Here is mine. It has a stainless top so doubles as a table when not in use. I picked up the cabinet at goodwill for 20 bucks, and the motor off of ebay for 50. Not as pretty as some of y'alls but works good.
Motorized Grain Mills: Time to show them off!
- Thread starter SAMPLER
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Very efficient! Great creativity/enginuity
milldoggy
Well-Known Member
Here is my monster mill 3 2.0 with the harbor freight drill mount. Thing rocks. I used an old kitchen cabinet, made a shute out of an aluminum sheet and pop riveted it. That is under the mill.
erikrocks
Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any leads on affordable high torque/low speed motors to drive a MM2-2.0? I've scoured the surplus sites and have come up empty. Help?
FredTheNuke
Well-Known Member
Grizzly Products has a 1 HP for 170 shipped. You want the enclosed one - G2532 model on Amazon.
drunkenmonk
Well-Known Member
erikrocks said:
Here's what I used: http://m.globalindustrial.com/m/p/m...tefc-rem-c-1-ph-56c-1-hp-68-fla-less-overload. I paired it up with a 10-to-1 gear reducer.
Gringo_Bandito
Active Member
Here is what I whipped up over the weekend.
Hello Brewophiles,
Looking through the motorized mill setups in this thread, just about all of the ones using sheaves and large electric motors have the motors uncovered and I was wondering whether there is a reason the motors need to be uncovered or is it simply that noone has bothered to do otherwise?
I was thinking that to deal with the danger of dust explosions and providing safety barrier whether a mill station with the sheave/large electric motor enclosed in a close fitting compartment would work? Or would the motor not get enough air flow and overheat?
Cheers.
Looking through the motorized mill setups in this thread, just about all of the ones using sheaves and large electric motors have the motors uncovered and I was wondering whether there is a reason the motors need to be uncovered or is it simply that noone has bothered to do otherwise?
I was thinking that to deal with the danger of dust explosions and providing safety barrier whether a mill station with the sheave/large electric motor enclosed in a close fitting compartment would work? Or would the motor not get enough air flow and overheat?
Cheers.
Sheaves, belts and shafts should, of course, be enclosed or guarded to protect against accidental contact or entanglement. Motors and switches should be of an explosion proof type or be enclosed away from the dust environment.
In a commercial setting those would be requirements. In the DIY homebrewer community there isn't anyone checking so you sometimes (often?) see a more relaxed approach to safety standards.
Your concept of enclosing your motor is a good one. How hot it gets will depend on things like type of motor and cooling, volume of open space in the compartment, motor duty cycle and loading, and air flow. Make the space as big as you can and see how hot it gets on a typical run. You can add a fan(s) and dust filtered air supply later if needed.
Have you seen the morebeer.com UltiMill? It has a guarded driveline and explosion proof motor. There's a reason it has the price tag it does.
In a commercial setting those would be requirements. In the DIY homebrewer community there isn't anyone checking so you sometimes (often?) see a more relaxed approach to safety standards.
Your concept of enclosing your motor is a good one. How hot it gets will depend on things like type of motor and cooling, volume of open space in the compartment, motor duty cycle and loading, and air flow. Make the space as big as you can and see how hot it gets on a typical run. You can add a fan(s) and dust filtered air supply later if needed.
Have you seen the morebeer.com UltiMill? It has a guarded driveline and explosion proof motor. There's a reason it has the price tag it does.
FredTheNuke
Well-Known Member
Buy a TEFC motor (totally enclosed fan cooled) and you are good to go!
Link to what it takes to power an MM3-2.0:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7U7BF8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Link to what it takes to power an MM3-2.0:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7U7BF8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you for the feedback guys.
I brew small batches (~5gal) so a motorised, sheaved mill wouldn't need to run for very long at any one time and probably won't get too hot before finishing.
It looks like TEFC motors are available here as well fortunately, since international shipping of the Amazon listed motors is not available.
Cheers,
Tom.
I brew small batches (~5gal) so a motorised, sheaved mill wouldn't need to run for very long at any one time and probably won't get too hot before finishing.
It looks like TEFC motors are available here as well fortunately, since international shipping of the Amazon listed motors is not available.
Cheers,
Tom.
raouliii
Well-Known Member
Here is mine:
I am selling a similar setup, minus a mill, in the for sale forum: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/motor-reducer-assembly-grain-mill-446662/#post5724075
I am selling a similar setup, minus a mill, in the for sale forum: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/motor-reducer-assembly-grain-mill-446662/#post5724075
Last edited by a moderator:
erikrocks
Well-Known Member
Last edited by a moderator:
Erik, the motor you listed will not allow a gear box to be bolted to it. Check out the one I linked, for the same price
erikrocks
Well-Known Member
Thanks!calebstringer said:
Will I need a capacitor to run the motor?
The motor is set up with everything you need. The only other thing I added was a barrel switch so that I could reverse it if it jammed.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#7065k21/=ptf3w5
Actually, get this motor instead. It's 3/4hp, matching the input rating of the gearbox. I swore that the gearbox was 1.25hp, but was mistaken.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Electr...115-230-VAC-56C-TEFC-LEESON-MOTOR-10-2699.axd
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Electr...115-230-VAC-56C-TEFC-LEESON-MOTOR-10-2699.axd
erikrocks
Well-Known Member
Great, thanks for all the info. Is there a cheaper switch I can get to throw the mill in reverse? An extra $40+ seems excessive, even though it looks like a nice switch...
