Show us your grain mill

[evoo4u]

This is my current mill set up, now powered by variable speed DC motor, which I run at approx 55rpm.

The pail sits snugly in the enclosed section. Enclosed to keep grain dust to a minimum.

The electronic speed control board and a decent sized 240vac/12vdc power supply are enclosed in the end, with an air inlet at the bottom and exhaust fan at the top to keep it cool, although in practice probably unnecessary as it's normally running only 5 or 6 minutes per brew.

I used to use a cordless drill, but was not happy that I could get it running slowly enough, and the handle of the drill (where it's electronics are housed) got VERY hot, so that was the motivation to get the MD motor.

 

[Zorco]

This is schmick. A class act mate.

Sub woofer. For NWA albums?

 

[Mardoo]

My 'custom' set up, although I've replaced the motor to one that runs half the speed now. Munches through 5kg in a few minutes...

:wub:

 

[evoo4u]

Hi...Just been hand-cracking my grain mill...

Could Rafa be a closet hand-crank home brewer too... (hugely asymetric biceps!)

 

[timmi9191]

Cheap and simple 12v grain mill motor

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/cheap-diy-option-for-a-motorized-grain-mill.html

 

[fw00r]

Here's my motorised mill, Which can be sat on top of the BIAB setup if need be.

Usually mill while doing other set up, in to the 20L pail which takes up to about 9.5kg grain.

 

[Meddo]

This is my millmaster mini with knurled rollers and their new hopper. Sat the baseboard on top of a bucket and used screws to (roughly) attach four little timber offcuts on the underside to keep the whole thing located on the top of the bucket. Cordless variable speed drill gets through 5-6 kg of grain in about that many minutes, gets a little bit warm but doubt it's an issue given I only run it like that once a week at most.

A proper motor attachment would be kinda nice but it's really not that bad sitting there for five minutes with one hand on the drill and the other clutching a brew of some sort...

 

[Samuel Adams]

Very interesting setups It has given me plenty of options to think about. Could I just rest the mill board onto a bucket and mill away with the handle or do I need to clamp it down onto something solid??

Mine just sits on top of a 20L bucket and is no problem. I use my other hand to steady it while cranking just in case.

Is hard to crank the mill by hand ?? Can't wait to buy some grain to try it out

I also hand crank which is pretty easy just make sure you use your non wanking arm or you'll end up like Quagmire !

 

[moonhead]

Interesting how many using cordless drills.. what speed you running at? Id be be worried they would need too higher a speed which would be shredding the husk and creating too much flour. Im running a high torque drill and keep it as slow as possible. Not worried about grind time as i leave it running while doing other prep, pref grind quality over grind speed

Yeah I was also thinking about the bearings on your mill over heating or wearing out. Is there a reason why it comes with a handle??

I've got a Kegking mill, they recommend 200RPM speed. My cordless drill in low gear goes max 400RPM, so I just run that at half trigger. Nothing really gets hot, certainly not the mill, and the drill get put through much worse on regular basis.

I'm doing BIAB though, so difficult to comment on how well the grind is for sparging, I'm find with just grinding everything up into dust, essentially (though I don't really go that far normally).

 

[Rocker1986]

If I can find the photo... this is my Mashmaster mini mill 'hybrid' (one knurled, one fluted roller) with the new hopper. It is run with a Bosch 18V drill driver set on lowest speed and highest torque. I don't the exact RPM it runs at but the grain is always nicely crushed when I'm finished. Probably takes about a minute or so per kg of grain.

The mill is mounted on a piece of plywood that has some rubber feet attached on its underside to keep it on the bucket. I've done a couple of batches with this set up now and it is excellent for my needs.

 

[Grok]

Bump to an old thread!
Hadn't seen any grain mill setup brags lately, so thought its time for another!
I have been using a drill on my standard (old model) KK Malt Muncher, but thought it's time for an upgrade!
I was going to cobble parts of this and that together to get a working gadget, but then I thought "stuff it", just get some good gear!
I think the mill motor kit is KK stuff bought from my local brew shop, comes with spider coupling, bracket and control box for $250, good value I reckon!
Soooo...... here it is.

Nothing special I suppose, but things of note would be:

• Reconfigured and rewired the control box with a kettle cord AC input with proper Earth line to motor body (it didn't have one!), plus removed the control box to motor plug lead set up as it was to long, now direct wired through the side with rubber grommet.
• Replaced the "Big Red Button" for a smaller rocker switch.
• Nice big wooden handles for easy moving. These are surprisingly really good. They were made from my stuffed up first spacer mounting flange under the grain mill, cut in half and shaped a bit, counter sink screw mounted from underneath.
• Portable (with a power cord attached).
• Steady 180 RPM.

Can't see any reason not to grind straight into the mash tun!

 

[Cloud Surfer]

I use a Mill Master with fluted rollers. Started off using a hand drill, but the fixed motor is much better, more powerful with a constant slow speed and consistent crush.

 

[Grok]

Nice! Got the earth wire on?
Try the big wooden handle idea, you'll love it!

 

[Cloud Surfer]

Yes you can see the earth in the photo.

 

[MashBasher]

Utterly and entirely ghetto. But hey, it works!

3 Roller geared mill from Keg-King. Drill and bucket from Bunnings. Boutique hole by Stanley knife. Cable tie via laziness.

Rips through 10 kg of grain in short order.

Gives me another element of control and has made an appreciable improvement to the quality of my beer.

 

[Hush]

Our setup. Monster mill 3 rollers driven ... No more stuck roller. The idea was found in this forum. Thanks.

Motor is a paint mixer, low speed and high torque.
Feel free to ask question, I will try to answer.
The mill doing his job :
Hush

 

[Half-baked]

While milling is topical…
I’ve decided to invest in a mill drill, but the staple Ozito spade handle drill seems to be unavailable these days.
Any standout alternatives? I’m wondering about this from Aldi and am interested in people’s thoughts: 20V Drill with Brushless Motor - ALDI Australia

 

[Grok]

I used a drill similar to the Aldi drill for a few years no problem, Black & Decker Firestorm 18v 2 speed, did the job ok on low ratio. Another good trick is to use a one speed 18v drill with a 12v battery will also bring down the RPM as well, but it gobbles more amps out of your battery for full loading, ok for a short time use though.

 

[razz]

That is a great set up Hush. When you say low speed, do you know how fast?

 

[Grmblz]

While milling is topical…
I’ve decided to invest in a mill drill, but the staple Ozito spade handle drill seems to be unavailable these days.
Any standout alternatives? I’m wondering about this from Aldi and am interested in people’s thoughts: 20V Drill with Brushless Motor - ALDI Australia

https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-1050w-multi-purpose-mixing-drill_p6290204 showing In stock at my local.
The Ozito is easy to mount (3 tapped holes for bolts) has a planetary gearbox, will be a lot more powerful and run indefinitely, the Aldi has the convenience of cordless, although the battery looks quite small, and the drill certainly isn't as "industrial" as the Ozito, but if you are using a 2 roller mill it will probably be ok.
I use an Ozito on a 3 roller mill, the only downside is it's quite heavy.