Low bucks motorized grain mill

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I don't think the anderson ones will fit, and I wouldn't recommend buying a connecter that costs more than the motor itself. I would take a picture of mine but it is covered up with shrink tape. I used the push in spade connectors that have a plastic jacket around them. I had to really push them in to go on. Before when I had my temp wiring I just used regular ones and put electrical tape around one of them as they will touch each other when you slide them in. Both will work fine, just push harder.
 
adamranders said:
Or if someone knows what connector fits this.
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You can clip away the shell and just use 2 female spade connectors, that's what I did.

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i gave it a whirl today and it was a mixed result. the set screw was not tight enough the first time and the shaft started spinning in the coupler but it did grind the grain.



i decided to cut the shaft down and suddenly it did not want to grind very well at all. maybe the 16 amps my power supply provides is not enough or who knows what.

 
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Hmmm... well mine just went together today but didn't get a chance to test with a grind. Mine is a 19amp supply so I'll let you know once I get it finished this weekend
 
eastoak, maybe try it with some heavier wire going to the motor. It might be restricting the amps being delivered.
 
Yea so I'm confused. I have a 19A power supply and the second I introduce grain it stops. mill is at its widest setting and it won't even grind one piece of 2 row.
 
Just-a-sip said:
Yea so I'm confused. I have a 19A power supply and the second I introduce grain it stops. mill is at its widest setting and it won't even grind one piece of 2 row.
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I'd think that 19A would be enough if it's actually getting to the motor, if you have or could borrow a good multimeter here's a article describing how to measure the actual amperage of the circuit.

http://scienceshareware.com/how-to-measure-DC-current-with-a-dmm.htm

Long leads or thin wire can attenuate the amount of current delivered. If memory serves my power leads are 16ga from the P/S to the controller and 14ga. to the motor, total length is probably less than 18 inches.

leads.jpg
 
So a friend had the shaft shear off a garage door opener and I rescued it from being tossed away. Enough shaft was left to put a joy coupler on it. This isn't pretty - more proof of concept to see if it works.. and it does. The thing was hooked to my lathe via a pulley and belt, but it was awkward. Now I can uncouple it from the lathe and get the lathe back against the wall. Ugly, but I'll enclose the motor and wiring, mount the forward/reverse switch, and maybe rebuild it at a later date to make it more compact. Wish it had metal gears, but seems not to struggle under load.

I also had scored a couple motors out of a couple treadmills at our local gym that were destined for the landfill. These weren't the belt motors - those were huge and 240 volt with lots of vents for dust to collect and lots of wires to figure out. What I salvaged were some little gear motors that raise and lower the slope of the treadmill. These run slow, so you would start grinding a bit earlier. But seem like they would work fine. I would have to remount my mill to get them to fit under the table, so I went first with the garaged door opener since I just had to hang it off the end.



Bummer I didn't save the remote switch for it.
 
SevenOaks said:
It's finally coming together. The controller finally arrived from China, I bought a cheap little project box, and built a stand to fit over a bucket for my new MM3 mill. Tomorrow is brew day so I will see if this will actually mill grain in the morning. I'm betting it will work like a charm.
View attachment 263611
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how many amps in that power supply?
 
SevenOaks said:
It's finally coming together. The controller finally arrived from China, I bought a cheap little project box, and built a stand to fit over a bucket for my new MM3 mill. Tomorrow is brew day so I will see if this will actually mill grain in the morning. I'm betting it will work like a charm.
View attachment 263611
View attachment 263612
Click to expand...

Forget the mill, let's see some more of that microbus! Oh wait a minute, that would be off topic. Nevermind...
 
SevenOaks said:
It's finally coming together. The controller finally arrived from China, I bought a cheap little project box, and built a stand to fit over a bucket for my new MM3 mill. Tomorrow is brew day so I will see if this will actually mill grain in the morning. I'm betting it will work like a charm.
View attachment 263611
View attachment 263612
Click to expand...

Would you be so kind as to post a couple of close up pics of how you attached the motor to the stand?
 
eastoak said:
how many amps in that power supply?
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The label on the power supply shows 17 amps.

