Good crush from a corona mill

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NateKerx

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I read a trick on there somewhere awhile back about putting a washer on each of the bolts on a corona mill.

I finally got around to trying it before milling the grain for my next two brews

Sucess!!

I've actually got crushed husks and cracked grains instead of whole grains mixed with shredded husks and flour!
 
Which bolts? What size washers? Do you have any pictures of this? I just scored a free Corona mill, but haven't used it yet... and I want to get it dialed in.
 
check out this thread here, lots of infor on corona mills

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/

I have always felt that adding the washers was kind of a backwards way of adjusting the mill?? The large bolt and wing nut at the center of the grinding head should give you all the adjustment you need IMO.
+1 to the thread linked

As for the washers, it seems to depend on the manufacturer of the mill whether or not they're required. The Porkert models definitely don't need it but I believe the Victoria models do.
 
Yes the victoria models do need it and I agree once you get your gap adjusted the grind quality is excellent. I have mine "bolted" so that I can use a socket bit on my drill to grind. I don't have a bigger hopper - I think to save the drill motor its' best to take 10 second breaks between hopper loads (to reload the hopper). Mine is just temporarily setup on a B&D Workmate type folding utility table. The receiving bucket sits on the footrest and a bungy cord holds the bucket to the table to keep from tipping over.
Oh I almost forgot - the key to not losing grain in my setup is a drawstring shopping bag with the bottom cut off. The drawstring goes on the "out" of the mill and guides the grain into the bucket with no waste and very little in the way of dust production.
 
+1 to the thread linked

As for the washers, it seems to depend on the manufacturer of the mill whether or not they're required. The Porkert models definitely don't need it but I believe the Victoria models do.

My Victoria doesn't need washers. I did have to remove the end piece(attached with a cotter pin) and rotate it a quarter turn to take the wobble out of the grinding plate.
 
My Victoria doesn't need washers. I did have to remove the end piece(attached with a cotter pin) and rotate it a quarter turn to take the wobble out of the grinding plate.

I used washers on my Corona, but really didn't see why they were necessary....I could have achieved as much adjustment of the gap as I needed without them.
I tried flipping the grinding plate to get rid of the wobble (which was horrendous), but it didn't help. What I did was cut a few pieces of metal from a pie plate to use as shims underneath the grinding plate it until it was parallel. Now it doesn't wobble, it rocks! :rockin:
 
In case one wasn't enough, here's mine.

mill_closeup.jpg


-Joe
 
kin someone 'splain what those washers are really supposed to do?

i put them on my corona cause I saw it suggested in multiple places, but since the gap can be opened and closed sufficiently with the provided set screw (the ones that pushes the grinding plate in), i'm unclear what the added washers accomplish?? :confused:
 
kin someone 'splain what those washers are really supposed to do?

i put them on my corona cause I saw it suggested in multiple places, but since the gap can be opened and closed sufficiently with the provided set screw (the ones that pushes the grinding plate in), i'm unclear what the added washers accomplish?? :confused:
If you're able to adjust enough with the set-screw then you don't need the washers. ;) The washers are for models that don't allow enough adjustment on their own.
 
that sure makes sense, but considering the fairly narrow gap we're working with, i really have a hard time believing any corona/victoria/pokert mill wouldn't be capable of sufficient adjustment on it's own...it would have to be a mill with essentially no inherent out/in adjustability. seems like i've seen lots of pics of mills with the washers that don't seem to need them, including the one posted above (and mine, for that matter!), which is why i wondered what the deal was. maybe the quality control on these mills is such that there are some real duds out there! i know mine had a horribly out of true grinding plate, so i can see it happening.

anyway, thanks for clarifying.
 
I bought my corona mill from a strange local department store, It came in a brown box that said "corn mill" on the side. No manufacturer or markings anywhere.

I tried to set it properly without the washers, wasn't getting results, I put in 2 washers per side and got closer. I settled on 1 washer per side.

Judging by the apparent quality of my mill, I wouldn't be terribly surprised to to learn that they need to be adjusted on a case by case basis.
 
Mine needed it too, but because mine made super fine flour, or super duper fine flour... nothing more on the level of a grain crush for brewing, the washers pushed the plates apart evenly. Also the surfaces are not very level so you'd get inconsistent crush, half the plate would be touching the other half have a gap large enough to let whole grains through, now I get a good even crush, no worries.
 
After searching the forums to learn more about Corona mills, I played with mine and made some adjustments to achieve a good crush and finally used it for the first time recently.... 85% efficiency! This is a huge gain over the LHBS crush I've been using for the last eight months that was getting me 60-70% efficiency. I'm almost totally sold on the Corona mill (just waiting to taste the results).

By cranking 10lbs of grain through the mill at a leisurely pace while my mash water heats up, I've also added another enjoyable process to my brew day.
 
By cranking 10lbs of grain through the mill at a leisurely pace while my mash water heats up, I've also added another enjoyable process to my brew day.

Hah,

Different strokes I guess, an enjoyable process for me is my 1/2" beast of a drill ripping through about 8-10 pounds per minute.

Good job w/ the mill. Some on the boards here come down pretty hard on the lowly corona mill. This kind of bugs me because in my opinion, in the right hands, they can do a fine job.
 
Hah,

Different strokes I guess, an enjoyable process for me is my 1/2" beast of a drill ripping through about 8-10 pounds per minute.

Good job w/ the mill. Some on the boards here come down pretty hard on the lowly corona mill. This kind of bugs me because in my opinion, in the right hands, they can do a fine job.

Agree - I get good results with my corona: 80+% eff, no tannins, no troubles (no more than expected) with stuck sparges.
 
Which bolts? What size washers? Do you have any pictures of this? I just scored a free Corona mill, but haven't used it yet... and I want to get it dialed in.

I used 1/4" washers, with an M8-1.25 bolt (8mm metric, 1.25 thread pitch/count).

I didn't cut the head off the bolt--a 1/2" socket fit on just fine, let 'er rip with my 18V cordless, and crushed a full hopper (about 1.5 lbs) in 30 seconds. 11 pounds base 2-row for my 13F RIS took 10 minutes.
 
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