My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

[dobe12]

Here is my mill. I do BIAB so I line the bottom bucket with the bag. Works great for me.

(Slapping by forehead) put the bag in bucket, he says! I'm amazed how often I miss the simplest solution. I usually crush into a bucket then scoop the grain into the bag which is already in the water and ready to go. I scoop in a few times, stir. Scoop a few times and stir. I never thought to crush right into the bag. Then just dunk the whole bag and stir.


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[geoffm33]

I'd be afraid of massive doughballs adding it all at once in the bag. But if it works, I'm game!

 

[dobe12]

I'd be afraid of massive doughballs adding it all at once in the bag. But if it works, I'm game!

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe I'll try it with a smaller grain bill first... something like 8-9lbs.

 

[lumpy5oh]

Never had dough balls. I usually put 12lb into 9 gal of water and stir. It only takes a few seconds to put the bag in so I don't think there is much time for balls.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

I tried adding the pre-grained bag to the water once. It became a huge dough ball but it broke up quickly. (I BIAB ). Just extra stirring. I prefer the scoop and stir method with the grainless bag in the warm water however.

 

[troy2000]

so i read somewhere in this thread where it was advised that if you think you've tightened down the mill to where the grain is fine enough, tighten down some more. which is what i did this past weekend on my first go at it. i had to loosen it up because my grounds came out like powder. and this is the first time i've ever had a stuck sparge.

I learned it ain't necessarily so...

I produced an unreasonable amount of flour the first couple of times, no matter where I set the mill. Eventually I figured out the cotter pin holding the grinding plate was letting the plate slip back and run cocked, so that one edge was always touching. I drilled out the hole a little and replaced the pin with a small threaded bolt, bent enough to make it stay in place.

My last grind was amazingly consistent, with no unmilled grains and just a very light sprinkling of flour. I did chew up the hulls more than I liked, though. I think the answer to that is to grab a spray bottle, and condition the grain a little right before grinding.

Of course the hulls are no big deal right now anyway, because I've been batch sparging.

 

[iluvmysh]

I learned it ain't necessarily so...

I produced an unreasonable amount of flour the first couple of times, no matter where I set the mill. Eventually I figured out the cotter pin holding the grinding plate was letting the plate slip back and run cocked, so that one edge was always touching. I drilled out the hole a little and replaced the pin with a small threaded bolt, bent enough to make it stay in place.

My last grind was amazingly consistent, with no unmilled grains and just a very light sprinkling of flour. I did chew up the hulls more than I liked, though. I think the answer to that is to grab a spray bottle, and condition the grain a little right before grinding.

Of course the hulls are no big deal right now anyway, because I've been batch sparging.

I've read that advice too. Was hoping I didn't need to add another project to the list but I may have no choice. Thanks for the input.

 

[mbbransc]

OK, I stole some similar ideas on this thread as well and constructed this beaut last night. I went with this design because I like the idea of being able to mill my grains the day prior and throwing a lid on the bucket until brewtime. I'll be sending 15# of 2-row through it tomorrow night for a SAT brew.

I know I've read 'crank it until you're scared", but wanted to follow up before I got started. I haven't sent anything threw it yet but I cranked it down pretty good. Seems like it could make flour. Is that still the school of thought for the '2014 Ugly Junk Mills'?

Regarding the 'wetting of the grain' prior to milling... I was thinking of measuring out a pound at a time and give each pound a quick spraybottle spray prior to dumping the next pound on top (containing the grains in a bucket). Then letting it all sit for 10 minutes before starting to mill. Any better school of thought?

 

[CykoAGR]

OK, I stole some similar ideas on this thread as well and constructed this beaut last night. I went with this design because I like the idea of being able to mill my grains the day prior and throwing a lid on the bucket until brewtime. I'll be sending 15# of 2-row through it tomorrow night for a SAT brew.

I know I've read 'crank it until you're scared", but wanted to follow up before I got started. I haven't sent anything threw it yet but I cranked it down pretty good. Seems like it could make flour. Is that still the school of thought for the '2014 Ugly Junk Mills'?

Regarding the 'wetting of the grain' prior to milling... I was thinking of measuring out a pound at a time and give each pound a quick spraybottle spray prior to dumping the next pound on top (containing the grains in a bucket). Then letting it all sit for 10 minutes before starting to mill. Any better school of thought?

I built my ugly mill (sorry no pics) last fall so I would say its relatively "new". Im still playing around with the settings and check it when you switch from 2row to wheat etc but yeah I cranked it down pretty tight.

To combat the shredded huls I went ahead with the "conditioning" step where I spray the grain with a mister bottle. My process is to measure and weigh out all of the grains that need conditioned for the batch. Dump them into a 5 gallon bucket and condition the whole batch at once. Spraying until the grain on top is pretty moist, stir well with your hand and then repeat. I suppose that you could break it out and do a Lb at a time but then you are dirtying two containers. Just be sure to mix well.

My experience is that conditioning really does help keep more of the hulls in tact.

Good luck

 

[mbbransc]

I BIAB, does that chg your opinion on wetting the grains prior to milling?


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[wilserbrewer]

Fwiw I have never conditioned grain prior to milling. Of course, mileage varies.
Cheers!

 

[lumpy5oh]

I BIAB, does that chg your opinion on wetting the grains prior to milling?


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I BIAB and plan on conditioning my grains going forward. It keeps the husks from being shredded. I have read other places that it is just as beneficial for BIAB as it it for traditional AG.

