My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

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I replaced the cotter pin with machine screw, JB welded the grind plate, and added 3 washers to the tensioner frame. I must not have done a good job aligning the grind plate because it is not parallel to the opposing grind plate. :mad:

Were you getting a bad crush before you did all that stuff? .... FWIW, all I did was remove the cotter pin, rotate the retaining collar 90 degrees, and reinsert the same cotter pin. No JB, No washers. No bolt. No only crushing on even numbered days while standing on one foot and singing the Ave Maria. IMHO, letting the plate float a little lets the pressure of the grain even out the plates all they need to be.
 
Were you getting a bad crush before you did all that stuff? .... FWIW, all I did was remove the cotter pin, rotate the retaining collar 90 degrees, and reinsert the same cotter pin. No JB, No washers. No bolt. No only crushing on even numbered days while standing on one foot and singing the Ave Maria. IMHO, letting the plate float a little lets the pressure of the grain even out the plates all they need to be.

Never crushed with it so I don't know. I may try singing the Ave Maria though. :rockin:
 
Man you guys weren't kidding about turning it down until you're scared and then turn it more. On the first batch I ran I tried to crush it to look similar to the crush from a roller mill and ended up with terrible (<60%) efficiency. On my second batch I cranked it down. Compared to the adjunct grains crushed at the LHBS, my crush was floury and tore up to the point I was worried, but I kept the board's advice in the back of my mind and kept going. I ended up getting 70% efficiency and no stuck sparge so I'll take it up another notch on the next batch. I think the adjustment instructions should be, turn it down until you get a stuck sparge, then back off a quarter turn :)
 
I have done one crush with mine. Took a stab in the dark and got 78% efficiency. My hulls were mostly intact... It wasn't all flour either.
 
Never crushed with it so I don't know. I may try singing the Ave Maria though. :rockin:


So if you had never crushed with it what exactly were you trying to fix by doing all that other crap.

No offense intended, I am just trying to make the point for you and anyone else reading this that you do not have to automatically do all these tweaks unless there is a specific problem you are trying to fix and then only do what is necessary to fix the problem you are having. I know I read one instance where someone did the JB weld only to have the auger shaft snap due to the extra stress.

Anything you do to these mills should only be done to fix a problem with your specific instance of the mill. The manufacturing tolerances of these mills are so loose that they simply cannot all be treated alike. What may be necessary for one mill may not be necessary for another or at the extreme may make a problem worse. There is a reason the design has the plate floating and not simply cast as part of the auger.

I apologize if this came across as a rant/dig/slam.
 
So if you had never crushed with it what exactly were you trying to fix by doing all that other crap.

No offense intended, I am just trying to make the point for you and anyone else reading this that you do not have to automatically do all these tweaks unless there is a specific problem you are trying to fix and then only do what is necessary to fix the problem you are having. I know I read one instance where someone did the JB weld only to have the auger shaft snap due to the extra stress.

Anything you do to these mills should only be done to fix a problem with your specific instance of the mill. The manufacturing tolerances of these mills are so loose that they simply cannot all be treated alike. What may be necessary for one mill may not be necessary for another or at the extreme may make a problem worse. There is a reason the design has the plate floating and not simply cast as part of the auger.

I apologize if this came across as a rant/dig/slam.

no +1

if it ain't broke don't fix it.

my Victoria mill just needed to be tightened and that was it. 76-78% I didn't do any of the mods.
 
camiller said:
So if you had never crushed with it what exactly were you trying to fix by doing all that other crap.

No offense intended, I am just trying to make the point for you and anyone else reading this that you do not have to automatically do all these tweaks unless there is a specific problem you are trying to fix and then only do what is necessary to fix the problem you are having. I know I read one instance where someone did the JB weld only to have the auger shaft snap due to the extra stress.

Anything you do to these mills should only be done to fix a problem with your specific instance of the mill. The manufacturing tolerances of these mills are so loose that they simply cannot all be treated alike. What may be necessary for one mill may not be necessary for another or at the extreme may make a problem worse. There is a reason the design has the plate floating and not simply cast as part of the auger.

I apologize if this came across as a rant/dig/slam.

I have thick skin so no worries. I am not a "if it ain't broke don't fix" kind of guy.
 
letting the plate float a little lets the pressure of the grain even out the plates all they need to be.

Sorry for the reduncy, but this is worth repeating. You really only need to "true up" the grinding plate if it is bound up crooked and unable to "true itself" during grinding. It is really a remarkable design that is able to overcome such piss-poor manufacturing and QC.
 
Yep mine looks a bit off when not grinding but it still does a great job. Last brew I mentioned 78% eff. Yesterdays brew = 77.5% eff. Corona kicking butt.
 
Yep mine looks a bit off when not grinding but it still does a great job. Last brew I mentioned 78% eff. Yesterdays brew = 77.5% eff. Corona kicking butt.

