Motorized Grain Mills: Time to show them off!

[Yesfan]

Finally finished the build. Crankandstein with an American ale works 180 rpm motor.

It's a beast! View attachment 392395View attachment 392396

Where did you get that hopper? Looks awesome! Very rural looking.


Nice build btw............

 

[Dcpcooks]

Thanks YesFan! The hopper is two pieces. The bottom half is the one from crankandstein. The top is a 5 gallon pale from the hardware store. I was going to build a hopper out of steel or aluminum but I kinda like this one as is. It holds a five gallon bucket full of grain so its fill once, mill then swap out the next bucket and repeat. It's roughly 17-20 lbs at once.

I really liked the MM3 hopper but I liked the self locking adjustable gap feature of the Crankandstein better.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Dcpcooks - that looks fantastic man. No issues with the motor weight on the stainless table, and is that 2x2 top? Also you pretty happy with the power grinder motor so far? Leaning towards that over the separate motor and reducer.



Cheers.

// brian

Yes it is a 2'x2' stainless prep table I got it at a local food service supply shop for $80. It's sturdy enough for the buildout.

I've milled a few sacks so far and it's plenty strong. I fill the hopper with 17-20 lbs of grain then turn on the motor. Not even a hint of a stall. It chewed through 20 lbs of white wheat in a few min without issue. I'm very happy with the mill and the motor.

 

[Yesfan]

Thanks YesFan! The hopper is two pieces. The bottom half is the one from crankandstein. The top is a 5 gallon pale from the hardware store. I was going to build a hopper out of steel or aluminum but I kinda like this one as is. It holds a five gallon bucket full of grain so its fill once, mill then swap out the next bucket and repeat. It's roughly 17-20 lbs at once.

I really liked the MM3 hopper but I liked the self locking adjustable gap feature of the Crankandstein better.

Looks good man. I may go that route. The self adjusting locking gap.......... If I understand it, you don't need a feeler gauge as there are presets at every 0.05 increments?



How are you liking the Anvil scale? Does it have a dedicated on/off or does it auto shut off? I have an UltraShip scale. It's not bad, but I hate how it auto shuts off too soon. Was wondering if the Anvil is worth an upgrade.

Sorry for the off topic guys.

 

[tat2Pompadore]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1489537866.965922.jpg

I bought this from Amazon. It works great. The reviews were all good. I looked at the Anvil scale. But, this one was able to handle more weight.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Looks good man. I may go that route. The self adjusting locking gap.......... If I understand it, you don't need a feeler gauge as there are presets at every 0.05 increments?







How are you liking the Anvil scale? Does it have a dedicated on/off or does it auto shut off? I have an UltraShip scale. It's not bad, but I hate how it auto shuts off too soon. Was wondering if the Anvil is worth an upgrade.



Sorry for the off topic guys.

Yes it's every .05 for every click on the second rollers. .35 or .40 works great for my needs and you don't need to pull off the side cover to adjust the roller.

I like the scale it has both an on/off and an auto shut off setting. and I've never noticed it shutting of to quickly.

Cheers

 

[golfindia]

Kid car motor, plumbing parts, and scrap aluminum from an old set of vertical blinds.

 

[heckels]

mine has been great. Highly recommend one to anyone looking to motorize with no old motors laying around.

+1.

 

[TimmyWit]

Just got done putting this together. All American Ale Works motor paired with a Monster Mill MM2 Pro.

 

[RocketBrewer]

Very Nice, love the cabinet.

 

[TimmyWit]

Very Nice, love the cabinet.

Thank you, I snatched up the cabinet from Target. It was pretty cheap and I wanted to keep the footprint relatively small so I thought the dimensions were just right.

 

[beergolf]

Just got done putting this together. All American Ale Works motor paired with a Monster Mill MM2 Pro.

I have the same set up. The MM2 Pro and the All American Ale Works motor. It is an awesome set up. I swear this thing would grind rock if you fill the hamper ith gravel. Nice crush. Just fill the hopper and flip the switch.

 

[TimmyWit]

I have the same set up. The MM2 Pro and the All American Ale Works motor. It is an awesome set up. I swear this thing would grind rock if you fill the hamper ith gravel. Nice crush. Just fill the hopper and flip the switch.

Oh yea, your build looks great. I saw it on here when I started to consider adding the motor. I had already ordered the MM2 but after seeing all the positive reviews on the AAAW motor, I pulled the trigger and then contacted Monster before they shipped the mill and had them add the keyed shaft. I haven't had a brew day with it yet but I had to toss a few lbs of grain at it after it was assembled and I think I'll be very happy with this setup.

 

[RoadKing]

A buddy and I put this together a few weeks ago. MM3 Pro and the AAW 180 RPM motor.
Hopper holds about 35 Lbs. We typically do 30-40 gallon batches so we only have to fill it twice. It's AWESOME.

 

[Morrey]

I have a buddy in the veneer business. Top is cherry veneer and side panels are displays that his customers view Ash, Mahogany, Teak, Walnut, Oak....etc. I tooled a blank of walnut stock raising the height of the MM3 to match the AAAW 180 rpm motor precisely. Drum DP/DT offers Reverse/Off/Forward. I set this up with a pigtail so I can use any length extension cord I may need. I tested with a full hopper of 2 row and the mill chewed thru it with no effort at all.

