Motorized Grain Mills: Time to show them off!

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Lastnight I finished putting together our grain mill. All I gotta do is assemble the hopper and mount the switch. So far it turned out great, thanks to the help of this thread...

Here are some pic's of my progress;



















...
 
FINALLY got around to getting my motorized grain mill put together. Found a used stainless cafeteria cart off Craigslist, painted the red parts black, cut out the top for my old Barley Crusher as needed, added a switch on the side and some vinyl floor runner to help control dust.

Motor is the 1/2HP 180RPM Power Grinder from All American Ale Works. The thing works like a champ.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479176333.533893.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479176372.425229.jpg
 
Just finished up my new mash system so now it is time to turn my attention to my grain mill. My current grain mill is a MM2 being driven with the remains of an old drill press. I've managed to get my hands on a 10:1 gear reducer and a nice 1/2 hp 56c motor. I plan to weld a stand out of 1.5" square tubing and use a 1/4" steel plate as the surface onto which everything mounts. One area that I currently don't have a clear idea of what I want to do is my ground grain hopper. I typically use 5 gallon buckets since they are so cheap and I already have about 20 of them. I would like to make some type of mount where the bucket would slide under the 1/4" plate and hang from the buckets lip so that the gap between the bucket and the bottom of the 1/4" plate is minimized in an effort to minimize the dust that doesn't go into the bucket. Anybody got any ideas? Done this before?
 
Just finished building a new stand for my Monster Mill MM-2. I originally built a wooden cabinet with a double reduction belt drive salvaged from an old drill press. I was never a fan of the cabinet (but loved the MM-2) and the drive system so I ave always been looking for a better answer. About 6-7 months ago, I found a dirt cheap 56C 10:1 gear reducer on ebay. It looks like it is NOS with just a little patina from sitting around in some tool crib. When my ancient drill press decided to develop enough current leakage to start tripping GFCIs, that was the impetus to rebuild my mill.

Some of the things that I wanted in a new mill based on a couple of years of use with my prior setup:

  • I brew outdoors and have to move my equipment through a basement patio door with a large sill
  • No cabinet with interior corners to collect and hold grain dust
  • Minimal gap between the bucket I use to collect the grist and the bottom of the work surface
  • Simple uncluttered controls

I built an open stand with only a top surface and very simple and adjustable bucket support.

In order to facilitate moving, I used (2) 7" lawn mower wheels and added a couple of handles so that the entire mill moves around like a hand truck.
I had previously done this to my brew kettle as well as my mash stand (I mash inside but move outside to clean).

The bucket is supported by the collar to which the handle attaches. The buckets I use require a space of about 2-3/8" between the bucket support and the bottom of the top surface. If I ever change buckets, I can simply adjust this height with a few nuts and be back in business.

There is a seller on ebay which has a ton of 56c motors - they are AO Smith and appear to be from the HVAC industry. The shaft is too long - easy 5 minute fix with a hacksaw - and they require an external start capacitor. My start capacitor is housed in an electrical box on the underside of the top surface as well as the power inlet.

I was up in the air about using a reversing drum switch, but seeing how I have never once had a desire or need to reverse my mill, I decided to go simpler and hard wire the system for a single direction (and of course I got it backwards the first time)

2016-12-23 16.33.32.jpg
 
Nice build, but more pictures please. Can you show some of:

Your adjustable bucket support
Gear reducer mounting
Wiring with start capacitor
 
OK - here are some more details:

The first pic shows the gear reducer and mill mounting. It turns out that the center of the shaft of the gear reducer is 2.09" from the base. The center of the shaft for a MM-2 is 1.0625" from the bottom edge of the mill. I ended up mounting the gear reducer directly to the my top surface with 4 bolts securing it from the bottom - can be seen in the 3rd and 4th photos. I made (2) 1/2" thick spacers from steel with slightly different hole patterns. The upper spacer has (2) 1/4" holes at the drive end of the mill and (2) 5/16" holes at the other end to allow for a little adjustment. The mill is mounted to the upper spacer with 4 socket head 1/2" bolts. This allows me to mount the mill and adjust it very easily so that the rollers turn freely without too much play. The lower spacer has 4 holes which are big enough to provide recesses into which the socket head bolts securing the mill can fit. Both spacers have 4 matching 1/4" holes for bolts which are threaded into tapped holes on the upper surface. Since the bucket would be sliding directly under the mill, it was important that I design this so that there are no protrusions directly under the mill. Once I powder coated everything, the spacers worked perfectly and the I have great shaft alignment between the mill and gear reducer.

