Corona grain mill?

[jeepmarine71]

Do the Corona grain mills do a fair job? Or should I save up for a different one?

 

[MikeFlynn74]

save and get either Barley Crusher or Monster mill no question

 

[c.n.budz]

I have a corona mill. It's fine for crushing steeping grains and even for a few pounds of grain for a partial mash, but it's way too inconsistent for all grain batches. I'm getting a Barleycrusher very soon.

 

[BeerSmith]

I had a corona mill for a while, but it was very tempermental.

Eventually I also went with a Barley Crusher (review) a few years back and I'm very happy with it.

Cheers!
Brad

 

[FlyGuy]

save and get either Barley Crusher or Monster mill no question

Spoken like someone that has never seriously tried a Corona, I am guessing???

Corona mills (and the knock-offs) work fine. They are temperamental to get adjusted, but once you figure them out they do a good job. There are even a number of us here that get 80%+ efficiency with them.

You also hear of far more people that had successes with them than failures. See an old thread here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=32437

 

[niquejim]

I consistantly get 78-82% with my $14.95 investment

 

[mike kennedy]

i was going to go that route, but $20 for the mill, and $40 for shipping turned me off.....i opted for the barley crusher........last mill ill use

 

[boo boo]

My take on all this is that you should get the best you can afford.

I have a porkert (corona) mill and am happy with what I get from it and have no desire to replace it. Ignorance is bliss in my case.

 

[ajf]

I had a Corona mill for several years. It was difficult to adjust, and slow, but it worked. I couldn't get as consistent a crush as I do with my roller mill (JSP) which would have made it more difficult to get consistent efficiency, but in those days I didn't know or worry about efficiency.

-a.

 

[the_bird]

If it were going to cost me $60 to get a Corona, I probably would save my pennies and buy a BC (which you can get shipped for just about twice that).

But, you shouldn't have to spend THAT much for a Corona; keep an eye on eBay, and I know lots of people have upgraded, so I bet there's quite a few collecting dust on a shelf somewhere.

 

[niquejim]

Bird
You look alot like that Bob guy that need assistance you know where

 

[Zymurgrafi]

If you've got the dough burning a hole in your pocket get one of the fancy ones. If not (like many folks) get a corona style. I paid $32 at my LHBS a few years ago.

I have had consistent results for quite a while. Albeit I was getting consistently low efficiency (60%) it was consistent. Recently I tightened the plates a bit for no particular reason.

Bam. Next 2 batches I got 72% efficiency!

As a tip... I place a few washers on the bolts to hold the plates a bit wider apart. I believe this has helped to keep it consistent and stop the frequent adjustments most folks complain about. Also, you can rig a larger hopper and also make it turn with a drill.

 

[Hagen]

I only do 7lb mashes, and the corona works fine. It's just a little more involved, as I find myself occasionally tweaking the crush midstream if it gets too fine or coarse.

I'm averaging 90% in my efficiencies, so I know it's a good crush, even though that high number has a lot to do with the rest of my process.

Not a bad mill for smaller batches, but your arm WILL get tired doing 10-12lb crushes. I'd get a better mill in that case.

 

[bradsul]

A simple $0.40 modification on most corona mills will let you motorize it with a drill, there's no reason to hand crank a batch!

 

[Hagen]

A simple $0.40 modification on most corona mills will let you motorize it with a drill, there's no reason to hand crank a batch!

I'm an old fashoned hands on kind of guy. I enjoy hand cranking my grain, and "manually" fly sparge by doing little circles/big circles over the grain bed. I guess it makes me feel more active in my brewing. I like to stay busy.

 

[foonder]

I use This for milling grain:

I hook a drill up to that sucker instead of cranking it by hand and I can go through about 3 lbs of grain in about 10 - 12 seconds. It was a great investment. I had a Corona mill and it broke the 2nd time I used it. I'm sure people have gotten good use out of them, but I'd still recommend the bigger more kickass mills / crushers.

 

[mew]

Papa Charlie still uses a Corona mill and consistently gets efficiencies in the 80's.

