My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

[benbradford]

I have four of them and use them as fermenters before transferring into quarter barrells and sixtels for serving

 

[autobaun70]

Added this to mine this weekend. Turns a bit fast at 450 rpm, but seems to work well. My first brew since September is boiling right now, and came in at 77% efficiency. Works for me. I like that I can rest both handles on my legs (one on each knee)and just let it run. Runs through 12 lbs on about a minute.

Got it for $15 at a local pawn shop. Just needed a set of brushes which I happened to have on hand. I am sure it will be useful for many other things around the garage.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Hit 75% eff yesterday using my corona mill for the first time. Worked like a charm.

 

[NRF]

I had the same problem with the tapped hole for the crank retaining bolt being off center and at a pretty bad angle. This is a link to a very short video showing my solution to the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76AJTwnWp2Y

Excellent! :rockin: Tossing my idea out the window- this is perfect. Well played Sir!

 

[Fordzilla]

Sorry if this was already posted but whats the best way to secure the grinding plate? Mine is the type that only is held in place by a cotter pin. The plate wobbles back and forth and I think it is to blame for my last batches poor efficiency.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Sorry if this was already posted but whats the best way to secure the grinding plate? Mine is the type that only is held in place by a cotter pin. The plate wobbles back and forth and I think it is to blame for my last batches poor efficiency.

I let mine ride like that, once grain entered between the plates it self leveled itself and wasn't an issue. Is the plate gap set properly?

 

[Fordzilla]

I let mine ride like that, once grain entered between the plates it self leveled itself and wasn't an issue. Is the plate gap set properly?

I thought I had the gap set as tight as i could without the plates grinding against each other. I will have to play around with it tonight to see.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

I thought I had the gap set as tight as i could without the plates grinding against each other. I will have to play around with it tonight to see.

I have mine set where I can slide a credit card between the plates. Still snug to get it in, but it worked great. Are there many uncrushed grains after you mill?

 

[Fordzilla]

I have mine set where I can slide a credit card between the plates. Still snug to get it in, but it worked great. Are there many uncrushed grains after you mill?

No uncrushed grains that I noticed. The crush looked good to me but my efficiency was only 62% vs my usual 75 or so.

 

[autobaun70]

No uncrushed grains that I noticed. The crush looked good to me but my efficiency was only 62% vs my usual 75 or so.

Tighten it up just a little bit before your next batch. I just adjusted my first batch with dme and hit right at 75% on my second batch. I haven't touched it since then and am consistently within 2 points of that.

 

[tre9er]

Grind the spit out of it. Half flour and half husks is about what I end up with. My runoffs can be slow at times (braid loop) but I'm stuck on 80% efficiency and love the predictability.

 

[tre9er]

I had the same problem with the tapped hole for the crank retaining bolt being off center and at a pretty bad angle. This is a link to a very short video showing my solution to the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76AJTwnWp2Y

Excellent idea. You made a universal joint of sorts! I love it! I messed around with getting my drill and mill at the same level so much, now if I want I can just use this method and forget about perfect heights!

 

[pvtschultz]

Grind the spit out of it. Half flour and half husks is about what I end up with. My runoffs can be slow at times (braid loop) but I'm stuck on 80% efficiency and love the predictability.

I just did this exact same thing. I won a 55 lbs bag of 2-row at a club meeting and finally have a good excuse to put my Corona mill to good use. The first (recent) batch ended up with husks and chunks of meat and only got 67% efficiency. I adjusted the plate gap a bit and tried again. This time I ended up with husks, 50-70 percent flour and 30-50 chunks of meat. I got a more tired arm but also ended up with 77% mash efficiency using a full volume BiaB mash with mashout (no sparge). I'm going to brew again soon so we'll see how repeatable it is, but I'm happy for not.

 

[sethlovex]

Well here's my ugly junk, the OG corona mill. Added a few washers good to go. Still a few whole kernels, need to tighten a little bit next time.



I may cut a hole through the tray table and rig up PVC or a downspout to direct the killings into a bag/ bucket.

 

[Vellum]

Well here's my ugly junk, the OG corona mill. Added a few washers good to go. Still a few whole kernels, need to tighten a little bit next time.

I may cut a hole through the tray table and rig up PVC or a downspout to direct the killings into a bag/ bucket.

