Motion Dynamics Mill Motor Wiring

[Crusty]

Thanks guys.
I've read, searched the net & watched the suppliers website video on how to wire it up. I've done exactly as instructed & I can now only assume that I've been sold the board for the hall effect which renders the board useless with a potentiometer or I've been sold a dud board from the start. I've sent photos through to Motion Dynamics of my wiring & also a photo of the board. All my connections & soldering joints were checked for continuity with a volt meter & all connections passed. I've had the kit for well over 2yrs, maybe 3, so I'm not holding my breath for a free replacement. The new boards are about $48.00.
Cheers.

 

[Grmblz]

If you get no joy from them this seems like a pretty good deal, it's not quite the same amps but that will depend on load anyway and I don't think a mill will load up that motor too much, reversible, soft start, and boxed up ready to go. ttps://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DC-12V-24V-36V-48V-SoftStart-Reversible-Motor-PWM-Speed-Control-PWM-Controller/132754028140?hash=item1ee8c1b66c:g:BcoAAOSwcTlbfY20

 

[Crusty]

If you get no joy from them this seems like a pretty good deal, it's not quite the same amps but that will depend on load anyway and I don't think a mill will load up that motor too much, reversible, soft start, and boxed up ready to go. ttps://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DC-12V-24V-36V-48V-SoftStart-Reversible-Motor-PWM-Speed-Control-PWM-Controller/132754028140?hash=item1ee8c1b66c:g:BcoAAOSwcTlbfY20

Cheers

 

[Ballaratguy]

I’m finding this interesting as I have a motor that looks very similar
I tried running it in a 12v power supply via a switch and variable speed but it didn’t have the torque to crush (I’ve got a mash master mill master mill)
I put it onto a 24V power supply which ran the motor but burnt out the variable speed unit so I hooked the motor directly to the power supply. It barely turned the motor
Because I was about to mill grain I then wired up a couple of 12v batteries to make 24v and the motor really worked well (crushed 5kg in less than 5 min)
I’ve since tried to use the 24v power supply but only got it to turn the motor properly once. For some reason it seems to reduce power when I wire the motor to the power supply, however when I put the motor onto a 12v supply it spins beautifully
Next is to try to do a crush on the 12v power supply
Otherwise I’m thinking the 24v power supply is too small or stuffed
24v 250w 10a
The draw from the motor is 68 w when running with no load
Got me stuffed

 

[Crusty]

I’m finding this interesting as I have a motor that looks very similar
I tried running it in a 12v power supply via a switch and variable speed but it didn’t have the torque to crush (I’ve got a mash master mill master mill)
I put it onto a 24V power supply which ran the motor but burnt out the variable speed unit so I hooked the motor directly to the power supply. It barely turned the motor
Because I was about to mill grain I then wired up a couple of 12v batteries to make 24v and the motor really worked well (crushed 5kg in less than 5 min)
I’ve since tried to use the 24v power supply but only got it to turn the motor properly once. For some reason it seems to reduce power when I wire the motor to the power supply, however when I put the motor onto a 12v supply it spins beautifully
Next is to try to do a crush on the 12v power supply
Otherwise I’m thinking the 24v power supply is too small or stuffed
24v 250w 10a
The draw from the motor is 68 w when running with no load
Got me stuffed

That's weird!
To be honest & fair to the guys over at Motion Dynamics, they do a great special deal on the motor & speed controller for home brewers & I haven't heard of anyone having any trouble with theirs but my experience with them is vastly different. IMO, the motor is top notch, the board, well, I'm almost 100% certain I got a dodgy one. I've sent emails, Friday, again Monday, rang three times on different days to no avail. I really think that their customer service is as poor as **** & I'm not going to bother sourcing another board from them, I'll get one elsewhere. I just get the feeling that they simply don't really give a **** once you've spent your money. There's plenty of competition all over the net & if you can't be bothered dealing with a customers problem, through no fault of their own, that speaks volumes to me. A simple call back or a return of an email is all I was looking for. I was more than happy to purchase another board from them but just needed some guidance on a potential fix for mine before doing so.

