My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

[wilserbrewer]

The big question for me is how much grain can you mill before you need to stop and empty the crushed grain? How do you know when the lower bucket area is full?

Linc

Linc,

The bottom bucket is 6 gallons, so I'm not really sure of total capacity. I guess when the lid flies off and crushed grain is all about, the base bucket was overfilled.

 

[Revvy]

The big question for me is how much grain can you mill before you need to stop and empty the crushed grain? How do you know when the lower bucket area is full?

Linc

If you're really worried about an issue with capacity, you could cut the bottom of that bucket, and slip it in another one. That bucket should ride higher in the other one, leaving plenty of room for grain.

Like this guy did.

 

[wilserbrewer]

The big question for me is how much grain can you mill before you need to stop and empty the crushed grain? How do you know when the lower bucket area is full?

Linc

Or if you are really, really worried about capacity, you could cut the bottom of the bucket off and mill into something like this:

Sorry...couldn't resist.

 

[tipicreeper]

Damn Man!
What are you doing? Milling Rocks!
That looks like a drill my dad had kicking around to core-bore concrete.



Nice Job!
Cheers
-David

 

[niquejim]

If you're really worried about an issue with capacity, you could cut the bottom of that bucket, and slip it in another one. That bucket should ride higher in the other one, leaving plenty of room for grain.

Like this guy did.

I got a camera again

Do I win

I got 95% efficiency yesterday with this, so my Mild turned into a Brown

It's hard to see, but I did that also

 

[wilserbrewer]

Damn Man!
What are you doing? Milling Rocks!
That looks like a drill my dad had kicking around to core-bore concrete.

Yea Man...that is my dads old drill. Milling rocks? No, not really, but that is one thing I like about the Corona style mills, there so damn sturdy, I swear you could mill a pile of gravel into sand.:rockin:

 

[android]

this may have been said revvy, but the old duck sauce bucket makes it particularly awesome.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Replaced my cotter pin with an 8/32 1 1/2" bolt and crushed two batches this past weeken... WOW! Tremendous difference in achieving a uniform crush. (Also got 90% efficiency on both batches).

Thanks for the tips gents!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Cyberbackpacker,

Good job, yea sometimes the cotter pin is just driven home w/ a big ass hammer in a third world country, and the milling plate is crooked as hell. A nice straight bolt or cotter pin will keep the mill better aligned.

The manufacturing on most of these units is pretty rough, I swear the blacksmith did better work 200 years ago!

 

[niquejim]

Cyberbackpacker,

Good job, yea sometimes the cotter pin is just driven home w/ a big ass hammer in a third world country, and the milling plate is crooked as hell. A nice straight bolt or cotter pin will keep the mill better aligned.

The manufacturing on most of these units is pretty rough, I swear the blacksmith did better work 200 years ago!

The blacksmith 200 years ago was a skilled tradesman, these are made CHEAP in a factory where tolerances are never checked( or heard of)

 

[Rick500]

Hey guys, is this the Victoria Corona-knockoff?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Discount Tommy, $27 shipped

http://www.discounttommy.com/p-189-...er-for-wheat-grains-or-use-as-a-nut-mill.aspx

 

[ognam]

I bought one of these from that same guy on eBay... shipped fast, $22 total cost. I replaced the cotter pin with a small bolt. I still can't seem to get the plates lined up perfectly parallel. If I really tighten the nut onto the bolt (thereby fixing the plate in place firmly, no wiggle at all), the plate ends up crooked and the gap closed and opens as I turn the crank.

However, if I loosely tighten the nut, there is a little play left in the plate (less than with the cotter pin, but still some), and it seems to self align when crushing the grain (i.e. the volume of the grain moving through is enough to keep the plates aligned).

After adjusting the set screw for the gap (and adding a couple washers per this thread) , it does seem like I got about 15% flour, but nearly zero uncrushed grains, and the hulls looked mostly intact.

I crushed 1 lb. of toasted malted barley (for steeping) in my last brew. My OG was higher than expected, and I wonder if it was due to too fine a crush.

