Just an FYI. Thought some of you may want to know that Surplus Center has a gear motor available for motorizing your malt mills. I am attaching a link to a website that show a guys build using this same mill and a link to the motor page at Surplus Center.
http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/Sam’s-Motorized-Grain-Mill
Good post, I like the dudes direct mount as opposed to belt driven plus the cost is not to bad. The belt driven setup is typically due to the need to reduce the motor speed with the second gear in the cases I have seen. 100RPM sounds right can anybody remember whats the fastest RPM that you want was it 200? Or was the optimal speed 50-75?
I’m thinking the last “fantastic” motor on SC was in the 150-175 range when direct coupled.
Mine runs at about 175 RPM
John
They used to sell a 177 RPM version that had 40 inch-pounds of torque. It works great with a regular monster mill, but people have said that it’s too weak with the 3 roller.
I need to find a motor for my 3 roller MM. Has anyone found a good source?
Nice John, I have an industrial drill just like what you have rigged and I use it once in a blue moon for frame bolts. If I remember right you have a cnc and other machine tools on hand right? It looks like you made the unit as a whole. If so nice build. I am a machinist but having tools on demand would be a dream. I have a buddy’s dad that has a engine lathe and a Bridgeport that he adapted with a cnc sequencer in his hobby shop 50 miles away so I do have access to tools for hobby pursuits anyway. I cant just wake up and go tinker with something though that’s awesome.
Yea, I have a pretty full machine shop out the back door… the only machine that is not CNC is the drill press and one manual engine lathe. When I built the Mega Mill all I had was a drill press, a manual lathe, band saw and a welder. The plans for the Mega Mill are on my web site as well as plans for a bit more upscale mill. Currently what takes up lots of space in the shop is a couple of 1/2 scale 6 pounder cannon carriages (with cannons of course) and a slightly smaller naval cannon and carriage.
John
I need to find a motor for my 3 roller MM. Has anyone found a good source?[/quote]
1/2 hp motor will do just fine.
Get shives for Grainger and you are good to go.
Real good John, I’ll have to pop back over to your site soon and look over that mill plans a little closer.
Is 30in lbs enough grunt? If you’ve ever torqued a fastener with an inch lb torque wrench, you might find that’s pretty weak. Perhaps the rating for the motor should be multiplied by the gear ratio to determine torque at the shaft because this would not seem adequate otherwise.
Sam’s mill using this motor on the link I posted says it works fine with his BC mill. I ordered one since I have been wanting to motorize my BC in this fashion as well. I understand the 30 in-lb is on the continuous run and the capacitor provides a higher torque at startup. I will post a report on this motor and my BC when done with my build. I would not have purchased the motor, though, if I had any reservations. I can see where I might be concerned if I had a MM3.
I have been running one of these motors (the older one) for a couple of years now using Beerpal’s layout. Works like a charm. Definitely wire in the 3-way switch for the reverse. You will use it every once in a while. I think I have used it twice in two years. But when you jam, it’s great to have an easy out.
I’ve got that particular one running my monster mill. It’s pretty solid, but it still will “stall” on occasion… usually when I dump all the grain in the hopper, and then turn it on. Loosening the gap frees it up to move, once more… 
I don’t have a feeler gauge, and I’m still trying to optimize it.
I’ve got that particular one running my monster mill. It’s pretty solid, but it still will “stall” on occasion… usually when I dump all the grain in the hopper, and then turn it on. Loosening the gap frees it up to move, once more…
I don’t have a feeler gauge, and I’m still trying to optimize it.[/quote]
It’s usually best with that motor to have the mill running before you dump in the grain.
Does anyone have the part number from McMasters for the shim/sleeve to bring the 3/8ths shaft OD dia to 3/4" OD dia for the purpose of a larger sheave? This is for belt driven, not direct driven.
[quote=“Phischy”]Does anyone have the part number from McMasters for the shim/sleeve to bring the 3/8ths shaft OD dia to 3/4" OD dia for the purpose of a larger sheave? This is for belt driven, not direct driven.[/quote]I went back through my emails and this is what I found: (evidently my mill has a 1/2" shaft and my pulley fit right over it)
There is a reason to choose 1725 RPM vs 3450 RPM. The AC motors are fixed speed; i.e. you can’t change the input voltage to vary the speed. But we want to crush grains at or around 200-300 RPM. Too fast is not good and too slow takes way too long. So to get the mill to run at about 200-300 RPM, we need to reduce the speed by means of pulley ratios. Simply put, we install a 1.5" pulley with a 5/8" bore on the motor shaft and a 10" pulley with a 1/2" bore on the mill shaft. The pulleys are fixed to the shafts by means of a set screw. All these parts can be ordered online at http://www.mcmaster.com/ I’ve found their shipping to be very reasonable and excellent service.
Motor pulley: 6245K13 Drive Pulley 1-3/4" X 5/8" bore X 3/16" Wd. x 3/32" Dp.Includes a standard keyway and set screw. $8.42 each
Mill pulley: 6245K951 Drive Pulley 10" X 1/2" bore with spoked design. Includes a set screw. $23.21 each
Belt: Either pickup locally when you are done or take a guess as to the length. You will need a stanard “A-section V-belt” and you can use a tape measure to get the total distance around the OD of both pulleys once they are in position. The mill table should be slotted to accommodate belt tensioning. Basically put the belt on and pull the motor back tight before tightening the motor base mounting bolts.
Mill: http://schmidling.com/bbordpp.htm The mill should be a JSP Maltmill with the following options:
Model BBP (Pre-adjusted) $85 factory set roller gap of .045" (in my experience, this is perfect and should not need adjusting so why pay extra for it?)
Gear Drive Option (Model A/P only) $50 (This keeps both rollers turning together, not just the one)
Other options: This mill has a lifetime warranty so I would not waste any money on case hardened rollers. Mine show no signs of wear and I routinely crush up to 65 lb grainbills.
I found the part number finally, it’s Grainger 4x664.
A good writeup and the one I think was initially linked via the JSP malt mill site:
http://www.ipass.net/mpdixon/brew/Educa ... 20Mill.pdfThe 17xx RPM speed is the preferred, any higher and you’ll never be able to slow it down enough.