The 3rd picture shows the electrical boxes. The left box is attached to the underside of the top surface with a 1/2" conduit nut attached to the blue plastic conduit next to the motor on the top side. There is also a very short 1/4" carriage bolt under the motor which also secures the left electrical box as well as provides a convenient grounding point. The box contains the start cap - the 2 black lines are zip ties preventing the cap from moving around. 5 wires head up to the motor from this box - ground, the 2 cap lines and switched L1 and N. The right most box is a junction box for the power input and provides a clean way to mount the box on the top surface. The lower box and upper box are connected with a 1/2" conduit nipple and a 1/4" bolt which passes through a hole in the top box, top surface and is threaded into the lower box. This right box offers another grounding point and 4 wires(L1, N, and switched L1 & N) head up to the magnetic switch in the upper box.

The 3rd pic also shows the bucket support. It is a 1/4" piece of steel with a semi-circular cutout designed to support the bucket. I sized it to fit every 5 gallon bucket I could find - I had at least 6 different types in my house. It is supported by (4) carriage bolts. Each carriage bolt has a nut securing the bolt to the top surface and 2 more nuts sandwiching the bucket support at the proper height. If I need to change buckets, I can always adjust these nuts to modify the height of the bucket support. If for some reason I decide that I want to use some odd-ball bucket which doesn't work with my support, I can always cut a new one and as long as it has the same bolt spacing, I should be good to go.

The 4th pic just shows the bucket captured by the support.

2016-12-24 11.37.15.jpg


2016-12-24 11.36.32.jpg


2016-12-24 11.35.48.jpg


2016-12-24 11.34.36.jpg
 
I am reading all of these post and drooling over all of the grain mills. I have a couple of questions? Would not a 1/2 hp or even a 1/3 hp be sufficient? A lot of folks are using a hand drill to crush grains. Which is not near a 1 hp motor. I am asking for information to do a build of my own. While looking at motors on line the question popped up. You are all inspiring my build. Thanks for contributing.
 
Question #2, I see that in all builds a 10:1 ratio reducer was used. Which puts the 1750ish motor rpm output to 175 rpm. My grain mill states that optimal is 300 rpm. Has anyone tried a 5:1 which would put the mill at 350 rpm. Curious. Any input?
 
tat2Pompadore said:
I am reading all of these post and drooling over all of the grain mills. I have a couple of questions? Would not a 1/2 hp or even a 1/3 hp be sufficient? A lot of folks are using a hand drill to crush grains. Which is not near a 1 hp motor. I am asking for information to do a build of my own. While looking at motors on line the question popped up. You are all inspiring my build. Thanks for contributing.
Click to expand...

I used a 1/2 hp motor with my double belt reduction setup for a few years with no issues. When I bought the motor for my gear reduction system, I stuck with a 1/2 hp motor as well.
 
srice said:
OK - here are some more details:

The first pic shows the gear reducer and mill mounting. It turns out that the center of the shaft of the gear reducer is 2.09" from the base. The center of the shaft for a MM-2 is 1.0625" from the bottom edge of the mill. I ended up mounting the gear reducer directly to the my top surface with 4 bolts securing it from the bottom - can be seen in the 3rd and 4th photos. I made (2) 1/2" thick spacers from steel with slightly different hole patterns. The upper spacer has (2) 1/4" holes at the drive end of the mill and (2) 5/16" holes at the other end to allow for a little adjustment. The mill is mounted to the upper spacer with 4 socket head 1/2" bolts. This allows me to mount the mill and adjust it very easily so that the rollers turn freely without too much play. The lower spacer has 4 holes which are big enough to provide recesses into which the socket head bolts securing the mill can fit. Both spacers have 4 matching 1/4" holes for bolts which are threaded into tapped holes on the upper surface. Since the bucket would be sliding directly under the mill, it was important that I design this so that there are no protrusions directly under the mill. Once I powder coated everything, the spacers worked perfectly and the I have great shaft alignment between the mill and gear reducer.

