I have wanted a grain mill for a long time now. I had finally convinced myself to buy one for my birthday. I couldn't choose between the
Nutrimill or the
KoMo Fidibus 21 so I haven't actually made the purchase yet. Then last night I drove an older sister to a Relief Society meeting and the topic somehow came up. She told me she had a brand new (refurbished)
Whisper Mill that I could possibly have. Their old Whisper mill caught on fire (yikes!) and the company replaced it, but they ended up buying a Nutrimill instead so they didn't actually need the new Whisper mill. They had already promised it to someone who failed to follow through and pick it up, so she said she'd ask her husband if she could give it to us. She called me today to tell me I could have it if I wanted it. So the boys and I went and picked it up.
Pros:
- It's a NEW $240 grain mill that I'm getting FOR FREE if I choose to keep it.
- It's a top brand
- It mills very fine flour because it pulverizes rather than grinds
Cons:
- There are a lot of parts. Parts to clean. Parts to break. Filters, buckets, etc. etc.
- There are super strict rules about turning it on and off with grains in the hopper. I'm a little worried about screwing something up.
- I kind of feel bad taking a brand new mill from someone, even if they're not using it. (I did ask if they wanted it back if I decided to purchase a different one, or if they wanted me to pass it on to someone else who needed a grinder, and they both heartily said to bring it back to them...)
- It's bigger and uglier than the KoMo. There are 2 parts to it, so I guess you could store the mill on the counter and just bring out the bucket when you wanted to mill, but still. It's a big bulky plastic thing.
- It doesn't grind grains coarse enough for cracked wheat or muesli.
My biggest hang up: I had just convinced myself to buy the KoMo right before she offered me this one. The cheapest I've found it is $320. It's a small, simple, and pretty wooden object I wouldn't mind sitting on the counter. Nothing to clean. Nothing to break really. You can turn it on and off with or without grain in the hopper. Did I say nothing to clean? No filters. Pretty much as low maintenance as you can get.
So what would you do? Take the free one? Or give it back and buy the one you really want? Seriously. If you read this post I want to know.
13 comments:
I'm not exactly sure what I would do, but it sounds like you have already made up your mind :)Get what you really want and what you would be happy with and not frustrated with every time you have to use it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
I agree. If the money is there, use it on what you'll love. We like making cracked wheat, too. I'm sure there will be someone who will take the other mill. Sounds like the one my mother in law has.
Go with your gut. :) It works every time.
Okay so maybe not, but personally, free or not, if I was worried about using it, and it looked like a pain, I probably wouldn't end up using it, so I would just get the one I know I will use.
I would just buy the one you want; I've tried 'making do' before and it never makes me happy. I also hate to feel 'obligated' to people like I would be feel if I knew I needed to give it back at some point.
I'm a cheapo, so I would keep the free one.
Buy what you want...you won't be happy otherwise. Free is tempting, but you will kick yourself everytime you have to assemble/dismantle/clean/fix the one you took for free.
Seriously? To me this is an ultimate no-brainer... keep the FREE one!
At least give it a try. If you use it for a month or so and absolutely hate it, then fork over the cash.
I would have such a hard time because I would love the thought of saving money! However, the fact that the one is easier to clean and more pleasant-looking than the other probably also means that you would use it more often than the one you were given. Which, for me, means I would use it instead of thinking about how hard it will be to clean when I was done using it. :) Good luck - post pictures when you decide which to keep! I'm interested in seeing what they look like!
I'm in the free camp. Try it for 6 months--what have you got to lose, seriously? And if you hate it for the aforementioned reasons, take it back to the nice people who gave it to you, let them know that it isn't working out and buy the new one.
You know, if it had been previously used, it would be a no brainer to try it for awhile. But it's NEW in the box. I'd feel bad to use it once or twice and then give it back to them if I was unhappy with it. I don't know. I'm still on the fence. Matt wants me to buy one because he hates feeling indebted to people.
I am so cheap, so I think my response should be weighted to be closer to the "average, normal" human... anyway, I would totally keep the free one. I have a Nutrimill and I think they said you have to be really careful with the grains, but I don't pay attention and haven't messed anything up yet. :)
give it back and buy what you want. Here's why I would do that...after nearly 9.5 years of taking stuff for free (or nearly free), I look around my house and cringe. Nothing matches, nothing is really pretty, nothing is anything I ever wanted, just something to "hold us over". and now that we have what we NEED (couch to sit on, etc.) B is REALLY reluctant to buy anything that looks decent... I know it sounds silly, but I just bought a glass cake pedestal and a really pretty fruit bowl for our counter. Every day I look at them I smile. I would always wonder/regret taking it, b/c my mind would always be on "the other one." Sometimes it really is worth $320--every time you use the other one--and clean it/store it/get it out again--you're going to kick yourself, b/c at that point, you've already "committed yourself" to something free and maybe, just maybe your hubby will have converted as well and won't want to spend the money later when you decide you're finished with the freebie. lol. that's just my 2cents! :)
Scrap them both and get a blend-tec that makes perfect flour in the blender and does tons of other stuff. Seriously, for that money, I would get something that did more than mill flour, or I would feel really obligated to make a LOT of bread. $320 is a LOT of money--like, we bought our front load dryer on clearance for that price, so I am always comparing stuff to that. (Is that as good a purchase as our dryer?) I would definitely try out the free one, take them a few loaves of bread as a thank you, and see how it works. You will probably know within 1-2 tries if it is for you, and you can always clean it really well if you don't like it, and it will still seem brand new. Good luck deciding.
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