Wife got a new washer/dryer..

So what can I do with the parts off the old stuff? Grain mill motor? Mash tun? Looking for ideas...

I have always been partial to this

awesome.. i kinda want to do that with our brand new one.. Maybe I can sample at Best Buy....

not much probably. Motors are too powerful for grain mill and too high RPM. Assuming washer is top load? depending upon brand, it most likely has a plastic outer tub and that might make a mash tun but you will have to plug the center and figure out a lid....
drain pump might could be used like a mach pump

now you understand why you see so many in junkyards

There's info and plans online for making cider presses with them.

The Maytag Cider Press from mother jones magazine is pretty famous.

certaut said:

I have always been partial to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_jLpd-_gdY

Click to expand...

This video made my day, week, month, year!

chezhed said:

Motors are too powerful for grain mill and too high RPM.

Click to expand...

No such thing as too powerful. With the right gearing/pulleys, the washer motor could be quite useful.

you can use the washer motor for a grain mill. just search for "washer motor grain mill"

Hope you get a good answer because you will be asking the same question 5 years from now when the new stuff takes a dump. These modern appliances are not your Mothers 30 year old stuff.

Keep them for when the new junk craps out!

edit: iaefebs beat me to it!

One of the local campgrounds makes firepits out of the steel drum of upright washers, which are rented to folks with no portable fireplace (ground fires are banned).

The drum is placed on a set of blocks to raise above the ground and the round holes in the side keep a good airflow.

Happiness is Home Malting!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/happiness-home-malting-107409/index7.html#post1931771

COLObrewer is just amazing.

And this (same thread - different setup)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/happiness-home-malting-107409/index11.html#post2902592

The dryer motor gets stepped down somehow to spin the drum - you could use that to power a grain mill.

You could use the whole dryer to dry hops (probably should slow the drum speed down though). Or just gut the fan and heater and use them. You could also use them to heat a ferm chamber in the cold months.

For the brew setup: pump from wash machine (maybe), water solenoid valves (no more turning handles, just press a button on your controller).

The agitator drive mechanism on the wash machine could be used as a mash stirrer, maybe.

Buttons and knobs - maybe use them on an electric control panel. 240V cord off the dryer (if it's electric) would be good for an electric brew setup. They're like $15 new.

Gut it, insulate it, and use as a fermentation chamber and out in the garage. When the zombies come looking for your beer, it'll be hidden in plain sight.

Or, same as above, but turn the temp down, and make it into a kegerator (hey, I saw someone make one lately out of an old big screen TV here on HBT).

Haul it out in the woods and use for target practice, at the least.

Dont they have a water pump in them too? Shouldn't they be able to tolerate hot water? If so, why not part that out and use that for transferring.

a little off topic but it just reminds me that you can use your current washing machine as a cooler to store beer if you ever have a party. best part is there's no clean up after the ice melts...works really well.