Hawo or Komo Mills: Recommendations? Experiences?

Submitted by philoloaf on January 22, 2008 - 7:47pm

Hawo or Komo Mills: Recommendations? Experiences?

I've been lurking here for a while, learning a ton and finding myself getting sucked in deeper and deeper -- which is not a bad thing! This site has inspired me to begin experimenting more in an attempt to improve my baking.

One thing I'm now interested in is home milling, where I'd like to do a mixture of wheat, spelt, and rye, ranging from fine flour to cracked grain. That range of coarseness rules out impact mills. However, I'd like something relatively self-contained that I could leave out on the counter in my kitchen. In researching this on the internet, I've come across Hawo and Komo mills at such places as http://www.nutritionlifestyles.com/hawos%20grain%20mills.htm and http://www.naturaleurope.com/ne/home/komo/komo_grain_mills.html. Does anyone have recommendations for or experiences with these mills?

In particular, are these mills durable? Is it easy to find replacement parts? (Should I worry, for example, that the stones, at 3.9 inches -- 100 mm -- in diameter, are too small and so would wear out relatively quickly?) Can they grind coarsely enough for cracked grains? (I've seen seemingly conflicting info on this: info that seems to come from the manufacturer says "the fineness of the milled grain is continually adjustable, from coarse meal to fine flour", though I've seen one report that "I can set it to produce what is basically a cracked grain for hot cereal".)

Also, are there other mills you might recommend?

Philoloaf

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Submitted by mommajack on August 27, 2008 - 3:12pm.

any updates?

I too am interested in this, ive been reading and reading and havent seen too many reviews on these? (is that a bad sign?) but the reviews I read were supremely positive........anyone?

Submitted by philoloaf on August 27, 2008 - 4:03pm.

I bought one

I bought the Wolfgang Mill and am very impressed. It's slower than micronizer mills, but faster than I thought it would be from the advertised specs, and perfectly adequate. I like being able to measure out the weight of grain I need, pour it in the top, put the bowl underneath, turn it on, and have exactly the flour I need. It adjusts easily from fine flour to barely cracked grain (which is something I wanted) and doesn't require anything by way of cleanup. It has a small footprint and looks good on my counter. I do recommend it.

The only downside is the price ... and it looks like they've gone up considerably since I got mine about 6 months ago.

Philoloaf

Submitted by dlt123 on February 15, 2009 - 3:28pm.

How do you cleanup

Hi, I am thinking of getting the smaller version, Fidibus 21 Mill. Other than size, is there anything that cannot be done with the Fidibus 21 that can be done with the Classic?

I read on Amazon that one guy could make Muesli with his Classic by turning the hopper counterclockwise about 90 degrees, can this be done with the Fidibus 21 Mill?

Here is a quote from Amazon:

Quote:

Now for the creme de la creme. I was going to also buy a flaker for making muesli, but I don't have to, because this mill makes the very best muesli I have ever tasted. [OK, I make my own yogurt, too.] I turned the hopper counterclockwise about 90 degrees, you can keep turning it for even larger bits, but this is where the oats come out as if they were 'slivered.' May not be the same as rolled [commercial rolled oats are steamed], but the taste, texture, and nutrition is way better.

Also, I've read that with other mills, impact, you need to make sure you clean up the flour dust, because you could get weevils in your mill.

How do you clean this mill? Is it easy to get to the areas that need cleaning? I don't want to give weevils a place to live if possible.

Thanks,

Dennis

Submitted by shakleford on February 16, 2009 - 8:52am.

Fidibus Mill

As noted below, I have the Fidicus Classic, but I think that I can answer most of your questions:

-You should be able to do anything with the Fidibus 21 that you can with the Fidibus Classic; the design is exactly the same.

-I remember reading that same review on Amazon before I bought my mill. I would say that whether or not you can produce museli depends on how picky you are of the definition of museli. You cannot produce rolled oats (or other grains) with a mill like this, but you can certainly produce what is generally sold as steel-cut oats. The only caveat I'd add is that you inevitably get some smaller pieces and crumbs in the process, so you will probably want to sift out the larger particles.

-The only part of my mill that gets "dirty" is the spout that the flour comes out of. I do wipe this out periodically, but I haven't come up with a good way to get it fully clean. I have not had any issues with weevils or other insects, but I live in a desert thus deal with different insects than most folks. I suppose that the wood housing is a disadvantage in this regard; flour just doesn't wipe cleanly off of wood like it would off of plastic.

Submitted by shakleford on August 28, 2008 - 7:34am.

KoMo

I purchased the KoMo Fidibus Classic mill in April or so (from NaturalEurope.com) and have been very happy with it. I have had no issues using it, and it is exceptionally sturdy and well-built (with real wood!). Some reading indicates that stone-ground flour tends to not rise as well, but I have not noticed any performance problems.

I also quite like the ability of this mill to grind coarsely, produced cracked grain, and so on. However, as Philoloaf points out, they are not cheap.

Submitted by mommajack on August 28, 2008 - 8:19am.

thanks and another question from me

what are the differences in the Hawo (Tribest) and Komo mills? They look very similar and yet they seem to have a 100 USD or so price wise? Is it really worth it to spend the extra 100? I definitely will keep and use the mill I eventually go with....thank you for your replies!

Submitted by shakleford on August 29, 2008 - 7:38am.

No Idea

I went with KoMo primarily because I could find more information on them, but also because they're cheaper and look a bit nicer in my opinion. As you point out, the specs are very similar. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Submitted by gvgrains on March 8, 2010 - 10:55am.

Meadows mill

I don't know if I'm violating rules about selling here, but I have a Meadows 8 inch mill. model C with the table that I'm selling. I've had it almost two years but am getting a bigger one. I just dressed the stones and have put a new shaker arm on it. I read a long thread about somebody on here that did some serious milling tests with a Meadows. This would be big enough to do some serious home milling or to share with some other local baker. You can email me at if interested.

Submitted by charbono on March 8, 2010 - 2:19pm.