Burt Gummer
Veteran Member
I need to buy a grain mill to make flour if things go bad. (Already bad...if they get worse.). Anyone have suggestions for a good NON-ELECTRIC quality mill that won't break the bank? Many thanks!!!
I have the country living mill as well, and I love it!For my manual mill, I have a Country Living Grain Mill. It's been around for a very long time. I purchased a couple of extra burr plates, and the long handle. I don't use it much, because I have a nice electric mill, but it's nice to have the manual one for when the shtf.
I have a wondermill junior that was the full kit at the time (20 years ago). Mainly that meant it came with both stone and steel burrs plus a table clamp mount. Now, they've improved a few things and added a nut butter auger, but it's still the same grinder. Like the OP, I was looking for a decent manual grinder for just in case use. It works, but it requires real work to operate. Grinding wheat by hand takes effort and typical flour normally requires at least 2 trips through the grinder.
The buy-once, cry-once option at the time was the country living mill and I suspect it still is. I have no experience with the family grain mill mentioned above. I used the wondermill enough to verify everything worked then put it in storage. The price has gone up quite a bit on all of them.
If you plan to seriously use this grinder post-whatever, I suggest you think about what it would require to not have to hand crank one. Anyway, I'll link the wondermill site below. They have a few articles about motorizing them as well as some (expensive?) accessories that would help. The pleasant hill grain website listed above sells wondermill items. It looks like a good resource.
WonderMill Grain Mill & Wonder Junior Wheat Grinder
www.thewondermill.com
I too have the WonderMill Junior model. While it works well, you definitely do not want to hand crank the mill, it's a lot of work. One piece that I found there that they offer as an option is a "drill adapter". This part allows the mill to be cranked using a hand drill motor. I would suggest a 3/8' drill motor, but even a Dewalt 18v cordless screwdiver would crank the mill. This approach may offer a bit more flexibility in your use (but hey, I'm a tool guy at heart....)
We have had the Corona Mill for a very long time. They work fine and a are solid, but it is hard work especially cracking or grinding corn.Will any of these mills you all are recommending crack whole grains for chickens?
I am not looking to make flour. I want something that will crack whole grains like wheat or corn or oats, to make bite sized food morsels for my toothless flock of laying hens.