The 3rd picture shows the electrical boxes. The left box is attached to the underside of the top surface with a 1/2" conduit nut attached to the blue plastic conduit next to the motor on the top side. There is also a very short 1/4" carriage bolt under the motor which also secures the left electrical box as well as provides a convenient grounding point. The box contains the start cap - the 2 black lines are zip ties preventing the cap from moving around. 5 wires head up to the motor from this box - ground, the 2 cap lines and switched L1 and N. The right most box is a junction box for the power input and provides a clean way to mount the box on the top surface. The lower box and upper box are connected with a 1/2" conduit nipple and a 1/4" bolt which passes through a hole in the top box, top surface and is threaded into the lower box. This right box offers another grounding point and 4 wires(L1, N, and switched L1 & N) head up to the magnetic switch in the upper box.

The 3rd pic also shows the bucket support. It is a 1/4" piece of steel with a semi-circular cutout designed to support the bucket. I sized it to fit every 5 gallon bucket I could find - I had at least 6 different types in my house. It is supported by (4) carriage bolts. Each carriage bolt has a nut securing the bolt to the top surface and 2 more nuts sandwiching the bucket support at the proper height. If I need to change buckets, I can always adjust these nuts to modify the height of the bucket support. If for some reason I decide that I want to use some odd-ball bucket which doesn't work with my support, I can always cut a new one and as long as it has the same bolt spacing, I should be good to go.

The 4th pic just shows the bucket captured by the support.
Click to expand...

I really like the bucket mounting solution to minimize the grain dust. I hope to copy this someday.
 
srice said:
OK - here are some more details:

The 3rd pic also shows the bucket support. It is a 1/4" piece of steel with a semi-circular cutout designed to support the bucket. I sized it to fit every 5 gallon bucket I could find - I had at least 6 different types in my house. It is supported by (4) carriage bolts. Each carriage bolt has a nut securing the bolt to the top surface and 2 more nuts sandwiching the bucket support at the proper height. If I need to change buckets, I can always adjust these nuts to modify the height of the bucket support. If for some reason I decide that I want to use some odd-ball bucket which doesn't work with my support, I can always cut a new one and as long as it has the same bolt spacing, I should be good to go.

The 4th pic just shows the bucket captured by the support.
Click to expand...

That's pretty damn slick. I really like how you did that!
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by srice View Post
OK - here are some more details:

The 3rd pic also shows the bucket support. It is a 1/4" piece of steel with a semi-circular cutout designed to support the bucket. I sized it to fit every 5 gallon bucket I could find - I had at least 6 different types in my house. It is supported by (4) carriage bolts. Each carriage bolt has a nut securing the bolt to the top surface and 2 more nuts sandwiching the bucket support at the proper height. If I need to change buckets, I can always adjust these nuts to modify the height of the bucket support. If for some reason I decide that I want to use some odd-ball bucket which doesn't work with my support, I can always cut a new one and as long as it has the same bolt spacing, I should be good to go.

The 4th pic just shows the bucket captured by the support.
That's pretty damn slick. I really like how you did that!
Click to expand...

Nice solution. I like it for an open design. Keeping the bucket close to the top really keeps the dust down. I just used a shelf that left just enough room for the bucket to fit with about 1/8" gap. That with a closed door and I get almost zero dust.
 
tat2Pompadore said:
Question #2, I see that in all builds a 10:1 ratio reducer was used. Which puts the 1750ish motor rpm output to 175 rpm. My grain mill states that optimal is 300 rpm. Has anyone tried a 5:1 which would put the mill at 350 rpm. Curious. Any input?
Click to expand...


Couple of thoughts,

You are trading speed for torque. may or may not be an issue depending on your motor.

