Motor for Grain Mill

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

I found a blower motor from a furnace at the local Restore, which is a Habitat for Humanity store that sells used/ damaged new building materials. Cost me $3. There was a pulley and belt at the local surplus store, cost another $4.

 

[Catt22]

I was originally going to use a similar motor with a belt and sheaves, but then I got extremely lucky and found a brand new Bodine gear motor for $5. That Bodine motor is listed new at $385. With a factory mounting bracket, a capacitor and shipping it would have been close to $450 brand new. Yikes! Add the cost of the mill and the table I built for it and it would be approaching $600. I'm thinking I might need to insure the damn thing!

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with the belt and sheave method, but it would be prudent to install guards over them. You are probably smart enough and cautious enough to avoid getting tangled up in your mill, but others might not be as careful. The resulting injuries could be pretty gnarly.

 

[Sawdustguy]

I did it on the cheap. I found a wire cart like this on Ebay for $25. I routed a rectangular hole in the middle of the top for the Mill. When in use I remove some of the slide out baskets. When not using the mill, I reinsert the baskets so I can store hoses, thermometers, pH meter etc.

I also found on Ebay, a Bodine 135 RPM @ 57 in oz Torque, DC Gearmotor for $15 and a PWM controller for $20. I had a Lovejoy coupler but it wasn't the right size so I had a neighbor lathe me a coupler.

All told is cost me about $190 with the mill.

 

[Catt22]

I did it on the cheap. I found a wire cart like this on Ebay for $25. I routed a rectangular hole in the middle of the top for the Mill. When in use I remove some of the slide out baskets. When not using the mill, I reinsert the baskets so I can store hoses, thermometers, pH meter etc.

I also found on Ebay, a Bodine 135 RPM @ 57 in oz Torque, DC Gearmotor for $15 and a PWM controller for $20. I had a Lovejoy coupler but it wasn't the right size so I had a neighbor lathe me a coupler.

All told is cost me about $190 with the mill.

Why did you get the PWM controller? You shouldn't need one if the motor is only running at 135 RPM. That's relatively slow which IMO is good as it produces much less dust. Mine only runs at 115 RPM. The slower speed isn't an issue for me as it still only takes less than ten minutes to mill grain for a five or six gallon batch. I think the throughput is about 1-1/2 lbs/min for my mill. I have about $200 total invested in the mill, motor and stand and I think it will last longer than I will.