That is only for eleoquent reversing. You could technically wire it up with a single light switch, which would give you single direction only, or use two light switches, to control each direction but you have to be really cautious to keep from bumping them both on at the same time
I use a 3 pole toggle, up is forward center is off, and down is reverse not as elegant as a drum BUT at $2.65 I can brew a couple of batches of beer for the cost difference 
I built mine for under a $150.00
I built mine for under a $150.00
Yup, that works too!
bluelakebrewing
Well-Known Member
Sub
erikrocks
Well-Known Member
Where'd you find a 3 Pole toggle for $2.65?I use a 3 pole toggle, up is forward center is off, and down is reverse not as elegant as a drum BUT at $2.65 I can brew a couple of batches of beer for the cost difference
e-bay 6 amp @ 125 volt, my 90 volt dc motor is less then a 3 amp draw.
I 'll check through my electrical stuff I got 5 new old stock for $13.24 shipped I used a couple have a couple leftover somewhere. PM me if you want.
I 'll check through my electrical stuff I got 5 new old stock for $13.24 shipped I used a couple have a couple leftover somewhere. PM me if you want.
erikrocks
Well-Known Member
The motor I ordered is 12.8 amps AC.
erikrocks
Well-Known Member
Well, I ordered the fancy forward/reverse switch from McMaster. Screw it. It's 40 bucks my son won't inherit from my in 50 years...
Way easier to hook up if you want reverse, IMHO
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2007
- Messages
- 6,841
- Reaction score
- 857
Last edited by a moderator:
I like the integrated e-stop!
Last edited by a moderator:
Not the prettiest:
It's made from an old cloths wringer. The aluminum rollers are hollow and they give a little, if I feed the whole length of the rollers. I need to pour some concrete inside of them, if I want use the whole capacity of it. It's fast enough already though.
It's made from an old cloths wringer. The aluminum rollers are hollow and they give a little, if I feed the whole length of the rollers. I need to pour some concrete inside of them, if I want use the whole capacity of it. It's fast enough already though.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2007
- Messages
- 6,841
- Reaction score
- 857
Needed the large hobby box from Radio Shack to house the big capacitor for the gear motor. The e-stop works, but it's more cosmetic than anything else. Just needed something to take up the space. But it could be a good thing. If both my hands are being sucked into the mill, I can hit the e-stop with my knee. :cross:
Huaco
Well-Known Member
Ahh, yes. But can your knee rotate the switch to reverse and re-energize the power to the motor? Better start practicing with your toes!
drunkenmonk
Well-Known Member
Nice stand!
Last edited by a moderator:
I just want to make sure this motor will work.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD15G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
1/3 hp reduced down to 172 rpms should be enough to power a two roller monster mill, right? Thanks.
I'll be sure to show it off once it is done next week if it will work. I already have the motor, so hopefully I can make it this weekend.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD15G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
1/3 hp reduced down to 172 rpms should be enough to power a two roller monster mill, right? Thanks.
I'll be sure to show it off once it is done next week if it will work. I already have the motor, so hopefully I can make it this weekend.
Last edited by a moderator:
mikescooling
Well-Known Member
Everyone's mills look so nice. I'll be the first to say my mill is a little ghetto. The good news is I had the guy from OSHA come out, he gave his full stamp of approval, said it was the safe'est thing he'd ever seen.
FredTheNuke
Well-Known Member
Not big enough. I would use the 3/4 HP (Grizzly G2530) or for $15.00 more the 1 HP one and future proof your setup (so if you step up to a 3 roller you can use the same motor). You are already spending over $100 - why stop just short of the most effective setup?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD15I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
This info is straight from Monster Mills website:
This is a very complicated answer. We recommend you use at least a 1/2 HP motor for our small 1.5" diameter roller mills, and 1 HP for our larger 2" diameter roller mills. Use a capacitor start motor if possible. They have much higher starting torque and should be able to start milling after the hopper is loaded. If you don't have a capacitor start motor, you may just have to have the mill running when you load the hopper. Get the RPMs down as much as possible. To do this you will need to use as slow a motor as you can get, and put a very small pulley on it, and put as large a pulley as possible on the mill. The biggest problem with this approach is that the pulleys end up being very large.
Most AC motors run at the slowest speed of 1725RPMs. This means that you need to reduce the speed by a minimum factor of 10. So you will need a mill pulley that is 10 times the diameter of the pulley on the motor to get down to 172.5 RPMs assuming your motor runs 1725 RPMs. When using pulleys to drive the mill it may be preferable to widen one flat on your mill's drive shaft using a metal file. The flats are designed for drill driving, and will work better with a pulley setscrew if they're wider. This is easily accompished using a metal file with the drive roller held firmly in your bench vice.
Pulleys to complete a motorization project are readily available from several sources including Grainger, and McMaster Carr. Look for a small pulley with a diameter of 1.5" or less, and a large pulley to mount on the mill of at least 10" with 12-14" being preferable. Worth noting is that usually the pulleys will have different pitch diameters depending upon the width of belt you use. If you use a narrower belt, it will ride lower down in the pulley groove, and effectively reduce the diameter of the pulley.
There was a very informative article written in BYO a while back, that has all the specific information you will need to complete your project. We worked directly with the author to provide accurate information. Gear reduction motors are also an option but they are usually out of the price range of most home brewers. If you can find one used for a good price, I have heard of several folks using them sucessfully, but you must make sure you have enough torque to drive the mill, or it will stall while grinding.
Last edited by a moderator:
That is what I'm afraid of. I got it as a present yesterday. Completely my fault because I had that one on my list. I guess I'll see if I can return it via Amazon, if not I'll probably give it a try. After I opened it yesterday, I re-read the entire thread and it seems that people have had some success with 1/3 hp, but it definitely isn't ideal.
