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Mill Buying Guide

An often asked question is:

Which grain mill or flaker do I need?

Given the many different mills and grain crushers available today it can be difficult to find the right one for one’s own needs. Therefore, we provide you with some helpful information and hints below.

There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing the right flour mill or flaker for your needs. These include:

  • Intended use
  • Amount of flour or groats needed
  • Type of Grains, oilseeds and/or nuts to be ground, kibbled or flaked
  • Size and Material of Milling Stones

  • Materials used for the housing and interior of the mill or flaker
  • Motor Size
  • Budget
  • Design

The difference between the mills we offer lies primarily in the size of the motor, the size of the milling stones and the material they are made from, the milling chamber, the housing design and materials used.

250w models can’t handle hard grains and beans such as corn, rice or chickpeas as well as larger models. Therefore, we generally recommend a 360w model for a family of 3-5 intending to use its mill regularly. It is prepared for all kinds of jobs and grains that it has to take on during the many years it will do its work. A larger model is recommended for larger families and/or larger needs of flour supply. A 250w usually suffices for people or families of 1-3 that only occasionally need to mill hard grains or beans. They are a cost-effective introduction to home milling. Furthermore, the larger the wattage the more power reserves a mill has when milling large quantities and/or hard grains, and the stones and flour tend to keep cooler.
For further information on grains that can be used click here.

The motors used by KoMo can be used for up to 45 minutes at a time and are produced in Austria and China under highest quality and social standards. The times Salzburger Mills can be used for in one go varies from 35 minutes for the Carina up to 60 minutes for the MT 12 and continuously for the MT 18. All motors are quality produced in Austria. All WIDU mills on offer can be used continuously.

All Salzburger Mills‘ mills are made from solid beech or nut wood only and treated with organic beeswax. KoMo offers mills made from solid beech treated with natural oils, while the manual mill is made from solid maple with an organic varnish finish. For some models beech plywood is used as a cost-effective solution. The wood used by both manufacturers is mainly sourced in Austria and sustainably harvested.

All KoMo mills offer exchangeable milling chambers and stones making the mills very versatile. It is possible to grind and mill grains, beans, coffee, spices and gluten-free and gluten-containing grain separately, but with one mill. Salzburger Mills’ and WIDU’s milling chambers are made of solid, untreated wood, but the chamber cannot be exchanged. So if you need a mill with which you can mill different grains and herbs separately, then a KoMo mill may be your first choice. But if you rather consider it to be more important to have a solid wood milling chamber and the most natural environment for your grains then a Salzburger Mill or a WIDU mill may be your choice.

All WIDU mills are made from different types of solid wood that is sustainably harvested in Germany and treated with natural oils. The milling stones are made from self-sharpening naxos-basalt bound in magnesite. WIDU mills are the most versatile mills on offer that can, depending on the model, also mill oilseeds, nuts and even damp sprouted grain. Furthermore, they can be used manually in times and places without electricity.

All Kornkraft mills are made from solid beech wood that is sustainably harvested in Germany and treated with organic beeswax. The milling stones are made from naxos-basalt bound in magnesite.

All Hawos mills on offer are made from solid beech, except the Easy which is made from beech plywood. The mills are treated with linseed oil and the milling stones are made from corundrum/ceramics.

You should also consider the design of the mills and flakers. Since your mill or flaker will be an eye-catcher in your kitchen for many years, you should like how it looks. Simply have a look at the product images in our shop or click here to watch videos of the mills and flakers on offer.

The milling stones used for KoMo mills are made from corundum/ceramics, a material that Wolfgang Mock popularised when he searched for a suitable stone material that would be hard and durable with good milling characteristics, while being readily available and cost-effective. Salzburger Mills also use corundum/ceramics milling stones in some of their mills, while entirely natural granite stone is used for the Carina and MT series of mills. Salzburger Mills are one of the very few manufacturers offering natural granite stones, while having more than 35 years experience in their manufacture.Further information on milling stones, on how to use our mills and flakers, as well on the handling of grains and flour can be found here.

A very detailed guide to home milling, including a discussion of different mills and a mill buying guide can be found in Marleeta Basey’s book Flour Power: A Guide To Modern Home Grain Milling.

We have compiled a table of our electric and manual grain mills to give you an overwiew about the most important technical details at a glance.

Please click here to view.