Motorized Grain Mills: Time to show them off!

[erikrocks]

The motor is set up with everything you need. The only other thing I added was a barrel switch so that I could reverse it if it jammed.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#7065k21/=ptf3w5

Great, thanks for all the info. Is there a cheaper switch I can get to throw the mill in reverse? An extra $40+ seems excessive, even though it looks like a nice switch...

 

[calebstringer]

Great, thanks for all the info. Is there a cheaper switch I can get to throw the mill in reverse? An extra $40+ seems excessive, even though it looks like a nice switch...

That is only for eleoquent reversing. You could technically wire it up with a single light switch, which would give you single direction only, or use two light switches, to control each direction but you have to be really cautious to keep from bumping them both on at the same time

 

[beaksnbeer]

I use a 3 pole toggle, up is forward center is off, and down is reverse not as elegant as a drum BUT at $2.65 I can brew a couple of batches of beer for the cost difference I built mine for under a $150.00

 

[calebstringer]

Yup, that works too!

 

[bluelakebrewing]

Sub

 

[erikrocks]

I use a 3 pole toggle, up is forward center is off, and down is reverse not as elegant as a drum BUT at $2.65 I can brew a couple of batches of beer for the cost difference I built mine for under a $150.00

Where'd you find a 3 Pole toggle for $2.65?

 

[beaksnbeer]

e-bay 6 amp @ 125 volt, my 90 volt dc motor is less then a 3 amp draw.
I 'll check through my electrical stuff I got 5 new old stock for $13.24 shipped I used a couple have a couple leftover somewhere. PM me if you want.

 

[erikrocks]

e-bay 6 amp @ 125 volt, my 90 volt dc motor is less then a 3 amp draw.
I 'll check through my electrical stuff I got 5 new old stock for $13.24 shipped I used a couple have a couple leftover somewhere. PM me if you want.

The motor I ordered is 12.8 amps AC.

 

[erikrocks]

Well, I ordered the fancy forward/reverse switch from McMaster. Screw it. It's 40 bucks my son won't inherit from my in 50 years...

 

[calebstringer]

Well, I ordered the fancy forward/reverse switch from McMaster. Screw it. It's 40 bucks my son won't inherit from my in 50 years...

Way easier to hook up if you want reverse, IMHO

 

[AnOldUR]

Well, I ordered the fancy forward/reverse switch from McMaster. Screw it. It's 40 bucks my son won't inherit from my in 50 years...

. . . hmmm. Guess I bought the crappy one.

Amico On/OFF/ON Rotary Three(3) Position Selector Switch Power Ignition 10A 660V AC
Red Mushroom Emergency Stop Push Button Switch

 

[calebstringer]

. . . hmmm. Guess I bought the crappy one.

Amico On/OFF/ON Rotary Three(3) Position Selector Switch Power Ignition 10A 660V AC
Red Mushroom Emergency Stop Push Button Switch

I like the integrated e-stop!

 

[Vesku]

Not the prettiest:

It's made from an old cloths wringer. The aluminum rollers are hollow and they give a little, if I feed the whole length of the rollers. I need to pour some concrete inside of them, if I want use the whole capacity of it. It's fast enough already though.

 

[AnOldUR]

I like the integrated e-stop!

Needed the large hobby box from Radio Shack to house the big capacitor for the gear motor. The e-stop works, but it's more cosmetic than anything else. Just needed something to take up the space. But it could be a good thing. If both my hands are being sucked into the mill, I can hit the e-stop with my knee. :cross:

 

[Huaco]

Ahh, yes. But can your knee rotate the switch to reverse and re-energize the power to the motor? Better start practicing with your toes!

 

[drunkenmonk]

. . . hmmm. Guess I bought the crappy one.

Amico On/OFF/ON Rotary Three(3) Position Selector Switch Power Ignition 10A 660V AC
Red Mushroom Emergency Stop Push Button Switch

Nice stand!

 

[bemerritt]

I just want to make sure this motor will work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD15G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

1/3 hp reduced down to 172 rpms should be enough to power a two roller monster mill, right? Thanks.

I'll be sure to show it off once it is done next week if it will work. I already have the motor, so hopefully I can make it this weekend.

 

[mikescooling]

Everyone's mills look so nice. I'll be the first to say my mill is a little ghetto. The good news is I had the guy from OSHA come out, he gave his full stamp of approval, said it was the safe'est thing he'd ever seen.

 

[FredTheNuke]

I just want to make sure this motor will work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD15G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

1/3 hp reduced down to 172 rpms should be enough to power a two roller monster mill, right? Thanks.

I'll be sure to show it off once it is done next week if it will work. I already have the motor, so hopefully I can make it this weekend.

