My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

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niquejim said:
Why didn't you try to use it Yoop?
I get it, you must be one of those "rich city folk";)

I thought about getting a roller mill, but with 83% efficiency why change
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I never used it because I'm not smart enough to make a hopper, and adjust the settings, I guess. I used one at a LHBS once, and I tore the **** out of the husks and got 58% efficiency besides. I decided I wasn't smart enough to even try.

I'm glad it can be used- and I have a new barley crusher, so I'm happy. And Revvy's happy. We should have a group hug!
 
flyangler18 said:
Pictures are mandatory. Non-negotiable.
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but of course in another section!


And thanks revvy and all others for saying good things about the corona. Gives me hope to crush my own sooner than I thought. Often times on this forum things that work perfectly fine get a bad wrap because of how people over analyze things. There is a drawback to too much knowledge. It's never being satisfied with good enough. I'm sure other products are far superior, but this works.
 
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

On another note- ain't ain't a word, and I ain't gonna use ain't no more!
 
Damn, Revvy...talk about a ghetto-rig. Did you get help from the dude with the air conditioner and generator on his car? ;)

In the Ghetto...

8E767FB424F7B183F69640.jpg


As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto..IN THE GHETTO!
 
Evan! said:
Damn, Revvy...talk about a ghetto-rig. Did you get help from the dude with the air conditioner and generator on his car? ;)

In the Ghetto...

8E767FB424F7B183F69640.jpg


As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto..IN THE GHETTO!
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I love this version! *heads off to see if it's on youtube+
 
Built this stand a while back it works great
in use we put a cloth over the top to keep the dust down

This little guy works just fine for us.
We put up about 30 lbs per week and get good results

000_0848.jpg


000_0850.jpg
 
Boar Beer said:
Built this stand a while back it works great
in use we put a cloth over the top to keep the dust down

This little guy works just fine for us.
We put up about 30 lbs per week and get good results
Click to expand...

That's an awesome design. If I ever get a garage or basement I would do something like that.
 
I just started listening to Craftbrewer Radio podcasts out of Australia, and went to the website today. The first article I dug up in the equipment section is all about the Corona mill....

Corona Grain Mills

I'm still in the process of reading it, but it is VERY corona positive...

Corona mills have gotten a lot of bad press over the years, with claims that they are unsuitable for brewing as the give a very poor crush (i.e. tear the grains rather than squeezing them) leading to flavour and extraction problems. The claims have usually originated from either the manufacturers or owners of the more modern roller mills.

But before roller mills (such as the PhilMill, Valley mill and MaltMill) were available for small-scale brewer, Corona mills were the only ones available. Many brewing books had sections on using and adjusting a Corona type mill. Dave Miller's book from the late 80's had a whole chapter devoted to using and adjusting a Corona mill, and he is often quoted as obtaining extremely high extraction rates from the grain.
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Anyone got some older brewing books that would have such a section in there? I would love to read it.
 
Revvy said:
I just started listening to Craftbrewer Radio podcasts out of Australia, and went to the website today. The first article I dug up in the equipment section is all about the Corona mill....

Corona Grain Mills

I'm still in the process of reading it, but it is VERY corona positive...

Anyone got some older brewing books that would have such a section in there? I would love to read it.
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Hmmm. Interesting. Can I have it back? :D
 
Revvy said:
Corona Grain Mills .
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I like the long, vertical sheet metal chute on the blue setup (2nd set of pics.)

BTW, the shaft on my Corona unit is somewhat loose, which make it hard to motorize, as it flops around a bit (*wow* I can't believe I wrote that...!)

I blame it on the Safale-induced Kreauzen I tasted this morning... after a surprise overnight blow out (hmm, what was I thinking?)
 
Revvy said:
I just started listening to Craftbrewer Radio podcasts out of Australia, and went to the website today. The first article I dug up in the equipment section is all about the Corona mill....

Corona Grain Mills

I'm still in the process of reading it, but it is VERY corona positive...



Anyone got some older brewing books that would have such a section in there? I would love to read it.
Click to expand...

