Corona Grain mill

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zhubbell

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Hey guys, so I made the conversion to all grain, been researching a lot getting ready for my first brew and I'm worried I made a mistake. I bought a corona grain mill, but I've seen a couple things that suggest this may not do the job well enough. Any feedback?


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Not familiar with that very long acronym, haha, however, I get the just. Very good news! So it sounds like I won't have any trouble hitting my target OG using this.


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Yup. I'm one of the happy Corona mill users. It doesn't look as fancy as the roller mills, but it sure as heck does the job if you get it set up right. And it is easy to adjust, too.

The best thing is the price. With a Corona mill, by the time you buy and use one sack of bulk grain, you've saved enough over buying grain by the pound that it has paid for itself. It takes a little longer to get to that point with most roller mills.
 
I'm pushing 85% efficiency with mine, and lauters easy as anything.
Few pointers.
Make the modifications from the Ugly Junk Thread.
Condition your grains.
Mill it slow. Running the mill slow will help keep husks intact allowing you a grainbed that filters easy.
 
I will check out the mod for sure - mine is also an "antique" looking one.

Sorry for the newb question but what do you mean by conditioning your grain.


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I condition my grains by spraying them with (boiled) water and then sticking it in the refrigerator overnight. I then grind the grains cold and get a beautiful crush with nice small pieces (~1/8" average size) and fully split hulls without much cutting. This allows me to grind finer for BIAB (brew in a bag) and I get a consistent 86% to 87% efficiency.
 
Coronas are great! So are even cheaper chinese knockoffs like mine (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=435698). It took a while for the tension on mine to stop shaking loose after each 5-6 lbs, but I guess the metal finally "broke in", because it's great now. I don't condition, and I don't use rice hulls, and I have never had a stuck sparge, even with wheat malt and adjuncts (batch sparge, SS mesh). I get about 83% efficiency from an average-gravity batch. I don't get astringency (that's mostly about mash pH, not grind).

Don't second guess your rig, make it work for you. Homebrew doesn't have to be a rich kid hobby or a shiny equipment dong-comparing contest.
 
Make sure your drill can handle the strain, by the way, my cheap corded drill starts smoking after about 15lbs and I have to spritz it and give it a rest (somehow it keeps working, whether it's safe is surely another question). It actually seems to perform better at full throttle than if you baby it, I guess because it gets more air to cool the motor.
 
Am getting a corona also. I noticed the Weston version is 4 pounds heavier than the others, price difference on Amazon is only 4 bucks between the two.
 
I also had problems with the first drills I used. They would get hot and start smoking. I did not burn them out and went to Harbor Freight and got a heavy duty but cheap hammer drill. I use it with the hammer feature turned off. I can use it for other uses also.''

As to conditioning the grain, there is no need to boil the water before misting your grain. After milling and mashing the wort will get boiled the nasties will get killed then. There are far more nasties in the grain than in the water.

When ordering on line make sure you look at the shipping costs. I have seen some very cheap items end up costing more than the expensive ones after the shipping charges are applied.
 
I have no complaints with my $20 Chinese corona mill. I consistently get 80% efficiency (consistency is much more important to me than the actual percentage). I don't condition. I hand crank it. I grind quite fine and have never had problem batch sparging with my braided weave. I was warned about high tannin extraction with the fine crush, but it has not been a problem. I think the tannin extraction is more a factor of pH and temperature than the crush anyway.

Bottom line...$20 well spent for my setup. I imagine I'd be a little more nervous about the crush, though, if I were fly sparging.


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I love my corona mill now that I have it all set up the way I like. I had to add some extra washers and a couple grommets to get it to function just the way I like it. The hopper is some sheet metal formed into a cone. It will hold about 15lbs of grain, so for most my recipes, I don't have to stop and refill. Obviously I got rid of the handle to convert it to a power rig. With the drill on high, it'll mill about 5lbs/minute. The catch bucket is just a tupperware container with a cutout so the grinder is inside. I have almost no grain spilling out, even with the drill cranking away on high.

DSC_0714-XL.jpg


I crush very fine with mash efficiency of about 90% and brewhouse efficiency of about 80-85%, depending upon how much sediment I leave in the kettle. I get stuck sparges fairly frequently while fly sparging, but with an air compressor and a blower attachment, stuck sparges are a complete non-issue. Just blow some air into the spigot, vorlauf again, and get back to sparging. Easy peasy. I think too many people get way too worked up about a stuck sparge.
 
Congrats, that looks a hecka lot nicer than my bucket abomination.

One thing I can say about my mill is that ear protection is generally advisable, I don't let the kiddo help without muffs.
 
fearwig said:
Make sure your drill can handle the strain, by the way, my cheap corded drill starts smoking after about 15lbs and I have to spritz it and give it a rest (somehow it keeps working, whether it's safe is surely another question). It actually seems to perform better at full throttle than if you baby it, I guess because it gets more air to cool the motor.
Click to expand...

NO F'ING WAY! This exact thing just happened to me this weekend. When it started to smoke, I threw it in the snow. Hindsight probably not the best move. ;)

Good to know, fearwig.
 
Hahaha, yeah, I thought it was just me too. I don't know about the snow, but I figure most of the components I "spritzed" (I just barely sprayed it around the vent in case something was actively burning) were mechanical, not electrical... but I only use it on GFCI and I set it on a paving stone when I'm done with it, just in case it explodes in flames.

It stinks pretty good when it runs now, though.
 
wilserbrewer said:
RDWHAABB, lots of folks use Corona mills, 1639 posts linked below, almost all positive...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/
Click to expand...

zhubbell said:
Not familiar with that very long acronym, haha, however, I get the just. Very good news! So it sounds like I won't have any trouble hitting my target OG using this.


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Click to expand...

That's the drunk version of RDWHAHB - Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew :drunk:
 
max384 said:
I love my corona mill now that I have it all set up the way I like.
DSC_0714-XL.jpg
Click to expand...

I would like to go on record for saying this is FAR to nice to be in any Corona "Ugly Junk" thread, or be associated with it.

That mill setup looks GREAT!

:rockin:
 
Did you just coil the metal or did you cut it too? And do you have anything attaching it to the mill or does it sit in there loose so you can remove it when not in use?

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signpost said:
Did you just coil the metal or did you cut it too? And do you have anything attaching it to the mill or does it sit in there loose so you can remove it when not in use?

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Click to expand...

I cut a little off the top of the metal where it formed a point after coiling, and then put foil tape over the edge to avoid getting cut. There's nothing attaching it to the mill, so it can be removed for easy storage. I actually only did it as a temporary fix until I figured out something better, but I've been so happy with it that I don't plan on putting together anything else.
 
max384 said:
I cut a little off the top of the metal where it formed a point after coiling, and then put foil tape over the edge to avoid getting cut. There's nothing attaching it to the mill, so it can be removed for easy storage. I actually only did it as a temporary fix until I figured out something better, but I've been so happy with it that I don't plan on putting together anything else.
Click to expand...

Yes that does qualify under ugly junk! lol mine is ugly junk too!! heres the youtube video of my custom hopper, I made from 1 broken water bottle and a apple juice container!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392956556.143353.jpg
Here's my set up! I liked the "antique-y" look of it!


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Juice bottle great! Ur corona looks like the Weston model,with the grain shroud, right?
 

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