Buying a grain mill from the States

[Dai]

I remember reading a thread about this being done by some RealBeer-ites a while ago, but was wondering if you had to pay duty on the goods when they come into the country? I bought a GPS a year or so ago from the States and they pinged me an extra hundred at NZ customs (or somewhere similar). Just wondering if they are going to do the same if I get a mill (or three) sent over.

Thinking about a Crankandstein one:

http://www.crankandstein.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&...

Anyone got one of these? I am thinking about getting the 2S model, as it is a pretty reasonable price and I don't think I will need the extra features the more expensive ones offer.

[studio1]

I didn't pay tax for my monster mill

[Horace]

Excise is payable only on some items. GST if value is over NZ$400.... or sometimes if you have your stuff sent to a business address so therefore it must be for the business .... or if some one is having a bad day at the office.

[Dai]

Ha, thanks for this. Thinking of getting three mills as the freight is the same. This will still come under the $400 mark, so fingers crossed that nobody will go postal on me!

[Steve Baker]

My order was for seven mills, and I got pinged for GST + customs duty.

[Mark]

I got a Crankandstein and would definitely recommend it (although I haven't tried any other mills). It's solid as and gives a nice even crush

[James P]

Two monster mills, no extra changes when they got here. Total cost was about $500.

Customs

[Soren]

Thread jack: What kinda drill do people use for their mills and what speed do you run them at? I've got a monster mill 2 and find it a bit difficult to get a good crush using my 750W drill. The grain either gets shattered or there are too many whole kernels left. Probably just a matter of technique, haven't had it for long.

BTW, no extra cost on importing one of these for me.

[studio1]

makita cordless - on the high torque setting. A shitty hammer drill I had lying round just stripped the thread.

[James P]

Very old 500RPM drill with a crap load of torque. First use I had to adjust my gap half way through to get a mix of husk / flour etc.

[Soren]

yeah, it's probably just a matter of getting the right gap, which I have been fiddling with too. what width did you end up with?

[studio1]

i just set it at 1mm. happy with the results - even though my eff. is only around 66%

[Soren]

yeah, I went from 75+ to 65% efficiency after swithcing to the monster (I used to run it through a commercial mill but that was too much hassle). I'm sure its just a matter of fine tuning though. I didn't write it down (silly silly) but I think 1 mm was too fine for me and 1.2 was too coarse. 1.1 it is next time:) Sure it also has much to do with the speed I run the drill, need to find that sweet spot.