 

[Ballaratguy]

That's weird!
To be honest & fair to the guys over at Motion Dynamics, they do a great special deal on the motor & speed controller for home brewers & I haven't heard of anyone having any trouble with theirs but my experience with them is vastly different. IMO, the motor is top notch, the board, well, I'm almost 100% certain I got a dodgy one. I've sent emails, Friday, again Monday, rang three times on different days to no avail. I really think that their customer service is as poor as **** & I'm not going to bother sourcing another board from them, I'll get one elsewhere. I just get the feeling that they simply don't really give a **** once you've spent your money. There's plenty of competition all over the net & if you can't be bothered dealing with a customers problem, through no fault of their own, that speaks volumes to me. A simple call back or a return of an email is all I was looking for. I was more than happy to purchase another board from them but just needed some guidance on a potential fix for mine before doing so.

Do you really need the speed control function?
With my set up when I ran the motor of the batteries at 24v it worked flawlessly. Reversing switch I can see a need for but speed control, I’m yet to be convinced on the need

 

[Crusty]

Do you really need the speed control function?
With my set up when I ran the motor of the batteries at 24v it worked flawlessly. Reversing switch I can see a need for but speed control, I’m yet to be convinced on the need

You don't really, it's not absolutely necessary as it runs at 180rpm so that speed is fine. I would rather run a bit under that though hence me trying to get the speed control to work. It's nice to have that flexibility.

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

I've been thinking about powering my mill ever since I bought it, I've checked out the motion dynamics web site and as far as I can tell without the coupling, drive shaft and power supply I would be better off buying the keg king motor/gearbox combo, thoughts?

 

[Crusty]

I've been thinking about powering my mill ever since I bought it, I've checked out the motion dynamics web site and as far as I can tell without the coupling, drive shaft and power supply I would be better off buying the keg king motor/gearbox combo, thoughts?

It's entirely up to you but I've heard the Keg King mill struggles to fire with a full hopper of grain. Someone who has one may chime in & correct me if I'm wrong but I read it somewhere. The MD motor though has a whopping 20Nm of torque so won't struggle with that issue at all. The Keg King comes in at $249 & the MD brewers special is $124. My 30A power supply was about $35.00, the stainless shaft pretty cheap & the spider coupling was only about $15.

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

Thanks Crusty.

I think your parts bill is $187 if you buy the motion dynamics shaft, where did you find the power supply and coupling?

Is there postage on top of that?

Did you need to make a mount for the motor?

Interestingly the KK unit is described as high torque but no figures are given.

Would appreciate feedback on the KK motor.

 

[Crusty]

Thanks Crusty.

I think your parts bill is $187 if you buy the motion dynamics shaft, where did you find the power supply and coupling?

Is there postage on top of that?

Did you need to make a mount for the motor?

Interestingly the KK unit is described as high torque but no figures are given.

Would appreciate feedback on the KK motor.

I got the power supply off ebay, the 30A one, I think it was around $35.00. Spider coupling was also off ebay, just make sure you get the correct size to fit the stainless rod as well as your mill handle. Most people improvise with mounting making their own brackets but there's heaps of different ways to do it.

 

[Ballaratguy]

I got the power supply off ebay, the 30A one, I think it was around $35.00. Spider coupling was also off ebay, just make sure you get the correct size to fit the stainless rod as well as your mill handle. Most people improvise with mounting making their own brackets but there's heaps of different ways to do it.

Was your power supply 12v or 24v?
My motor didn’t have the torque to crush when used on 12v

 

[Crusty]

Was your power supply 12v or 24v?
My motor didn’t have the torque to crush when used on 12v

12V.

 

[Crusty]

Can someone chime in who knows a bit about potentiometers.
On the MD website, they state that they use 10K pots for their speed control boards & I can't get any speed control at all with mine. The motor runs at full speed, just no control. Upon further investigation, I have been sent a 5K potentiometer instead. Will this be the cause of no speed control adjustment or is it the board itself? I've tested for continuity on all soldering joints & everything is as it should be. The board looks fine so I really don't know whats going on.

