Hand Grain Mill: The Victorio and Wonder Mill Hand Crank Grain Mills

The purchase of a hand grain mill is possibly one of the most important that you will make as you prepare for a post-apocalyptic future. One of the big assumptions that you have to make is that your access to electricity will be minimal.

So while it’s tempting to go out and buy an electric mill that will grind over 100 pounds an hour, it will be of no use to you without electricity and may take up valuable room in your home. A hand-powered mill will keep you in business for as long as the parts last although it will take longer to make significant batches of flour.

Key Features

If you decide to buy a hand grain mill in advance, you will still be able to put it to good use around the kitchen for day-to-day baking tasks. The market for hand mills is fairly large so to narrow down your options, look for a hand grain mill that has the following features:

• Changeable grinder sizes – Unless you are fortunate enough to have an extremely large field nearby to grow a lot of one particular grain, the chances are that you are going to use your hand mill to grind a variety of grains and beans. It’s not a one size suits all policy when it comes to grinding as you’ll need a much narrower gap to turn wheat into powder than dried corn, for example. Your hand mill should either have a setting that allows you to move the stones apart or have a set of different stones to install for the different grains.
• Easy to take apart – Grinding your own grains is not an exact science and the excess chaff can quickly build up inside your machine making it hard to operate and reducing the productivity of your system. The ideal hand mill should be one that dismantles easily so you can give it a good cleaning each week. This will also help to stop cross contamination between the different grains.
• Long handles – The main thing you need to know about hand milling grains is that it is hard work, which is why nearly the whole process is automated and motorized in the flour industry. To make your life easier, try to find a hand mill that has long handles. This makes use of the principles of physics to turn each rotation into a larger amount of energy.
  

Hand Grain Mill Best Buys

It can be easy to get carried away and spend a small fortune on your hand grain mill but in reality, a cheap one will do as good a job as the top end models. The main difference is that the movable parts will wear out quicker in cheaper models. Good brands to look for across the price range include:

• Best Choice Products – This is down at the bottom end of the price bracket, costing around $35 for the original model. It has a coarseness setting allowing you to grind anything from wheat to peppercorns and clamps to hold it to a tabletop. The turning mechanism is prone to breaking so be sure to order spare gears.

• Victorio – If you have a little more money, look at Victorio products. Their basic hand mill costs around $60 and offers a much larger hopper space and a finer grinding capability to make premium grade flour. It is also much quicker, allowing you to grind around half a cup a minute.
• Wonder Mill – Wonder Mill products are at the top of the grinder products and you will be pushed to find a hand mill for less than $200. However, you get a variety of grinding wheels of different materials, the longest handle on the market and double lubricated ball bearings for longevity.
  

If you can, you should try to find your hand grain mill model in a store before you buy it. This will allow you to see how easy it is to use and clean as well as how difficult it is to assemble out of the box.

Return from Hand Grain Mill to Survival Food