The ability of the rollers to grab the grain, especially after the "new" wears off and the knurling is a little less sharp. Grabbing the grain is less effective at higher speeds. The rig I built (for the LHBS) used 1.5" and 9" sheaves, for a 6:1 ratio and ~291 rpm. We frequently have issues, especially with harder grains, of getting the mill to grab the grain... the rollers just slide under the grain. If I get a chance to re-do it I would shoot for closer to 200 rpm.
 
beergolf said:
Nice solution. I like it for an open design. Keeping the bucket close to the top really keeps the dust down. I just used a shelf that left just enough room for the bucket to fit with about 1/8" gap. That with a closed door and I get almost zero dust.
Click to expand...

My last mill had a shelf - with about 3/4" between the top of the bucket and the bottom side of the top surface. I had grain dust in every friggin corner of that cabinet. That's why I decided on an open design - no interior shelves or corners to for the dust to hang on to. I can simply brush everything down when I finished milling and be good to go.
 
Yeah, The gap has to be tight. 3/4" and there is plenty of room for the dust to escape. The tighter the better. I have done approx 35 mill sessions and yet have had to clean out the cabinet. There is a slight amount of dust but not much. Mill, wait a couple of minutes and it is good. Again an 1/8" or less is good.
 
My father-in-law gave me his old General Model D meat grinder. The motor is a 1/3 hp motor and the reduction gear, switch, and power cord already on the motor. What I didn't have was a way to attach it to my mill. I got a piece of 3/4 inch steel bar and ground down one end with a hand grinder to a square shape to fit into the gear reducer, attached a lovejoy coupler to the other end and to my mill. I then built a little offset stand to make up for the hight difference between the motor and mill. I don't know what the RPM of the mill is now. If I'd have to guess, around 100 to 200rpm (170 if the reduction gear is 10 to 1). I do know it does a good job of milling the grain.

View attachment 1486354999444.jpg

View attachment 1486355738746.jpg
 
Anybody with an American motors set up give a better explanation of how they wired the switch for it? I looked at the diagram online but not really seeing how it all hooks up.
 
I just realized I posted initial photos of my build on here and promised to update it once I built it; that was over a year ago now and I completely forgot about it; Oops!

American Ale Works Power Grinder, MM2 2.0 Mill with extended hopper, 3 way drum switch, ikea stenstorp kitchen cart, and gamma seal lid and homer buckets to prevent dust.


Video:https://www.facebook.com/adamindublin/videos/10154148839526929/?l=3068610855969354772


I ended up plugging it into a 1990's "Clapper" with the thought that I could just clap to begin crushing, but that let the smoke out of the Clapper very quickly... WAAY too many amps for the Clapper.



Adam
 
Marquez said:
+ 1 for kiblerjd

My brewing bud had a similar set up to yours millsbrew, and sheared the mill shaft cleanly.

Those motors are pretty tough, and have a jerky start up torque.

He solved the problem by having a correct spacer under the mill to raise it to the correct height and using a lovejoy coupler for the shaft.

I think there are other builds here that show a similar config.
Click to expand...

Marquez,

What Love joy adapter did you use ?

I have the same problem as millsbrew, and can not shim my mill

Thanks

Steve
 
Or maybe a better question....

How do you "properly" size a Love Joy adapter ?

I have that same "Old Blue" Harbor Freight slow speed drill - that everyone seemed to use
and a Monster Mill 2

thanks in advance guys & gals

Steve
 
steveoatley said:
Or maybe a better question....

How do you "properly" size a Love Joy adapter ?

I have that same "Old Blue" Harbor Freight slow speed drill - that everyone seemed to use
and a Monster Mill 2

thanks in advance guys & gals

Steve
Click to expand...


This place has the information you need - everyone may have different needs, so you can check your motor and grain mill shaft diameters, and buy the appropriate pieces...the drawing shows how it assembles.

McMaster-Carr
 
To those that cut rectangles in stainless steel. What's your best option? Angle grinder, plasma cutter or the local guy that can get it perfect?
 
Hang Glider said:
This place has the information you need - everyone may have different needs, so you can check your motor and grain mill shaft diameters, and buy the appropriate pieces...the drawing shows how it assembles.

McMaster-Carr
Click to expand...

Hang Glider

I have the 1/2 inch Chicago Drill
I have the 1/2 inch shaft on my Monster Mill 2

those i can find....

