# Grain Mill Motor



## AndrewQLD (25/2/08)

Stumbling around on the net today looking for a motor for my mill and I came across these Mill Motor . 

I don't really know anything about torque ect and I would appreciate some advice as to the suitability of these for running my MonsterMill.

I know I could go with a large motor and pulley system but I like things simple and these look the goods.
Advice is much appreciated.




Power - 80 watts (nominal) 
Max Power - 144 watts 
Torque - 45 kg/cm 
Shaft Speed - 175 RPM 
Gear Ratio - 1:15 
Permanent Magnet + Brushes 
12 volt operation 
No-load current - 0.6 amp 
Loaded current - 12 amps (typical for heavy load) 
Weight 2 kgs 
Gearbox - Grease-filled with all metal mixed helical and spur gears 
Application Data and Drawings 
Electronic speed controllers 
AUD $129


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## razz (25/2/08)

G'day Andrew. What type of mill do you have ? From my research, on motors for my mill, this model will not have enough torque. At 80 watts it's well under powered for your task.


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## AndrewQLD (25/2/08)

razz said:


> G'day Andrew. What type of mill do you have ? From my research, on motors for my mill, this model will not have enough torque. At 80 watts it's well under powered for your task.



It's a MonsterMill Razz.

Cheers
Andrew


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## Screwtop (25/2/08)

AndrewQLD said:


> Stumbling around on the net today looking for a motor for my mill and I came across these Mill Motor .
> 
> I don't really know anything about torque ect and I would appreciate some advice as to the suitability of these for running my MonsterMill.
> 
> ...




At roughly 1/10th Horsepower I doubt it would have enough grunt Andrew.

Screwy

Edit: Hang on - at 15:1 ratio that just might work and the shaft speed would make pully selection easy (1:1).


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## Gulf Brewery (25/2/08)

AndrewQLD said:


> Stumbling around on the net today looking for a motor for my mill and I came across these Mill Motor .
> 12 volt operation
> No-load current - 0.6 amp
> Loaded current - 12 amps (typical for heavy load)



Hey AndrewQLD

Dunno about the torque side of these - other people are better at that stuff than me. 

12A @ 12V is a fairly hefty amount of current. How are you going to power this?

Cheers
Peter


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## AndrewQLD (25/2/08)

Gulf Brewery said:


> Hey AndrewQLD
> 
> Dunno about the torque side of these - other people are better at that stuff than me.
> 
> ...



Hi Peter,
I've got a bench top power supply rated to 30v @ 10 amps, but to be honest I didn't notice it used up to 12 amps. Guess I better keep looking.

Screwy,


> At roughly 1/10th Horsepower I doubt it would have enough grunt Andrew.
> 
> Screwy
> 
> Edit: Hang on - at 15:1 ratio that just might work and the shaft speed would make pully selection easy (1:1).



That was what I was thinking too, but I don't want to fork out for something that might be under powered.

Cheers
Andrew


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## Online Brewing Supplies (25/2/08)

You could check out CMG motors and gearboxs.They combine CMG motor and Varvel gear boxs to any torque and rpm.Sorry no linky thing but they are all over Australia.I have one for my mill.still to be mounted.Could be a bulk buy.
GB


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## Online Brewing Supplies (25/2/08)

look here http://www.cmggroup.com.au/
GB


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## AndrewQLD (25/2/08)

Gryphon Brewing said:


> look here http://www.cmggroup.com.au/
> GB




Cheers GB, 
I'll make some enquiries tommorrow and get some prices.

Andrew


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## Tony (25/2/08)

would make a good mash stirrer but!!!


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## Thirsty Boy (25/2/08)

Try Oatley Electronics. Many good looking motors including a pre-gearboxed jobbie that is used to run electric pushbikes... that'd have to have plenty of grunt.

