Well over a year ago several people reported issues with their Flower Mill herb grinder. The toothless grinder claims to ‘mill’ the nugs instead of crushing or cutting them, leaving trichomes more intact for a better-tasting smoke.
But the Flower Mill had a catastrophic design flaw that left metallic dust in and around the weed well of the grinder!
In late 2021 420vapezone Discord members started questioning the blackish-gray smears left on their grinder after using it. Several Flower Mill owners contacted the manufacturer but were told that everything was fine with their grinder.
In February of 2022, u/Edwunclerthe3rd posted this photo of the metal dust he’s wiped from his Flower Mill grinder.
With no response or accountability from FlowerMill, the toothless grinder was put on the AVOID list.
WeedTuber Promotes Dangerous Flower Mill
When a popular weed streamer named Cewpins started promoting the Flower Mill without concern, the community intervened and made Cewpins aware of the Flower Mill safety issues.
Cewpins immediately took down his Flower Mill review and posted a new video warning others about the metal dust.
Major Probs to Cewpins
Flower Mill Issues LOW FRICTION WASHER SET (3)
Feb 20, 2023 – Flowermill releases a 3-piece low friction set of washers to fix the metal-on-metal contact with their grinder.
All new Flower Mill grinders as of February 2023 will ship with the THREE washers pre-installed.
They’re also offering the set of washers FREE on their website, with free shipping, so Flower Mill owners can update their faulty grinders and make them safe to use.
Discord community member Qira shared her photo of the 3 Flower Mill washers along with the comment, “Wow so not impressed with the “Premium edition low friction washer set” sent by flower mill.”
The 3 washers should only take a few minutes to install and will fix the issue of metal dust collecting on the rim and potentially getting into your cannabis.
Did your Flower Mill leave METAL DUST?
I wasn’t a fan of the Flower Mill when I initially review it, so it’s no surprise that I didn’t encounter any metal dust. My Flower Mill was shelved for other reasons.
I’d love to hear about your Flower Mill experience. If you have any opinions, leave a comment below!
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What about the mini flower mill?
Do they make any washers for that version as well? As far as I know the mini doesn’t disassemble like the pro. So I was curious if metal dust will be an issue on the smaller version and if there will be any solution?
Troy-I’ve had the Flower Mill Premium for about a year and have been pleased with it. I know that you like the BCG, but I just couldn’t justify the long wait and the shipping cost from Canada. I realize that BCG does sell “seconds” but the color combos that I’d see occasionally just didn’t speak to me.
I viewed your grinder review video and it did give me pause, as it seemed like you were grinding forever (or “milling” in this case). In general, I highly value your opinion on these products (Mighty + and V3 Pro purchased based on your reviews, with a TM2 likely in the near term future). I like the look of the Flower Mill though and was attracted to the Stainless Steel construction.
Did I get some dust? Yeah, there was a slight ring that I could wipe off with a q-tip but I rationalized that vs potential aluminum dust. I got the washer kit and it installed quite easily. I’m happy with the fix and like the grind that I get with the standard plate. I usually can mill thru a nug or two with only one or two turns. I think the Flower Mill deserves another look.
Thanks for sharing Jim! I’ve revisited it a few times since initially reviewing it. I get that there’s a “right way to use it” and I’ll certainly re-cover the FlowerMill grinder at some point :)
Please I bought the mini 6 months ago, so in late 23. It is safe from the metal dust, a safe new model?
Hi Susan, your 2023 Flower Mill should be good to go :)
How are you liking it?
Thanks for covering this! Haven’t used my Flower Mill since I heard about this but glad there’s a fix.
I’ve been using the Flower Mill for a couple of years and I have not ever experienced the dust on my grinder. Not sure why. I do clean it more often than most people do and maybe that’s the reason. I do really love it and have tried many other grinders. Thanks for the info on the washer set, I ordered them today.
They’ve updated the design as I took a chance and ordered a premium + accessory plates after seeing it reviewed by Matt on Breeders Syndicate. I was expecting it to still be anodized or coated otherwise and the fix being just the washers but the design now appeared to be a stainless insert inside the lid now. The washer is still included as well. The issue always appeared to be that the metal on metal was taking the anodization off the lid since the stainless ring is harder than the aluminum lid. Now it appears to be stainless on stainless with a shim protecting the area that should get the most wear (pretty much all grinders have a washer, usually delrin, it’s kind of boggling that they had such an oversite especially since this is a standard thing on all grinders it would seem).
I don’t have a Flower Mill Premium from a year ago so I can’t compare and see if the stainless ring has received a slight taper up or not but mine has a slight taper to hover more clearance I guess and to probably encourage smooth parts being rubbed when they do rub.