Home Distiller

Hi anybody know if that grain mill will gonna work with corn or only malt ?
I would rather buy that one than those small ones as it's take probably forever and mostly I will be doing barley.

Roller mills are great for barley malt and wheat malt. But, unless you can open the gap wide enough, you’ll have trouble with corn. And then, you’ll need to run it through a couple of times.

If you search, you’ll find several threads discussing mills, especially those suited well for whole corn.
ss

Hint: https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 83&t=82830

still_stirrin wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:14 am Roller mills are great for barley malt and wheat malt. But, unless you can open the gap wide enough, you’ll have trouble with corn. And then, you’ll need to run it through a couple of times.

If you search, you’ll find several threads discussing mills, especially those suited well for whole corn.
ss

Hint: https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 83&t=82830

Thanks alot buddy appreciate it actually after abit of research it's hard to get corn in Scotland they more often selling flaked corn is it the same ?
Edit: I actually found a topic it's seems like they are almost the same but it's a price difference to be honest i don't really trust corn for animals to use for distilling I think it could have loads of chemicals or something

I think flaked corn is probably safe since its meant to be eaten. Be careful of "seed" grains which are meant for planting. They may be treated with fungicides.

Virandell wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:52 am… actually after abit of research it's hard to get corn in Scotland they more often selling flaked corn is it the same?

Perhaps that explains why “single malt” whisky is more common in Scotland than “bourbon” whiskey.

Flaked grains have been soaked in hot water and pressed through a roller in the flaking process. This gelatinizes the grain, rendering suitable for mashing with malted barley. Whole corn must be gelatinized before it can be mashed. So, the flakes are one step closer to your fermenter.

Virandell wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:52 am… i don't really trust corn for animals to use for distilling I think it could have loads of chemicals or something.

Feed grains (corn) would be fine for brewing. At most, additional vitamins and nutrients have been added to supplement their diet. Certainly, toxic chemicals have not been added as that would be dangerous to animal health.
ss

still_stirrin wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:34 am

Virandell wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:52 am… actually after abit of research it's hard to get corn in Scotland they more often selling flaked corn is it the same?

Perhaps that explains why “single malt” whisky is more common in Scotland than “bourbon” whiskey.

Flaked grains have been soaked in hot water and pressed through a roller in the flaking process. This gelatinizes the grain, rendering suitable for mashing with malted barley. Whole corn must be gelatinized before it can be mashed. So, the flakes are one step closer to your fermenter.

Virandell wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:52 am… i don't really trust corn for animals to use for distilling I think it could have loads of chemicals or something.

Feed grains (corn) would be fine for brewing. At most, additional vitamins and nutrients have been added to supplement their diet. Certainly, toxic chemicals have not been added as that would be dangerous to animal health.
ss

Thanks alot buddy I think I will go for 2 roller grain for barley then and eventually I will be ordering flaked corn then it will safe me grinding it aswell ^^

I had a look at the three roller version from Vevor and backed off after reading the reviews. It all seems very mixed which suggested that the quality control wasn't fantastic. The Grain Gorilla from Brouwland looks interesting, but it's about 50% as much again. I do trust Brouwland QC a little more than Vevor but I really need to be scaling up considerably to justify the cost over using my existing Corona mill.

I scored this for 50 bucks today. It obviously needs a little work to get it back to working order, but I'll be in it less that $150 by the time I'm done, and it'll make some fine ground corn.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:17 pm I scored this for 50 bucks today. It obviously needs a little work to get it back to working order, but I'll be in it less that $150 by the time I'm done, and it'll make some fine ground corn.
20210705_164425.jpg20210705_164454.jpg

Wow! Talk about old school. That is nice.

Rockin' retro.

8Ball wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:10 am

Deplorable wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:17 pm I scored this for 50 bucks today. It obviously needs a little work to get it back to working order, but I'll be in it less that $150 by the time I'm done, and it'll make some fine ground corn.
20210705_164425.jpg20210705_164454.jpg

Wow! Talk about old school. That is nice.

Thanks!
It's an early model 3 from C.S. Bell. from what I can find online, it looks to be about 110 years old. The cones are in good shape, but there are a couple of broken casting peices that I'll need to get fixed to get it back to its original form, or I could change the crank wheel for a pull and run it off an electric motor.
My intention is to run it old school.

Got that mill all cleaned up, and dialed in.

Beautiful job, Deplorable!

Looks like you need to be makin’ that HBB you been talkin’ ‘bout.