 

[kenny_d]

See 2 posts below....

 

[yewtah-brewha]

My ugly junk:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ugYeo1wfJHNGNzckh4SE90TnI5bGdYcmVKSkZFRVlEZUtN/edit?usp=sharing

For some reason I wasn't able to open your pic, I'd love to see it though! If you get a chance upload it to hbt

 

[kenny_d]

Made from a grizzly mill from amazon, ikea drawer, homer bucket, a ventilation piece of some sorts and 2 trash bags! I JB welded the mill itself together for less moving parts.

 

[Puckhead]

Put my contained bucket together, not sure if I'll hack the rest of the bucket off just yet. I did replace the cotter pin and added washers. Will pick up a bolt for the crank and test tomorrow. Awesome idea thanks guys


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[makokiller]

Here is my set up.

 

[kenny_d]

Here is my set up.

Nice! I never really thought about mounting it that way.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Put my contained bucket together, not sure if I'll hack the rest of the bucket off just yet.

If you are going to use the mill inside. I would suggest leaving the bottom of the bucket on. If you will be outside and not worried about grain dust mess, then you might prefer to cut it off.

If you cut it off and use the mill inside, the bottomless bucket has a lot of flour in it, and can't really be set down without leaving a dust spot.

 

[Mojzis]

I've had my cheap corona mill for a little over a year now. Consistently getting 80% eff with its crush. Haven't even tightened it too much and I don't condition. I always look to upgrade my system somehow but I can't see upgrading this thing. Why waste 200$ for a roller mill that does the same thing...

Takes me around 5-10 minutes to crush a 5-10 gallon batch. I like the idea of building one of those setups with an electric motor and a switch. But that's overboard......then again maybe one day.

Cheers!

 

[kenny_d]

Love the ingenuity! I completely agree with the waste off blowing money on something thats going to do the exact same thing.

 

[Revvy]

I've had my cheap corona mill for a little over a year now. Consistently getting 80% eff with its crush. Haven't even tightened it too much and I don't condition. I always look to upgrade my system somehow but I can't see upgrading this thing. Why waste 200$ for a roller mill that does the same thing...

Takes me around 5-10 minutes to crush a 5-10 gallon batch. I like the idea of building one of those setups with an electric motor and a switch. But that's overboard......then again maybe one day.

Cheers!

No Ugly Junk award for you! That's too purdy for that!

 

[Dynachrome]

I've had my cheap corona mill for a little over a year now. Consistently getting 80% eff with its crush. Haven't even tightened it too much and I don't condition. I always look to upgrade my system somehow but I can't see upgrading this thing. Why waste 200$ for a roller mill that does the same thing...

Takes me around 5-10 minutes to crush a 5-10 gallon batch. I like the idea of building one of those setups with an electric motor and a switch. But that's overboard......then again maybe one day.

Cheers!

You need to start another thread on "My polished beautiful junk"

Can you post a picture from the other side please? I'm interested to see the connections....

Tx,
Bill

 

[Mojzis]

haha thats a good name for it. It started out as a crappy stand I threw together in the shop so I can brew in my college apartment without attaching the mill to the table. Then it threw grain all over so I used whatever scrap we had laying around the shop back at home. Now all grain and dust goes right into the box.

The whole thing can be disassembled. The top clear lid (from sunroom project) slides forward and out allowing for easy viewing and occasional cleaning/adjustments. When it slides out the back plastic panel has two screws which are removed. That unlocks the top box from place and it just lifts up. This allowed me to pack it into my car when i wanted to brew at home or at school. The box holds 5lbs of crush because at the time I was doing 2.5-5g batches. I've been considering making a larger box.

 

[djt17]

Mojzis, that's a sweet setup...

 

[poptarts]

agreed

 

[rico567]

But definitely NOT a candidate for the "Ugly Junk" award. Far too much fine craftsmanship, not to mention cabinetmaking in this one. Think groty old paint buckets, sheet metal of dubious provenance, five or six clashing colors....

 

[Indian_villager]

Mojzis I deem your work too pretty for this thread. Where is that guy with the KFC bucket when you need him?

 

[poptarts]

My "Crushanator", Ugly junk bed frame brew stand in the background.

 

[kad2371]

I stumbled on this thread searching for help after a disastrous brew day. I decided to try my first all grain brew, BIAB style, so I acquired a Victoria mill and some uncrushed grain and set to work. Figured if I'm going to do it, I might as well crush my own.

My refractometer (also newly acquired) showed i was way under my target pre-boil gravity. Thinking either it couldn't be right I cleaned it off, got a few more drops of wort, and of course got the same results.:smack: So I pulled a big enough sample for a hydrometer reading. After all, theres no way I could be off 20 points is there? Stuck the hydro sample in the freezer while bringing my wort to a boil. Sure enough, once it was cool enough to check, my hydrometer confirmed the lousy efficiency.

I have to say, I wish I had read this thread first. I definitely didn't crush fine enough. Somewhere I'd read set the gap to be about the thickness of a credit card, well at that gap I get a lot of whole grains making it through. After reading large portions of this thread I know now that i need to tighten it till I'm scared, so thanks for that.

I really do admire a lot of the junk in this thread. Some of you have the best looking junk I've ever seen. Unfortunately, as you can see, my junk isn't worth showing off.

But I have been inspired by you all, and will do my best to make my junk worthy of this thread.

Now, what do I have lying around that would make a good grain hopper?