Motorized Mill Project

[JohnnyMac]

For my next project, I'm going to motorize my malt mill and am looking for a motor.

I've looked at a bunch of designs and setups on line and this motor seems to be the most common.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/se ... sst=subset

I like this configuration the best due to the lack of sheaves and belt, but the right angle direct drive motor seems to be much more rare and expensive.
http://www.oregonbrewcrew.com/mill/grain_mill.html

I haven't yet checked out the local motor shops to see what's kicking around, but would appreciate if anyone knows of anything cheap and local.

[ratchet]

have you taken a look at Princess Auto to see what they have in the way of motors?

[derek]

For my next project, I'm going to motorize my malt mill and am looking for a motor.

Wow. How much grain do you have to mill before just chucking it in your drill is too much trouble?

I like this configuration the best due to the lack of sheaves and belt, but the right angle direct drive motor seems to be much more rare and expensive.
http://www.oregonbrewcrew.com/mill/grain_mill.html

I was wondering why it needs to be right-angle, but that's not the real issue there. As he said, most people are using motors running at 1700 or 3600 RPM - because that's what cheap AC motors do. I can see plenty of gear motors on ebay for less than $100. My first search for "gear motor" on ebay found an inline version close to Dan's spec: http://cgi.ebay.com/177-7-RPM-115-VAC-G ... 58874ce5ff Naturally, shipping is more than the cost of the item...

[JohnnyMac]

I haven't yet looked hard at Princess Auto. The last time I was there, it looked like $100 for the base motors but I haven't looked hard.

I know what you're saying Derek, it's not a project I have to do, it's one I want to do.
You're correct, I'm sure that the direct drive option doesn't have to be right angle although the right angle allows for a smaller profile overall and just sits over a bucket.

[derek]

I know what you're saying Derek, it's not a project I have to do, it's one I want to do.

Yeah, but now you've got _me_ thinking about it, too

You're correct, I'm sure that the direct drive option doesn't have to be right angle although the right angle allows for a smaller profile overall and just sits over a bucket.

I can see that. I'd be tempted to just put a leg on the end to support the motor - but there seem to be about as many right-angle designs as inline. The biggest problem is that almost anywhere you can get it from, shipping's the killer part of the cost.

Put a "wanted" ad on Kijiji.

[mr x]

A picked up a gearhead motor very similar to the one Derek posted at PA, but it was a couple years ago, and they had boxes of them. But I can't think of anything at the moment.

PA does sell right angle gear boxes that I believe are made to connect to those furnace/farm motors. It would cost a bit more and take up space, but it would grind marbles into dust.

[JohnnyMac]

Ok fellas, please see the latest completed project from JohnnyMac Labratories as I managed to get my shit in a pile and get this thing finished over the weekend.

I liked a general design I had seen recently in BYO and modified it for what I wanted it to end up like.

Managed to find a used 1/3 hp, 1725 RPM motor at a local motor repair shop for $50 that suited my stats perfectly. Used a sheave/pulley combo that gets it down to 196 RPM (theoretical)

I went with a 60l bucket because the bigger brews tend to overflow the standard NG bucket.

Put her all on wheels in case I ever need to take the show on the road.

[JohnnyMac]

Couple more snaps.......

[Keggermeister]

Man that looks great!

Very similar to my setup. I have the same mill, and started with a 1/3 hp motor.
I ended up upgrading to a true 1/2 hp that i found on kijiji. I found that the old 1/3 worked great with everything except wheat berries. If I was doing a 50/50 wheat/base malt beer, I had to mix the two together to prevent stalling.
That hopper is badass, where did you get it?

[Jmac00]

Awesome project...looks great..


Nice 10g in the background....they seem to be hard to find..

[JohnnyMac]

Got the hopper from Crankandstein. Thought it was the simpliest way to go as it came assembled and pre-drilled to mount right on the mill. It would be nice if it were a little bigger but it holds 9 lbs of grain at a time.

Picked up that old 10 gallon keg years ago at NG. It's not pretty but holds a lot of beer.

[Jmac00]

Picked up that old 10 gallon keg years ago at NG. It's not pretty but holds a lot of beer.

Cool....do you remember how much $$ they were at the time?

[akr71]

Very nice work!

[JohnnyMac]

Picked up that old 10 gallon keg years ago at NG. It's not pretty but holds a lot of beer.

Cool....do you remember how much $$ they were at the time?

I don't remember exactly, but I'm guessing around $110. I do remember that they only had the one at the time.

[Jmac00]

I don't remember exactly, but I'm guessing around $110. I do remember that they only had the one at the time.

Makes sense, they don't seem to be very popular or in abundance like the 5gal. They're like the little 3gal..pretty rare. I did manage to pick up two of the 10g's myself....i have one identical to yours so was being curious of where they originated as i've never seen any in a store.

[mr x]

Looks really good. Where'd you get the large sheave? And where are the pictures of the keg fermenter?

[JohnnyMac]

Shit - Forgot about the keg fermenter photos - I'll get those up later tonight.

Picked up the large sheave (10") at Schooner Industrial in Burnside. It was a real prick to find. It was in their 'dead' inventory, they had one left....