 

[Grmblz]

Can someone chime in who knows a bit about potentiometers.
On the MD website, they state that they use 10K pots for their speed control boards & I can't get any speed control at all with mine. The motor runs at full speed, just no control. Upon further investigation, I have been sent a 5K potentiometer instead. Will this be the cause of no speed control adjustment or is it the board itself? I've tested for continuity on all soldering joints & everything is as it should be. The board looks fine so I really don't know whats going on.

I think I'd be inclined to send them the board with a polite "can you check this please" note. I know you've had it a while but any company worth it's salt would at least look at it (take about 2 minutes on the bench to test it) and if you get sorry mate it's US at least you're not chasing your tail.

 

[Crusty]

I think I'd be inclined to send them the board with a polite "can you check this please" note. I know you've had it a while but any company worth it's salt would at least look at it (take about 2 minutes on the bench to test it) and if you get sorry mate it's US at least you're not chasing your tail.

Yeah, I tried to get some insight over the phone & via email. Called on three different days, sent emails with photos twice & they said on the phone would get back to me. Rang a couple of days later after no contact & told the same thing. I'm not going to send the board back as it appears they really don't give a rats arse. That's the impression I get anyhow. I've ordered a couple of 10K pots off ebay & they'll be here next week. If that fails, I'll look at another board but it certainly wont be from them.

 

[Grmblz]

Yeah, I tried to get some insight over the phone & via email. Called on three different days, sent emails with photos twice & they said on the phone would get back to me. Rang a couple of days later after no contact & told the same thing. I'm not going to send the board back as it appears they really don't give a rats arse. That's the impression I get anyhow. I've ordered a couple of 10K pots off ebay & they'll be here next week. If that fails, I'll look at another board but it certainly wont be from them.

Yeah looks like they're just re-sellers bunging on their % and no back up, quite a lot of that happening these days.

 

[Crusty]

Yeah looks like they're just re-sellers bunging on their % and no back up, quite a lot of that happening these days.

They have some great quality gear & went above & beyond years ago to match up a mill motor for us home brewers. I'm not in any way bagging what they sell but I'm really disappointed that they couldn't be arsed to sort out my drama. Yes, there's much more important things happening all over the world at the moment but it's really not too hard to reply to an email or get a call back if you expect repeat business. If someone asked for my opinion on whether to purchase from them, I'd say go for it, great gear but be prepared to expect absolutely zero after sales service & if you do strike a problem, no point calling or emailing them, they could't be bothered or simply don't have the time for that. I spoke to Ryan on the phone who is in all their youtube video builds on their website so you'd expect him to be the one to talk to but he wanted to pass on my info to someone from tech support who I believe now is non existent.
Thanks for the motor boys but you won't be seeing another cent from me. ( Not that they give a **** )

 

[caney]

Hey Crusty,
With a potentiometer, only one terminal is for the -ve and the other two as follows:

1) Fixed resistance value, typically full rating of the potentiometer, so in your case 5kohm. Usually end terminal.

2) Variable range, 0-5kohm. Usually middle terminal.

If your speed is going flat out, you may have the connectors arse about cause the controller to receive the 5kohm value only from the fixed terminal of the potentiometer and thus run at full speed.

If you have a multimeter or access to one I can discuss futher how to confirm potentiometer values and correct terminals.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Caney

 

[Crusty]

Hey Crusty,
With a potentiometer, only one terminal is for the -ve and the other two as follows:

1) Fixed resistance value, typically full rating of the potentiometer, so in your case 5kohm. Usually end terminal.

2) Variable range, 0-5kohm. Usually middle terminal.

If your speed is going flat out, you may have the connectors arse about cause the controller to receive the 5kohm value only from the fixed terminal of the potentiometer and thus run at full speed.

If you have a multimeter or access to one I can discuss futher how to confirm potentiometer values and correct terminals.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Caney

Thanks Caney.
I have tested the pot on both outside terminals, 4.45kohm. Middle terminal & left terminal, resistance increases & decreases as it should. Middle terminal & right terminal, resistance increases & decreases as it should.
I have tried reversing the outside terminals to the board but motor still runs flat out. According to the Motion Dynamics instructions, the middle terminal of the pot goes to the middle port on the board & the left & right terminals can go on either the left or right of the board depending which way you want to increase the speed of the motor when turning the knob.