Anyone using a Universal Model 500?

Gunshow · 07-06-2009, 02:50 AM

I was at the local hardware store today and they had several Universal Model 500 Grain Mills for sale.

Universal model 500 grain mill. by Universal, Universal Grain Mills at Goodman's Small Appliance & Housewares

I was wondering if anyone is using this model and had any feedback. The mill seemed simple and tough (weighs over 10 lbs) and the handle comes off very easily for mounting a drill.

**rico567** · 07-06-2009, 10:35 AM

I got a very similar unit for $16 + $8 delivery from "Discount Tommy" on eBay. These things are usually termed "Corona" mills (mine is a "Victoria"), but they all have "500" stamped on the side, and they all appear to originate in the same factory somewhere in Latin America, where this hunk o' iron is distributed & sold pretty widely.

Mine works, although I did some tinkering before I ever tried to use it. I commend you to this thread, which will give you a lot of good tips on using this mill:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/#post980682

Toward the end of this thread, I posted some pix of my milling setup.

**wilserbrewer** · 07-06-2009, 02:35 PM

My "500" Corona style mill works very well. You just have to accept the fact that they are cheaply manufactured and need to be adjusted to provide a quality crush. If you have a reasonable amount of mechanical apptitude, these things can work real well, and once set they seem to stay that way. I run mine w/ a big a-- drill and hopper...link in sig.

If you are the type that expects your mill to run well "out of the box", you're better off getting a more expensive roller mill, aka Barley Crusher.