My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

[kh54s10]

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the way Ugly Junk is done! Beats mine, I spent 25 cents......

Thanks for the kind word, sir!

 

[Olive Drab]

Can anyone who has perfected their crush do me a small favor. what is the total thickness of all of the washer you used to set the spacing? Ive added the 8-32 screw which tightened it up perfectly but need a spacing range to shoot for when measuring the washer thickness with calipers
thanks

 

[Euphist]

Unfortunately, that is going to vary. Mine didn't even need washers, whereas some have to space theirs out.

The lack of QC means it's going to be trial and error.

 

[rico567]

Agreed. Some people have had to do more "tweaking" than others. I was pretty lucky, in that all I had to do was replace the cotter pin in front with the duty 8 x 32 screw, crank down on the main adjustment screw, and I was good to go. One note: I did discover that the two small wing nuts on each side that hold the guts in the machine will gradually work loose, so I need to check them before milling. I may stick lock washers under those and see if it doesn't help.

 

[Horseballs]

I managed t get one for $8 shipped from amazon, ignored it for a couple of weeks and today calibrated it. Going to buy a 55# sack of maris otter and probably brew a couple of batches this week.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I managed t get one for $8 shipped from amazon, ignored it for a couple of weeks and today calibrated it. Going to buy a 55# sack of maris otter and probably brew a couple of batches this week.

Way to go...no uncrushed grains in the grist...all grains broken, simply put, and you will be fine.

 

[zheol]

i just ordered one from amazon also cost a whole $7.42 with free 2day shipping with prime trial can you say score ^^ gonna use hvac reducers for a hopper 4" -> 6", 6" -> 8" should give a nice sized hopper

 

[tre9er]

I tried last night to get the rotating plate to be even to no avail. I conditioned some grain and just dialed it down until there were no uncrushed grains but there was a fair amount of flour. Still, there are plenty of husks to create a lauter bed so I'm not worried.

 

[rico567]

I tried last night to get the rotating plate to be even to no avail. I conditioned some grain and just dialed it down until there were no uncrushed grains but there was a fair amount of flour. Still, there are plenty of husks to create a lauter bed so I'm not worried.

My plate has never been even, and I'm on my fourth year of using my Corona mill. I always have no trouble hitting the correct numbers on the refractometer after mashing, though.

 

[tre9er]

I've had some issues in the past but I think it's my own fault for not paying attention to the crush as it goes, using an underpowered drill and running it fast to keep it from burning up, etc. When I've had a good crush my efficiency was acceptable to me, in the 70's.

 

[Stauffbier]

I thought I'd add mine to the list. I just put it all together today. It tears thru grain like a beast!

 

[tre9er]

I thought I'd add mine to the list. I just put it all together today. It tears thru grain like a beast!

Are you putting something over the plates to direct the grain into the hole/bucket? Grain/dust comes out every which way from the plates, the only reason I ask.

 

[Stauffbier]

Are you putting something over the plates to direct the grain into the hole/bucket? Grain/dust comes out every which way from the plates, the only reason I ask.

Yeah, I actually put a bag over the plates that hangs down thru the hole in the plywood. It catches all the grain and dust very nicely, and bags it up all at the same time.

 

[Palefire]

I managed t get one for $8 shipped from amazon, ignored it for a couple of weeks and today calibrated it. Going to buy a 55# sack of maris otter and probably brew a couple of batches this week.

i just ordered one from amazon also cost a whole $7.42 with free 2day shipping with prime trial can you say score ^^ gonna use hvac reducers for a hopper 4" -> 6", 6" -> 8" should give a nice sized hopper

Where the hell did you guys find these?

I promised SWMBO no more brew related purchases until 2013, but if those prices are real, I might just have to break that promise...

(I know there are plenty of $25 versions around, but sub $10? Ridiculous!)

 

[zheol]

from amazon do a search and you will see "new" and "used" the one i got was in used and was realy brand new the box was just smashed lol so i got one hell of a deal because someone smashed a box

 

[Itsott]

I found one for 6.95 but the shipping was 22.50

 

[BadHorsie]

I paid 26.92 shipped for mine. Got it from Amazon. Not bad considering I could spend this amount of cash or more eating out for one meal. Sadly it is still in the box as I have not gotten around to it as I am still working on some of the other DIY projects from this site. It is next on the agenda.

 

[BBBF]

I thought I'd add mine to the list. I just put it all together today. It tears thru grain like a beast!

Wouldn't be a bad use of my swamp cooler, when it isn't in use.

 

[Stauffbier]

Wouldn't be a bad use of my swamp cooler, when it isn't in use.

Yeah, that tub has quite a few uses.

-grain mill tub
-swamp cooler
-hot water run-off from IC for washing wort chiller after brewing
.. and the list goes on

With my mill I could actually use a 5 gal bucket, but it sits more stable on that big tub. I plan on building a stand with a catch bin on it eventually, but for now..... the tub it is!

 

[geeyoupee]

I just took that piece to the hardware store and looked through the bolts until I found one with a similar thread and size. Then I cut off the head and filed the bolt end into a hex shape for grip in the drill. Seems to work fine for me so far!

Could you elaborate on what "filled the bolt end into a hex shape" means?

 

[tre9er]

Could you elaborate on what "filled the bolt end into a hex shape" means?

filed, not filled. He used a file to make the shaft of the bolt have some square edges, so the drill could grip it better.

I used an actual bolt, WITH the head still attached, and a socket that I loaded into my drill. A nut-driver I think they're called.

 

[JoeyChopps]

Basically if u put the round shank end of a bolt into a drill it will just spin and not turn the bolt very well. So after sawing off the bolt head u want to shape the shank like an apex ( screw bit) so the drill has something to bite when chucked so it spins well. Hope this helps Chopps

 

[geeyoupee]

Thanks for the responses. I'll see if I can try the bolt with the nut driver once I go to HD.

 

[tre9er]

My "final" version of ugly junk...for now. Its running in the pic, haven't strapped it down yet though.

 

[Stauffbier]

Looking good tre9er! I've used mine a few times now, and I love it. I don't think I'll ever buy a more expensive mill. It does a great job, and it's really fast. I got my highest efficiency yet (80.5%) last week, and I think I could even get that to go higher if I build a manifold instead of my SS braid...

 

[rhamilton]

Man what a great mill!

Went from consistent 75% eff using AHS 'double milled' grain to 85% grinding with the corona.

Now to get it permanently mounted somewhere

 

[Revvy]

Man what a great mill!

Went from consistent 75% eff using AHS 'double milled' grain to 85% grinding with the corona.

Now to get it permanently mounted somewhere

See what I mean? You're getting what Papazian got with his. Roller Mill owners trashed this mill to no end. But it's just as good as any other mill, if you pay some attention to tweaking it.

 

[tre9er]

Updated mine this weekend with some bungee cords and a milk crate. Gettin real fancy now...

It can run on it's own like this, though I wouldn't leave the room just yet because the thought of cleaning up 16lbs. of grain (that's the current hopper capacity) frightens me. I had to prop the milk crate up with a few boards to get to the right height. The red bungee holds the grain station tight against the milk crate/drill station so they stay married. There's a small black bungee holding the drill tight against the mill station, too.

 

[Revvy]

Updated mine this weekend with some bungee cords and a milk crate. Gettin real fancy now...


View attachment 71844

Totally in ugly junk territory.

 

[loud1]

If you want good speed control use a cheap corded drill and a router speed controller from Harbor Freight or something similar. Then you can use a nylon zip tie to activate the trigger on the drill, be sure to secure the drill from spinning before letting it go or it could get really messy.