My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

[monkeyman1000]

Thanks for the replies. I am pretty excited to try this thing, mainly to see how the shorter mash times work out. I have gotten my brew day down from 5.5 - 6 hours to about 4 hours already but dropping another 30 minutes would be fantastic. I could brew in the evening after work then.

 

[Flboy]

All right, pulled the trigger on one of these things. Got it for $24 and some change shipped with Amazon prime. My grain bills are usually 4.5# or less so I plan on just hand cranking it. I don't have room for a drill anyway. I am debating the bucket setup too, mainly for space savings.k How much dust does this thing put off if you hand crank it?

I know, I know, Not Nice! But what I did was I ordered a second, identical mill thru Walmart. Free shipping if store pickup.
I then built mine out of the best machined parts from both and returned the other to Wally.

 

[wilserbrewer]

But what I did was I ordered a second, identical mill thru Walmart. Free shipping if store pickup.
I then built mine out of the best machined parts from both and returned the other to Wally.

That is a brilliant idea! I am surprised it only took two mill to assemble a nice one. Just kidding, some of these things are rough, but they work well IME.

 

[fuzzy2133]

I know, I know, Not Nice! But what I did was I ordered a second, identical mill thru Walmart. Free shipping if store pickup.
I then built mine out of the best machined parts from both and returned the other to Wally.

How long ago was this? Maybe it is on clearance sale now.

 

[ErinGoBuff]

It's just a few clips, not a detailed description of construction, but here's the operation I've made for myself:

YouTube link in case the video doesn't upload: http://youtu.be/E_ffgPgH8-k

View attachment Ugly Junk Grain Mill.mov

 

[wilserbrewer]

I would never think to use a wiper motor, but it works well...run what ya brung I guess


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[monkeyman1000]

So I got the mill last night and picked up some 2row to play with. The picture on the left is the first setting. I tightened it up some more (the plates are rubbing with no grain and it was harder to turn than the first time) The one on the right is the tightened 2nd attempt. How does it look. I BIAB.

 

[sportpak]

That grind on the right is how I roll with mine. I BIAB too and get high conversion. Time to brew to see where your numbers are.

 

[monkeyman1000]

Awesome!!! Brewing a Christmas ale tomorrow so I will give it a try. Waiting on my neighbor to get home so I can borrow a saw to make the bucket contraption.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Right left, either looks fine, maybe somewhere in the middle?

Looks like your doing fine!

Cheers!


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[monkeyman1000]

Well here is my addition to the junk pile. I botched the lid a bit but nothing aluminum foil can't handle. Looking forward to trying this out tomorrow. Total cost was about $30 including shipping and changing out the bolts and what not.

 

[MrNic]

Here's an updated pic of my mill. I added the hopper today.

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

^^^^ did you cut the bottom off that water bottle with a butter knife?

 

[MrNic]

^^^^ did you cut the bottom off that water bottle with a butter knife?

Haha, no. It's actually really hard plastic, so had to resort to using hole saw bit on my drill. I just drilled a bunch of big holes until it was one big hole. Talk about ugly huh?

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

Haha, no. It's actually really hard plastic, so had to resort to using hole saw bit on my drill. I just drilled a bunch of big holes until it was one big hole. Talk about ugly huh?

Ugly or not, you're one up on me. I'm still running the original hopper & filling it 10 times during the grind

 

[IanJ]

Attempted to construct the bucket-in-bucket build today and completely destroyed it with my utility knife. Those Lowes blue buckets are so cheap they crack when you cut into them... have to try again tomorrow with a new bucket.

It's times like these I really wish I didn't live in an apartment, definitely need a saw and real tools to make this stuff work.

 

[MrNic]

Ugly or not, you're one up on me. I'm still running the original hopper & filling it 10 times during the grind

I forgot to add I taped it to the hopper with packing tape. Whatever works right?

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

I forgot to add I taped it to the hopper with packing tape. Whatever works right?

I've seen other people ditch the original hopper & just stuff the neck of the water bottle into the opening.
I'm wondering if your vertical tape job will tip over when full & the machine is rocking

 

[MrNic]

I've seen other people ditch the original hopper & just stuff the neck of the water bottle into the opening.
I'm wondering if your vertical tape job will tip over when full & the machine is rocking

Is taped vertically and horizontally. I already tested it. It's actually pretty sturdy.

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

Glad it works....like the thread goes, it ain't gotta be pretty, just functional.
I'm to cheap to buy a bottle full of water & don't know anyone who drinks bottled water, otherwise I'd give it a go myself. I keep waiting for an empty water bottle to just fall into my lap

 

[MardyBum]

I just bought one at our local market. I found a metal ball and a metal ring holding it in place inside the part you put the adjuster for the fineness of the crush. Should this be there? I took it out but just want to make sure it isn't some useless part

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

Put it back, you need that. It's the "bearing" that goes between your wing screw and the grinding plate

 

[MardyBum]

Put it back, you need that. It's the "bearing" that goes between your wing screw and the grinding plate

The reason I took it out is because I think the metal ring would lock the ball in place so adjusting the grind wouldn't work because the ball was locked to the closes setting that it was put in. Should I discard the ring and but the ball or put it back with the ball and just reset it every time I change the grind?

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

You need the ring and ball installed. The ring will keep your ball from getting lost if you open up your grinding plates to clean them. It is a static fit that will move when you adjust your crush.

 

[MardyBum]

Thanks for the reply. Good think I asked before doing any permanent damage!

 

[MrNic]

Glad it works....like the thread goes, it ain't gotta be pretty, just functional.
I'm to cheap to buy a bottle full of water & don't know anyone who drinks bottled water, otherwise I'd give it a go myself. I keep waiting for an empty water bottle to just fall into my lap

I got mine from a yard sale for $1. I thought it was a pretty good score.

 

[danthebugman]

Thanks to this thread I joined the bandwagon a little while back. Here's my set up...

I initially had it set up to use a drill, but after a couple of mechanical failures (namely forgetting to charge the drill) I redid it a bit so I could use the manual crank. Truth be told I like doing it by hand better. I had to plug a few gaps (the duct tape and post cards) because of how I had it set up originally so I'll probably get another bucket and redo it one of these days, but for now I'm really happy with it.

 

[number40fan]

Finally got my junk put together.

 

[Zibe]

Saw this thread when I first got my mill a few years ago and it helped a ton to get a good grind with the tips about the washers and bolt. Happened to look at the last few pages a week ago and saw some of the bucket designs haven't gone back to see who started this revolution but thank you bucket design guy. Your skill with plastic fabrication has inspired many and will probably decrease future cases of "barley lung" due to the dust containment. I salute you.




Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[wilserbrewer]

....but thank you bucket design guy. I salute you.

Thank you Zibe! Nice looking bucket mount! I added the Corona Mill Bucket System link back to my signature.