Not big enough. I would use the 3/4 HP (Grizzly G2530) or for $15.00 more the 1 HP one and future proof your setup (so if you step up to a 3 roller you can use the same motor). You are already spending over $100 - why stop just short of the most effective setup?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD15I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


This info is straight from Monster Mills website:

This is a very complicated answer. We recommend you use at least a 1/2 HP motor for our small 1.5" diameter roller mills, and 1 HP for our larger 2" diameter roller mills. Use a capacitor start motor if possible. They have much higher starting torque and should be able to start milling after the hopper is loaded. If you don't have a capacitor start motor, you may just have to have the mill running when you load the hopper. Get the RPMs down as much as possible. To do this you will need to use as slow a motor as you can get, and put a very small pulley on it, and put as large a pulley as possible on the mill. The biggest problem with this approach is that the pulleys end up being very large.

Most AC motors run at the slowest speed of 1725RPMs. This means that you need to reduce the speed by a minimum factor of 10. So you will need a mill pulley that is 10 times the diameter of the pulley on the motor to get down to 172.5 RPMs assuming your motor runs 1725 RPMs. When using pulleys to drive the mill it may be preferable to widen one flat on your mill's drive shaft using a metal file. The flats are designed for drill driving, and will work better with a pulley setscrew if they're wider. This is easily accompished using a metal file with the drive roller held firmly in your bench vice.

Pulleys to complete a motorization project are readily available from several sources including Grainger, and McMaster Carr. Look for a small pulley with a diameter of 1.5" or less, and a large pulley to mount on the mill of at least 10" with 12-14" being preferable. Worth noting is that usually the pulleys will have different pitch diameters depending upon the width of belt you use. If you use a narrower belt, it will ride lower down in the pulley groove, and effectively reduce the diameter of the pulley.

There was a very informative article written in BYO a while back, that has all the specific information you will need to complete your project. We worked directly with the author to provide accurate information. Gear reduction motors are also an option but they are usually out of the price range of most home brewers. If you can find one used for a good price, I have heard of several folks using them sucessfully, but you must make sure you have enough torque to drive the mill, or it will stall while grinding.

 

[bemerritt]

That is what I'm afraid of. I got it as a present yesterday. Completely my fault because I had that one on my list. I guess I'll see if I can return it via Amazon, if not I'll probably give it a try. After I opened it yesterday, I re-read the entire thread and it seems that people have had some success with 1/3 hp, but it definitely isn't ideal.

 

[FredTheNuke]

You may get by with starting the mill and then slowly at first pouring grain into it. Once it gets going 1/3 hp is plenty. Overcoming that starting resistance of grain in between the rollers is the issue. Also if you stop mid grind you may have to empty the mill to start again (this is what happened to me with a large drill - the 7 amp size - and an MM3-2.0 mill)...

 

[mikescooling]

I posted the last OSHA mill picture, it has a 1/3rd horse power blower motor. The shivs are 1.5" to 12". The rpm is 1750. It has the power to start and stop with the hopper full. I will say I do stop and let it cool if I'm milling more than one 55lb sack

 

[bemerritt]

It was going to cost 100 bucks to get it switched with the 1 hp one (the 1/3hp was purchased on sale for $100), so I'll give it a shot and report back. Worst case I'll start it with an empty hopper, not the end of the world.

 

[FredTheNuke]

Having the start capacitor on the Grizzly motor may allow it to work with a 2 roller mill. Let us know!

 

[AnOldUR]

It was going to cost 100 bucks to get it switched with the 1 hp one (the 1/3hp was purchased on sale for $100), so I'll give it a shot and report back. Worst case I'll start it with an empty hopper, not the end of the world.

You could always go with a larger sheave. Getting your ratio to 12:1 or more will give you a slower speed, but more starting power. Take a little longer to grind, but on a homebrew scale, not important.

 

[beernardo]

Finished mine - kind of - today. It's been a long haul, lately, and after taking apart my last mill, I'm kicking myself. That thing was rock solid, and this one shakes like Steve the monkey on gummy bears. Still, it works. There's another version already in the planning, but this will do until I can really buckle down and get some work done. (Unfinished top, because things didn't work out as I hoped.)

 

[calebstringer]

So Im finally getting things together...lol I just completed my mill last week, and it murders grain. I regapped it, and hope to tell tomorrow if I gain any efficiency, or if I just suck

 

[FredTheNuke]

What is your current efficiency? let us know what it is after re-gapping.

 

[rockytoptim]

Finished mine this week. Used a Furnace motor I got for free from a buddy of mine. It's 1075 RPM. I used 5:1 gear reduce from surplus center. Mill is monster mill MM2-2.0.

 

[calebstringer]

What is your current efficiency? let us know what it is after re-gapping.

Im still uncertain.... I went from an 0.026 gap, to 0.038, and the worst compaction yet in the MT. The first batch I did I had the same mash eff. of 62%. The second batch I had 67% by doing a hybrid fly sparge. However, On my second batch, I ended up with the same SG as the first. Two identical batches of doppelbock. 1st 1.055 into the boil kettle, two hour boil, 12.2g, 1.083 into ferm. Second, 1.060 (which was what I calc'd recipe at) into BK, two hour boil, 12g, 1.083 into ferm.

What the heck???

Im lost at why I cant improve my mash eff with any conceivable attempt.