I think I've read that before. One think I noticed with my corona knockoff (Victoria) was that the plate wobbled on the shaft...BUT it was held on with a cotter pin and had another set of holes such that if I removed the cotter pin, rotated the plate 90 degrees and reinstalled the pin the plate was now held tightly without wobble. I'll try to post pics sometime but this week is kind of busy.
 
camiller said:
I think I've read that before. One think I noticed with my corona knockoff (Victoria) was that the plate wobbled on the shaft...BUT it was held on with a cotter pin and had another set of holes such that if I removed the cotter pin, rotated the plate 90 degrees and reinstalled the pin the plate was now held tightly without wobble. I'll try to post pics sometime but this week is kind of busy.
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Yeah mine wobbles because of the cotter pin too, I've read two different solutions to it. One was to replace the pin with a small bolt/nut combination, supposedly that would put equal pressure the plate. Another person took the cotter pin out then played around with the shaft and the plate til it was lined up perfectly parallel and then JB welded it in place.

I like the idea of the JB weld, but I'm a little too chicken to try such a permanent fix right away.

I may try what you suggest with the cotter pin, and see if that works.
 
I've been very happy with my corona. I've never had less than 75% efficiency and usually get up into the 80's.

It does shred the heck out of husks however. This has given the beer a husky, grainy, astringent-like character that I am told conditions out after a couple months (still wating for that to happen).

Recently, I relaxed the crush a bit trying to reduce the off-flavor, but I still got 78% efficiency (I was aiming for 65-70%). The off-flavor decreased, but not as much as I would like.

Here's my question:
Using a corona, do you have to adjust for a more relaxed crush (and lower efficiency) if you want beer with out the husky, grainy, astringent-like off flavor from shredded husks?
 
Oh this wins as the most interesting setup for a corona mill...this is NOT from a brewing site, but just came up in google.

image006.jpg


Bicycle grinder: Based on a design originally created in the mid-70s in the US, energy is produced through a pedal-powered system that uses adjustable-speed pulleys, permitting fast and easy grinding of a variety of foods. An inexpensive modified hand mill using metal to metal plates grinds foods 10-50 times faster than with traditional methods. Seating is adjustable depending on the operator’s height and the adjustable speeds can be matched to the individual’s power.
Click to expand...

image008.jpg


Close up view of the “Corona mill” grinder.
Other grinders and implements can easily be adapted to the
pedal-powered mechanism. The grinding system is simple,
but the bicycle design is the result of many tests,
modifications and ergonomic and functional concerns.
The seat position is adjustable according to the person’s height
and leg length.
Click to expand...

This site in itself is interesting, it may be worth noting for the coming zombi-pocalypse. VitaGoat
 
camiller said:
I think I've read that before. One think I noticed with my corona knockoff (Victoria) was that the plate wobbled on the shaft...BUT it was held on with a cotter pin and had another set of holes such that if I removed the cotter pin, rotated the plate 90 degrees and reinstalled the pin the plate was now held tightly without wobble. I'll try to post pics sometime but this week is kind of busy.
Click to expand...

Yes pics please. Mine wobbles a lot too. The uneven grind is annoying.
 
Replaced the cotter pin on my Corona last night! used a 8-32 1 1/2" long nut and bolt. WOW what a difference. Never realized how far out my plates really where.

Thought I messed something up when I put it back together. lol plates are really close and adjustment is slight (always had a lot of play in adjustment since plate was so loose and out of parallel). Added an extra washer to sides (up to 4) and played with the main adjustment. I think this will finally work the way it was "supposed to". Might have a question on how to adjust a properly set up corona, I have no idea now!

Right now It sounds like the teeth on the plates are just hitting slight "ting" as the plates rotate. Can't get it any looser though. Can go tighter, all the way down to unable to turn.

Never saw one that wasn't like this from the factory. So I thought it was meant to be that way! lol. Some Quality Control in ol Mexico!

Might explain my first partial mashing disaster.

Excellent thread with awesome info! thanks again.:mug:
 
camiller said:
I'll try to get them tonight after the daughters guitar recital.
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Sorry I didn't get pics up yet, wife called about 2:30PM yesterday...The stinking garage door opener yanked itself out of the front wall of the garage :mad: so I spent the bulk of the evening fixing that.
 
starrfish said:
Replaced the cotter pin on my Corona last night! used a 8-32 1 1/2" long nut and bolt. WOW what a difference. Never realized how far out my plates really where.

