corona grain mills, good enough for beginner A.G. brewing?

On a related note:

For those of us who don't have a mill at home, how long is too long to sit on crushed grains? Like, if I order them online but don't brew for a week...

Not meant to be a thread hi-jack, justa side conversation pertaining to the utility of owing your own mill.

 

Yes, it's good enough. But your arm is going to get very tired, and the crush won't be perfect, but it will work.
I recommend selling one of your woodsplitters and but a mill and a drill. Or crush the malt with your bare hands. You should be very strong after splitting 5 cords of wood by hand.

 

I have been wondering about this too. I have seen that there are a bunch of small grain mills on Amazon for around $30. I am just getting into AG brewing and the equipment I have is pretty much only big enough for 1 or 2 gallon BIAB batches. So far the 2 batches I have made have come with premilled/premixed grains, but in the future I would like to start making my own recepies, but I don't really feeling like dropping $100 plus on a roller mill.

 

I bought one from Amazon for $20 and it has really been fine for me. Some hook up a drill without much problem, but I can use the exercise - I grind away while heating the water. The mill and a sack of base malt bring the cost of brewing way down.

(Some say that Charlie Papazian still uses a corona mill, but I don't know how true that is).

 

It is good for much longer than you would expect.... Certainly weeks, of not months.

 

I've been using a Corona Mill (about $24 shipped from Amazon) for 18 months and it has worked great. I've got it situated in a slightly modified 5 gallon pail with a couple holes drilled to accomodate the mill. I put a bolt in where the handle should be and use a cordless drill and bit to turn the bolt and crush my grains. Takes maybe 5 minutes for 10 pounds. The hopper holds about 2 pounds at a time; others have made larger hoppers but I don't mind refilling the one it came with.

 

Quick and easy hopper extension can be made by cutting off the end of a cd/dvd cake box top. Fits right in mine and lets it hold 4-5 lbs.
http://www.gigablockshop.com/media/...6e5fb8d27136e95/1/0/100p_cd_cake_box_3_2_.jpg

 

Partially depends on who you ordered from and their packaging. I've had better luck using Brewmaster's Warehouse and Austin Homebrew Supply, since they vacuum seal their grains when they ship them.

 

Likewise