In the near future id like to add a Motor to my MM3 Mill. Does anyone have any advice on what kind of motor i should look for and any other items id need for the task?
Thanks
Jeff
I was just looking into this earlier today. Did you wear a batman shirt also?
I founds this article on byo. Motorize Your Grain Mill: Projects - Brew Your Own
Do a little searching on this site for Motor+Mill. A year or two (maybe 3) there were some very active and informative threads on this very topic.
In my case I used a .5hp, 1750RPM basic motor I got from my Dad. Added a 10" sheave and a 1.5" sheave. Then I built a cart to mount the mill on. A Homer bucket fits under the mill. Very compact and easy to store.
Paul
Ditto. I did exactly this and it works great. I went with a new electric motor, but I understand one can find them used for much less. My system is easy to disassemble and store:
I use a 1/4 hp X 1750 RPM motor. This is strong enough to start from a fully loaded hopper. My first sheave selection was 2" and 8" which resulted in about 500 rpm. With a Schmidling it would mill 50 lbs in 90 seconds. I have since scaled back the larger sheave to 11" which results in about 300 rpm.
There used to be a link for motorizing a mill on the Schmidling website.
[quote=“yso191, post:4, topic:14825, username:yso191”]
Ditto. I did exactly this and it works great. I went with a new electric motor, but I understand one can find them used for much less. My system is easy to disassemble and store:
Deleted pictures for the sake of space. *** Paul
I went that route at first but I got tired of carrying the whole thing around on a board. I decided to build this.
Paul
The motorized mill at my local homebrew shop doesn’t use the sheaves. They have some kind of connection between the motor and the mill that bypasses them. Does anyone have info on motorizing the mill that way?
Thanks
If the motor you use has the RPM you need (~200 for a mill, IIRC), you don’t need anything other than a direct connection. But to change speed you have to have something - sheaves, pulleys, etc.
Was always under the impression that a belt offers some compliance to the system if a rock jams the rollers. I had a bag of malt with 3 rocks, and with a drill, it was rather exciting when the mill would pop up in the air when it all locked up.
I found it. Here is the link: http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/Sam’s-Motorized-Grain-Mill
However, the gear motor he suggests is apparently not available anymore. Does anyone have a source for a simliar one?
You need to get a geared motor. I got mine from surplus center some time ago.
Just finished up mine yesterday. I built a box riser for the mill so the sheave can sit above the platform, easier to store without having to disassemble anything or having the pulley hang off the edge of the platform. Still need to put a guard over the belt/pulley, but it’s working great.
I’ve got to build one. My corona is cool but after a three batch marathon brew day… not so much.
I All grained once with a corona mill and said never again. i value what left of my 1 good rotator cuff too much. Went and bought a monster mill, well worth the bucks.
It’s on my winter upgrade list. Is there a one stop shop for everything you need? Or do I buy a monster and get a Granger catalog?
I have seen Mills mounted on pro SS carts in catalogs before for the price of a 1BBL brewery. IF you want to spend you money on that kind of mill im sure you can find it. Im gonna piece something together for my monster when i get the time, currently it works great with a Variable Speed drill.
I use an old 1/2 hp mixing drill my dad gave me, this thing is probably older than I am… Mounted my mill on a little homemade table, and a bucket fits perfectly under it. The drill has a max rpm of 600, I usually grind at approximately 200 rpm. Goes through 15# of grain ~5 mins…
I would buy Monster Mill direct from manufacturer.
Shives and belt from Grainder.
Thanks guys. I think I’ll go this route and buy or build a cart
Wow, just looked at prices. Corona seems not to bad for a little longer.