JINKS said:
Would you be so kind as to post a couple of close up pics of how you attached the motor to the stand?
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I used leftover 1/2" MDF for the mount along with an L-bracket I had. I glued up a double layer of the MDF and that was a bit too tall so I trimmed off 1/8" and that lined the shafts up perfect. I added another MDF piece at a right angle so the mounted motor just sits on the stand, unfastened.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426429968.653048.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426430140.225306.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426430157.268715.jpg

Just-a-sip said:
So your motor spins just a touch faster then mine. I would be interested to see the performance under crushing load. Mine just doesn't have a whole lot of ass behind it at 19A.
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I'm not sure I want to use this power supply even if it works with a hopper full of grain. I don't want to cut off that bundle of wires since I may still want it for the computer I borrowed it from. If it does work I'll probably get another PS from somewhere. If it doesn't work, this is my Plan B:
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426430419.583035.jpg

J_Hanna said:
Forget the mill, let's see some more of that microbus! Oh wait a minute, that would be off topic. Nevermind...
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My bus shares the garage with my brewery and I drive it to the LHBS so that keeps it on topic :)
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426430528.880132.jpg
 
SevenOaks said:
The label on the power supply shows 17 amps.



I used leftover 1/2" MDF for the mount along with an L-bracket I had. I glued up a double layer of the MDF and that was a bit too tall so I trimmed off 1/8" and that lined the shafts up perfect. I added another MDF piece at a right angle so the mounted motor just sits on the stand, unfastened.
View attachment 263707
View attachment 263708
View attachment 263709



I'm not sure I want to use this power supply even if it works with a hopper full of grain. I don't want to cut off that bundle of wires since I may still want it for the computer I borrowed it from. If it does work I'll probably get another PS from somewhere. If it doesn't work, this is my Plan B:
View attachment 263710



My bus shares the garage with my brewery and I drive it to the LHBS so that keeps it on topic :)
View attachment 263711
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Thanks, I'm still kicking around how to mount my motor and I appreciate the pics.
 
SevenOaks said:
Figured I'd better get this out quick:
FAIL on both plan A and B.
Had to go to Plan C:
View attachment 263749

After experiencing what the drill had to go through to get the job done I better understand why the little 12volt motor can't handle it.
Oh well, on to brewing-
Today it is a Northern German Altbier!
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Yea thats my plan B also. Except Black and Decker.
 
SevenOaks said:
Figured I'd better get this out quick:
FAIL on both plan A and B.
Had to go to Plan C:
View attachment 263749

After experiencing what the drill had to go through to get the job done I better understand why the little 12volt motor can't handle it.
Oh well, on to brewing-
Today it is a Northern German Altbier!
Click to expand...

I'm amazed that the battery booster didn't work, did you try hooking it up directly to the motor or going through the controller board? That controller board, if it's the same one I used, is rated for 6A and might have kept the motor from getting the full amperage. My controller didn't have any problems with my 23A power supply but the battery booster is probably putting out a whole bunch more amps than that.
The only other thing I can think of is that you mentioned your mill is a MM3, a 3 roller mill; it may be that the MM3 requires a bunch more torque than my 2 roller CK ( Cereal Killer ). If the drill motor was also having problems that might be a factor, also looked at the video and even empty the MM3 didn't seem to be turning as fast as my CK.
Yeah an Altbier sounds good right about now. I've had several VDubs over the years but never a bus, always wanted one!
 
J_Hanna said:
I'm amazed that the battery booster didn't work, did you try hooking it up directly to the motor or going through the controller board? That controller board, if it's the same one I used, is rated for 6A and might have kept the motor from getting the full amperage. My controller didn't have any problems with my 23A power supply but the battery booster is probably putting out a whole bunch more amps than that.

The only other thing I can think of is that you mentioned your mill is a MM3, a 3 roller mill; it may be that the MM3 requires a bunch more torque than my 2 roller CK ( Cereal Killer ). If the drill motor was also having problems that might be a factor, also looked at the video and even empty the MM3 didn't seem to be turning as fast as my CK.

Yeah an Altbier sounds good right about now. I've had several VDubs over the years but never a bus, always wanted one!
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Hooking it up without the controller will be my next test. Today was running out and I was anxious to get brewing. On the last attempt, something popped in the controller so it's probably wasted at this point anyway.
I do BIAB and have the mill pretty tight at .032 so that probably contributes to the problem, too.
This was all just an exercise in "what if" any how. For as little use as the mill actually gets, the drill works just fine.
 
