Grain Mill

[MoPhunk]

I don't have a lot of spare cash right now and was wondering if this is an acceptable grain mill.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Prago-363601W-W...all_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item5d2a3301c9

 

[KevyWevy]

yes. do a search for "corona mill"
I myself and many other people use them. They tend to shred the malt husks a little too much, but rice hulls are a super cheap fix for that!

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

You'll be much happier if you save a little more money and buy a better mill. These work fine, but as kevywevy mentioned, they shred the husks a little too much. Plus, you'll get sick of the hand crank pretty fast.

 

[BrewBeemer]

I don't have a lot of spare cash right now and was wondering if this is an acceptable grain mill.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Prago-363601W-W...all_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item5d2a3301c9

That mill is not what you want for brewing, check your PM.

 

[d_ozz68]

Here's a similar one that's a little cheaper.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Premium-Cas...440?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3365276be8

 

[Homercidal]

They look like a basic corona mill to me. Lots of people use them, and some even attach a drill to avoid having to crank by hand.

 

[Revvy]

Despite what some nay sayers will have you think, Lots of people including Charlie Papazian use the Corona style mill quite successfully with just a little bit of pre-setting. He gets 87% efficiency with his. He was even shown on the How Stuff Works, Beer episode using one last Sunday.

It doesn't take a lot of work to get it set to your needs, usually just a couple of washers and once you get a get a good gap set, you rarely have to do any more adjusting, and you can motorize it just like more expensive mills.

We have a great thread about it here;

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

Like Graham Sanders, the host of Craftbrewer radio wrote,

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.

 

[RobotWerewolfLabs]

I have no dog in this fight, but Randy Moser's truly excellent Radical Brewing recommends avoiding corona mills in favor of rollers. He acknowledges that some people get great results with them, but notes that for most the roller mills get better results.

 

[Homercidal]

And if you could get roller mills for $25, I think nobody would be using (successfully, I may add) Corona style mills. But for many people, the difference in price could be better spent somewhere else. And that is if they could even afford the difference in the first place.

 

[MoPhunk]

I see those corona mills all the time at estate sales and auctions. Is there a guide on how to set it up to maximize efficiency?

 

[Revvy]

Is there a guide on how to set it up to maximize efficiency?

You mean BESIDES the thread I linked to and talked about three whole posts above this one?

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

 

[MoPhunk]

whoops! Missed that post for some reason. Thanks for the info. I'm going to try and find a corona mill for cheap until I can afford a 3 roll mill.

Thanks everybody for the help.

Reza

 

[Dynachrome]

I don't have a lot of spare cash right now and was wondering if this is an acceptable grain mill.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Prago-363601W-W...all_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item5d2a3301c9

They work fine. I borrow one because I'm too cheap to buy one.

...someday though.

 

[Dynachrome]

IMHO $17 is pushing it for shipping though....

 

[tekknoschtev]

I'd skip the ebay one. Look on Amazon. In fact, let me save you some time. Just click here, and you'll get the one I bought for $20 with free shipping. First brew is going with it now, but signs thus far indicate that its working out pretty well.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Discount Tommy strikes again on Amazon...hah.