I think the setup is ok, but I think everyone here is more experienced than I am, and I'd appreciate any advice or comments.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

I bought one of these from that same guy on eBay... shipped fast, $22 total cost. I replaced the cotter pin with a small bolt. I still can't seem to get the plates lined up perfectly parallel. If I really tighten the nut onto the bolt (thereby fixing the plate in place firmly, no wiggle at all), the plate ends up crooked and the gap closed and opens as I turn the crank.

However, if I loosely tighten the nut, there is a little play left in the plate (less than with the cotter pin, but still some), and it seems to self align when crushing the grain (i.e. the volume of the grain moving through is enough to keep the plates aligned).

After adjusting the set screw for the gap (and adding a couple washers per this thread) , it does seem like I got about 15% flour, but nearly zero uncrushed grains, and the hulls looked mostly intact.

I crushed 1 lb. of toasted malted barley (for steeping) in my last brew. My OG was higher than expected, and I wonder if it was due to too fine a crush.

I think the setup is ok, but I think everyone here is more experienced than I am, and I'd appreciate any advice or comments.

I think your OG ended up high because, if as stated, you calculated your fermentables based on extract plus steeping grains. However what you actually ended up doing by crushing your toasted barley was a "partial mash" instead of steeping, which yielded more sugars into your wort than a mere steeping would do.

Make sense?

 

[ognam]

Well, I figured out exactly why my OG was high (probably in addition to the mash from this small amount of grain)... the original recipe called for 9.9lbs. LME.

I ended up using DME, but used 9lbs! I only learned after about the conversion factor of .8*DME = 1*LME... at least it's explained.

Now I have an 8% ABV Maibock on my hands. I sampled when I racked to the secondary today, and it is strong but has a good flavor. I have hope that this will turn out well.

 

[LakeErieBrew]

I just bought a grinder from Discount Tommy on eBay. I'll post some pics once I get it set up.

 

[BuzzCraft]

I bought one of these from that same guy on eBay... shipped fast, $22 total cost. I replaced the cotter pin with a small bolt. I still can't seem to get the plates lined up perfectly parallel. If I really tighten the nut onto the bolt (thereby fixing the plate in place firmly, no wiggle at all), the plate ends up crooked and the gap closed and opens as I turn the crank.

However, if I loosely tighten the nut, there is a little play left in the plate (less than with the cotter pin, but still some), and it seems to self align when crushing the grain (i.e. the volume of the grain moving through is enough to keep the plates aligned).

After adjusting the set screw for the gap (and adding a couple washers per this thread) , it does seem like I got about 15% flour, but nearly zero uncrushed grains, and the hulls looked mostly intact.

I crushed 1 lb. of toasted malted barley (for steeping) in my last brew. My OG was higher than expected, and I wonder if it was due to too fine a crush.

I think the setup is ok, but I think everyone here is more experienced than I am, and I'd appreciate any advice or comments.

To get the plate parallel AND tight with the bolt, take note of which side of the rotating plate is closest to the fixed plate. Then remove the bolt and rotating plate and put some material under the plate (where it meets the shaft) to shim it outward. I used an aluminum pie plate and cut small pieces with shears and kept adding them in inder the rotating plate until it was parallel with the fixed plate. Took some trial and error, but it's dead parallel and solid now.

Hope this makes sense and good luck with it.

 

[rico567]

Well- they're not available for $22 shipped any more, so I used the "make an offer" button and offered them that. If they were selling them for that a short time ago, they can do it now. For $22 shipped, I'll pull the trigger.....and then tinker the thing into a correct grind.

 

[LakeErieBrew]

This is the one I bought. $24.86 shipped with insurance.

Link

 

[LakeErieBrew]

Everything is assembled and ready for action! I pretty much copied Wilserbrewer's awesome creation.

Here are the pics:

The mill is mounted inside the bucket so once milled, the grain is contained.

Here it is with the lid on. No flying grain. Notice my brewing assistant coming over to check out what all the noise is about.

Finally, here's the obligatory shot of the crush. This is some leftover Chocolate malt I had laying around.

Many thanks for all of the awesome posts and ideas in this thread!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Thanks and nice job Lake, looks to me like you could tighten just a smidgen??? not really sure. Oh, and straighten that mill up, earthquake zone...j/k around, but we do need keeep up the rep of these cheap useful mills. Oh, and whats w/ the insurance, this is supposed to be about "low budget" milling. Sorry, the insurance just seems contradictory. Happy milling!