Thought I messed something up when I put it back together. lol plates are really close and adjustment is slight (always had a lot of play in adjustment since plate was so loose and out of parallel). Added an extra washer to sides (up to 4) and played with the main adjustment. I think this will finally work the way it was "supposed to". Might have a question on how to adjust a properly set up corona, I have no idea now!

Right now It sounds like the teeth on the plates are just hitting slight "ting" as the plates rotate. Can't get it any looser though. Can go tighter, all the way down to unable to turn.

Never saw one that wasn't like this from the factory. So I thought it was meant to be that way! lol. Some Quality Control in ol Mexico!

Might explain my first partial mashing disaster.

Excellent thread with awesome info! thanks again.:mug:
Click to expand...

I tried to get my cotter pin out last night, but couldn't with the tools I had handy. I was considering the jb weld idea.

Can you take a pic of yours with the bolt on?
 
I'm giving up on the Corona Mill already. It sounds like too much work. I'm going to figure out how to turn one of my pasta rollers into a grain mill.
 
Revvy said:
I tried to get my cotter pin out last night, but couldn't with the tools I had handy. I was considering the jb weld idea.

Can you take a pic of yours with the bolt on?
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Can do tonight, will post link to pic on friday.
Took some doing with a needle nose pliers, but got it out. (pin destroyed)

might rig a bucket system something like yours this weekend. got a fishing bucket or 3 kicking around...
 
Revvy said:
I just started listening to Craftbrewer Radio podcasts out of Australia, and went to the website today. The first article I dug up in the equipment section is all about the Corona mill....

Corona Grain Mills

I'm still in the process of reading it, but it is VERY corona positive...



Anyone got some older brewing books that would have such a section in there? I would love to read it.
Click to expand...

I think I've got an old copy of Miller from the early 90's somewhere. I'll have to check it out.

I asked SWMBO-claus for a barley crusher for Xmas, but I may go the corona route if she doesn't deliver.
 
Okay, I did it, the front grinding plate is NOT going to go anywhere...hehehe.

It took about 15 minutes to do...

Here's the front end with el cotter pin...

PC030006.jpg


And with the cotter pin pulled and disassembled. The 3 pieces are the auger, the grinding plate, and the collar which seats the plate on the auger.

PC040018.jpg


I cleaned every metal part that would touch with rubbing alcohol

PC040019.jpg


I test fitted the 8/32 bolt (thanks Starrfish).

PC040021.jpg
 
And finally I added the bolt, and put some jb on the threads of the bolt right where the nut till end at, and got it kinda tight.

PC040027.jpg


I can tell you there is NO wobble whatsoever, and it appears to my eyes that the grinding plate is perfectly parralel and aligned on the spindle now...I'll let you know in 24 hours when the JB is hard.

It really was a piece of cake to do...It took a couple minutes and there was no trouble, with applying enough JB weld to get it all ice and tight. I thik that is going to make all the difference in milling...that and setting the right gap with the washers and the screws.
 
LOL Just has Character! lol. Had mill stored in an outdoor shed, during my non-brewing years... damp camping tarp was put over it at some point, added the "character" still works, better then ever now!

Advice: Don't let the corona mil contact with water for too long! they rust easily!
 
Revvy said:
...
And with the cotter pin pulled and disassembled. The 3 pieces are the auger, the grinding plate, and the collar which seats the plate on the auger.

PC040018.jpg


...
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I still didn't get a chance to take pics of mine, so I'll use yours. :D

On the collar was one pair of recesses shallower than the other? All I really had to do on mine was pull the cotter pin, rotate the collar 90 degrees and reinsert the cotter pin using the shallower set of indents on the collar. The pin was quite snug and the plate became virtually wobble free. It is possible that my cotter pin was a slightly larger diameter as well, it is hard to tell from the pics.

Oh, and mine is a Corona knockoff branded "Victoria" but I hear they are made in the same factory.
 
Camiller:
"On the collar was one pair of recesses shallower than the other?"

Yup! one side was shallower than the other on the corona. needed to user deeper side to accommodate the new bolt.

My pin was severely bent from the factory (probably caused the wobble) and was a bear to get out.
 

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