Motorizing mill?

[trapae]

I am planning on motorizing my grain mill. I currently have a barley crusher and it has worked fine for about 30 brews (using a drill). I've been reading and a lot of people say that they wear out rather quickly. Since I'm building a platform cart to mount the motor to the crusher, I only want to have to do it once and not switch it out if the barley crusher dies. From what I've read the monster mill is super heavy duty and will last pretty much forever.
Question is: what are peoples opinions on the barley crusher long term life? Should I go ahead and throw down the extra money now for the monster mill?

Thanks

 

[Morrey]

I bought the 1/2" drive shaft MM-3 with base and hopper kit. I next ordered a 180 rpm motor from All American Ale Works with coupler, then a rotary forward/off/reverse Dayton switch. I am building my cart as we speak. In all my research, this seems to be a premium setup albeit a bit spendy. I'll probably have close to $600 in the total build, but I am expecting to do this ONE time.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Not really answering your question but from what I've heard the Barley Crusher uses bushings on the shaft and the Cereal killer, a Barley crusher knockoff uses bearings. Apparently the bearings are better over though its a cheaper knockoff.

I've been using a cereal killer for years with zero issues milling 25 pounds at a time and 100's of pounds total

I would "think" the Barley Crusher would last a long long time even with the bushings.

No idea about the Monster Mill but people here seem to love them

 

[IslandLizard]

I have the 1.5" 2-roller MM2.

Monster Mill has bushings also. If you go the MM route, definitely get the 1/2" shaft. Perhaps the 2" roller (Pro) model or a 3-roller one. In built they are very similar. The MM may use better steel for the rollers than the Barley Crusher does. Mine looks as good as new after 4 years of HB use, brewing 20-some 5 gallon batches a year.

Depending on how much you brew (and mill), that Barley Crusher may last you a lifetime as it is. When you wear it out, replace with something else and if necessary, plug the holes in the baseboard and redrill.

Before you mill, check that the non-driven roller spins freely. I check that from the underneath before plugging it in and filling the hopper, after a nasty mishap 2 years ago.

 

[brick_haus]

I bought an MM2 with hardened rollers about 5 years ago and motorized it with a 1hp farm duty 1750rpm motor and 1.5" and 12" pulleys/belt. MANY HUNDREDS of pounds of malt through it without any trouble. As a matter of fact, I havent needed to adjust the gap once I got it set where I like it. Never stalled out either. Just load the grain and turn it on!
My point? Pulley systems work great, one hp is ideal, permanently lubricated bronze bushings last a long, long time, even with the pulley drive system (so far undetermined how long), get hardened rollers for longevity and the MM2 is a great mill.
But sorry, I cannot comment on the BC.

 

[AAAW]

Congratulations!
It sounds like you are upgrading to a much better milling setup.
Just a suggestion...
If you value your fingers, avoid a spinning finger chopper setup. Those spinning flywheel contraptions are an accident looking for a place to happen.
We are biased, but hundreds of our fellow brewers are happily using the direct drive Power Grinder grain mill motor with every different mill available.
As for mills, it is true that some mills are built to last longer, and to be used more than others. Like most things, you get what you pay for. If you only brew once a year, cheap equipment will probably be adequate. With our direct drive configuration, we have found that mill shafts with a keyway are least likely to have coupler slippage.
Good luck, and Happy Brewing!

www.AllAmericanAleWorks.com

 

[augiedoggy]

Not really answering your question but from what I've heard the Barley Crusher uses bushings on the shaft and the Cereal killer, a Barley crusher knockoff uses bearings. Apparently the bearings are better over though its a cheaper knockoff.

I've been using a cereal killer for years with zero issues milling 25 pounds at a time and 100's of pounds total

I would "think" the Barley Crusher would last a long long time even with the bushings.

No idea about the Monster Mill but people here seem to love them

The barley crusher also uses cheap non hardened american made rollers ironically many of the other parts are from the same manufactueres in china for the rest of the mill as the cereal killer which is a better mill... the kegco mills are the same as well as the cereal killer and they have a 3 roller version for $140 shipped.
On the barley crusher the rollers knurling on the barley crusher wear down causing the mill to stop working over time... you can only clean it and make the rollers roll very easy to help regain some function for so long until they just wont grab anymore..

I will say this as clearly as I can... based upon everything Ive read here and all the reviews Ive seen and Ive seen a lot on these mills...

