Which do people prefer? whats the better buy?
Thinking of the crankandstein 2A in particular up against the barley crusher
Any thoughts?
I have a similar question, but am leaning toward a monster mill over the BC.
I don’t own a crankandstein but I do own a barleycrusher and also a monster mill and I recommend the latter. The BC is great the first couple of years and then it starts to jam on a very frequent basis. The MM will jam too, but just seems easier to “unjam”.
Which version of the MM do you have, and how long have you had it?
Anyone using a JSP?
I have the MM 3 2.0. Definitely expensive but worth it for me, since I also brew in 1bbl batches. I can grind 100 lbs of grain in 10-15 minutes. For a 10 gallon batch it only takes a couple min. But the great thing is it doesn’t jam often, and when it does I can fix it by jamming a ruler down the center so the roller’s “grab” again. Once it grabs it doesn’t stop. Sometimes it won;t grab in the very beginning. The problem I had the the BC was that, after a year or so it would stop grabbing mid grind.
Oh, I’ve had the MM for about 6 months.
FWIW, I bought a CnS 3D four years ago. I motorized it with a 1/3hp motor and a 10 inch sheave to get about a 300 RPM spindle speed. It chomps through grain like there’s no tomorrow. . . just like it did the day I started using it. I can’t discern any degradation in the knurled rollers, so I couldn’t be happier with my purchase!
What it looked like while building the mill
Super Strut for tensioning
Now you just need to build yourself a finger guard so you don’t have typing problems in the future!
I’ve got the very first version that Monster came out with after the split. It’s a two roller and I’ve been using it since whenever it came out - about two years, maybe?
Oh please! Don’t be so cautious. He has like … nine more! 
I was thinking of how clever the tensioning scheme is. Oh, and it probably wouldn’t hurt as much to take but a few minutes to build a box to fit over that pulley.
Yes. That pulley system is quite ingenious. I just may have to copy that some day.
And, yes, it will have a finger guard :-*
That looks sweet!
JSP for over 10 years, no problems. & have automated with a reclaimed table saw motor.
I use the BC for about 8 years with no problem. Burned out an underpowered drill, but that was not the BC’s problem. My LHBS used the prototype for an estimated 5.000,000 lbs of grain before getting the larger commercial version. The knurls wore away but it still crushed grain.
The only one I have ever tried is my BC. I cant say for the other ones but I LOVE my BC. I’m sure they all work well but I know the BC dose.
I love my adjustable MaltMill. I got the barebones version and made my own base and hopper. The hopper is just an upside down 5 gallon plastic water bottle. I run it with a 1/2" corded drill. No problem. If I can do it, anyone can.
http://schmidling.com/bbordpp.htm
I have the BC and it works very well…most of the time. Like others have stated it stalls during the middle of the crush on occasion. Usually if I try to compact the grain or reverse the drill for a second it gets going just fine. After I had it for about a year it just wasn’t working at all. I contacted the company and sent it back in. They fixed it up very quickly and sent it back to me free of charge. Really decent customer service.
When you buy a piece of equipment of this caliber, they are all going to be good. Unless you define the criteria to judge them on, then do a double-blind study, it’s pretty much personal preference. I have the low end 3 roller crankandstein, and I think it’s wonderful.
I also prefer vi over emacs.
A fair way of deciding is to go with the same on as someone who’s opinion you respect.
Enjoy whichever one you get!
As mentioned above, most mill owners seem to be really happy with their mills. I’m no exception as somebody who has owned a JSP for several years. I upgraded to add the gear drive, so both rollers are powered by my fairly heavy-duty Milwaukee half inch drill. Now I just need to track down an unused fertilizer hopper - what a great idea!