Thirsty


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## Tony M (26/2/08)

I crushed my grain with a 65W motor for several years with satisfactory results except time. It typically took about 15 minutes to crush 5kg of grain, but remember, it takes longer than that to heat your water so it doesnt cost you time. The current draw was usually around 5 or 6 watts and occasionally reached 8 to 9 watts with a hard grain. my roller speed was nominally 80rpm but of course dropped under load (maybe 25%), but the rollers are 200mm long X 50mm dia. so I was asking a lot. Your rollers are probably only 75mm long so you could run your speed 1 to 1 for similar results.
Whilst not recommending it, you can get more HP out of a 12V DC motor by pumping in a few more volts. Double the voltage and you'll double the speed. The practicality of this depends on the robustness of the motor and the duty cycle. If you are using a battery charger, flick it up to 24V and see how it runs. If you can get 5 minutes out of it before it gets too hot, it may be OK. I run a 12 V motor at 24 V on my mash tun when doughing in but it is only for a couple of minutes.


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## Hutch (26/2/08)

Gulf Brewery said:


> Hey AndrewQLD
> 
> Dunno about the torque side of these - other people are better at that stuff than me.
> 
> ...


Computer power supplies these days give plenty of amps at 12V. You can generally pick up a used one at swap-meets, etc for $10-20.
I think there'd be plenty more info on regarding this option, as others have used such supplies for powering Peltier devices, etc.


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## AndrewQLD (26/2/08)

Thanks for all the advice guys, keep it coming please.

Now looking at this geared motor used for powering push bikes (thanks Thirsty Boy)


24VDC operation 
Rated speed: 320 RPM
250 Watts 
Nominal Torque: 7.46 Nm 
Measures: 110mm Dia. x 115mm L (+ shaft)

I can reduce the voltage on this if I need to slow the mill down a tad, but somehow I don't tink I will need to.

The torque is what I am worried about, does anyone have any idea if 7.46Nm would keep the mill crushing? I don't intend to start the mill full of grain. 

Cheers
Andrew


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## warrenlw63 (26/2/08)

Andrew I reckon if it could propel a bike and it's human cargo it should have more than enough torque.

How do you plan to mate it to the mill shaft? Looks like you may need couplers of some form. Or do you plan on rigging some form of chain drive?

Warren -


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## AndrewQLD (26/2/08)

warrenlw63 said:


> Andrew I reckon if it could propel a bike and it's human cargo it should have more than enough torque.
> 
> How do you plan to mate it to the mill shaft? Looks like you may need couplers of some form. Or do you plan on rigging some form of chain drive?
> 
> Warren -



I was hoping to use a spider coupler, I've got one on my other mill and it works very well.

Cheers
Andrew


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## warrenlw63 (26/2/08)

Andrew

Not sure if you've seen this site. Gives more details and performance specs (torque under load) of the motor in question.

Here

Warren -


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## warrenlw63 (26/2/08)

AndrewQLD said:


> I was hoping to use a spider coupler, I've got one on my other mill and it works very well.
> 
> Cheers
> Andrew



Andrew if it's the Jaycar ones (like I used on my Marga) they may not be able to be bored out sufficiently to fit the Monster's 3/8 shaft.

RobW is undertaking a similar situation to you with his Monster Mill. He bought a more heavy-duty set of couplers and they were even able to custom bore them. He may be able to guide you further?

Edit: typooooooos

Warren -


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## AndrewQLD (26/2/08)

warrenlw63 said:


> Andrew
> 
> Not sure if you've seen this site. Gives more details and performance specs (torque under load) of the motor in question.
> 
> ...



Thanks Warren, that helps a lot, looks like the torque might not be a problem.

Andrew


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## razz (2/3/08)

An update on motors and drills for those looking for some grunt. Home Hardware in Vic have a catalogue out at the moment advertising an "Xceed" brand of Impact drill, 810 watt, variable speed, lock on switch, aly gearbox with forward/reverse. $49.99. Bunnings have in stock an Ozito 850 watt hammer drill with variable speed, forward/reverse for $55. Looking at both drills they appear to have the speed control bezel at the trigger.


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## AndrewQLD (6/3/08)

AndrewQLD said:


> Thanks for all the advice guys, keep it coming please.
> 
> Now looking at this geared motor used for powering push bikes (thanks Thirsty Boy)
> View attachment 17913
> ...



