Best BIG malt mill: 328D or MM-3Pro or ??

[SenorWanderer]

I'm building a new, very large, motorized mill. I'll be following the instructions for motorizing the mill in this thread.

My question for you today, which big giant 3 roller mill is the best, and why?

Is it the Crankandstein 328D? or is it the Monster Mill MM-3Pro? Or maybe your think the best is some other mill I'm not aware of? And no, I'm not going to spend $1000s on a truly commercial mill!

They're both about $300. I like the 328D because the rollers are 8" instead of 6". I like the the MM-3pro because it's available with a keyed driveshaft which makes setting it up with a motor easier, although that option is $110 extra, which seems a bit excessive.

I'm leaning toward the crankandstein 328D. I think the the 8" rollers will provide a faster crush. The keyed driveshaft on the monster mill would be nice but not necessary. That $110 buys the motor!

Looking forward to hearing opinions and comments!

 

[day_trippr]

[...]That $110 buys the motor![...]

If new, I'll be seriously surprised if that turns out to be true...

Cheers!

 

[fsfrancis]

The $110 option includes heat treated rollers, as well as the keyed drive shaft. The keyed shaft is $20 more than just heat treated rollers. Heat treated rollers last 10X as long as standard steel.

 

[brick_haus]

Just curious, how much grain will you be milling per batch?

 

[augiedoggy]

double post.

 

[augiedoggy]

The $110 option includes heat treated rollers, as well as the keyed drive shaft. The keyed shaft is $20 more than just heat treated rollers. Heat treated rollers last 10X as long as standard steel.

just about every homebrewing mill sold besides the stainless roller option and the crappy "barley crusher" has heat treated cold rolled rollers...

That said the last 3 micro and nano breweries I have visited and talked with the owners have used regular homebrewing mills.. either MM or in one guys case he had 2 barley crushers and kept alternating as he continuously cleans them to help keep them working (I assume as the rollers wear and they tend to not grab)He was unaware they the BC had soft rollers and bushings that cause problems.

I intend on using a 3 roller MM of kegco mill which is identical in construction besides being metric for my 3 bbl setup. the kegco mill is made by the same company that makes the cereal killer mills and in over 3 years of using my motorized cereal killer I havent had to even clean it.. rollers still look new. Then again im not in such a hurry with the amount ill be milling... a wider mill will certainly be faster.