Drive your malt mill using a Kitchenaid

[dinnerstick]

It's just what the title says, really. For whatever reason my cordless drill won't turn my jsp malt mill, i guess it doesn't have the torque. So i though why not attach it to the auxiliary port of my kitchenaid mixer. The adapter for the port is incredibly high tech, i sold the patent to NASA. It's a plastic handle ground down to the right size square. then two flexi shafts so that alignment can be a bit off, and a screw-down adapter that clamps on the shaft of the mill. Works a treat!
Thought i'd post since loads of people have kitchenaids.
I haven't finished building my new brew room yet so i just assemble it on the floor in the mean time. (That's thomas fawcett brown malt it's happily chewing through)

 

[metric]

Great idea! And rate of crush can be adjusted by changing speed of kitchenaid. How many batches of grain have you milled so far using this setup?

 

[passedpawn]

That's pretty cool.

 

[Hello]

That's pretty genius.

 

[dinnerstick]

Great idea! And rate of crush can be adjusted by changing speed of kitchenaid. How many batches of grain have you milled so far using this setup?

one and counting

it was a breeze though, even on brittle crystal malt.

 

[pjj2ba]

I like it! I've been mulling over in my head how to connect my kitchenaid to my pasta maker - rather than buying the KA version. I think something along the same lines would work great. Hmmm, and I was thinking about making pasta this weekend.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

what exactly is the torque potential of a kitchenaid mixer?
What is the torque requirement to crush the grain.

 

[Dolomieu]

Oh man! Anna would kill me if i found a way to use her mixer for brewing. She won't even let me use it to make cookies.

I already my mill set up but i may have to show her this just to get a rise out of her.

Very nice BTW!

 

[Airplanedoc]

You might want to buy a replacement fiber gear just in case you strip out the one in the KA.

http://www.mendingshed.com/kagears.html

 

[krenshaw]

great idea! we just got a mixer.. still have to get a mill though.. i'll keep that method in mind!

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

Awesome, I was needing another homebrew project to pass the time between brews.

 

[railwalker]

Does the speed adjustment affect the attachment portal, or is it fixed?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Facinerous]

Geez. If only I had seen this a month ago. This is truly a fantastic idea.

 

[morticaixavier]

very ingenious but I'm not sure I would risk my 300$ KA for want of a 19$ harbor freight corded drill.

Still, gold star for ingenuity.

KA actually makes a roller type grain mill attachment but it is expensive and slow.

 

[glick]

Awesome idea, but my wife would kill me!!!

 

[negativereaction]

I have a pasta maker attachment for a similar KA stand mixer, but I've never used it after reading warnings that it will destroy the longevity of your motor. I fear to think what would happen after crushing 15 or 20lbs of grain, especially as frequently as I brew. Maybe for a garage sale mixer I would go this route though...

 

[morticaixavier]

I have a pasta maker attachment for a similar KA stand mixer, but I've never used it after reading warnings that it will destroy the longevity of your motor. I fear to think what would happen after crushing 15 or 20lbs of grain, especially as frequently as I brew. Maybe for a garage sale mixer I would go this route though...

I have used my pasta maker hundreds if not thousands of times and my KA shows no signs of slowing down.

 

[Decoy]

Good one. But too late - I already bought the Kitchen Aid brand mill; which works fine except for that you can only fit about 1 lb in the hopper at a time. But yeah - the KA stand mixer is like the diesel farm tractor with a PTO - plenty of torque and just goes and goes - ours is 18 years old. I don't have any drills that old...

(And the tractor is 26 years old)

 

[morticaixavier]

Good one. But too late - I already bought the Kitchen Aid brand mill; which works fine except for that you can only fit about 1 lb in the hopper at a time. But yeah - the KA stand mixer is like the diesel farm tractor with a PTO - plenty of torque and just goes and goes - ours is 18 years old. I don't have any drills that old...

(And the tractor is 26 years old)

that's good to know.

 

[brewbama]

That also reminds me of the PTO on the tractor.

 

[beaksnbeer]

Good one. But too late - I already bought the Kitchen Aid brand mill; which works fine except for that you can only fit about 1 lb in the hopper at a time. But yeah - the KA stand mixer is like the diesel farm tractor with a PTO - plenty of torque and just goes and goes - ours is 18 years old. I don't have any drills that old...

(And the tractor is 26 years old)

I do all the cooking and baking so I have a couple of KA mixers. My tilt head is a 1971 had to clean it out and install new brushes but still runs like a champ my 6qt fixed head was present (wife wants me to dump the old one)

 

[passedpawn]

I have used my pasta maker hundreds if not thousands of times and my KA shows no signs of slowing down.

