Home Distiller

So I have a corona mill and use it with a drill motor. I'd like to upgrade.

If possible I'd like to do all three grinds in the same grinder.

1) Fine for steam distilling
2) Coarse for beer
3) Flour for baking

I'd like to get a fine grind in a single pass . I'm ok with a few passes for flour as I don't expect to do it often

Prices look lower now than 10 years ago when I purchased the Corona. I see two styles of grinders that can handle corn.

Can those who have these grinders comment on the abilities of their machine?

I have the second style shown and it works fine. Grinds to rough flour consistency on one pass.

BlueJ wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 7:49 am I have the second style shown and it works fine. Grinds to rough flour consistency on one pass.

+1. I use mine for beer brewing and distilling. I find I get some fines when milling with it. I don't think the grain size is necessarily consistent but I've not had any problems with BIAB brewing.

Do you use rice hulls when doing biab? Seems like it would pulverized the hulls from the malt causing a stuck mash or sparge. Looks good for the corn though

dieselduo wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:04 pm Do you use rice hulls when doing biab? Seems like it would pulverized the hulls from the malt causing a stuck mash or sparge. Looks good for the corn though

I don't. Which is silly because I've got them, I just forget. I did a witbeer which is high wheat and while the bag took a little longer to drain and I ended up squeezing a little, it was still drained before I finished pumping the wort into the copper.

If you want to just crack open your grains then there's no substitute for the roller mill. These mills will give a mixture of particle sizes and where designed for making flour.

Blue J and NormandieStill, what are those upright mills you both have, called please?

I assume you got the mill online?

I have the upright as well. Just got it based on another members recommendation as an upgrade to my Corona mill. Used it for one ferment. Ran corn, wheat and rye through. Works a charm, but flours everything. So if you are looking for a cracked grain, I’m not sure the largest screen even gets you there but then neither does the Corona. I have the 50L version of this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Eachbid-Grinder ... IMQWn&th=1

Moose, I have no idea what it’s called other than a standing grain mill.

Also I found mine on aliexpress for less than Amazon, but it’s out of stock right now.

I believe someone posted a link for one in a recent thread. Mine came direct from China via Alibaba but apparently they've been seen on Aliexpress as well.

This (Amazon France link) looks to be same as mine. There are lots of variants with minor differences between them. I'll try and find the link to the Alibaba source this evening.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

It's funny I've been looking at both of these grinder types as well and find myself with decision paralysis but neither looks better or worse than the other.

The hammer mill (top picture) is extremely dusty and messy and you'll need a dedicated space to run it.....like outside. I have the 16 gallon version of the 2nd grinder. It is an enclosed container and doesn't throw nearly as much dust. I milled 32.5lbs of corn into flour in about 10 minutes and then used the container as an open fermenter. The motor is very loud though. Made the mistake of running it in my garage with the door closed and almost went deaf. Sounds like a helicopter or small jet engine. Works great though.

I purchased this a few years ago and it works great - Sorta pricey but this is way better than a corona IMO for larger batches.. Chews through corn and every other grain I put into it. I use it with the finest screen for best conversion. Might bump it up to the next size and see whether draining the muck is any better..

https://www.agristoreusa.com/collection ... in-grinder

Cheers,
jonny

Can anyone comment on dust control with these mills? Seems like the bottom one would control it better.

ozark_jake wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 9:27 am Can anyone comment on dust control with these mills? Seems like the bottom one would control it better.

There's no seal. Just a lip on the base of the grinder which covers the bucket. The bucket has three clips which attach it to the grinder base. Mine sprays small amounts of flour out of the side at one of these clips. It's possible that I can adjust the screws to increase the tension at this point but it's not enough of an issue.

That said, I use mine outside or in the shed. I wouldn't think of using it in the house. Even if it contained all the dust it's noisy as hell.

NormandieStill wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 10:00 am

ozark_jake wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 9:27 am Can anyone comment on dust control with these mills? Seems like the bottom one would control it better.

There's no seal. Just a lip on the base of the grinder which covers the bucket. The bucket has three clips which attach it to the grinder base. Mine sprays small amounts of flour out of the side at one of these clips. It's possible that I can adjust the screws to increase the tension at this point but it's not enough of an issue.

That said, I use mine outside or in the shed. I wouldn't think of using it in the house. Even if it contained all the dust it's noisy as hell.

I use mine outside too due to noise. It doesn’t dust things too bad, but you will when you open it and you will probably spill grain when loading if anything like me so you may want a drop cloth.