And the results are all that matters. Yes, the Corona-type mill is made quite a bit more crudely than machinery we're used to. But, yes, it also works, and works just fine.
 
mine was a victoria- red box edition. the only tweeks i had to make were the washers to get more adjustability, and a homeade cardboard shim on the tailshaft. gettin 80-83 every grind. id try another crank beezy see if you can get more efficiency. I have also found that slower is waaaay better at least on my rig. the true test coming up in 3 weeks 34lb for 1 brew session. 3 beers.
 
tchuklobrau said:
mine was a victoria- red box edition. the only tweeks i had to make were the washers to get more adjustability, and a homeade cardboard shim on the tailshaft. gettin 80-83 every grind. id try another crank beezy see if you can get more efficiency. I have also found that slower is waaaay better at least on my rig. the true test coming up in 3 weeks 34lb for 1 brew session. 3 beers.

I could crank it down a bit more I think but I am not sure I need that much more eff since most recipes I see go with 75%.
 
this picture was just awesome and needed to get posted here

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Its a 5 gallon water bottle on a wooden base with a phil mill underneath powered by an electric drill. The hopper holds 21 pounds of grain and I can go through it in about 5 minutes.
 
Introducing the Three Bucket System! :fro:

Yes - that's right. I'm blatantly ripping off Revvy and Wilsenbrewer (among many others), adding a slight tweak, and calling it a brand new version. Look out patent office - here I come!

When measuring out my grains, I dump into a Homer bucket. I then dump that into the water cooler bottle. I then set down the bucket as a rest / holder for my drill (because yes... I AM that lazy). The height works out perfectly. (Yes, I errrr... was planning for that work out). Once milling is done I switch out the "catch" bucket for the "holder" bucket. This keeps things neat and tidy while I brew. When done I slap the "catch" bucket on the bottom of the rig and it's good to go. Now if I could only get the water bottle tucked INTO the buckets with the lid on top that would be fantastic in my small basement.

One thing I love about the wood spacers idea someone had is that I can bring the handle for the bottom bucket up and it rests right on top of the spacer. That way I can use the handle for the top bucket to carry the primary system around since the catch bucket is "locked in". My blocks are just over 2" high.

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holy crap, I just hand cranked 14 lbs with my new mill... now I truely have sweat in my next beer! Great looking grind though!
 
ryclo said:
holy crap, I just hand cranked 14 lbs with my new mill... now I truely have sweat in my next beer! Great looking grind though!

You must have a desk job lol. I am a work smart not hard kinda guy but I am not buying a slow drill just for milling grain.
 
I did it in my 100 degree garage :-( I really like the idea of using my own two hands to grind the grain though, feels right... Like chopping wood!
 
Right on bro I will post pics of my corona station soon and its a hand crank too I like the idea of cranking my grain
 
I did it in my 100 degree garage :-( I really like the idea of using my own two hands to grind the grain though, feels right... Like chopping wood!

I use a log splitter, likewise I use a drill to power my corona mill. :D
 
maybe when I get old and tired I will go that direction... ;-)

On another note, I must have gone too fine with my first grind... I brewed my winter warmer yesterday and got a nasty stuck sparge with no rice hulls to help out :-(
 
Well Revvy I am pleased to show off my station hope it gets the ugly stamp of approval. I went with the 2 bucket design only I cut the lid out of the bottom bucket to make it taller. Also I went hand crank cuz its badass and I young enough to pull it off. Thank for all the advice ugly corona station crew!
Chopps

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wilserbrewer said:
Looks good...whats that purple stuff on top of the mill opening? Oh and hardly ugly enough w/ those styling chrome buckets.:mug:

That is actually pink and its a cup cut down to fill the gap between the mill and the lid of the bucket
 
I went crazy on eBay. I tried buying about 7 of the corona style mills for around $20. No luck.

Finally I bid on about 5 of them at the same time - in frustration - long story short, I ended up with two.

CGinWI bought the extra one from me today when he came by to pick up some of my extra bottles.

Now I have to create the rest of the crushing set-up. :)
 
Just ran my first grain through my mill station. With my trusty wife brew assistant I think we did well. We will see how my efficiency is tomorrow
 
if your eff. is not up to par, turn it a little tighter. i have mine grinding to where everything just looks demolished but still on par to a normal crush from a roller mill. i hit 75% just about every time. best of luck!
 
Do any of you get husky/grainy flavors from crushing too much? I ask because I found this flavor in a commercial beer. Actually two from the same brewery that is strong. I had it slightly in one of my beers but it was the beer I made BEFORE I got the corona. I am asking here because in Palmers book he points the finger at Corona mills. I am crushing pretty hard and not getting it. Was wondering if this book has caused the corona to fall out of favor as it has caused other myths to form...
 
i've had some like that from brew pubs and really fresh beer. but not from main commercial breweries
 
Rivenin said:
i've had some like that from brew pubs and really fresh beer. but not from main commercial breweries

This is a nano brewery. It could be really fresh yeah. Thats the thing these beers have in common that they were fresh and session-able under 5%. My hefe still tastes like that tho and it's been a couple months since it was brewed. Also I'd say all of these are low on hops too.
 
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