This motor works a treat, connected up to my 12 V boat battery it ripped through 4 kilo pale malt in 1.5 minutes, didn't even slow down as I filled the hopper up to full. It was very easy to mount to the side of an old cabinet I was saving for my mill as well.







Cheers 
Andrew


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## nifty (6/3/08)

AndrewQLD said:


> This motor works a treat, connected up to my 12 V boat battery it ripped through 4 kilo pale malt in 1.5 minutes, didn't even slow down as I filled the hopper up to full. It was very easy to mount to the side of an old cabinet I was saving for my mill as well.View attachment 18035
> 
> 
> View attachment 18033
> ...



Hi Andrew

That set up looks good, nice and easy. What coupler did you use to join the mill shaft to the the motor ??

cheers

nifty


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## AndrewQLD (6/3/08)

Hi Nifty,

I used a Jaycar spider Coupler, drilled out both sides to fit the mill shaft and motor shaft. Very easy way to connect them together for the "not so handy" like me. 

Cheers
Andrew


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## nifty (6/3/08)

AndrewQLD said:


> Hi Nifty,
> 
> I used a Jaycar spider Coupler, drilled out both sides to fit the mill shaft and motor shaft. Very easy way to connect them together for the "not so handy" like me.
> 
> ...



Thanks Andrew, that sounds like a nice, easy solution to getting the mill motorised. 

I suppose 1 of those rechargeable 12v battery packs from supacheap would work as well as a normal battery to power it.

nifty


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## AndrewQLD (6/3/08)

I tried that initially nifty, it turned the mill slowly and tended to stall whan the hopper was full, I don't think there is enough current draw with the charger. When I connected the battery the mill started up very easily even with the hopper still 1/2 full of grain. At 12 volts the mill was probably doing 150 rpm which is more than fast enought to empty my 2 kilo hopper in under a minute. These motors have more than enough torque.

Cheers
Andrew


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## nifty (6/3/08)

AndrewQLD said:


> I tried that initially nifty, it turned the mill slowly and tended to stall whan the hopper was full, I don't think there is enough current draw with the charger. When I connected the battery the mill started up very easily even with the hopper still 1/2 full of grain. At 12 volts the mill was probably doing 150 rpm which is more than fast enought to empty my 2 kilo hopper in under a minute. These motors have more than enough torque.
> 
> Cheers
> Andrew



Ah, ok. I was thinking of using 1 of these - 




It's a 1200 amp battery charger. I was thinking it woud have enough oomph to run the motor.


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## AndrewQLD (7/3/08)

nifty said:


> Ah, ok. I was thinking of using 1 of these -
> 
> View attachment 18036
> 
> ...



That's not the one I used so it could well do the job, are you sure it's 1200 amp and not 1200mah? that seems awefully high.

Cheers
Andrew


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## warrenlw63 (7/3/08)

Nice Andrew!!

Good, safe arrangement too. No scary pulleys to catch yer bits in. :lol: 

Warren -


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## Doogiechap (7/3/08)

If anyone in Perth is still looking for the scary pulley option I saw the following listing on Freecycle Perth
Message 
37109 OFFER : 4 Electric motors. Kelmscott. 
I have 4 electric motors I no longer need. 2 are 240V washing machine
motors. A 240V motor complete with what appears to be a relay of some
sort. Last is, I believe, a 12V motor of unknown origin. Take 1 or all
4, the choice is yours. Patrick.

Cheers
Doug


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## razz (27/3/08)

Some good news for anyone looking for a reasonable priced drill for their mill. Bunnings Mornington selling XU1 500watt variable speed hammer drill for $15.88. Also saw a pallet of GMC platinum range rotary hammer drills knocked down to $49 each, looked like a local deal only. I think they are 850 watt or larger.


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## SJW (27/3/08)

I think the 850 watt or bigger would be better. I use a 500 watter power drill and its fine but lacks the torque to go very slow. A few more watts would not go astray.

Steve


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## BusinessTime (27/3/08)

I just bought a $29 Ozito variable speed hammer drill 1/2" chuck from Bunnings, checked the RPM and at the lowest setting it sits on 190-200 RPM.


