MOTOR UP - Motorizing the malt mill

[MixnMatchBrew]

So I'm re-purposing an old air compressor I found next to the dumpster. The motor works fine. The compressor head was shot and not worth fixing.

Took off the head and started removing the needed parts. Filthy from leaking oil.


Cut the deck off the tank. Had to take apart the mill and flip the shaft around so it would spin right. Brushed the rollers and cleaned up the bushings. Had some rust from a rainy brew day.




Fitting it all up to be sure the guard and sheaves will line up properly.
Decided I will probably just mount the assembly inside the cabinet and use the top surface to have a bigger hopper extension and a clear space for my scale.



Received the bushings to shim the shaft. Has 5/8 hole on the sheave and 3/8 shaft on the mill.
Still waiting on the 1.75" Roller to get the rpm down below 400.

So total will be less than $20.00 by reusing parts I have on hand.

Coming soon - building a cabinet box with wheels to move it around.

[RobDrechsler]

you did all this at 4 in the morning?

[MixnMatchBrew]

No, but I bet my neighbors would have loved that!

I try not to run power tools before 9am. Or at least until I've had some coffee.

[MixnMatchBrew]

Most of the stand built. Need to tweak the spacing and rollers.

Tested with the motor and it turns true

[rack04]

Looks good. Anyone know of a direct drive motor that would work? I've scoured the internets and it appears most use the beefy bodine but it appears these aren't made anymore. I assume I need something with around 150 RPM and 50 inch-lbs torque.

[Guerra]

Looks good. Anyone know of a direct drive motor that would work?

Yeah, but only if you want to keep it simple, compact, low cost, & versatile. If that is your goal, then drive your mill using a heavy duty 1/2" variable speed drill (simple). I got mine from Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tool ... 47991.html, (low cost).

This is my set up in action, milling directly into the "BIG50" mash tun:

upload.gif

This was one of my "proof of concept designs" (i.e. low cost, built using parts on had, just to see if the thing would work) that stuck and has remained unchanged since I put it together >4yrs ago (simple). I used a small office trash can w/ a funnel placed inside. I mounted a 3-Roller Crankenstien Mill onto a 12x24x1/2 board I had left over from a "shelf project" (low cost). The drill is the best part of the set up, because of the high torque and variable speed. The speed adjusts using a thumb wheel on top of drill, I can adjust the speed right to a point where it has just enough torque to mill the grain but w/o running at an excessive speed. Can't really tell how fast I mill but I know it is a lot slower than most folks.

When I am done, I remove the drill and place both mill and drill on a shelf (compact). Because I have not modified the drill in any way I can also use it for its intended purpose (versatile).

Orlando

[MixnMatchBrew]

I would do it with the drill. I just have to make things harder than they need to be.