Beer Forum

So I decided which mill to get, crankandstein 3D. It has a 3/8" drive, which can switched to 1/2" if needed. What I want to know is: should I get a drill or a motor. I'm all about easy, so the drill seems right, but do I need anything special. Which kind of rpms, speeds, volts? these are the options I'm not sure about. thanks.

The drill is the easiest way to go as far as assembly.
Just tighten the chuck and pull the trigger.
I have a cordless 18V and a craftsman power drill, they both work fine.
I'll get a motor one day, for now this works good.
BTW my mill is a crankandstein 2A.

The cheap and easy way is to use a corded electric drill. Do get the heftiest drill you can find for cheap. I use a 1/2" hammer drill. WARNING, use it only on the "drill" setting or you may damage your mill. The hammer drills have more torque than the equivalent size regular drill. 1/2 inch drills will also have more power than the 3/8" ones. I paid about $30 for my hammer drill at one of the big box home improvement stores.

Here is how I have mine set up. The bucket keeps the dust to a minimum.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

I vote electric gear motor, bought off of eBay: http://www.dobierhaus.com/bier/milling/

Eric nice mill. I use the drill method. What RPM is you motor turning? I ask because I noticed this past weekend when brewing an IPA I did everything as I normally do with the exception that my drill was set to highspeed instead of high torque. I hit my mash temp 149 and found that I was way low on efficientcy. I am confident my mill has not been readjusted and the thermometers are accurate. I was wondering if the grain can pass through fast enough not to get crush completely or is that a wack theory. What do you gouys think?

As it says on that page (had to look it up myself), 53 rpm. It's not fast, but I just pour a bunch of grain in the hopper and let it go while I get other equipment set up. You definitely can use a faster motor. I don't know about running too fast to get a good crush.
-Eric

I motorized my crankandstein 2A with a used motor from a drier. I geared it down to about 200RPM. It was fun to do but not necessary. I ran it with a $30 1/2" corded drill for about 2 years just fine. The drill was variable speed so I just ran it about half speed. Not sure how necessary it is to do that though.
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Washing machine motors, they are everywhere for free or very little money. Additionally, they are high torque, so you need have no worry about burning out.

pup