Grain mill for small farm

[Mrs. Mucket]

We'd like to grind wheat and other grains for our livestock. Our VitalMill kitchen grain mill takes forever and we haven't found anything local except huge PTO grinders.

Does anyone use--or know of a company that makes--either a very large kitchen-type grain mill or a small version of a farm grain mill?

Thanks

[Plowpoint]

Have you tried looking up small scale hammermills?

I have used a 5 hp chipper/shredder called Tomahawk, by Troybilt for years now to blend creep feed. I use the top hammermill part of the chipper/shredder to shred alfalfa cubes, and mix that with corn silage, haylage and grain to make a very nutritious ration for my rapidly growing lambs.

[fishhead]

I've seen pedal powered mills that might work.

[FarmboyBill]

Are you calling the old time stationary belt drivin hammermills huge?

[MOgal]

If you are in an area with a lot of farm sales, stay on the look out for an A. H. Patch mill. The company is still in operation in Tennessee but no longer makes the smaller model like I have. I'm sure it was originally hand cranked but someone down the line fitted it with an electric motor and belt to the wheel that turns the burrs. DH has replaced the motor with a newer quieter one and the only complaint I have about it is that the original hopper was quite small. We fitted a cylinder DH made from aluminum roof flashing that increases the capacity quite a bit. DH also loaned me a shop table to support it. I removed the wooden top of the table and set it on the leg brackets to hold my receiving buckets and clamped the mill/motor mounted board to the open top of the table. It will just crack corn to grinding almost meal. Since it's in the barn, we don't use it on grain for human consumption. The whole shebang is small enough that I can lift and carry it easily.

If I were going to use it for more than a bucket or two of grain at a time, I'd set the board the mill and motor are mounted on over a large container, even a dedicated metal garbage can, and grind away. It would only mix if the components of the feed were mixed a bit prior to grinding.

Rigged up as mine is, if you find one, latch onto it. DH paid $25 for ours and all it needed initially was a good lubrication.

[PD-Riverman]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Mucket

We'd like to grind wheat and other grains for our livestock. Our VitalMill kitchen grain mill takes forever and we haven't found anything local except huge PTO grinders.

Does anyone use--or know of a company that makes--either a very large kitchen-type grain mill or a small version of a farm grain mill?

Thanks

I have been using this for several years. It is a old/antique coffee grinder, and it works good for corn---never tried wheat. It will not grind the corn into "flour". It has a adjustment on the side----open as far as it will go will make the corn look like "cracked corn" all the way in it will grind it alot finer(like ground coffee) with a small amount of the grind like flour. Running it back through does not seem to make it any finer. I modified it by adding a little DC motor hooked to a timer. I can pour a 5 gal bucket of corn in the added, big funnel on top, hit the timer switch and go do something else if I want. I have the timer set where it will cut off around the time the 5 gallon bucket is ground or I can turn on another switch and it will run till I cut it off. It takes about 12 minutes to grind a 5 gal bucket.

[solidwoods]

The peeps near you that sell purchase feeds may know of a grinder that you may take your harvests to but it's hard for small time business to compete with mass production/distributed feeds (especially if you know your immediate shopping area and watch for deals)
Another approach depending on $ and your view/situation is to purchase a pellitizer. They make feed and fuel,, they do cost about 4k so you would need to make it produce multi marketable usable pellet products.
Allot of dry waste can be turned into fuel pellets,, sold to a small # of customers including yourself and that $ goes to pay for the machine first then profit.
jim

[chefed]

Originally Posted by PD-Riverman

I have been using this for several years. It is a old/antique coffee grinder, and it works good for corn---never tried wheat. It will not grind the corn into "flour". It has a adjustment on the side----open as far as it will go will make the corn look like "cracked corn" all the way in it will grind it alot finer(like ground coffee) with a small amount of the grind like flour. Running it back through does not seem to make it any finer. I modified it by adding a little DC motor hooked to a timer. I can pour a 5 gal bucket of corn in the added, big funnel on top, hit the timer switch and go do something else if I want. I have the timer set where it will cut off around the time the 5 gallon bucket is ground or I can turn on another switch and it will run till I cut it off. It takes about 12 minutes to grind a 5 gal bucket.

We were out one day at a demostration and they had this type of setup but the trough had a screened bottom and it sifted the fines for cornmeal as it ground.

