Electrifying my Corona

[greggn]

I've come to realize I just don't have the will to hand mill 12 pounds of grain and so I attempted to convert my Victoria/Corona. I bought the corret size hex-head bolt only to discover that my current 3.6A electric drill just isn't powerful enough. Shopping for a new drill prompts the question ...

If buying a drill that will be dedicated to driving the mill, would a 1/4" impact driver be a better choice than a 1/2" (or 3/8") standard variable-speed drill ?

[still_stirrin]

Try a 4" pulley connected to a 1-1/2" pulley. That's a 2.667 reduction in speed and the corresponding increase in mechanical advantage.

Electric drills may not have enough torque unless they're more than 1/4 horsepower.
ss

[MichiganCornhusker]

I use, and would recommend a 1/2" variable speed corded drill. Works great at mid-speed.
Off the top of my head, I think it's a 5/16 hex bolt that fits my Corona. I used to be able to fit a Milwaukee drill right onto the hex head, but other 1/2" drills won't fit onto the bolt head without slightly grinding off the points of the hex.
It's worth the extra work though, the drill holds much better on the hex head than it does on just the round part of the bolt if you just cut the head off. Get a good heavy duty drill, cheapies will do malted barley no problem, but will burn up grinding corn.

[greggn]

> Try a 4" pulley connected to a 1-1/2" pulley.

As much as I would like to try that I have a need to keep this hobby from appearing to be "too much." My wife is supportive, and while there is no definition of "too much", I don't need to draw her attention to it.


> I use, and would recommend a 1/2" variable speed corded drill.

That's what I bought. The 1/2" 8.5A DeWalt wasn't in stock so I picked-up the 1/2" 8A Rigid (with lifetime warranty). A test run on a pound of white wheat proved it's powerful enough. I just wish the trigger was less sensitive.


BTW, MC, isn't the correct line "Shouting and shooting ..." ?

[MichiganCornhusker]

isn't the correct line "Shouting and shooting ..." ?

Ha, never noticed the misplaced "u", thanks.
There ya go, Marty, all fixed!

That drill should work well. I find that mine works fine even for corn and rye.
Have you made something to contain all the dust and grain flying around yet?

[FreeMountainHermit]

would a 1/4" impact driver be a better choice than a 1/2" (or 3/8") standard variable-speed drill ?

My train of thought tells me a powered impact driver would do just that. IMPACT ! and eventually just tear the crap out of your mill.

1/4" sounds a tad on the light side as well.

FMH.

[Brutal]

Don't use any impact type driver.

I have had success where others report drill failure. I have ground tons coarse flour 50+ pounds of corn using a standard hand drill on a bolt in the back if my Corona mill. Here's the secret. The drill only cools while it is running. So fill the hopper, grind it all through at full throttle, then remove the drill and go full throttle for a few minutes to cool it off. Repeat and you'll be done in no time. If you just set it down to cool it can damage it.

I am not claiming this is good for the drill in the long term. But it makes short work of the corn.

[Brutal]

"to course flour." Sorry it seems tapatalk removed the edit feature..

[FreeMountainHermit]

Thinking about a Corona at some point in time and have a high torque medium speed 1/2 inch drill. How long to mill 15 pounds of corn ? Just curious as I'm retired and have time to burn.

Thanks.

[shadylane]

The threads on my Chinese corona mill were metric and I broke off a couple bolts.
When I finally #&cked up the threads, I drilled and taped it to 3/8 NC after that there was no problem.
Except the trigger is too sensitive on the drill and I don't like having to hold it.
Next project is to make a speed controller
Posting with FMH
Less than a minute per pound, depending on how much you've had to drink

[greggn]

> How long to mill 15 pounds of corn ?

3 - 5 minutes ?

I blew through a pound of wheat today is seconds. Granted, corn will be a little slower but not significantly slower. You'll just need to get the gap set to your liking.

[greggn]

> There ya go, Marty, all fixed!

I've heard the song sung so may times that it's nearly genetic.

[Andy Capp]

I've used a washing machine motor with no pulleys. just lined it up to the corona and joined with a good thick short bit of rubber hose as the tailshaft. then use a power controller to slow it down or speed up.

[greggn]

> Have you made something to contain all the dust and grain flying around yet?


I used the same "bucket installation" I've seen documented elsewhere. Since I use a brewing bag for my AG, I fit that into the bottom bucket so I can lift out the milled grain and drop it directly into my pot.


Complete assembly:

Dust cover removed:

Two buckets: one whole and one cut up:

[MichiganCornhusker]

> How long to mill 15 pounds of corn ? 3 - 5 minutes ?

Less.
Just timed mine. I do 3 passes with whole kernel corn. First pass to get a good thorough cracked corn, then 2 more passes through the mill, cranking the plates 1/4 turn each time, to take it almost to meal.

My setup can handle 25# at a time, takes me less than 3 minutes to do a run through the mill with full load.

I did 3 passes, each under 3 minutes for 25#. Total shed time of 15 minutes, including getting the gear out, refilling the hopper between runs, and clean up.

Now, I wouldn't want to attempt that with a loose corona.
I have my mill securely clamped to a big ass heavy table. I have a dust box around my mill, and the ground grain falls through a hole in the table into a bin below.

[raketemensch]

I finally dug out the Dayton motor I've got stashed in the basement -- I think 1725RPM might be a bit high :]

I should probably save it for the apple grinder anyway, but it'd be nice to have a motor permanently attached to the mill.