My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

CornyKegs 728
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pvtschultz said:
Do you guys think that this thing has a chance to operate the mill. I'm cheaping out a bit on the HF low speed drill even though it is on sale right now...

http://www.sciplus.com/search.cfm?u...234567894=&term=40588&btnHand.x=0&btnHand.y=0
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I've looked at that moter a couple times but always shied off from " Shaft thread is non-standard, so treat it as a smooth shaft and mount pulley or gear with a setscrew" since I didn't want to spend more hacking up a coupler than on the motor itself. If you do end up using it let us know if it works. If motors like than can move a car seat with my weight in it I would think it has enough torque.
 
WesleyS said:
Awesome. I knew I'd win. That milling station is a result of an AHS shipping box and an unwillingness to buy buckets.
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On the whole, I'd agree with Revvy's assessment, and give this one the October prize. But the high level of craftsmanship fitting the 2x4 and the mill into the box could have cost you the award, although a crumpled plastic bag is always endearing. Be careful next time!
 
rico567 said:
On the whole, I'd agree with Revvy's assessment, and give this one the October prize. But the high level of craftsmanship fitting the 2x4 and the mill into the box could have cost you the award, although a crumpled plastic bag is always endearing. Be careful next time!
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You're right, maybe too much craftsmanship went into cutting the holes just right for the 2x4 and the handle. Glad you like the trash bag though.
 
Question. I just assembled a corona mill bucket system I plan on using for BIAB. I was just wondering how fine I should crush the grains? And how exactly do you adjust the grinder? My mill didn't come with any instructions?! :(
 
MMJfan said:
Question. I just assembled a corona mill bucket system I plan on using for BIAB. I was just wondering how fine I should crush the grains? And how exactly do you adjust the grinder? My mill didn't come with any instructions?! :(
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Crush some grain and closely examine the crush. Tighten the mill until very nearly all the grains are broken and in pieces. NO WHOLE GRAINS REMAINING! Thats about it....cheers
 
I'm hardly the Corona mill settings master, but I got 75% efficiency on a BIAB Octoberfesty ale I brewed yesterday by doing the following: 1) tighten mill until you hear a grinding sound when it's running, 2) back off this setting just a bit - at this point you hear more of a light "clacking" sound, 3) run some grain through - the clacking sound will disappear as the grains between the plates prevent the wobbly-clacky noise.

Looking at the result, this left me with very little uncrushed grain. If your mill doesn't wobble as much as mine does you can presumably do something more sophisticated lol.
 
I've found on my mill that one side of the plates deliver more flour and the other side delivers more larger particles. It balances out in the end as I have plenty of husks for lautering. I constantly place my hand under each side during milling (drill setup, see earlier posts in this thread) and check the crush. I've had to dial it down during the milling at times due to grain size variances, especially with multiple grains in the bill.
 
Here are pics of my creation over the weekend:

DSC01760_zpse3a5ee0a.jpg


DSC01758_zpsbfb94d9f.jpg


DSC01756_zps3230331f.jpg


Not too bad for about a half hours work after partaking in a few beverages while watching Michigan beat Illinois' a$$ Saturday afternoon! ;)

Also, here are pics of some grains I crushed in a test run.

DSC01762_zpsc60ede44.jpg


DSC01761_zps3ab6da42.jpg


Does this look like ok?
 
Yeah, kinda hard to tell from pics. Don't be afraid of flour. You want to ensure ZERO uncrushed grains. As long as you have SOME husks present, that's enough to form the lauter bed. I crush pretty fine, personally.
 
Thanks. I figured it would be kind of tough to tell for sure, but I thought it would give a general idea. The grains I tested had been crushed by the HBS I ordered them from so this made them even a finer crush.
 
Just picked one up from discout tommy on ebay, you are able to submit "best offer" so I said what the hell and offered $23 with free shipping and it was accepted. Cheapest I've seen the mill and they may accept even lower.
 
dietz31684 said:
Just picked one up from discout tommy on ebay, you are able to submit "best offer" so I said what the hell and offered $23 with free shipping and it was accepted. Cheapest I've seen the mill and they may accept even lower.
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Link to tommy on eBay?
EDIT: never mind. A simple Google search got me there. Thanks for the tip!
 
dietz31684 said:
Just picked one up from discout tommy on ebay, you are able to submit "best offer" so I said what the hell and offered $23 with free shipping and it was accepted. Cheapest I've seen the mill and they may accept even lower.
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I offered $20 w/ Free Shipping and it was accepted.
 
wilserbrewer said:
Do I see some whole grains in that grist??? If so, tighten er up a bit IMO.
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Yeah, I've ran less than 10 batches and I'm still playing with the grind. Whenever I crank it in to grind wheat, I have to reset the mill for barley. I think I ended up with maybe 1% whole grains, there are a lot of whole or nearly whole husks, too. I'll take an OG here in a few minutes, but I bet I hit the 75% I'd planned on.
Edit: whoops, yeah, more like 70% on this go round.

