Mill motorization

[shoengine]

Your mill setup is looking amazing!

Any word on clamp make/model and sources for clamp & motor?

I'm checking on this...

 

[mattd2]

I can't speak to the torque requirements. I did mention to my friend that finding a motor that could run slow and put up with the milling was very difficult. I've milled with it twice so far and both times it worked well, with no struggling. I usually start my mill before dumping the grain in, but next time I'll try starting it after filling the hopper.

Looks good @shoengine - don't worry about testing it starting with a full hopping for my sake (don't want it getting busted just for my curiosity).

I've found a cheap 24v (or 12v) DC gear motor (although less total rated power than your motor) - total cost including motor bracket power supply and shaft coupler is less that US$35. Issue with using a lower power motor is it will need to be reduced down even further, from the (sketchy) specs it possibly could get by with a rated 135rpm motor, but I might drop that to the 90rpm or even 65rpm version. I've seen elsewhere that at 80rpm it takes about 2minutes per kg of grain to crush (or ~a minute a pound), with the 65rpm version this would be approx 2.5 minutes per kg, or between 10-15minutes to crush a standard 5 gallon batch.

Thanks for the insperation!

 

[sibelman]

Hey, @shoengine , I added a motor based on your listing. It did a fine job with its first run on my most recent IPA. One thing: its quiet whine with no load becomes somewhat piercing when the grain goes in the hopper.

I disassembled, cleaned and lubricated my Schmidling mill, but the unpleasant sound persists. Does this happen with yours?

 

[Deadalus]

Conditioning the grain before milling cuts down very significantly on the dust. I'm also interested in the parts used in the motorization if you you have a chance to put a list together.

 

[sibelman]

Here's some info from my build, @Deadalus I got it all from ebay with total just under $100.

• The 24V power supply I chose is Mean Well RS-150-24 AC/DC Power Supply 150W ebay item 175625043083
• The motor is ebay item 155702171164 (24V 50 RPM): 60GA775 DC 12V/24V 35W High Torque Metal Gear w/ GearBox Motor CW/CCW
• I also bought two couplers -- not sure which I ended up using -- from ebay item 185835199269

 

[shoengine]

I meant post these earlier. I don't have links to them but my buddy bought everything off Amazon.

@sibelman Do you have a video of the whine?

 

[sibelman]

Do you have a video of the whine?

One naked, one with a slapped together enclosure.

 

[Hunky]

Being cheap I first tried (after using a 1/2 drill for awhile) using a spare garage door opener motor.. worked great, until the plastic gear on the drive stripped out. Just needed a better grade gear, which I didn't have. Had forward and reverse of course, as well as a remote if there was a use.

After the gear stripped, I have a friend running our local city rec center and had some treadmills in the backroom for repair/parts. I talked him out of letting me part one.. I grabbed the motor that raises and lowers the treadmill ramp. (forward and reverse and high enough torque). Not the most elegant but works fine. Nice and slow.

 

[sibelman]

After building a crude wooden enclosure, I tested my newly motorized mill, inspired by the experience of @shoengine. It works. It's noisier than I'd like, and the enclosure only helps a little with that, as the motor and gears are acoustically coupled to the mill.

With this 50rpm motor, the pace is about a minute per pound. Certainly no worries about overly high speed.

Time will tell how durable this thing is. I'm still curious about the kind of sound @shoengine's unit makes.

 

[shoengine]

I have a brew slated for next week, so I can check it under load then.

 

[ClaudiusB]

I have a brew slated for next week, so I can check it under load then.

How is your mill performing after all this months ?

 

[sibelman]

As I wrote in a parallel thread, the mill motor worked great until it faced 2 pounds of rye malt, which is considerably harder and smaller than barley malt. After almost 2 pounds, it failed -- apparently a broken gear tooth, though hard to be sure what happened. Motor spins but output shaft only works with low or no load at this point -- won't even mill barley malt anymore. Dang! Need a tougher motor. Grainger has a ~$75 unit that claims a (mere?) 28 in-lbs of torque, and has cast zinc gears -- why not steel? Hmmm.

 

[shoengine]

How is your mill performing after all this months ?

Just saw this. My mill is still working like when I built it. Milled about 20lbs a few weeks ago, but no rye yet!

I'm still waiting for a rock.

 

[OleBrewing]

I have used a 18v cordless drill and it pummeled through a 50/50 wheat/barley. I am considering using an old drills gear box and supplementing to a 12 volt motor (had a motor from a power wheel kids car but can't seem to find it).

 

[day_trippr]

Mill motors are an expensive pita. When I wore out my 2nd 2 roller mill I was going to go with a Crankandstein two roller geared mill - but found my existing gear motor couldn't deal with it at all! Turns out the ideal motor would have been the American Ale Works gear motor - but that company vanished without a trace, and I couldn't find anything comparable for under way too many hundreds of dollars. So I was left to risk an Alibaba buy, or stick with another inexpensive non-geared two roller mill for a few more years...

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

Dang! Need a tougher motor.

