milling problem...

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matc

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So I have a barley crusher and I've got 2 drills for it. I have a makita 18v but even if have a fully charged battery, it will die halfway through and I'm afraid of burning the motor.

The other drill is a 5.4 A corded hitachi. Problem is, the speed is either too slow or too fast and when it's slow, the motor starts to smoke !!!!

What's the best way to power a mill ??? I don't wanna destroy my drills
 
I went through 5 drills before I found the right one for me...just a cheap black and decker one speed plug in drill
 
Hand crank that baby!

I consider it a nice little arm workout!

I always hand mill my grain the night before brew day. It's actually quite therapeutic !
 
go to harbor freight and get a low speed drill like this http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html or one of the other low speed drills they sell. mine has been going strong for 2 yrs.

That is what I have, there is a little dial that adjusts the speed that way all you have to do is pull the trigger all the way and dump the grain. That way you don't have to focus on the speed of the drill. I have mine about 1/4 turned up, and has worked well for me.

-G
 
I Use my Makita 18v (Lithium ion) with no problem. Otherwise like the others suggested almost any cheap plug in would do.
 
Maybe its time to start looking for an electric motor and hook up a v belt to the mill. Check out surpluscenter.com they have a whole bunch of motors that other HBT members have used.
 
I suggest that 1/2" heavy duty low speed from harbor freight. That's what I use. I've posted a video somewhere around here before. It's a monster and cheap. Be careful with pulleys and belts. They side load the drive roller. Whether it will ever cause any damage I can't say. There are ways around it but the cost starts going up. I was gonna do that with a motor I already had but it was cheaper to go with the harbor freight drill.
 
I've not had any issue using my 18v DeWalt cordless hammer drill to power my mills. It uses the XRP batteries (came with two) that will easily go through a hopper full of grain (39# in my MM2-2.0) on a single charge. I like the keyless chuck on it since that makes using it just that much easier. While not nearly as cheap as the HF drill, it has more uses. I simply set it into the low speed range (0-500 rpm) and go to town. :rockin:
 
Golddiggie said:
I've not had any issue using my 18v DeWalt cordless hammer drill to power my mills. It uses the XRP batteries (came with two) that will easily go through a hopper full of grain (39# in my MM2-2.0) on a single charge. I like the keyless chuck on it since that makes using it just that much easier. While not nearly as cheap as the HF drill, it has more uses. I simply set it into the low speed range (0-500 rpm) and go to town. :rockin:

True. I have a corded high speed hammer drill and 3 or so cordless drills, one of which would drive my mill. I wanted a semi permanent mount for my mill. Dedicated drill it is.
 
True. I have a corded high speed hammer drill and 3 or so cordless drills, one of which would drive my mill. I wanted a semi permanent mount for my mill. Dedicated drill it is.

I need to mount my mill to the cart first (microwave cart, not using it for a nuke, so better to alter it to hold my Monster :D)... I should have enough space on the top of the cart to mount a motor later. I thought I had a motor already, but it was sold in a yard sale unknown years ago.
 
I use a cheap black & decker plug-in. I mounted it and use a light dimmer to control the speed.

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