And lawn schman, I've got acres of that crap.
 
I watched a documentary about the Heineken brewery and they have 3 different grinds. Fine, medium and coarse. They do that to extract the max sugar from the grain and also to give it a good base so it doesnt get stuck. Since i BIAB i try and aim for fine/flour. If you are using a mash ton i would make my specialty grains coarse to medium and my base malt fine.

Please tell me if i am doing things wrong!!!
 
I always say: Grind as fine as you can as long as you have SOME husks that are of appropriate size to not pass through your lautering filter (manifold/braid). My Corona puts out mostly flour on one side and more husks on the other. If I find ANY uncrushed grain, it's too loose.
 
Anyone know where a Canuck can get one of these cheap? SWMBO won't let me spend money and everywhere I look is $60 or more after shipping :(
 
wilserbrewer said:
http://www.discounttommy.com/p-189-premium-cast-iron-corn-grinder-for-wheat-grains-or-use-as-a-nut-mill.aspx

First link above for Discount Tommy...and he ships to Canada...link below is his shipping policy, and no I won't turn the handle for you:mug:

http://www.discounttommy.com/t-shipping.aspx
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Thanks for the reply but before I even posted I looked at both of those ads. Discount Tommy wants $86 dollars shipping to where I am. I'm not spending $100 on one of these mills.

Everytime I try to look around the cost grows quite a bit beyond $20. It seems like all the places selling these mills are out of the states and that inflates the shipping quite a bit to Canada. :(
 
wilserbrewer said:
Sorry for the bad links...why is it so damn expensive to Canada....taxes???
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He's in Yellowknife. You ever see Ice Road Truckers?

ice-road-truckers-image.jpg


It's not easy to get things to folks up there.

BMGfan, is there a farm and feed shop anywhere near you? A place that carries agricultural/rural supplies. These things should be pretty ubiquitous in shops like that.

Also, yard/estate sales in rural regions are good places to hunt for them.
 
boo boo said:
hey. I've been using a porkert, which is a corona knockoff, for over 3 years now. I have got over 80% efficiency regularly, but knocked it back to 75% because I found it had a better taste due to less astringency from the torn/shredded husks.

I have no plans on getting a new mill either.
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Can over crushing really cause any astringency?... I've read that some experience stuck sparges... but that hasnt kept me from making sure my grains were good and crushed.. I still get the occasional runaway grain so its not that tight...

On the brew apps I clocked 90% efficiency with no stuck sparge...
 
Revvy said:
He's in Yellowknife. You ever see Ice Road Truckers?

It's not easy to get things to folks up there.

BMGfan, is there a farm and feed shop anywhere near you? A place that carries agricultural/rural supplies. These things should be pretty ubiquitous in shops like that.

Also, yard/estate sales in rural regions are good places to hunt for them.
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That's an AWESOME idea Revvy! I knew asking might produce a lead I shall follow up with my ugly junk when I get my hands on it! :D
 
BMGfan said:
That's an AWESOME idea Revvy! I knew asking might produce a lead I shall follow up with my ugly junk when I get my hands on it! :D
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Also are there any stores that cater to the hippy types? Or back to nature survivalist type people? Corn and grainmills are often sold in those types of places.
 
Packman715 said:
Don't know if this qualifies as ugly but the mess in the garage does.
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I think that fully qualifies as ugly. How do you get the grain in that thing? That's gotta be somewhat awkward to fill
 
dawgmatic said:
I think that fully qualifies as ugly. How do you get the grain in that thing? That's gotta be somewhat awkward to fill
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note the zip lock bags that is the key and a stool out of camera it holds over 9 lbs of grain.:rockin::tank:
 
image-1075024790.jpg

My mill set up, done by hand with grains flying all over the place. I prefer this much better than the roller mill grind at the local store.
 

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