 

[LakeErieBrew]

They strong-armed me into taking the insurance. Discount Tommy doesn't mess around.

First brew session with the new mill is done. 72% efficiency isn't too bad for my first try with it.

 

[rico567]

I don't think I had to pay insurance, but I bit the bullet...........for $24 shipped I couldn't refuse. Not out that much if I can't make the Victoria / Corona work and have to buy a BC or something. I'm thinking about the "single bucket ugly junk" approach.....

 

[secinarot]

I just bought a grinder from Discount Tommy on eBay. I'll post some pics once I get it set up.

I just got one of the Discount Tommy mills and I'm not sure if I got a really bad model. Everyone talks about putting washers between the bracket that holds the grinding plate in place and the frame of the grinder. Well, let me see if I can explain mine. When the whole thing is assembled, the bracket doesn't touch the frame so you have the whole assembly wobbling. I need about 1/2 - 3/4 " spacer between the frame and the bracket to get it sung enough so that you can start to adjust the plate gap with any precision. All of the pictures I have seen on this thread show the bracket touching the frame and 1-2 washers are used to give a minor adjustment. Well in my case I would need about 10-15 washers!

Did anyone else have this problem? I am wondering if I should send it back and try another one.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Just guessing here, but you might need to loosen the bolt that threads through the center of the bracket, reducing the amount of bolt that protrudes toward the mill. This is the adjustment bolt that determines the distance that the two grinding plates are separated. If this "bolt", w/ wingnut, is way out of adjustment, the mill cannot be asembled. If you still have trouble, post a photo. I doubt your mill is defective to the point where assembly is impossible.

 

[Revvy]

Just guessing here, but you might need to loosen the bolt that threads through the center of the bracket, reducing the amount of bolt that protrudes toward the mill. This is the adjustment bolt that determines the distance that the two grinding plates are separated. If this "bolt", w/ wingnut, is way out of adjustment, the mill cannot be asembled. If you still have trouble, post a photo. I doubt your mill is defective to the point where assembly is impossible.

Secenarot, I agree with wilser here, that's my first inclination as well...

But can you post a pic of yours, or a link to one online so we can get a better look to make sure?

 

[secinarot]

Just guessing here, but you might need to loosen the bolt that threads through the center of the bracket, reducing the amount of bolt that protrudes toward the mill.

I have backed that center bolt out as much as it can go. There's a ball bearing inside the chamber where the end of the auger shaft goes. With that in place, the end of the shaft is too long to allow the arms of the bracket to meet the frame. I'll try and post a picture when I get home tonight. I actually put a couple of large nuts in the gap in addition to the washers and that will allow it to be adjusted just fine. It just bugs me that the unit won't assemble as it's supposed to.

 

[rico567]

Interesting....mine arrived yesterday, apparently is the same machine -has the ball bearing in the front "clamp" housing, and yet it assembles correctly, and doesn't seem too out of whack. Of course, I immediately yanked the cotter pin out, to be replaced with a better fitting 8-32 x 1.5" bolt. The more I think about it, too, it seems like a better idea to go with the "Two Homer Bucket Ugly Junk, with duct pipe hopper and some of that truly fugly technicolor duct tape...."

 

[LakeErieBrew]

I have backed that center bolt out as much as it can go. There's a ball bearing inside the chamber where the end of the auger shaft goes. With that in place, the end of the shaft is too long to allow the arms of the bracket to meet the frame. I'll try and post a picture when I get home tonight. I actually put a couple of large nuts in the gap in addition to the washers and that will allow it to be adjusted just fine. It just bugs me that the unit won't assemble as it's supposed to.

I need to see a picture to understand what you're saying. I can't see how you would need that many washer to make it work.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I decided that my mill was not ugly enough, so I replaced the drill with an old bench grinder that has extremely dodgy wiring. I light up if I touch it when it's running! The motor runs too fast for this operation, and I have no means to make gears for it. I will have to pulse it on and off to stop it getting carried away.


Do I win the ugly junk mill award yet? Anything I can do to make it uglier?