 

[Morrey]

I have the same set up. The MM2 Pro and the All American Ale Works motor. It is an awesome set up. I swear this thing would grind rock if you fill the hamper ith gravel. Nice crush. Just fill the hopper and flip the switch.

I do want to recognize beergolf as a source of information and feedback as I began my motorized mill project. He was extremely helpful and patient while walking me thru the tough spots! Thanks!!

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Realized I have never posted mine.

It is s Kegco 3-roller mill. The cart was getting tossed from work (a 40+ year old A/V cart). I constructed the top platform out of 3/4" plywood and 1"x2" pine for the "skirting"; this was done to better support the weight of the motor/mill. The switch box has a 3/8" piece of mdf underneath to make up the gap. I also used a piece of 3/32 luan under the mill to get perfect shaft alignment between the mill and gear reducer.

The motor was a new 1/2hp, single phase explosion proof motor mated to a 10:1 gear reducer. Switch and fittings are also explosion proof. Some will say overkill or not needed on the homebrew level, but I got everything for prices similar or cheaper than non-explosion proof.

With the gear reducer setup the torque on this is ridiculous.

 

[RevKev]

Does it count if I'm in the process of finishing my cabinet? Going to spray it high gloss black tonight once the putty dries and I give her a quick sand

View attachment 1493943967531.jpg

View attachment 1493943980157.jpg

View attachment 1493943987347.jpg

View attachment 1493944029277.jpg

 

[Anticlimaddox]

Well I finally finished my mill. Totally stole the spacer idea from hbt user dcpcooks - had a local fab shop make me some aluminum spacers to raise my Crankenstein 3D up to meet the motor. Wasn't bad, they just charged $50 for the two and had enough material left over to make a short set for under the table to stabilize the mill a bit better than just washers.

Pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

[aeviaanah]

A friend and I just finished our grain mill. Here are the specs

-Kegco 3 roller 11lb Hopper
-19lb Aluminum hopper extension for a 30lb capacity
-All aluminum frame
-1/4HP Motor 1725RPM
-30:1 Gearbox
-235in lbs output torque at 58RPM
-FWD/Reverse drum switch

 

[Dcpcooks]

Well I finally finished my mill. Totally stole the spacer idea from hbt user dcpcooks - had a local fab shop make me some aluminum spacers to raise my Crankenstein 3D up to meet the motor. Wasn't bad, they just charged $50 for the two and had enough material left over to make a short set for under the table to stabilize the mill a bit better than just washers.

Pretty happy with how it turned out.

Well played sir, Well played! Everyone that comes over stares at the rollers through the plastic while its munching grain.

 

[Anticlimaddox]

Well played sir, Well played! Everyone that comes over stares at the rollers through the plastic while its munching grain.

Thanks for the inspiration man. Worked out perfectly, the plex is cut about 1/16th" too long so it wedges nicely under the hopper surface and stays snug without bolts.

 

[Ben58]

Quote: A friend and I just finished our grain mill. Here are the specs

-Kegco 3 roller 11lb Hopper
-19lb Aluminum hopper extension for a 30lb capacity
-All aluminum frame
-1/4HP Motor 1725RPM
-30:1 Gearbox
-235in lbs output torque at 58RPM
-FWD/Reverse drum switch

Awesome job. If you don't mind, can you share the particulars of the motor and gear box?

 

[aeviaanah]

Quote: A friend and I just finished our grain mill. Here are the specs

-Kegco 3 roller 11lb Hopper
-19lb Aluminum hopper extension for a 30lb capacity
-All aluminum frame
-1/4HP Motor 1725RPM
-30:1 Gearbox
-235in lbs output torque at 58RPM
-FWD/Reverse drum switch

Awesome job. If you don't mind, can you share the particulars of the motor and gear box?

Sure, I used what I had on hand. If i bought a motor and gear box it would have been around the same torque but with a higher RPM. 58RPM will get the job done but a little slow. What information you looking for?

 

[Ben58]

What motor and gear-box did you use?

 

[aeviaanah]

What motor and gear-box did you use?

Motor is US Electrical Motors Model: 7899-SEF, CA55CWL-1849
Gear box is Dodge Tigear MP96105 D XU,

 

[The_Bishop]

Finally got around to getting my mill motorized.

I'm tight for space, so a mill 'station' was pretty much out of the question. I wanted something bucket-top.

Motor is the Williams Brewing 3 roller motor.

 

[aeviaanah]

Finally got around to getting my mill motorized.

I'm tight for space, so a mill 'station' was pretty much out of the question. I wanted something bucket-top.

Motor is the Williams Brewing 3 roller motor.

Nicely done, clean and compact!

 

[mclardass]

A me too post, got the William's motor when it was on sale and attached it to my Cereal Killer. Didn't hide all of the wiring but still happy with the way it came out. Opted for rubberized mat over stainless, was a lot easier to cut and keeps things (like carboys) from moving around. Table design is a modified version of this over-engineered rolling work cart. Modded some duct work pieces for the outlet and down spout, not cutting myself while making was a bonus.

 

[The_Bishop]

Finally got a chance to actually mill some grain today: