HOW TO??--Small Scale Feed Grinder

[tim1253]

I would like to find a way to grind (and then mix) my own feed but am too small a farm to be able to justify buying a grinder/mixer. Is there a small alternative to do small batches (100 to 200#'s)? I have a friend who has a commercial coffee grinder that she uses.

Tim
Knoxville, TN

[agmantoo]

There is an alternative. A small hammer mill is a stationary mill that will grind. A small hammer mill can be driven either from an electric motor or a fuel engine. These hammer mills were popular before tractor HP got high enough to drive the grinder/mixers that are common today. I have one and I bought it at auction for cheap ($75) with no power source.

[rambler]

A small old hammer mill will do, as suggested.

a burr mill from the old days is slower, but will also do.

They made roller mills years ago, these are too slow in today's world, but will work for you. This is sometime prefered for calves, the grains are crushed, not broken & sharp.

These are mostly old farm items.

I couldn't imagine waiting for a coffee grinder to make 4 bu of feed, so you might be thinking of a different scale of equipment than I am.

--->Paul

[Darren]

A Diamant seems to be the Mack truck of hand grinders. I think they go for about $600 and weigh about forty lbs. I know a bunch of them got dumped after Y2K on ebay. You might still find a bargain. They're the only "small" grinder I know that comes with a grooved pulley ready to hook up to an electric motor. Some of the other manufacturers specifically warn you not to hook up their grinders to an electric motor. Not Diamant. It wouldn't be difficult to set up a way to feed it and let it do it's thing. There's a comparision somewhere on the internet that compares the feed rates of the hand grinders.

[julielou]

I use my dry container of my VitaMix for grinding most anything I need ground. It will do up to 2 cups at a time... but that may not be large enough for your needs.