New milling station...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
cyberbackpacker

cyberbackpacker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
2,209
Reaction score
499
Location
Holland, MI
I finally got around to making a milling station for my 3 roller Crankandstein mill.

Total Cost: $4.00

I had some old MDF scraps laying around, and I am using an old fermentation bucket as the base. The only thing I had to buy was the 5 gallon Culligan bottle.

Pics:

4846742243_0f88353dcb_b.jpg


Mill mounted to sheet of MDF.

4847360840_2ff190ebe7_b.jpg


Slot over rollers cut out, and hole drilled in side of bucket with plastic "ribs" removed from bucket in that area to allow for the drill chuck to fit and spin freely.

4846739795_3d6188ca5a_b.jpg


Top view. Board was left long to act as a counter weight for when the drill is attached to the mill.

4846746923_7d4030a8b3_b.jpg


Box that the Culligan water bottle hopper will fit in.

to be continued...
 
4847365382_30985c98a9_b.jpg


Hopper "box" attached.

4847368758_a1dba179d4_b.jpg


And the finished product with the Culligan water bottle hopper and my nice Dewalt that powers things!

FYI I just used a jigsaw to cut out the bottom of the Culligan bottle. A dremel would work well too.


I am happy with it; for the price it cannot be beat!


:mug:
 
That looks great. Just out of curiousity, roughly how many pounds of grain can the water bottle hopper hold? It looks like it would be enough for most 10 gallon batches I love toys!
 
I haven't had a chance to test it to capacity, but I do believe the grist for ten gallon batch should be handled pretty easily. I've had 15 pounds in it and I think it was probably right about half-full, maybe a bit more.
 
I can fill my water jug hopper with at least 20 lbs of grain. I've never bothered with filling it to the brim to determine the exact capacity. IMO, hopper capacity is NOT very important at all. I could easily get by with a 10 lb capacity hopper and only be inconvenienced to the slightest degree. It's not something to fret over for sure.

Here's some pics of my motorized single roller Phil Mil I with the water jug hopper:

3115713577_f05c15524f_b.jpg


3115715977_7f3cee8f06.jpg


3116540188_efaaf93538_b.jpg
 
Thanks guys!

And, Catt22, I like that mounting setup for the hopper. I may have to fab up one of those for my version 2.0! Dang HBT; I was quite happy with my solution, but then I have to see this!

:mug:
 
Nice job. Looks like a winner to me! I need to fab one of these up once I get my garage in order!
 
cyberbackpacker said:
Thanks guys!

And, Catt22, I like that mounting setup for the hopper. I may have to fab up one of those for my version 2.0! Dang HBT; I was quite happy with my solution, but then I have to see this!

:mug:
Click to expand...

I thought you might like that and it's the main reason I posted the pics. One nice feature is that you can easily remove the hopper with grain in it without spillage if need be. You can move it to the side or slip a thin piece of cardboard under the flange and you can lift it off the platform entirely to dump the hopper if necessary. Fortunately, I've only had to do that once when I had to tighten the LoveJoy hub on the mill side. Made it easier than lying on the floor to do it.:drunk: That red stuff is a piece of sheet vinyl I had laying around, but a piece of Masonite would probably work just as well.
 
Thanks Catt... what section of a hardware store would I find that metal flange? And from the looks of it, the other part is just a pvc smooth to threaded piece. Did you glue that piece into the hopper?

I like this idea, for the reasons you indicate-- access.

:mug:
 
The metal flange is called a "floor flange". You can find them in the plumbing section along with the other pipe fittings. Yes, the other part is a PVC adapter with male pipe threads X slip. I used epoxy glue to hold them together. The epoxy was the small twin plunger tube type stuff, but most any would work. I would suggest using a larger floor flange and a PVC fitting that fit over the neck of the water bottle instead of inside it. This would permit a higher feed rate as the smaller one I am currently using is slightly restrictive. It works OK for my mill as my motor only runs at 115 rpm and the mill itself is small. Even so, my through put is about 2 lbs per minute. Your big three roller mill could take advantage of a faster feed rate. Much faster I'm thinking.
 
Sure, here's the specs:

Speed (rpm) 115
Rated Torque (lb-in) 68
Motor HP 1/6
Volts 115
Hz 60
Phases 1
Amps 1.9
Gear Ratio 15

I bought that brand new, in the box, Bodine gearmotor for $5 from an old guy that bought stuff at auctions and sold it piece meal out of a small rented storage garage. He was a tenant on some light industrial property that I managed. I spotted the motor and asked him what he wanted for it. He said $4. I said I only have a five. Keep the change. The mfg sells them for something like $350 IIRC. Occasionally you can find them on Ebay for a reasonable price, but the BBQ crowd has been snapping up most of them rather quickly, so the competition can be stiff.
 
Good info here!

Going with a larger pvc fitting over the neck instead of inside was going to be my next question.

Next time I get to the local hardware store, I think I will do this. Granted it may double or triple the cost of my current setup ;)

:mug:


Catt22 said:
The metal flange is called a "floor flange". You can find them in the plumbing section along with the other pipe fittings. Yes, the other part is a PVC adapter with male pipe threads X slip. I used epoxy glue to hold them together. The epoxy was the small twin plunger tube type stuff, but most any would work. I would suggest using a larger floor flange and a PVC fitting that fit over the neck of the water bottle instead of inside it. This would permit a higher feed rate as the smaller one I am currently using is slightly restrictive. It works OK for my mill as my motor only runs at 115 rpm and the mill itself is small. Even so, my through put is about 2 lbs per minute. Your big three roller mill could take advantage of a faster feed rate. Much faster I'm thinking.
Click to expand...
 

Similar threads

seatazzz
Need advice on three-roller over two-roller grain mill.
Replies
37
Views
4K
seatazzz
seatazzz
Golddiggie
For Sale NH - Electric brewing gear (3 vessel system plus)
Replies
25
Views
4K
Golddiggie
Golddiggie
tennesseean_87
Recirc eBIAB Improvements: Whirpool Recirc, New Mill, Temp Probe, New Bag?
Replies
23
Views
2K
odie
odie
FlyingWombat
New England IPA Juicy New England India Pale Ale
Replies
11
Views
4K
HM-2
HM-2
FlyingWombat
Australian Pale Ale
Replies
0
Views
1K
FlyingWombat
FlyingWombat
Yakima 300

Latest posts

Back
Top