the crush where I want it for BIAB.
 
About 200# total, generally 10# at a time. Still hand cranking through my Barley Crusher. I won't motorize unless I move up to milling more than 25# at a time. I like to hand crank my mill for the exercise and the Zen of it. Plus, I prefer ghetto/low tech.
 
There is a lot to be said for the "Zen" of doing things the old fashioned, or traditional way. But as I age, I find zen in paying someone to do it the old fashioned/traditional way, and watch them from a shady place with a beer. :)
 
Seriously Am I the only one getting a kick out of people saying how much they have cranked by hand?

No humor I guess...:(

FTR, I cranked several 5 gallon batches worth at the LHBS when I first went all grain. Then I moved and my new LHBS had a motorized mill and I was like, "Oh yeah I used to do this by hand for 20 minutes and thought it was really cool."

Seriously though I get the zen of it. Just thought it was funny.

Carry on.
 
Zero...Actually, my handle came unattached when I bought my JSP Malt Mill and has never been bolted on. I like the saying, "work smarter, not harder". I get all the "zen" I need holding the cordless drill.:mug:
 
My drill battery died once after about 2 pounds and I ended up putting the arm on and doing the other 10 lbs...but that's it.
 
No more then 15lbs at a time, but I am sure I am over 100lbs. Two batches ago I hooked a drill up to my mill. The jury is still out on if I like it.
 
ram5ey said:
My drill battery died once after about 2 pounds and I ended up putting the arm on and doing the other 10 lbs...but that's it.
Click to expand...

First time drilling was with a 12v Lithium Rigid. One battery died and went to the charger, barely finished before second battery kicked the bucket. Now it's the 7.8 amp dewalt hammer drill with throttle control.
 
bbrim said:
I like running my mill by hand. I feel more connected to the grain. I go slow and just really enjoy it, plus I feel like it does a better job than when I have used a drill. That said 1000+ lbs here. I think I will always hand crank my mill.
Click to expand...

1000+lbs by hand?! This guy is a power drill. I'm sure his wife is thrilled.
 
I've hand cranked around 60lbs. 33 lbs in one sitting. I use a drill most of the time. If I have anyone that wants to watch me brew I put the handle back and let them crank 10lb's or so. That helps me weed out the Looky Lou's.
 
My monster mill 3 roller didn't come with a handle, that was extra $$. So if I have hand cranked any it was less than two pounds if i had to guess. I feel connected enough with my brewing setup that I have to setup each time I want to fire my single burner. As a note, raw wheat is the worst to mill. I tend to avoid changing my mill gap for wheat (to pass it through twice) by boiling the wheat to soften it, and then using my blender to basically make a wheat soup that i dump in the mash the next day/morning.
 
Ive done around 200 lbs by hand total with my keystone meat grinder that Ive made some adjustments to. I use a gatorade bottle with the top and bottom cut off as a ghetto hopper haha. Its far from ideal but I dont mind doing it for now. The thing is like 100 years old and I bought it at the local junk shop for 5 bucks. It should be noted that I tried actually grinding meat with it once and It does work better as a grain mill in my opinion.
 
damlamb said:
Ive done around 200 lbs by hand total with my keystone meat grinder that Ive made some adjustments to. I use a gatorade bottle with the top and bottom cut off as a ghetto hopper haha. Its far from ideal but I dont mind doing it for now. The thing is like 100 years old and I bought it at the local junk shop for 5 bucks. It should be noted that I tried actually grinding meat with it once and It does work better as a grain mill in my opinion.
Click to expand...

As long as you're happy with the efficiency you're getting, that's all that matters.
 
Oh by battery died I meant I didn't have a fresh one. I'm sure the cordless will go eventually, but with the size of my apartment I don't Ned to add another tool...
 
I just hand-cranked 6lbs of grains yesterday. I think my left arm worked harder holding the grain mill/bucket steady then my right arm did cranking it.
 
My LBHS has a motorized grain mill and a self-serve grain room, which is the only place I've gotten grain since I went to AG, so I've never had the pleasure of hand-cranking a mill. And, don't see myself starting any time soon.
 
Barley_Bob said:
My LHBS has a Corona Mill on site, which is available free of charge to homebrewers. I'm a fan of free, so, naturally, I put off buying a mill as long as humanly possible. Let me tell you, I have spent a lot of time crushing grain by hand. I finally caved today and ordered a mill, and I feel this moment can't pass without notice. So, in homage to the hours I spent cranking away, I am curious to know how many pounds we've crushed by hand as a group, as well as who holds the crowns for most crushed by hand in one sitting and most crushed by hand in a lifetime.

So, without further ado:
One sitting - 33lbs
Lifetime - ~100lbs

As a side note, I have to say that rye malt an carapils are an absolute nightmare to crush. It's like grinding gravel. I'm not going to miss that at all.
Click to expand...

I typically double crack my grains to reduce the "flour" content. It also makes it much easier to crack the gravel. I find a setting so that each pass uses the same setting. Different setting are used for different grains. Sure, it takes a bit longer but I get a better crack on the grain and it is easier on the arms..... Since my mill, Glatt, is adjustable on both sides the setting are a tad different on each side.
 
Pounds ground by hand: Zero

I had the LHBS crush it until I bought my Cereal Killer. Then I used my corded drill to run everything through it.
 
45lbs the first day it was used................after that I hooked up a corded drill and would not dream of hand cranking again.
 
elkshadow said:
Seriously Am I the only one getting a kick out of people saying how much they have cranked by hand?

No humor I guess...:(

FTR, I cranked several 5 gallon batches worth at the LHBS when I first went all grain. Then I moved and my new LHBS had a motorized mill and I was like, "Oh yeah I used to do this by hand for 20 minutes and thought it was really cool."

Seriously though I get the zen of it. Just thought it was funny.

Carry on.
Click to expand...

Did think about it till you mentioned it and it gave me a good laugh thanks :)



--------------------------------------

Where do you place your probe?
 
IF it's a standard corona mill, get a torq or other screw, put it in the end and use a drill.

*PS*
Not sure how I feel about my tendency to avoid any form of physical exertion.
 

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