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## Kenny the plumber (7/1/09)

Has any one used a car starter motor to run a grian mill?


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## FarsideOfCrazy (7/1/09)

Kenny the plumber said:


> Has any one used a car starter motor to run a grian mill?




It would do it but the problem is that car starter motors aren't supposed to be used for more then a few seconds, ie. to get the car started. If you keep one cranking for a while it may burn out very quickly.

But if it's not under much load it might work... :unsure:


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## barls (7/1/09)

razz said:


> Some good news for anyone looking for a reasonable priced drill for their mill. Bunnings Mornington selling XU1 500watt variable speed hammer drill for $15.88. Also saw a pallet of GMC platinum range rotary hammer drills knocked down to $49 each, looked like a local deal only. I think they are 850 watt or larger.


i killed a xu1 on the day of the braggot brew day.


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## hockadays (1/1/10)

Hi guys just got given this motor brand new and it's a fan motor for an airconditioner. Not sure of the rpm does anyone know if this will work? It's capacitor start as well but the cap needs to be wired into the circuit.


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## paulwolf350 (1/1/10)

I would say it is not big enough, only 300 watts

Paul


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## hockadays (1/1/10)

Ok how do you work out it's 300w?


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## Fourstar (1/1/10)

David Emerson said:


> I just bought a $29 Ozito variable speed hammer drill 1/2" chuck from Bunnings, checked the RPM and at the lowest setting it sits on 190-200 RPM.



I just got one for $34. awesome! Doesnt skip a beat drilling a whole 6kg batch.


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## hockadays (1/1/10)

hockadays said:


> Ok how do you work out it's 300w?



I think I've worked out that HP = V x I / 746
which equals 220V x 1.35A / 746 = .4HP

I'm trying to run a 2 roller monster mill and they say on the website that I need minium 1/4 HP so I should have enough.

Are my calcs correct?

thanks guys


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## matho (1/1/10)

hockadays said:


> Ok how do you work out it's 300w?




i don't know from the picture it looks like 75w which is too low for a grain mill. i think the most common power rating is about 500w or 3/4 hp as mentioned above drill motors are about that power and provides starting good torque.

cheer's matho


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## paulwolf350 (1/1/10)

hockadays said:


> I think I've worked out that HP = V x I / 746
> which equals 220V x 1.35A / 746 = .4HP
> 
> I'm trying to run a 2 roller monster mill and they say on the website that I need minium 1/4 HP so I should have enough.
> ...



yeah mate your calcs are correct.

I have a 2 roller monster and just burned out a 650 watt power drill, unless you have some sort of gearing i doubt it will mill grain

p.s. watts= v x i = 230 x 1.35 = 310 watts


Paul


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## hockadays (1/1/10)

thanks Paul,

still learning as I know nothing of motor requirements. I've worked out that its 1500rpm as well so it would need some pulleys to get to the right speed, is this what you mean by it being geared?


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## paulwolf350 (1/1/10)

hockadays said:


> thanks Paul,
> 
> still learning as I know nothing of motor requirements. I've worked out that its 1500rpm as well so it would need some pulleys to get to the right speed, is this what you mean by it being geared?




yeah mate, I have one of the motors AndrewQld spoke about now, work great, $60 off ebay

Paul


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## glaab (1/1/10)

not really my area but it looks small fro a 1/2hp. I think the 1.35A might be the max draw at startup and the 75W is the continuous power. thats 0.1hp


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## hockadays (1/1/10)

Thats sounding possible too..


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## matho (1/1/10)

power in does not equal power out you have losses inside the motor like bearings and iron losses 
at best in a small motor like that you'll get 75% output. i personally would not go off volts and current on the label, the current could be at stall or for protective devices. i have just finished motorising my mill i used a 550w drill motor running a 2600 rpm the chuck is connect to a 3in pully, the belt is then connected to a planetary gearbox out of a hover washing machine turns the rollers at 200 rpm my mill has 2in rollers that are 200mm wide so if your mill is smaller you might not need as bigger motor.
all the best , maybe keep an eye out for an old top loading washing machine with a central aggitator

cheer's matho


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## glaab (1/1/10)

my motor is 1/2hp, it'll set u back about 150 fins for one like it


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## matho (1/1/10)

glaab,
that is a smick looking setup mine looks very diy

cheer's matho


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## hockadays (1/1/10)