Here’s mine (notice the learning about spilling
Here’s corn after running at lowest filter:

MooseMan wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 10:16 pm Blue J and NormandieStill, what are those upright mills you both have, called please?

I assume you got the mill online?

Amazon. Eachbid 50L grain mill, 1300w

https://a.co/d/1YeCX8u

I agree it is loud - imagine sucking up cracked corn into a really large wet/dry vac. But it gets the job done. Can’t speak to its longevity, I’ve had it less than a year. Mill flips over and stores inside the bucket, which I like.

Edit- the clips on mine have stayed tight so far so very little, if any, dust until you open it.

I built it....I never used the ones in the picture. A curiosity: the first seems sturdier and more adjustable... what makes it worse than the second?

Demy wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 4:14 pm I built it....I never used the ones in the picture. A curiosity: the first seems sturdier and more adjustable... what makes it worse than the second?

Don’t know which is better or worse as I only have the second one. The second one is adjustable on grind by swapping the screens out with progressively smaller holes. Someone recommended it to me. The first one is about twice the price from what I’ve seen, but can’t comment on how good it is. I’ve seen others suggest that one so hopefully someone will comment.

I bought the first one recently and have used it once. Love it.
It is dusty, so you can run it outside or just put a towel over it like I did. Problem solved quite quickly.

You can adjust the grind settings by twisting the knob in and out. First run through with some corn didn't powder it, just turned it into really small pieces - so I ran it again and was very happy. I do recommend you run it slightly coarse for a first run - you dont want to risk over tightening it and causing a seizure with the motor.

I wouldn't use it for proper beer making though - you want to keep the husk as much as possible, so that it will help with draining the bed and also avoid astringency issues in your final beer. I'd recommend getting a second hand mill for your typical grains, and use this for corn and other types of products.

Thanks for the info on the upright model guys, I'll do a bit of research on the most appropriate one in the UK.

And thanks to Zach for the original post and letting me hijack it.

I too have a hand wound mill and it's not so much the effort or the grind that bothers me, I would just like to get one that doesn't make a mess.
The day after milling I have mice, every time and my spaniel goes crazy hunting them out.

MooseMan wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 9:55 pm I too have a hand wound mill and it's not so much the effort or the grind that bothers me, I would just like to get one that doesn't make a mess.

I mounted my Corona mill inside a bucket to contain the mess. It’s been working quite well for me, and cost very little. It’s not the fastest, but it gets the job done. And I use it in the kitchen with no issue.

viewtopic.php?t=89402

Steve Broady wrote: ↑Thu May 16, 2024 5:15 am

MooseMan wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 9:55 pm I too have a hand wound mill and it's not so much the effort or the grind that bothers me, I would just like to get one that doesn't make a mess.

I mounted my Corona mill inside a bucket to contain the mess. It’s been working quite well for me, and cost very little. It’s not the fastest, but it gets the job done. And I use it in the kitchen with no issue.

viewtopic.php?t=89402

I have a MMII mill and I set it up the same way cutting a board with the opening to the bucket and mounting the mill.

I see brewers are set on the using roller mills. I hear the complaints with lautering and having astringent taste with too fine of crush.

It is possible to make beer with flour.



This taste test shows that preferences between a fine crush and coarse crush were nearly evenly split. About half the people can tell the difference between a fine crush and coarse.

The roller mill works great for malt..... astringency has more to do with the ph (mash) rather than the degree of grinding

IV modified my roller mill to grab a piece of paper. So maybe.003 to .005 thou. I do cracked corn and it crushes beautifully

I decided on the MMII over the MM3 after reading information here and on other brewing sites. The part that made up my mind was the 3 rollers would clog with hole corns.

So I purchased a mill and it arrived yesterday.
Put a 50 lb bag of buckwheat through it this morning in about 20 minutes while drinking coffee.
I used the screen with medium sized holes that was installed at the factory. (It came with 4 more screens) The grind is a coarse flour. Might try to make some pancakes from it. Just a little dust on the floor. Should be good for some YLAY.

I'm going to try the screen with the larger holes this weekend on some 2-row malt.

Bushman wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2024 5:09 am I decided on the MMII over the MM3 after reading information here and on other brewing sites. The part that made up my mind was the 3 rollers would clog with hole corns.

Mine is two rollers also. Been milling crack corn for almost 3 years now with no problems yet

zach wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2024 6:58 am So I purchased a mill and it arrived yesterday.

Did you notice if the mill heats up the grain?

The mill has a 6.6 gallon tub which accepts 25-30 lbs. When I dumped the tub into my fermenter the flour was ambient temp (65 F) . So no noticeable heating.