I have a check from Google Adsense on the way for roughly $150.00. I told myself I was going to use at least some of the cash from this new albeit modest revenue stream to get stuff I know we can really use but just haven't gotten around to purchasing yet. The first thing that comes to mind is a grinder. I have looked at them some online and they seem to vary widely.
My two initial thoughts are that 1) I obviously want one that is human powered and 2) I want a reliable and long term useful one made of metal. Odds are this will be the only grinder I have for awhile and I don't want a cheap 'starter' one but something that is really useful. As for cost I have some flexibility but would have a hard time justifying going much above $200ish.
What are your experiences and suggestions in this area?
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19 comments:
Yo my libertarian brother. I may have exactly what you are looking for. An old vegetarian hippy friend of mine moved and gave me a bunch of stuff. One of the items is a hand crank metal grain grinder. It is like new and I have not used it since he left it with me. I'll have to digg it out but my reccollection is that it is of high quality. This guy wouldn't have bought it to begin with if it wasn't. He only bought things once, if you know what I mean. This thing would last a lifetime and I have no use for it. Let me find it, maybe I can save you some cash as I wouldn't ask much for it.
I'll find it and get back with you.
http://thedragonwoodchronicles.blogspot.com/
After some research, and weighing value against cost, I decided to go with a Family Grain Mill. I bought mine here:
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/family_grain_mills.aspx
I also bought a spare Steel Burr Set, not that I expect it to wear out anytime soon. Better to have a spare than not, though.
The Family Grain Mill works. To get really fine four, I ran it through twice, but it does work.
But grinding my own flour and making bread from it made me realize that I wanted an electric mill, so I bought a Nutrimill Grain Mill (also from Pleasant Hill Grain). It *really* works.
Here is a review/test I did of the Family Grain Mill
http://tinyurl.com/grainmill
I did this back in August 2008. I use it pretty regularly, and have been very pleased. I got it with the manual crank, plus the Kitchenaid attachment, and both work very well.
The article has a link to the mill. The base and hand cranked grain mill will cost you $120.
We bought a "Back to Basics" grinder years ago and I would not recommend that one. Takes forever to get enough done for a single loaf.
We've been using a cheap cast iron thing from South America (Victorio?)that cost about $35 bucks the last year or so. It takes less than half the time to do twice as much.
I can't say how well it will hold up over time yet as there's only 2 of us and 1 hour of grinding is good for enough wheat and corn to last 3-4 weeks or so. For the price you can buy 2 and have a spare.
A Country living mill would be the ticket for a family, but $300 bucks is out of the question.
the family grain mill is really great. its not metal but it does an exceptional job at grinding (i have run wheat, quinoa, chick peas, sesame seeds, flax, beans and pretty much anything that i can get my hands on through it. I normally pulse the dried beans in my coffee grinder for a second or 2 to break them up. its human powered or fits on a kitchenaid mixer with an attachment (only supposed to grind 10 cups at a time before giving the kitchenaid a rest for 45 min or so) they also sell a german made motor for it, i didnt get that.
even though its plastic i think it will last a very long time. to get something better than this that will actually grind wheat into a usable flour you would need to get the country living grain mill and that thing is extremely expensive.
The LDS guys cut a deal for this:
http://www.blendtec.com/millpromo.aspx
The handcrank mill looks promising and affordable. The story I am told is that its approved through their food research labs and that they cut a deal to make it affordable to members of their church, however anyone can order it.
Spend what it takes. You don't want to be stuck grinding wheat by hand with rocks. I wanted a grinder that would last a lifetime so I spent $400 on the country living grinder. This is more important than the backup $500 backup Glock, or GPS, or night vision, etc...
We use the Back to Basic's grinder. We bought 2, one to use now & the other to store with the long term packaged wheat. I think they ran us like $65 apiece. We use the hell out of ours and have never had an issue. You can buy more expensive, but I would highly recommend them...
Survival Blog swears by the Country Living grain mill, http://countrylivinggrainmills.com/, but 400.00 seems like a lot of money for me. I imagine post-teotwaki I could figure our how to mill grain, even with a mortar and pestle setup like the native Americans.
Perhaps it could be considered a capital investment. You could be the town Miller after the collapse.
The Other Ryan,
I would like to suggest the Little Ark by the Retsel Corp.
