sounds like you should save time and money and stick with corona and batch sparge.
My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...
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sounds like you should save time and money and stick with corona and batch sparge.
Naw, I actually built a full on HERMS automated electric system. No longer moving pots of water around for batch sparging, better consistency and more hands off operation. Efficiency is not the goal, otherwise I wouldn't have changed. Plus when SWMBO says "sure, get it" to a setup that's nicer, what would you do?
Although the corona mill works, it's not as good of a grind as a good roller mill and it is a bit of work to get one going. Good enough for batch and BIAB, though, and one does save money! Yes, and for those that will challenge this, you can get a grind that'll work fine with fly sparging and HERMS, I'd wager.
Got my mill today. Wow, these things are a little crude. I'm a 20 yr machinist so I may be a little prude-ish, lol. For the price I can't make own. I plan to do the basic tune up tomorrow. Hopefully next week I can get grinding.
A little crude...how about a lot cude!
20 yr machinist should have no trouble figuring out what needs doing on a corona...just don't tryh and make it perfect haha. If the grind plate is bound crooked on the shaft, I would suggest a smaller cotter pin to allow the grind plate to float/ free wobble and align with the pressure of the grain feeding...
yewtah-brewha
Well-Known Member
My corona aligns fine until halfway through the batch it gets grain caught behind the wheel, then I gotta tear it down and clean it, Once I figured this out no problems other than the hassle of stopping midway, If yours is crooked right out the box,and your a machinist, you'll have to tell us what you did to fix it!
I'll see how it goes maybe today. I really don't want to start re-machining things, that defeats the purpose of having a $25 mill. Reading through this thread it looks like you guys have done some pretty cool stuff and I want to appreciate this thing for what it is and what smart guys have done before me. If I spent any real time working on this I'd have about the same time in making a roller type crusher. I'm more interested in trying some 1 gallon BIAB brewing.
Fast corona mill set up...
1. wash mill in hot soapy water (to remove packing oils)and air dry
2. assemble
3. tighten until you have all kernels of grain well broken
4. mill grain / make beer
cheers!
yewtah-brewha
Well-Known Member
Great thought, however with that attitude You will soon realize that making beer defeats the purpose of going to the store and just buying a six pack! lol!
lol! Yeah, I'm still doing small batch stuff to dial in on technique. About 6 weeks is a long time to end up with a 8-9 pack of beer. When I nail something awesome I'll do up a big batch.
Much later than promised, but here's a short clip of my newly powered mill in action:
http://youtu.be/kL5Yo8zYJhc
I used an old laptop power supply to provide the 24V, hence the slow response to the switch. I plan to make a more descriptive video once it's been tuned up. It's just been slow going.
If it ain't broke, fix it 'till it is.
- US Navy Maintenance Mantra
http://youtu.be/kL5Yo8zYJhc
I used an old laptop power supply to provide the 24V, hence the slow response to the switch. I plan to make a more descriptive video once it's been tuned up. It's just been slow going.
If it ain't broke, fix it 'till it is.
- US Navy Maintenance Mantra
MrG
Active Member
This might be a dumb question, but do you disassemble your mill and wash it after each time you use it?
paperairplane
Well-Known Member
I clean the accumulated grain dust off my mill after about every 500 lbs crushed...whether it needs it or not
Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
MrG
Active Member
Okay thanks! I figured as much.
Ground my first small batch today. Very surprised how well it worked after a little trial/error. I think this thing is going to work very well.
Wort turned out a little more "trubby" then I expected. I might dial the crush back a fuzz. I went with a recipe not knowing anything about efficiency. My SG came in a little high, so I assume I did a little better then expected.
Wort turned out a little more "trubby" then I expected. I might dial the crush back a fuzz. I went with a recipe not knowing anything about efficiency. My SG came in a little high, so I assume I did a little better then expected.
I don't wash mine. I knock the dust off, or blow it clean with compressed air. It's a habit I picked up in culinary school. There are some tools that don't get washed, like grain mills, flour sifters, and pasta machines. Those tools will gum-up or jam if the materials that pass through them are or too wet or even remotely wet in some cases.
I know some guys condition their grain before milling to reduce dust and to increase efficiency, so "keep it dry" is certainly not a rule, just a matter of preference. In any case, care of these machines is left to their owners. I haven't used my mill enough times (at all) since enclosing it in a bucket to collect data on how efficient it is. ...and I might not, since I don't want to disassemble the contraption if it gets gummed up or jams.
All that being said, tools at a culinary school are being used in high frequency, with very high urgency. The lemon pepper crusted salmon or filet mignon you have on the fire aren't going to wait for you to de-gum and dry a pasta machine. Hence, through habit: "First, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him. Second, don't give him any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight."
I know some guys condition their grain before milling to reduce dust and to increase efficiency, so "keep it dry" is certainly not a rule, just a matter of preference. In any case, care of these machines is left to their owners. I haven't used my mill enough times (at all) since enclosing it in a bucket to collect data on how efficient it is. ...and I might not, since I don't want to disassemble the contraption if it gets gummed up or jams.
All that being said, tools at a culinary school are being used in high frequency, with very high urgency. The lemon pepper crusted salmon or filet mignon you have on the fire aren't going to wait for you to de-gum and dry a pasta machine. Hence, through habit: "First, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him. Second, don't give him any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight."
monkeyman1000
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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?
No more dust than baking a cake. It really depends on how neat you're being while you work. Before I enclosed mine in a bucket, I was just milling into large mixing bowls. There wasn't so much dust that I had to clean the whole house, just had to wipe up the counter.
Hand cranking isn't a hefty chore. I just like being able to do other things (HAHB) while my mill is running.
Hand cranking isn't a hefty chore. I just like being able to do other things (HAHB) while my mill is running.
Hand cranking is not a problem, the issue is that you need to clamp the mill to something. The corona mill will make a mess all over if you let it, why I prefer the Bucket mount because it is set and ready to mill. You can also just wrap the face of the mill with a plastic bag to direct the grain into a bucket. Without a bucket mount, you will need to setup, or clamp the mill to something, wrap a bag on the face each time you use it.
Go ahead and try it , see what you think...
I went right to the bucket fwiw, but I knew I wanted to power it and didn't want to clean up grain pieces.
Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
monkeyman1000
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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. 
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.
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
Well-Known Member
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.
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
YouTube link in case the video doesn't upload: http://youtu.be/E_ffgPgH8-k
View attachment Ugly Junk Grain Mill.mov
I would never think to use a wiper motor, but it works well...run what ya brung I guess
Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
monkeyman1000
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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.
monkeyman1000
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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.
Right left, either looks fine, maybe somewhere in the middle?
Looks like your doing fine!
Cheers!
Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
Looks like your doing fine!
Cheers!
Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
monkeyman1000
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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.
sloanfamilydsm
Well-Known Member
^^^^ 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
Well-Known Member
Ugly or not, you're one up on me. I'm still running the original hopper & filling it 10 times during the grind
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.
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.
I forgot to add I taped it to the hopper with packing tape. Whatever works right?
sloanfamilydsm
Well-Known Member
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
Well-Known Member
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'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
