Motor for barley crusher

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I went to the habitat store looking for bigger motor and they had several 1/6 - 3/4 HP motors, machine shop style for cheap. This would look really cool but I would have to find a couple of pulleys to drop the speed down 1:10, pulleys seem kind of expensive.

But I also found a rad little hand drill with a speed control dial and trigger lock. I’ll be able to set the speed nice and low, flip it on and let it do the work hand free. I just need a few straps and lock it down to the base.

So just as suggested by @bracconiere above this is a great cheap solution for a dedicated, hand free mill cabinet. 👍🏻
thanks for everyone’s help.

View attachment 749490

have you tried it with grain in the hopper? i'm not sure if that's going to have the torque at low speed? :mug:
 
Yeah it got through a pound in about a minute, so pretty slow. I didn’t try starting it with grain already in there tho.
You can probably mill it twice, once on the wider gap, then on a narrower one. Especially for small kernel grain such as wheat, rye, oat malt, etc. that would crush those at the proper fineness for good efficiency.

Yeah, that drill may be struggling, just as long as it doesn't stop midway, it's all good.
 
That cold start is what gets 'em. If you have problems with startup and can manage it, start the motor/drill before adding grains. Unfortunately, that is not always convenient or possible.
 
That cold start is what gets 'em. If you have problems with startup and can manage it, start the motor/drill before adding grains. Unfortunately, that is not always convenient or possible.


mine and @ihavenonickname 's drills have a speed locking trigger....just start them up, lock em on, twist to desired speed...fill up the hopper...


it used to be a common feature, but dying out these days aparently....
 
So I gave the drill a go (this time at a tighter gap)and at low speeds it jammed up. It works at high speeds but faster than I want…
Im looking into the motor and pulley thing but sourcing the pulleys is a pain.
what do you think of using a speed dial like this with a 1/3 HP 1750rpm motor and a direct drive coupler? If you dial down the speed would it still have enough torque?
https://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html
 
Thanks yeah that really does look like the right tool for true job. 10 amps and a speed dial and lock. Did you grind down the drive shaft on the barley crusher so the drill teeth had something better (3 points to grab on to?
 
That motor seems on the weak side but it all depends on the mill that you plan on driving. The max RPM's seems on the low side as well (135 RPM).

For comparison my mill motor is 180 RPM at 14.5 ft-lbs.

This Link motor works with the Barley Crusher based on a member of the beer club. Unfortunately it does not give the torque or RPM values.
I have this exact motor and it works great. I can't recall what brand of mill I have (the wife bought it as a gift and said it was the Barley Crusher) but the coupler included with this motor would not fit the mill shaft. I ended up finding one that worked on Amazon and it's been a rock star.
 
Dewalt 20v brushless drill works great for my monster 3 roller and I don’t have to worry about a cord. I use a mini dewalt clamp to hold the trigger on. Drill is $100 and you get a nice drill too. I guess it depends if you want a permanent setup or just something you can stash away.
 
I can vouch for the DeWalt 20v wrt torque - it's a monster that can test your wrists :D - and use mine on my reversed and semi-retired Barley Crusher whenever I need some wheat or oat malt in the grist...

Cheers!
 
I can vouch for the DeWalt 20v wrt torque - it's a monster that can test your wrists :D - and use mine on my reversed and semi-retired Barley Crusher whenever I need some wheat or oat malt in the grist...

Cheers!

yea the first time I tried it, I attempted to hold it. I smashed my finger and flipped the whole crusher upside down, barley and all, in one motion. Lol. Now I make sure it’s pegged to the crusher mounting board and no worries.
 
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