SevenOaks said:
Hooking it up without the controller will be my next test. Today was running out and I was anxious to get brewing. On the last attempt, something popped in the controller so it's probably wasted at this point anyway.
I do BIAB and have the mill pretty tight at .032 so that probably contributes to the problem, too.
This was all just an exercise in "what if" any how. For as little use as the mill actually gets, the drill works just fine.
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What is the reason for the controller in the first place?
 
The controller gives you a forward-off-reverse switch and a pot for speed control.
 
SevenOaks said:
The controller gives you a forward-off-reverse switch and a pot for speed control.
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Since the motor speed is already reduced to ~200rpm is the speed control really necessary?
And how is the controller reversing the motor - since only 2 wires are going from the controller to the motor I am assuming it is just switching the polarity. So could the whole controller be replaced by a suitably rated DPDT centre off switch?
 
Well not exactly sure how some of you have made this work... I currently have a 19 amp power supply hooked up but with no luck. It binds up when grain is introduced. I can flip the switch a few times and get it to turn again but will bind a few seconds later. No real way to get through a full batch. This is the 2nd weekend that I have spent in the garge tinkering with no luck. I've tried larger guage wire, Larger power supply, adding grain sfrom stand still and with it already running. I just don't think my motor has enough ass in it to get the job done.
 
Just-a-sip said:
Well not exactly sure how some of you have made this work... I currently have a 19 amp power supply hooked up but with no luck. It binds up when grain is introduced. I can flip the switch a few times and get it to turn again but will bind a few seconds later. No real way to get through a full batch. This is the 2nd weekend that I have spent in the garge tinkering with no luck. I've tried larger guage wire, Larger power supply, adding grain sfrom stand still and with it already running. I just don't think my motor has enough ass in it to get the job done.
Click to expand...


same here. for some reason it works well for a short period of time with a pound or two, then it can't grind 2-3 grains.
 
I had pretty much the same results and I had a beastly 50A bench supply. Bit the bullet and got a Powergrinder, certainly pricey, but works great. I would imagine it will retain a decent resale value if need be.

I wonder if there could be a wide variation in motor performance/quality? I think j_hanna and spellman are the only two have posted successful results with these, If we were really curious maybe we could send them our motors to see if they perform in their setup...
 
I'm thinking that these motors are not created equal, but I discovered a bit ago that my power supply is only delivering 11.7 volts. It also could be a limitation of the controller. Mine died when I hooked up power to the jump starter battery. When I have more grain to mill I'll try again with the battery wired directly to the motor, but I'm not optimistic it will drive my 3-roller mill. No sweat because my drill works just fine and my Altbier is fermenting away in its chamber :)
 
adamranders said:
So I've been busy lately and not able to brew or work on projects, until recently. Then this happened, I still need to test it with grain but otherwise it runs.
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Looks awesome:rockin: I'm just days away from making mine.
 
adamranders, did you happen to flip which side the shaft comes out of? Mine is on the opposite side. I really dig having a similar setup that I can place a couple different buckets underneath and have space for a scale on top. The only improvement I want to make is to keep the milled grain from being sucked back out by static electricity. It kind of makes a mess towards the end when the bucket starts to get full.
 
MerlinWerks said:
I had pretty much the same results and I had a beastly 50A bench supply. Bit the bullet and got a Powergrinder, certainly pricey, but works great. I would imagine it will retain a decent resale value if need be.



I wonder if there could be a wide variation in motor performance/quality? I think j_hanna and spellman are the only two have posted successful results with these, If we were really curious maybe we could send them our motors to see if they perform in their setup...
Click to expand...


+++1 on the Powergrinder. It is a beast! And so far, very reliable.
 
Spellman said:
adamranders, did you happen to flip which side the shaft comes out of? Mine is on the opposite side. I really dig having a similar setup that I can place a couple different buckets underneath and have space for a scale on top. The only improvement I want to make is to keep the milled grain from being sucked back out by static electricity. It kind of makes a mess towards the end when the bucket starts to get full.
Click to expand...

Yes I did flip the shaft, I found that with the shaft on the other side resting the gearbox square on the surface it aligns perfectly with the shaft on my cereal killer height wise. And yeah, having the bucket enclosed to catch the grain to keep the airborn particulate down was a must for my design as I will be milling in my basement near where I ferment. I only do 5 gallon batches at the moment so I won't often fill the bucket, but I'll probably just use two if I'm doing a lot of grain and keep them about half full each.
 

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