Sweet looking setup there glaab. Where did you source the motor and what are hte specs


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## glaab (1/1/10)

I see they've bumped it up to $205. It was retail $190 but the guy let me have it for $130 IIRC.
The guy here seemed pretty flexible. Another AHBer here paid $110. If you get one I think I have a spare slotted foot mount plate, [to slide motor/ adj belt]
I found it in the workshop after I made mine, just need to check it fits, it'll cost you freight.


http://www.roycecross.com.au/product_list/...le&Variable[ProductCodeID]=S-37B6CREMX


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## glaab (1/1/10)

matho said:


> glaab,
> that is a smick looking setup mine looks very diy
> 
> cheer's matho



Cheers matho, piece o piss when you gotta mig :icon_cheers:


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## potof4x (10/4/11)

After doing some research and thoroughly confusing myself... I have bought one of the Oatley 250w motors, and am trying to use it to power my 3 roller monster mill . I have it running with an X-Box 360 power supply, which is 12v and 14 amp. 
Previously I was running with a two speed drill with no drama. With this new motor and power supply I can feed a slow trickle without the mill stalling. 

I realise I need more torque to turn the mill, but cannot quite get my head around how this relates to volts and current. If I get a 24v 10 amp power supply, will the mill perform better?


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## matho (11/4/11)

potof4x said:


> After doing some research and thoroughly confusing myself... I have bought one of the Oatley 250w motors, and am trying to use it to power my 3 roller monster mill . I have it running with an X-Box 360 power supply, which is 12v and 14 amp.
> Previously I was running with a two speed drill with no drama. With this new motor and power supply I can feed a slow trickle without the mill stalling.
> 
> I realise I need more torque to turn the mill, but cannot quite get my head around how this relates to volts and current. If I get a 24v 10 amp power supply, will the mill perform better?



Hey potof4x it does sound like your power supply isnt giving enough amps, the reason Andrews works so well is that he is using a car battery which can supply a heck of alot of current. If you have that 24v 10 amp supply then give it a go, the only problem with the 24v supply is that the motor will spin faster, the other option is to get a car battery and a charger and use that but that could be an expensive option 

Cheers matho


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## peaky (11/4/11)

potof4x said:


> After doing some research and thoroughly confusing myself... I have bought one of the Oatley 250w motors, and am trying to use it to power my 3 roller monster mill . I have it running with an X-Box 360 power supply, which is 12v and 14 amp.
> Previously I was running with a two speed drill with no drama. With this new motor and power supply I can feed a slow trickle without the mill stalling.
> 
> I realise I need more torque to turn the mill, but cannot quite get my head around how this relates to volts and current. If I get a 24v 10 amp power supply, will the mill perform better?



I have a 2 roller monster mill and I'm also running it with an Oatley 250w motor. I bought a power supply off ebay which is 240v10ampAC input (plugs straight into a normal power socket) and puts out 12v10ampDC. It works a treat. I've never had the motor stall even slightly, even when I dump a whole bucket load of grain straight into the hopper. 
I would've thought with a 12v 14amp power supply the 250w DC motor would be able to draw enough power to run at max torque. Maybe the Oatley 250w motor just dosen't have enough torque to power a 3 roller mill.


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## wobblythongs (11/4/11)

potof4x said:


> After doing some research and thoroughly confusing myself... I have bought one of the Oatley 250w motors, and am trying to use it to power my 3 roller monster mill . I have it running with an X-Box 360 power supply, which is 12v and 14 amp.


I don't know your motor but if its a 12V 250W your going to need a better PSU than the Xbox as that is only going to give you 168 watts of power max to the motor.
You would need a 21 amp or more PSU to run that motor at 100%.


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## potof4x (11/4/11)

Cheers for the replies. Was not prepared for the additional load of the 3 roller when compared to the 2 rollers I've seen setup on here. Am trying to keep the mill portable, but happy to experiment with batteries for now. 