[PD-Riverman]

Originally Posted by chefed

We were out one day at a demostration and they had this type of setup but the trough had a screened bottom and it sifted the fines for cornmeal as it ground.

I do sift some of the fine to add to my worm beds. It might quit tomorrow, but it sure has worked good for several years. The last corn I bought was bulk, 1800 lb and it has grinded all that in the last few months as well as tons more in the last several years.

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by MOgal

If you are in an area with a lot of farm sales, stay on the look out for an A. H. Patch mill. The company is still in operation in Tennessee but no longer makes the smaller model like I have. ...

I did a quick google and was not able to find them.

Could you please provide a link?

[PD-Riverman]

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

I did a quick google and was not able to find them.

Could you please provide a link?

Here is one, Coffee Grinder; Patch (AH), Black Hawk, No 100, Wall Mount. [p4a.com, ltd.]

Ooops, I think you might be looking for the Company!

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by PD-Riverman

Here is one, Coffee Grinder; Patch (AH), Black Hawk, No 100, Wall Mount. [p4a.com, ltd.]

Ooops, I think you might be looking for the Company!

Yes. thank you, though I meant that I was looking for the current manufacturer.

[ET1 SS]

This past weekend I picked up a "Queen of the Harvest" grain winnowing mill made by O.K. Wood.

So far my research has shown that this model was marketed in 1875. But I have not found much else about it.

[k9]

C S Bell makes a dandy line of grinders, you can find their products on the webb, i have an old one found at a yard sale and it works great and I can still get plates for it.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Here is one on Ebay. I did a search on corn grinder. Also try Grist mill.

Antique Corn Grinder | eBay

[MOgal]

Well, now! Ain't that just a kick in the head! I am starting to think that what I've been using as a grain mill is actually a refitted COFFEE GRINDER like the one shown in the link PD-Riverman posted. The hand crank with the Blackhawk name on it is missing on my machine as I mentioned but the hopper and basic shape look similar. Too funny! The man A. H. Patch passed in the 20's but this company still produced his designs for a number of years. This is the only website I could find with much info about him or the mill. At any rate, it's been doing the job for me just fine. Oh, well!

Clarksville Foundry

Sorry I couldn't have provided any more help. I also have one similar to the grinder in YuccaFlatsRanch's link. I don't remember now what I gave for it in trade but the then owner was going to junk it as scrap. Not with me around, dearie! The only reason I don't use it is that I'm lazy and the smaller one is mechanized.

[tom_the_chemist]

Originally Posted by PD-Riverman

I have been using this for several years. It is a old/antique coffee grinder, and it works good for corn---never tried wheat. It will not grind the corn into "flour". It has a adjustment on the side----open as far as it will go will make the corn look like "cracked corn" all the way in it will grind it alot finer(like ground coffee) with a small amount of the grind like flour. Running it back through does not seem to make it any finer. I modified it by adding a little DC motor hooked to a timer. I can pour a 5 gal bucket of corn in the added, big funnel on top, hit the timer switch and go do something else if I want. I have the timer set where it will cut off around the time the 5 gallon bucket is ground or I can turn on another switch and it will run till I cut it off. It takes about 12 minutes to grind a 5 gal bucket.

That is pretty cool. How much did you have to pay for it?

[PD-Riverman]

Originally Posted by tom_the_chemist

That is pretty cool. How much did you have to pay for it?

I payed $180 for the coffee grinder, but it would have went for more if the original clamp on the front had not been broke. I clamped it with a C clamp you can see in the picture. I also bought the DC motor at the same auction----it was on a battery operated scotter I got the whole scooter for $3. The funnel is a big discarded light fixture I stripped out which I got at auction for $4. I built the timer with a few parts I had in the shop. The big V belt pulley I payed $35 for but I bought it for a butter bean sheller I built and I ended up using a different size so this one was hanging on the wall. The coffee grinder came with 2 cast iron wheels like the one on the right which I removed the left one so I could put the pulley on.

[sagecreek]

I bought this grinder from Premier Poultry. I've had it about 6 months and I've been very happy with it.

Ercolino Grinder - Premier1Supplies

[farminghandyman]

I made a 6 inch burr mill (much like the coffee grinder,above) buying burs from CS Bell,



the basic parts