 

[9/9]

A simple $0.40 modification on most corona mills will let you motorize it with a drill, there's no reason to hand crank a batch!

Are there details on this somewhere?

 

[bradsul]

Are there details on this somewhere?

There isn't much to detail, it pretty much just involves a bolt with the head cut off and a lock nut. Screw the bolt into the hole that held the handle on, then tighten up the lock nut. You can further complicate by using a file or grinder or something to flatten one side of the threads to give the drill better grip.

 

[9/9]

There isn't much to detail, it pretty much just involves a bolt with the head cut off and a lock nut. Screw the bolt into the hole that held the handle on, then tighten up the lock nut. You can further complicate by using a file or grinder or something to flatten one side of the threads to give the drill better grip.

Thanks. I will look into this once I get my hands on a mill.

 

[MriswitH]

I've got a Corona and it instantly upped my efficiency from store crushed (or rolling pin *sigh*) efficiency.

You can buy a better mill, but of course its going to cost you money. (Quite a bit more) All in all, i'm quite happy with the $20 or so I bought it for off of eBay.

 

[Alemental]

There isn't much to detail, it pretty much just involves a bolt with the head cut off and a lock nut. Screw the bolt into the hole that held the handle on, then tighten up the lock nut. You can further complicate by using a file or grinder or something to flatten one side of the threads to give the drill better grip.

A simple variation on this theme:
A 5/16" bolt with a jam nut in the mill, & a hex to 1/4" socket adapter along with a 1/2" socket in the drill. It is a little nicer this way because I can just slip the drill on and off as needed.

 

[iggy_fenton]

My now suddenly ex-fiance (a story suitable for a 3 night epic mini-series) recently bought me a Corona mill for Valentines day. I haven't used it yet but now that we have gone our separate ways I'm considering returning it and using the money towards a roller mill. I guess I'm torn between keeping a mill that is already paid for or spending more $$ on a different one when I don't even know how well this one will work yet.

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Keep it. You can always sell it if you hate it.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

My now suddenly ex-fiance (a story suitable for a 3 night epic mini-series

ooooo Lemme get some popcorn

 

[Uncle Fat]

I've been using a Corona with an electric drill for 5 or 6 years now and have no reason to change. It works great for me.

Here's a tip: To add hopper capacity, cut the bottom out of a 5gal PET water-cooler bottle. Turn it upside down into the Corona hopper (it fits perfectly). Now you have about 24lb grain capacity in your Corona mill.

Mill with drill and "hopper".

 

[jbford]

My Corona knock-off with large hopper cost $38 shipped from ebay.
It gives excellent crush. The husks are a little shredded but filtration rate is excellent and eff. if better than store crush.

Get one with the shroud over top of the plates, it will be less messy.

Definitely a decent way to go for mini-mash or low gravity 5 gallon brewers unless you have lots of green.

 

[Bullka]

How long does it take you guys to mill around 15lbs of grain with a corona mill and a power drill?

 

[Synovia]

I use This for milling grain:

I hook a drill up to that sucker instead of cranking it by hand and I can go through about 3 lbs of grain in about 10 - 12 seconds. It was a great investment. I had a Corona mill and it broke the 2nd time I used it. I'm sure people have gotten good use out of them, but I'd still recommend the bigger more kickass mills / crushers.

I'm not sure you could break a corona mill without doing something stupid. They're all cast iron.

 

[Richard-SSV]

I was about to go the route of buying grain in bulk and milling it myself, but then I calculated the cost vs. my LHBS and I decided to not go the route of buying a grain mill.

It seems like the average cost (including shipping) for a 50 lb sack of 2-row is around $65. That's 1.30 per pound. My LHBS sells it for $1.32 per pound crushed. I really couldn't see the need to invest in a mill to save $0.02 per pound. If anyone can point me to a cheaper alternative for bulk grain in the Dallas area I am all ears!

If I were to get a mill, the best deal I found was at Brewmaster's Warehouse. $85 shipped, but you have to build your own hopper and base. http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0102165/crankandstein-2s