Will try them out tomorrow and report back.


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## Golani51 (12/4/11)

potof4x said:


> Cheers for the replies. Was not prepared for the additional load of the 3 roller when compared to the 2 rollers I've seen setup on here. Am trying to keep the mill portable, but happy to experiment with batteries for now.
> 
> Will try them out tomorrow and report back.



Off topic a little here but how do you find the 3- roller as compared to the two - roller?

r


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## QldKev (12/4/11)

I've also got an Oatley 250w, but only running from an old computer PSU 12v 8amps. When I first looked at the speed of the rollers, compared to my 18v cordless drill, I thought it was too slow. But it crushes pretty quickly, does a 5kg batch in about 2min 30secs. So even when Im doing a 100L batch thats only about 10mins to crush the grain. If it took twice this long I would not be concerned. Ive been thinking of trying it back on the 5v rail from the PSU. AndrewQld also no longer uses a battery; he is now using a power supply.

When you say you one runs to slow/ worried of stalling have you tried loading it up and crushing a batch?

I would not go 24v, your mill will run at twice the speed compared to 12v, it is directly proportional with DC. At 12v you have 160rpm which is great; at 24v you will get the manufacturers spec of 320rpm. I did however run my MM2 for 18months from an 18v cordless which runs at 350rpm in its low range, the crush was nowhere as good as the lower speed.

QldKev


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## Mister Wilson (12/4/11)

Hi all

For those using the Oatley motor with the Monster Mill 2, can anyone advise if the Oatley would be better suited to the 1/2 inch shaft the the MM2 can be upgraded to?

Any tips on using the PSU would also be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Mr W


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## tavas (12/4/11)

Oatley website say motor comes with a 9 tooth sprocket and 10mm bore so 3/8" would be better suited. But best to contact Oatley and ask.

Can't help on PSU as I don't use DC.


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## seemax (12/4/11)

The pinouts for an ATX power supply are easily found.

ie http://pcsupport.about.com/od/insidethepc/...pin-12v-psu.htm

Any of the +12V pins should be able to provide the required current to drive the motor.

As for the shaft size, depends on what type of spider coupler you can source... do a search on jaycar or similar.. might have better luck overseas though.


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## mfeighan (12/4/11)

on the motherboard connector of there is one solitary green cable join that up to any black cable (ground) and the psu will stay on without being connected to a computer. i use pc power supplies for heaps of projects sometimes however the starting current required for some devices make the psu fail.



seemax said:


> The pinouts for an ATX power supply are easily found.
> 
> ie http://pcsupport.about.com/od/insidethepc/...pin-12v-psu.htm
> 
> ...


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## peaky (12/4/11)

MisterWilson said:


> Hi all
> 
> For those using the Oatley motor with the Monster Mill 2, can anyone advise if the Oatley would be better suited to the 1/2 inch shaft the the MM2 can be upgraded to?
> 
> ...



I have a MM2 with the standard 3/8 shaft connected to the Oatley 250w DC motor with a spider coupling from JayCar. I bought a 12v10amp PSU of ebay. It works great. Just remove the sprocket from the motor shaft and grind a slightly bigger flat spot on the shaft of the motor and the mill for the grub screws to tighten up on. You will need to drill out the spider coupling to fit also. Too easy.

I copied the idea from QldKev who got it from AndrewQld I believe. I havn't got any photos but maybe if you pm qldkev he could have some.

My mill gives a nice crush at slow speed, probably takes about 3 minutes to crush 5-6kg. (aprox, I haven't timed it) I'm well pleased with how my mill performs


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## kjparker (12/4/11)

Has anyone here used a windscreen wiper motor?

Would these have sufficient torque to pull it off?


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## QldKev (12/4/11)

clueless said:


> Has anyone here used a windscreen wiper motor?
> 
> Would these have sufficient torque to pull it off?



Nope wiper motors die from the abuse of the mill.

For ideas inc couplers check out my web page - from my signature

A 1/2 inch shaft is great if you want to go the 240v motor, 3/8 is easier if you go the Oatley DC motor.

