jiggs_casey
Well-Known Member
I WANT ONE! Completely cool...
My DIY, low-budget, concrete-roller grain mill
- Thread starter -TH-
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Just in case nobody's said it yet, that is pretty damned awesome!!! Kudos to the brew assistant as well.
martinworswick
Well-Known Member
i've been thinking of doing something with concrete rollers and i stumbled across this thread,just wondering,how is the surface of the rollers holding up?
OP
OP
-TH-
Well-Known Member
The surface of the rollers looks fine - but I only used it about 5 or 6 times. The problem is that with rollers that large in diameter, it takes a lot of force from the motor to crush the grain. I couldn't set the rollers too close or the motor would stall. Therefore I wasn't getting a real great crush. I have a more powerful motor now that I was going to install but since my LHBS upgraded their mill and I actually prefer to use that one.
I plan on doing something similar.
To form the rollers a 6 inch by 3 inch diameter pvc pipe will be fitted with a 3 inch to .5 inch reducer an each end (see pic below) and and have a .5 inch threaded rod centered in the two fittings. Once the form is assembled with the rod in place it will be filled with cement and left to cure. Once cured the pvc mold is cut away leaving a perfectly round roller with a perfectly centered shaft.
Since the PVC pipe is perfectly round and so are the fittings everything is centered.
What do you guys think???
Here is a pic of the reducer from flexpvc.com
The only problem is that PVC pipe is not perfectly round. Might be close enough though, so it's worth a try. OTOH, mills are not all that expensive to buy off the shelf. It's a dollar chasing a dime kind of thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that, ya know.
Skrimpy
Well-Known Member
Hhhhhhhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Been watching to many Fucillo commercials, I see.
SkylerChaBro
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I need to start becoming more crafty.
mikelikesit2000
Well-Known Member
Nice job. A very well planned out and clean build.
Missed this two-year old post...that thing is sweet and my engineer buddies approve 100%. Cheers!
slim49
Member
So impressed! I was going to use a different method, but this is THE BEST!
Am wondering, how did you get away from some diagonal lines carved into teh idler roller?
Slim49
Am wondering, how did you get away from some diagonal lines carved into teh idler roller?
Slim49
OP
OP
-TH-
Well-Known Member
Well like I said earlier, I only ended up using it about 5 or 6 times. The problem is that with rollers that large in diameter, it takes a lot of force from the motor to crush the grain. I couldn't set the rollers too close or the motor would stall. Therefore I wasn't getting a real great crush. I was going to try a more powerful motor but my LHBS has an awesome mill and I prefer to use that one.
stamandster
Well-Known Member
Holy thread revival Batman! Although, it is pretty awesome ;-)
slim49
Member
TH,
from my research over years, I note that the "Stones" in any mill are scored or grooved.
I wonder if you were to take a 4.5" angle grinder & cut in diagonal grooves across teh face of your rollers. would it improve the crush & perhaps unload the motor as a happy extra?
Slim49
from my research over years, I note that the "Stones" in any mill are scored or grooved.
I wonder if you were to take a 4.5" angle grinder & cut in diagonal grooves across teh face of your rollers. would it improve the crush & perhaps unload the motor as a happy extra?
Slim49
OP
OP
-TH-
Well-Known Member
Yeah that could very well make a big difference. I won't be able to test that theory however since my mill is in a landfill somewhere.