Where did you find that amazing funnel hopper?

 

[sapo59]

I removed the cotter pin and collar on mine and welded the plate to the auger shank. No more wobble.

 

[JoeyChopps]

Where did you find that amazing funnel hopper?

I have the same funnel I got mine a Midwest brewing supplies but I'm almost sure most brew shops have those big funnels.

 

[sethlovex]

Where did you find that amazing funnel hopper?

Hehe it's just a regular funnel for the carboy, it works pretty good. I store my grain in a home depot bucket with lid and I can pour it right in the funnel about 3 pounds at a time.

 

[Vellum]

Thanks so much. Going to pick one of those up

 

[Helly]

Here's my first trial run. Ran about a pound through. I don't see whole kernels, I see some flour but doesn't seem like too much. Any thoughts from those of you who have more experience with these things? Thanks.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Can't see too much in the photo, but if you say there are no whole grains left, I would say you are done...now get busy and make a batch of beer!

 

[atimmerman88]

I want to further add my respect for the corona mill....

I've got about 5 or 6 batches on mine and I'm pretty regularly hitting 78% or 79% efficiency which is good enough for me!!

10# = 1 18v battery = 5min =

 

[Helly]

Yeah that pic wasn't the one I wanted sorry. But that's the idea right? Somewhere between uncracked kernels and all flour. Then just start brewing and dial it in. I'm going to finish my dual bucket system then hopefully brew a pale ale next weekend.

 

[ApothecaryBrewing]

I am becoming more convinced than ever to get a corona mill. With the numbers people are posting up here and the standard 68% I have been seeing from my LHBS crush, it just seems stupid not to get one.

My process gives me consistency but I would like a higher efficiency to go with that consistency haha.

 

[Vellum]

I am becoming more convinced than ever to get a corona mill. With the numbers people are posting up here and the standard 68% I have been seeing from my LHBS crush, it just seems stupid not to get one.

My process gives me consistency but I would like a higher efficiency to go with that consistency haha.

Do get one. This mill was the easiest (I.e. cheapest) way to get into bulk grain buying for me. I BIAB and regularly get 80+% efficiency (beer clears just fine with a nice cold crash). I love my corona mill and do not have any plans to replace with a more expensive roller one. The only problem I see with this mill is the DIY aspect. I love DIY so this didn't bother me but for others it could be a detractor.

 

[ApothecaryBrewing]

Yeah. I like DIY but I have a limited set of tools, both physical and mental. The only issue with the corona mill I forsee is building a hopper/base set up that is contained and easily stored.

There was a mill on here somewhere that was attached tot he top of a rubbermaid bin and it closed up all nice and looked clean. I would like to achieve that with the corona mill... but howww...

 

[Fordzilla]

So I was heating some strike water, preparing to brew with some friends on Saturday. This would be my second brew with my corona mill. I started to mill my grain with my Craftsman hammer drill at low speed (varied by trigger pressure) and about half way through my drill starts POURING smoke. I let it cool down and went at it until it smoked again, and repeated this until all grain was milled.

It seems I am going to need to find a drill more suited to low RPMs. Are there any cheap drills that max out at 200 RPMs or so?

 

[BeardedIdiot]

Check out this drill at harbor freight. I think there are several people on here that use them. There are 2 different drills, one with a D handle and one without. Either should work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-low-speed-electric-drill-97594.html

 

[BeardedIdiot]

I have done 4 batches using my Corona Mill. I used a Dewalt corded drill, and I can usually get through about 7 lbs before it starts getting too hot and smoking. I will be picking up a cheap heavy duty low speed drill here soon, hopefully.

Anyways, using my full-volume BIAB in a keggle, I got a consistent 72-76% efficiency with the Corona Mill. That was without hardly any adjustments at all. I think I can tighten it up a little more, and I'll be tweaking my mashing/boiling setup soon as well. I'm hoping to bump it up closer to 80% and I'll be really happy with it.

 

[Fordzilla]

Thanks for the links. It would be nice if HF included an RPM value, but I have come not to expect too much from them haha. It would be great if I could pick up a drill that maxes out at an optimal grind speed. I will stop by HF and check out those drills for sure. My Craftsman drill has been great up until now, I would hate to kill it.