I haven't used mine that much, but it certainly is far less stressing than the dough hook and a big ball of dough.

That also reminds me of the PTO on the tractor.

That's what I call mine. It might be the actual term.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I just picked up a a 5.5 qt with a 550 watt motor and with metal gears, store had them mismarked for $200

 

[markstache]

I just picked up a a 5.5 qt with a 550 watt motor and with metal gears, store had them mismarked for $200

Nicely done. And I thought I got a good deal on my wife's 475watt/5qt ($220 shipped).

Don't forget to check kitchenaid.com for rebate forms.

 

[dinnerstick]

Does the speed adjustment affect the attachment portal, or is it fixed?

variable speed

 

[MrNatural]

I like this idea, brilliant.......

 

[cray54]

I found this thread while looking for any information on using the KitchenAid "power hub". Although I'm not using it for brewing, I figured I'd post my effort in hopes that it will help someone else.

I purchased a KitchenAid juicer attachment (the cheapest attachment I could find) and a Lovejoy coupling. The juicer shaft is 3/8" so I filed a flat and just used the setscrew to hold the torque. I'm running a maximum of about 5 ft-lbs now.

I'm hoping to do some basic torque testing at some point, but for now I don't have to hand crank my ice cream.

 

[passedpawn]

I found this thread while looking for any information on using the KitchenAid "power hub". Although I'm not using it for brewing, I figured I'd post my effort in hopes that it will help someone else.

I purchased a KitchenAid juicer attachment (the cheapest attachment I could find) and a Lovejoy coupling. The juicer shaft is 3/8" so I filed a flat and just used the setscrew to hold the torque. I'm running a maximum of about 5 ft-lbs now.

I'm hoping to do some basic torque testing at some point, but for now I don't have to hand crank my ice cream.

Great first post! Very inventive!

Why is the Kill-a-Watt in there? Were you monitoring current to assess the torque from the mixer motor?

There is an ice cream attachment for the Kitchenaid. Did you consider trying that?

 

[cray54]

Why is the Kill-a-Watt in there? Were you monitoring current to assess the torque from the mixer motor?

There is an ice cream attachment for the Kitchenaid. Did you consider trying that?

Exactly, Kill-a-Watt is there to know when the mix is ready. The sound of the motor does not change enough to be obvious, and reading the power draw seems to provide repeatable results.

This old style ice cream freezer performs better than the stock KitchenAid ice cream makers and it is larger.. the one in the picture is a 6 quart freezer.

 

[chefjaypeek]

You might want to buy a replacement fiber gear just in case you strip out the one in the KA.

http://www.mendingshed.com/kagears.html

very ingenious but I'm not sure I would risk my 300$ KA for want of a 19$ harbor freight corded drill.

Still, gold star for ingenuity.

KA actually makes a roller type grain mill attachment but it is expensive and slow.

Good one. But too late - I already bought the Kitchen Aid brand mill; which works fine except for that you can only fit about 1 lb in the hopper at a time. But yeah - the KA stand mixer is like the diesel farm tractor with a PTO - plenty of torque and just goes and goes - ours is 18 years old. I don't have any drills that old...

(And the tractor is 26 years old)

I do all the cooking and baking so I have a couple of KA mixers. My tilt head is a 1971 had to clean it out and install new brushes but still runs like a champ my 6qt fixed head was present (wife wants me to dump the old one)

Real quick thing about KitchenAids... before 1980's they were fantastic and built by Hobart. Post 1980's not so good. For MOST home use, they are fine, but more recently, post 2000, they are really not that great. Plastic gears and such. There is a reason a Hobart 5qt stand mixer that looks just like a KitchenAid sells for close to a grand new instead of the KitchenAid 299 special at big box stores.

I totally agree with the above quote about getting a 19 dollar Harbor Freight drill to power a mill instead of using a modern KitchenAid, ESPECIALLY if your SO or even YOU use it for other things. Or pick up an older K5 off of eBay for around 100 bux, those are built like a tank. The power port is the same, modern accessories work on the old ones, the bowl and paddle may or may not depending on the model.

Chef Jay

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Sub'd!

 

[SpeedYellow]

Can you give us details on that screw-down adapter that clamps to the mill's shaft? I couldn't begin to guess what that's called or where to find it.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

"Lovejoy coupling" or "spider coupling"


http://www.mcmaster.com/#spider-couplings/=ta4r4r

 

[Decoy]

There's always another level, eh? Yeah - just out curiosity I looked for a new 5qt Hobart and its like $2300 new. If you're a chef and you use it everyday, I guess.... whew! Used EBay K5 sounds like the way to go when the circa 1994 goes, then. What with all the accessories we have already. Good info.