I've been using a Harbor Freight Low Speed Drill (550 rpm max), mounted to the mill's baseboard. It chews through a hopper full of malt within a couple minutes. I'm milling at around 150 rpm under load with a Monster Mill MM2 (1.5" rollers).

HF now has a newer version of that low speed drill with similar specs but at a max speed of 600 rpm for around $60 or less (w/ coupons).

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I've been using a Harbor Freight Low Speed Drill (550 rpm max), mounted to the mill's baseboard. It chews through a hopper full of malt within a couple minutes. I'm milling at around 150 rpm under load with a Monster Mill MM2 (1.5" rollers).

HF now has a newer version of that low speed drill with similar specs but at a max speed of 600 rpm for around $60 or less (w/ coupons).

I have one as well but mine is variable I think it’s similar to this, as far as my mill I replaced the bearings several years ago, all is well since
https://www.harborfreight.com/power...2-in-variable-speed-d-handle-drill-59716.html

 

[IslandLizard]

I have one as well but mine is variable I think it’s similar to this

Yeah, mine (the older, gray model) has variable speed too, with an adjustable limiter wheel.

 

[shoengine]

Motor is still going strong. Still haven't tried rye yet!

Had to do some long-needed updating to the table. With no chute on the table it was becoming quite a mess.

Yuck

So I redesigned the spacer to include a short chute. Thinking about making a detachable chute so I can clean it easier. Also printed out a gasket out of TPU to try to keep the dust out of the spacer - mill interface.

We'll see in a few months how this works.

 

[Hunky]

That’s actually a pretty clever workaround — using a treadmill ramp motor is next-level DIY!
Sometimes the "not-so-elegant" fixes last longer than factory setups. Curious — did you rig it to a switch or remote, or just wired it manually?

Thanks! Still works just fine. I had a little 2-way toggle switch I got from somewhere (for forward and reverse) and made a little aluminum plate for its mount. So I guess manually wired it. No remote (no need for me). Used a cord for plugging it into a wall socket when I'm using it. Has a little black rectangular box that I assume is a capacitor that it needs.. came with the motor. I bet a lot of those motors go to the dump or e-waste. Nothing wrong with 'em if you have a use. Good torque.

 

[Hunky]

Had to do some long-needed updating to the table. With no chute on the table it was becoming quite a mess.
So I redesigned the spacer to include a short chute. Thinking about making a detachable chute so I can clean it easier. Also printed out a gasket out of TPU to try to keep the dust out of the spacer - mill interface.

I've noticed a lot of dust collects under my table when milling - I try to brush it into the bucket after milling but it is a bit of a mess and hassle. I needs me a chute.. keep thinking up excuses to buy a 3-d printer. Suppose I could fashion one out of tin or wood.

 

[hungupdown]

I really need to do that to my mill. Right now there's barely a 4" open drop but even that can result in thick malt dust all around the inside of the mill cabinet when the humidity is low. Gotta get 'er done

View attachment 835352

Cheers!

Ever tried malt conditioning?
I use 2% sprayed, and left for 15 minutes. Then a much better crush, and hardly any dust.

 

[Hunky]

Ever tried malt conditioning?
I use 2% sprayed, and left for 15 minutes. Then a much better crush, and hardly any dust.

Nope. Now I remember reading somewhere about doing that after forgetting about it.. I'll give it a try.. seems easy enough. Thanks.

 

[day_trippr]

Ever tried malt conditioning?

I used to, for a couple of years, and was a big fan. But it was causing rust to form on my mill rollers, and frankly I never had problems running my herms with dry crushed grist, so I gave it up...

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

I've noticed a lot of dust collects under my table when milling - I try to brush it into the bucket after milling but it is a bit of a mess and hassle. I needs me a chute..

You can't prevent dust from being formed and most will collect underneath the mill. A (deep) chute should help contain most of it.

I use this setup, and mill outdoors:

I get a rather tight seal between the milling platform and bucket underneath. So most of the dust stays inside the bucket headspace, clinging somewhat to the wooden platform that lies on top. It can't go anywhere else. At the end of the milling I just rap the board onto the bucket to drop any loose dust.

 

[playhouse]

Re-purposed an old KitchenAid using the spindle from a broken pasta attachment and a coupler. 8 speed on the KitchenAid delivers 180 rpm consistently with tons of torque.

 

[shoengine]

Nice, that looks like the 6.5 quart. I'd love to see what replaced it

 

[corkybstewart]

I really need to do that to my mill. Right now there's barely a 4" open drop but even that can result in thick malt dust all around the inside of the mill cabinet when the humidity is low. Gotta get 'er done

View attachment 835352

Cheers!

I cut open a pillowcase and stapled it to the bottom plate of my mill to make a cloth chute. It keeps the grain and dust going into the old malt sack I use to collect the milled malt. Since I make 10 gallon batches, 20-30 pounds of malt is common.

 

[sibelman]

cloth chute.

This also works well for me.

 

[ClaudiusB]

My grain mill is outside, and the dust is not a big problem; an opening in the front vents a lot of the dust outside.
My simple mill has been a hard worker for over thirty years.
The mill has several sensors to ensure a steady flow of grain delivery to the mash tun when requested by the brewery, located approximately fifty feet away.