The two of them are not aligned by "about" 1/4 inch offset - parallel alignment

Where can i figure that out on the McMaster page ?
How Long does the whole love joy unit need to be?
and what do i use in my Drill - as a shaft ? is that a different part ?

Sorry, i'm a visual guy... that McMaster page is just a bunch of numbers

Thanks

Steve
 
Dcpcooks said:
To those that cut rectangles in stainless steel. What's your best option? Angle grinder, plasma cutter or the local guy that can get it perfect?
Click to expand...

The best option I have found is a water jet. I am fortunate enough to have this near me and to be signed off on using the water jet - https://firstbuild.com/
 
steveoatley said:
Hang Glider

I have the 1/2 inch Chicago Drill
I have the 1/2 inch shaft on my Monster Mill 2

those i can find....

The two of them are not aligned by "about" 1/4 inch offset - parallel alignment

Where can i figure that out on the McMaster page ?
How Long does the whole love joy unit need to be?
and what do i use in my Drill - as a shaft ? is that a different part ?

Sorry, i'm a visual guy... that McMaster page is just a bunch of numbers

Thanks

Steve
Click to expand...

You would need a shaft to put int the chuck of the Harbor Freight drill. You will then need to pick the appropriate family of Lovejoy couplers based on the torque requirements. Take a look at the Lovejoy website - they have an online configuration tool that will make selection a lot easier. http://www.lovejoy-inc.com/
You will want the L-Line.
 
srice said:
You would need a shaft to put int the chuck of the Harbor Freight drill. You will then need to pick the appropriate family of Lovejoy couplers based on the torque requirements. Take a look at the Lovejoy website - they have an online configuration tool that will make selection a lot easier. http://www.lovejoy-inc.com/
You will want the L-Line.
Click to expand...

Thanks srice....

but i am NOT an engineer.
I have no idea how to convert my 6 amp drill to horse power
at less than 200 rpm
the love joy site is just a bunch of gobbley gook to me....

I can find the 1/2 inch ones on McMaster site

the information i have is
1/2 inch shaft on my MM2
1/2 inch chuck on my 6 amp Chicago Electric Harbor Freight drill

the offset is 'about' 1/4 of an inch from the chuck to the shaft

Anyone already buy a LoveJoy adapter for their MM2 & Chicago Electric drill ?

none of the info i can find has an offset of 1/4 inch - so i might be screwed.

???????????????????????????
 
steveoatley said:
Thanks srice....

but i am NOT an engineer.
I have no idea how to convert my 6 amp drill to horse power
at less than 200 rpm
the love joy site is just a bunch of gobbley gook to me....

I can find the 1/2 inch ones on McMaster site

the information i have is
1/2 inch shaft on my MM2
1/2 inch chuck on my 6 amp Chicago Electric Harbor Freight drill

the offset is 'about' 1/4 of an inch from the chuck to the shaft

Anyone already buy a LoveJoy adapter for their MM2 & Chicago Electric drill ?

none of the info i can find has an offset of 1/4 inch - so i might be screwed.

???????????????????????????
Click to expand...

The easiest way to convert a 6 amp motor to hp is to google it. A good estimate is somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 hp. Use 1/3 for the LoveJoy configuration tool to be safer. A fair estimate of speed is 150 rpm. Service factor - leave it alone at 1

This then spits out that you want a L090 coupling with a SOX rubber elastomer. The exact pieces of L090 coupling will depend on the shaft sizes of your mill and whatever you decide to use as a shaft in the drill chuck. You could simply grab a piece of 1/2" diameter steel rod and use it as your shaft in the drill. If both the mill and the drill shaft are 1/2" then the proper L090 coupling is #10769.

1/4" is a huge misalignment to attempt to fix with a lovejoy coupler. I personally would find a way to shim either the drill or the mill before I tried to use a coupler to connect the 2.

I do have to ask why you are trying to use a coupler to attach a drill to the mill. Just insert the mill shaft into the chuck of the drill and go to town. No need to worry about a coupler, extra shaft in the drill chuck or misalignment between the drill and the mill.
 

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