QldKev


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## potof4x (12/4/11)

Played around some today and found the limits of my mill. Should have said in first post that I am BIAB and was going for the finest crush possible. 

I was previously using a 2 speed drill with mill rollers set as close as possible. Could start with a hopper full no trouble. When trying to run the same setting with the oatley motor and X_Box 360 Psu, the motor would stall out. 

Found today that if I blocked around half the roller area with cardboard, on the closet setting, I could start milling with hopper full and get through 5kg of grain in maybe 5 min.

Then ran through some 1kg batches at various gap settings. They were medicare card, 4 strips,3strips and 2 strips of cut up soft drink can. Found at all settings except the 2 strips of can that the mill would start with 1kg in hopper, and mill that kg in about 20 seconds. Interesting to hear the motor load up with each 'closing' of the gap setting, till the setting of 2 strips where it just stalled.

Will see tomorrow how it starts with a 5kg hopper full on 3 strips setting, and go from there.


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## peaky (12/4/11)

potof4x said:


> Played around some today and found the limits of my mill. Should have said in first post that I am BIAB and was going for the finest crush possible.
> 
> I was previously using a 2 speed drill with mill rollers set as close as possible. Could start with a hopper full no trouble. When trying to run the same setting with the oatley motor and X_Box 360 Psu, the motor would stall out.
> 
> ...



Go to SuperCheap autos and buy yourself a cheap set of feeler gauges. Then you know exactly what the gap is set at. It's handy if you want to tell someone what your mill gap is. :icon_cheers: 

I think my mill motor would stall too if I set the rollers to the closest setting. I have the gap set at 1mm. It gives me a good crush and works well with my brew system. (copper manifold in an esky mash tun)


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## potof4x (14/4/11)

Milled up grist today for *http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php?autocom=recipedb&code=show&recipe=456*Les the Weiz Guys Weizenbock . 5.5 KG of 50% dark wheat. Measured my gap at .279mm and realised what a big ask it was to crush any finer. Mill chewed through it in 2m 5sec. 
Wrapped with the whole setup. 

Variation was the coupler, sourced mine from a bearing shop in Toowoomba. 40mm OD and is bought as 2 halves $10 each, and element $8. Picked up the X-Box PSU for nix, but needed some help for a mate to get the supply to fire. All fits nicely on original Moster mill base, although had to chop about 25mm off the shaft.


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## QldKev (14/4/11)

potof4x said:


> Milled up grist today for *http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php?autocom=recipedb&code=show&recipe=456*Les the Weiz Guys Weizenbock . 5.5 KG of 50% dark wheat. Measured my gap at .279mm and realised what a big ask it was to crush any finer. Mill chewed through it in 2m 5sec.
> Wrapped with the whole setup.
> 
> Variation was the coupler, sourced mine from a bearing shop in Toowoomba. 40mm OD and is bought as 2 halves $10 each, and element $8. Picked up the X-Box PSU for nix, but needed some help for a mate to get the supply to fire. All fits nicely on original Moster mill base, although had to chop about 25mm off the shaft.




.279mm, you need a flour mill not a grain mill. 
I'm running mine at 0.9mm; which is pretty fine for grain.

I think even if you went 0.75mm you would not affect your efficiency

QldKev


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## potof4x (14/4/11)

My efficiency so far has only been 67%, on a good day. Every thing I have read re biab suggests finer = more efficiency, but am going to start moving the rollers out over the next few batches to see if I can improve any.


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## tavas (7/5/11)

I sidestepped the 12 VDC route. Couldn't be bothered with finding a DC power source (never even considered a PC power supply. Doh!!). 

Found this motor and gearbox on ebay. The boys at work knocked up a mount and shaft for me for a few bevvies. Gearbox is 10:1 reduction so speed is perfect (140rpm). Motor is 1/2 hp single phase, capacitor start and capacitor run so no worries about starting torque or burning out motors. Cost about $50 more to setup than the DC motor option (from Oatley) but I'm happy with that.

Mill is MM2. Does a 5kg batch of grain in about 3 minutes.

The only downside is that if I get a stone or something solid in there it won't stop. I might need to look at a shear pin or something.


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