When it comes to the barley crusher vs the cheaper cereal killer the cereal killer is in every way a better mill for less money so the "you get what you pay" for rule isnt always true... With the BC you pay for additional marketing a fairly useless lifetime warranty and god knows what else (maybe a pony for the owners daughter)
MY cereal killer has been motorized for a few years now with a pulley drive... no problems here in 4 years...I never had to do so much as even clean it and Ive passed many sacks of grain through it... Heck I brewed today with it and got 88.3 percent efficiency.

 

[brick_haus]

Just a suggestion...

If you value your fingers, avoid a spinning finger chopper setup. Those spinning flywheel contraptions are an accident looking for a place to happen.



www.AllAmericanAleWorks.com

Nothing against your direct drive motors, but if you dont put your fingers into the pulleys, nothing bad will happen.

 

[trapae]

Thanks for the input. !

 

[Morrey]

Congratulations!
It sounds like you are upgrading to a much better milling setup.
Just a suggestion...
If you value your fingers, avoid a spinning finger chopper setup. Those spinning flywheel contraptions are an accident looking for a place to happen.
We are biased, but hundreds of our fellow brewers are happily using the direct drive Power Grinder grain mill motor with every different mill available.
As for mills, it is true that some mills are built to last longer, and to be used more than others. Like most things, you get what you pay for. If you only brew once a year, cheap equipment will probably be adequate. With our direct drive configuration, we have found that mill shafts with a keyway are least likely to have coupler slippage.
Good luck, and Happy Brewing!

www.AllAmericanAleWorks.com

Are you aware of any home brew type mills that are available with a keyway on the drive shaft ? I bought a MM-3 with a 1/2" drive shaft, but a keyed shaft wasn't available with this mill although I felt this feature would have been best when used with a coupler.

 

[schematix]

I am planning on motorizing my grain mill. I currently have a barley crusher and it has worked fine for about 30 brews (using a drill). I've been reading and a lot of people say that they wear out rather quickly. Since I'm building a platform cart to mount the motor to the crusher, I only want to have to do it once and not switch it out if the barley crusher dies. From what I've read the monster mill is super heavy duty and will last pretty much forever.
Question is: what are peoples opinions on the barley crusher long term life? Should I go ahead and throw down the extra money now for the monster mill?

Thanks

I got about 60 10G batches out of my BC before the rollers became too dull to pull grain through. .

I regret not replacing it sooner though. This MM-3 Pro tears through grain literally 10x faster than the BC ever did.

I use a harbor freight low speed drill to drive it.

 

[AAAW]

Check with Fred Francis at Monster Hardware. I believe they offer a keyed shaft on at least two of their models.
Cheers!

 

[AAAW]

Monster Hardware is now producing a 1/2" shaft with a keyway. The keyed shaft is available on specific models. You will need to check with them to see which models have the keyed shaft as an option.
Happy Brewing!

 

[trapae]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on both the motor and the new monster mill so soon as it all gets here, time to fabricate the table. Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[Morrey]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on both the motor and the new monster mill so soon as it all gets here, time to fabricate the table. Thanks for all of the advice.

Same here. I was using my MM3 with a corded drill, but I wanted something a bit more stationary. Here is my work in progress ready to finalize hopefully by this weekend. I am using a Dayton DP/DT center off switch that runs forward and reverse. The shafts are about 5/8" off while sitting flush on the top. I am tooling a walnut slab to bring me to alignment. Underneath I am using a rectangular dryer vent transitioning into a round pipe to exhaust the grist into 5 G buckets.

 

[dthompson79]

Same here. I was using my MM3 with a corded drill, but I wanted something a bit more stationary. Here is my work in progress ready to finalize hopefully by this weekend. I am using a Dayton DP/DT center off switch that runs forward and reverse. The shafts are about 5/8" off while sitting flush on the top. I am tooling a walnut slab to bring me to alignment. Underneath I am using a rectangular dryer vent transitioning into a round pipe to exhaust the grist into 5 G buckets.

Which model of drum switch did you use? I am eyeballing almost this exact set up. Already have the MM - 3 and I love it

 

[Morrey]

1 G0754241 2X440 Switch 1 EA Drum Reversing Switch, Power Rating @ 230 VAC Single Phase 2 HP, Power Rating @ 115 VAC Single Phase 1 1/2 HP, Power Rating @ 230 VDC 1/4 HP, Length 4 1/2 Inches, Depth 4 Inches, Width 2 1/4 Inches, Reversing Item ships from Zoro in 1 business day. 56.15 56.15

This info from the invoice gives you the Dayton Drum Switch part number. Steve at All American Ale works suggested this switch is compatible which it is for sure. Works like a charm.