Grain mill project with corded drill

[Sadu]

So up until now I've been placing the mill on top of a bucket and using the cordless drill, I'd imagine many brewers do this because it's easy and works.

I'm building out a new brew room and want to do something better though. What I got so far is the mill mounted in a custom slide out drawer so it's nice and stable plus easy to put away.

Next trick is to motorise it somehow, so I can turn it on and don't need to have one hand on the trigger the whole time.

I was thinking a corded electric drill permanently mounted in place, trigger permanently locked on, and use the wall power to turn it on and off (via a relay switch or whatever).

So I just tried this idea out with my old corded drill and it struggled to get traction. My new cordless drill works perfectly every time and just seems to have way more torque.

So my question is, do people here use corded drills with success or does everyone use cordless?

If I need to get a new drill, is there a minimum wattage to look for? Ideal RPM?

I know a lot of people use big electric motors for This, I'm starting to see why, but I'm also needing to keep costs as low as possible so maybe I need to stick with the cordless drill if it's going to get expensive.

Appreciate any advice. Cheers.

 

[Soulshine2]

I like your setup. Looks like same mill as I have ...and the Ridgid tools, love em.
Genius on the slide out drawer. I may just adopt that design myself. except one thing. when the torque of the drill/mill works it will want to flip that drill over the other way.
and...Just put a spring clamp on the trigger and the drill on torque setting instead of the higher speed setting.
Nice.

 

[Sadu]

I like your setup. Looks like same mill as I have ...and the Ridgid tools, love em.
Genius on the slide out drawer. I may just adopt that design myself. except one thing. when the torque of the drill/mill works it will want to flip that drill over the other way.
and...Just put a spring clamp on the trigger and the drill on torque setting instead of the higher speed setting.
Nice.

Thanks. Yeah the drill in the photo is set the correct way, I think. It didn't try to flip itself in my test run, maybe because my hand was on it, but if I got that wrong I'll just turn the board over.

This drill in the photo works great, I guess I'd just prefer having another drill permanently in place that is setup just right.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yes lots of people use corded drills to power mills...

Corded power tools typically have more balls for the money and work well for applications like driving a mill.

You want a gear reduced slow speed 1/2” drill.

Harbor freight has them for peanuts, perhaps not on par w a $300 commercial model....but owners reviews are positive.

Cordless tools have their place, but grinding grain near a power outlet isn’t one of them jmo.

https://m.harborfreight.com/12-in-h...l-63112.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided


https://m.harborfreight.com/12-in-h...l-63114.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided

 

[estricklin]

I have been using a cheap Black and Decker corded drill from Wolly World, and it runs my Ugly Junk Corona just fine.

 

[IslandLizard]

Nice purpose for building a drawer! You're going to love hands free.

My older model HF heavy duty, low speed drill has a 'speed adjustment wheel' in the trigger, it's set for about 150 rpm under load. The trigger also locks. I leave it set like that.
After first verifying:

• gap setting (2 credit cards, one regular the other is thinner),
• slave roller spins freely (jog it from the bottom),

I just plug it in and fill the hopper.