I bought a Dewalt 1/2 VSR drill. I like it but it will only lock for continuous operation when it is running at a very high speed, too high for milling. Can anyone recommend a powerful VSR drill that can lock at any speed? I will be milling 50+ pounds of grain at a time and I don't want to have to stand there pressing the trigger.
Drill for grain mill
- Thread starter rexbanner
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
I am looking into this as well. Many have used the harbor freight slow speed VSR drill that is used for mixing paint and concretehttp://http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html
I believe it has a lock and at max it is 500rpm which would work well for a mill. Its big and heavy though so I would think some sort of built in or support arrangement would be needed. I currently use a craftsman VSR and it works well, but I am only doing 10-15 lb of grain for 5 gal batches. If/when I move up to 10gal I will be doing 25+ lbs and will look more into a dedicated mill station. My barley crusher on a bucket with the drill attached does not fall over. With the HF drill on it, it would. FWIW, I can mill that 15lb of grain in ~2 minutes for a small BIAB crush. 50lb would take a while so I can see your need.
I believe it has a lock and at max it is 500rpm which would work well for a mill. Its big and heavy though so I would think some sort of built in or support arrangement would be needed. I currently use a craftsman VSR and it works well, but I am only doing 10-15 lb of grain for 5 gal batches. If/when I move up to 10gal I will be doing 25+ lbs and will look more into a dedicated mill station. My barley crusher on a bucket with the drill attached does not fall over. With the HF drill on it, it would. FWIW, I can mill that 15lb of grain in ~2 minutes for a small BIAB crush. 50lb would take a while so I can see your need.
I'd watch eBay for a gear motor. You can mount it right to a small base that you could set on a bucket.
Any advice on which kind to get? I know nothing about gear motors, but I found a link to this http://www.wortomatic.com/php/articles.php?ID=28 which recommended a 105 RPM 115 VAC one. The link to the one he used no longer works, but searching Surplus Center I see many different motors with similar specs. I just don't know how much torque I need.
Surplus center is a great place to buy, but is often sold out on proper motors; you might get lucky though.
The key is getting enough torque while maintaining a reasonable RPM. I'd say to try and find a motor with 20+ lb-inches of torque. Probably want at least 50 RPM's, but torque is more important.
They come in all sorts of these torque/rpm combos so just snoop around. It would be a killer setup for you though and worth the effort.
Check out grainger for a coupler setup to connect your gear motor and mill. Wire it with a 3-pole switch if you want to get fancy and add reverse
PS - there is a pic or YouTube video out there somewhere of a guy who has a gear motor connected to his mill. Everything is mounted to a base that sits quite well on top of a bucket. Very sleek setup.
The key is getting enough torque while maintaining a reasonable RPM. I'd say to try and find a motor with 20+ lb-inches of torque. Probably want at least 50 RPM's, but torque is more important.
They come in all sorts of these torque/rpm combos so just snoop around. It would be a killer setup for you though and worth the effort.
Check out grainger for a coupler setup to connect your gear motor and mill. Wire it with a 3-pole switch if you want to get fancy and add reverse
PS - there is a pic or YouTube video out there somewhere of a guy who has a gear motor connected to his mill. Everything is mounted to a base that sits quite well on top of a bucket. Very sleek setup.
Surplus center is a great place to buy, but is often sold out on proper motors; you might get lucky though.
The key is getting enough torque while maintaining a reasonable RPM. I'd say to try and find a motor with 20+ lb-inches of torque. Probably want at least 50 RPM's, but torque is more important.
They come in all sorts of these torque/rpm combos so just snoop around. It would be a killer setup for you though and worth the effort.
Check out grainger for a coupler setup to connect your gear motor and mill. Wire it with a 3-pole switch if you want to get fancy and add reverse
PS - there is a pic or YouTube video out there somewhere of a guy who has a gear motor connected to his mill. Everything is mounted to a base that sits quite well on top of a bucket. Very sleek setup.
The ones I see now are all around 5 bucks. Like here is one https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=5-1504&catname=electric and it has a rating of 58 in oz. Is that basically 3 lb-inches?
I would think this motor would cost a bit more than 5 bucks.
fifelee
Well-Known Member
Who needs a built in lock. Maybe this is just my inner redneck, but I use baling wire and/or duct tape to hold the trigger. Keep twisting the wire until you get the speed you want.
What kind of mill do you plan on running? Do you plan on conditioning your malt?
Might you upgrade to a larger mill in the future?
Might you upgrade to a larger mill in the future?