A modified corana mill is the best for hard corn.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 3:00 pm Got that mill all cleaned up, and dialed in.
20210724_203029.jpg
20210728_154009.jpg

Unless you're a sucker for punishment (or only occasionally doing small batches) I'd definitely be trying to run a flat belt around that flywheel!

Beaut job on the resto though, and a damned handy thing.
"They don't makem like that anymore"!

I got excited when I saw a Marga Mulino grain mill advertised by a big store at half price.
Looked up the interweb and found that it is commonly sold at a similar price
so no rush to do anything...

I would like a mill one day partly because I can get as much wheat
(and maybe sometimes barley or oats) as I want for free from my son-in-law's farm...
In the meantime I can get cracked wheat and barley and maize (corn) at a bit over a dollar Australian a kilogram
which is not too bad and I don't need a lot for the UJSSM I have just started.

Could you tell me what mills you have found good, and not so good.

Thanks.

Geoff

recurveshtr wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:04 pm A modified corana mill is the best for hard corn.

Hi recurveshtr,
Could you tell me more about the Corona mill you have?
How big is it (what capacity per hour or whatever) ?
How exactly is it modified?
Is it hand cranked (or was it and is that the mod) ?
Anything else...

Thanks

Geoff

The Baker wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 8:09 pm

recurveshtr wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:04 pm A modified corana mill is the best for hard corn.

Hi recurveshtr,
Could you tell me more about the Corona mill you have?
How big is it (what capacity per hour or whatever) ?
How exactly is it modified?
Is it hand cranked (or was it and is that the mod) ?
Anything else...

Thanks

Geoff

This is my corona mill. The only mods are increased hopper size and replaced the handle with a hex bolt I run a drill off.
Probably gets through a kg a minute, give or take.
Need a beefy drill thought, 1000w at least

Thanks, Res.

Really helpful.

Any other comments welcome too.

Res would this be the one? https://www.amazon.com.au/Corona-Corn-G ... B00838YC5A

Seems to be advertised on the web at as low as $180 AUD and as high as $500 AUD, would have to
check that the same MODEL is advertised in each case....

Geoff

The Baker wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:06 pm
Seems to be advertised on the web at as low as $180 AUD and as high as $500 AUD, would have to

I think mine was in the $80 range, but that was something like 10 years ago. Wouldn't look to pay more than $150 now if I needed to replace it. There are much better options than corona style in the $250-300 range

Thats a crazy price for brand name. At that price I'd get an electric grinder. If you search amazon or ebay for "corn grinder" you'll find similar unbranded mill for 30-40 dollars. The castings on my Chinese copy were poor but 10 minutes on a grinder cleaned them up fine. I also had to add washers to adjust the gap. I think there were you tube videos that showed me.

I scored a CS Bell grinder that works well. I took off the crank and adapted it to cordless drill power.

My first grinder (and current backup) was a victoria knockoff -


Cheers!
-j

I purchased a hammer mill a few years ago and love it.
It turns everything into flour quickly. It is a bit dusty hence why I do it in my driveway

Love the bigger hopper Res...I use the same model..

Hi The Baker
One mod is removing the crank handle and screw.
Replace with a bolt and nut. Tighten the bolt and back off one turn and tighten the nut.
If the bolt breaks just loosen the nut.
The other is two small washers on each screw holding the grinding plate.
I use a low speed and high torque drill.
So far I have only done 29lbs com and I it didn't seem to take long. I did it in four passes.

6 Row Joe wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:41 am hand-grist-mill.jpg

I scored a CS Bell grinder that works well. I took off the crank and adapted it to cordless drill power.

Details on the drill mod? Mines got a 3/4" shaft. It'd need a hole drilled and tapped to accept a hex head bolt for the drill chuck or something.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:30 pm

6 Row Joe wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:41 am hand-grist-mill.jpg

I scored a CS Bell grinder that works well. I took off the crank and adapted it to cordless drill power.

Details on the drill mod? Mines got a 3/4" shaft. It'd need a hole drilled and tapped to accept a hex head bolt for the drill chuck or something.

I ground a flat on the shaft and drilled out a old 3/4" 12 point socket for a set screw. I use a 3/8" drive adapter in my drill on slow speed to drive it. Ue a few drops of corn oil to lube the shaft and bushings. I will need to dig for the adapter for a photo in the next day or so. I have been tempted to roll up some metal to enlarge the hopper capacity. Hand shelled #2 field corn does the trick.

Been using a modified corona mill like above i got from a thrift store for 5 bucks. Harbor freight 1/2 low speed high torque drill grinds through a bag of white corn down to chunky meal in about an hour.

I remember reading that these work well for the price. Available at Tractor Supply farm stores here in the US. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005