Retsel Corp.
http://www.retsel.com/
The Three Types of Little Ark
http://www.retsel.com/store/index.php?cPath=21_24
The Basic Model at $100, A Coloured Model at $130, and the Special at $170.
You can buy spare parts and a motorizing kit
http://www.retsel.com/store/index.php?cPath=26_34
Some Reviews/Information
http://www.aaoobfoods.com/grinder_millinfo.htm
http://shtfmilitia.com/viewtopic.php?p=12419&sid=df4c2be8a7a192173f03964e2119b9f1
When, you are ready; your family can upgrade to a Country Living Mill for $400+
Country Living Grain Mill
http://countrylivinggrainmills.com/
PS.
If you go with the Little Ark, you will need two small c-clamps to hold the mill in place on your counter.
When I wanted a grain mill, I wanted a Country Living Grain Mill. That is about twice the amount you stated in the budget. But that doesn't matter, because I will encourage you to go in a different direction.
I have a friend who is into the raw foods diet. I first thought "Meh, one of those weirdo vegan nut-jobs."
Almost all her food is sprouted, then it is sometimes fermented/dehydrated etc. I was amazed at how delicious the meals were. High nutrient density made for smaller meals. This was good because my wife and I want to shed some pounds. Our friend didn't like to bake bread because she said it killed off much of the nutrient value.
I love my bread, but when it comes to nutrition, I'll take the sprouts. Maybe throw in some Bisquick for some comfort-filler junk food. Fond camping memories from my youth come to mind with the smell of a wood fire and Bisquick on a stick!
When it comes to surviving off of wheat, I will be sprouting seeds.
While it may seem uncomfortable to someone used to processed foods, the health benefits are worth it.
It sure beats grinding by hand. The "labor" of prepping seeds for sprouting and/or growing greens is a fraction of that of turning a wheel to grind grain. The nutritional difference is laughable.
The amount of cash that goes into buying a grain mill can be put into wheat itself.
Wheat grass juice is great stuff, and black oil sunflower seeds sprout into a very nutritious food.
Eating sprouts gives you all sorts of good enzymes to help the body as well. The sunflower sprouts produce a complete protein. Good for those times when meat is scarce.
I love cooked foods, and I enjoy junk food too much. But I wanted to say that I experienced no ill effects with my friend's nutritional adventure. I experienced nothing but good. I also like that with only some planting trays and sprouting jars, I have all the "equipment" I need to prepare that nutritional food. The considerable balance of the theoretical $200 left over can go toward wheat and sunflower seeds.
So, I vote no to the grinder. Yes to sprouts/greens and then good ole comfort foods.
Have fun in your deciding!
Thanks for all you are sharing with us.
http://countrylivinggrainmills.com/
Made in the U.S.A.
Made to last.
I've got an Estrella corn grinder that seems pretty good, thinking of getting another one for just in case. Down here, sell for around $40.
I bought the Corona hand crank cast iron grinder. Costs about $39 at wisementrading.com. It's similar to the grinder Grumpyunk has, and is commonly described as the AK47 of grinders. Creekmore does a review here: http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/2009/03/grinding-screen.html
Works great, cheap (can get 5 of them for $200), and being cast iron with simple mechanics, if anything breaks, I could make or home cast a replacement part from scrap iron or copper/zinc pennies.
Jack
I have one of the top end versions I bought from Walden Feeds in 1999. It is heavy, has to be bolted down to use it, but will do hard wheat, corn, or anything else. It has a wheel on it so you can hook it up to a little motor to turn it. Grinding with your arm gets old really quickly. This is an item I'd go top end on, since only the best will stand up to a lot of use and it's like automatic weapons fire, when you need it, you really need it.
I found the grinder and my wife has decided she wants to keep it.
Seems like you got a lot of good input. Good luck!
I am in the market for one as well, and I think I am going with the Country Living Mill. I came here to see what others had to say, but the Country Living Mill looks like the best quality to me, even if it is expensive.
I was able to find it at a slight discount here...
http://www.healthyharvest.com/countrylivingmill.aspx
SGT Jarhead, I will think on that one. Might be worth waiting for a little while and getting the best.
Nice post you got here. It would be great to read more about this theme. Thanks for giving this material.
Joan Stepsen
Hi tech pharma
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