how do i motorize my mill easily

Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:39 am

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.
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straight cash homey
 
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Re: how do i motorize my mill easily

Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:51 am

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.
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Re: how do i motorize my mill easily

Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:11 am

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. Image

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Bugeater
 
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Re: how do i motorize my mill easily

Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:33 pm

I vote electric gear motor, bought off of eBay: http://www.dobierhaus.com/bier/milling/
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Re: how do i motorize my mill easily

Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:24 am

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?
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Hammer
 
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Re: how do i motorize my mill easily

Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:43 pm

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.
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Re: how do i motorize my mill easily

Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:11 am

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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Re: how do i motorize my mill easily

Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:17 am

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.

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