Corona Grain Mill Assembly

[cd2448]

i just received my vintage corona grain mill ($25 delivered) from ebay but i'm a bit puzzled about assembly. the way it fits together seems to leave the two grinding plates very close to each other - i though it was supposed to be adjustable. is that right? i don't have any unground grain to experiment with so was hoping a grain mill owner could help me out here.

ps: i mention the price only to head off discussion of how i shouldn't have bought a corona grain mill in the first place

 

[bradsul]

They're designed to make flour so the plates will be very close together. My particular mill has an adjustment screw for the gap so I didn't have to do this, but you can use washers to space the plates farther out. Hopefully someone who has actually done it will post the accurate information. I'm pretty sure they go on the 2 bolts that hold the cover over the plates though.

 

[cd2448]

thanks dude - i was thinking i needed to space it out a bit, and then use that bolt at the back to tighten or loosen as required. in the time it took the mill to arrive i got a turkey fryer on close out so it might be moot anyway as i don't think it's going to fly for a full AG grain bill!

 

[Labrat]

I have used a Corona mill for several hundred pounds of grain. I have not needed to add washers to increase the gap. I typically get in the 80s for conversion. You need to loosen the pin that puts pressure on the disc until you get an adequate grind. A small amount of turning goes a long way. Add some rice hulls if you made flour. I have since motorized my mill because the ten gallon batchs wore me out. I got a washing machine motor from a local ecocycle and a pulley from a trash compactor. If I were to buy a mill I would get the Barley Crusher. Since I only have 25$ in my Corona I am going to spend money on other brewing equipment. It works pretty well.

 

[cd2448]

hmmm. mine seems to have a little ridge inside the back piece such that the only way it will go together, even with the tightening bolt totally loose, is if it's all pushed rightly tightly together. i'll have to look at this again.

how close should the plates be for a decent grind? i'll try and take a pic of the setup...

 

[bradsul]

I've got mine only 1MM apart.

 

[rod]

i actually had to grind a bit off the end of the tighening screw to get enough gap.

 

[rod]

i added the black washers to get enough spacing
on an average 1.050 beer i get around 80% efficency and 30 minutes of good excercise

 

[cd2448]

thanks guys, that's awesome especially with the pics. i'll get this set up!