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Author Topic: Garage door opener  (Read 13497 times)

Offline bluesman

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #15 on: July 15, 2012, 07:02:09 am »
The ideal speed for a mill is 400rpm.  You would need to make a design change to allow for more rpm at the motor.  This would likely involve a larger drive pulley at the motor side. Again, you'll need to calculate the size pulley needed to drive the mill at approx. 400 rpm.

Can you share where the 400 RPM number comes from?  6 and 2/3 revs per second seems a bit fast to me.

Check this out Carl.  :)

http://www.byo.com/stories/techniques/article/indices/45-mashing/1135-mashing-variables-techniques
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Offline weithman5

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #16 on: July 15, 2012, 08:27:22 am »
that doesn't really address why it is a good speed though and how it really affects the crush. the kinetic energy imparted to the grain will have some effect i guess.  but also the 400rpm is referencing larger commercial mills and the grain wll be in contact with the roller longer.  this is interesting and it would make a good comparison to see on a homebrew level how much difference it makes.
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Offline denny

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #17 on: July 15, 2012, 09:47:39 am »
FWIW, I recall Dan Listermann saying many years ago that he had determined 300-350 to be optimal for the Phil Mill he sold.  That's pretty close to 400.
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Offline euge

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #18 on: July 15, 2012, 03:24:57 pm »
I'm happy with my crush and I have the mill turning way slower than that.
I use a DC motor from a tread mill and chose a very large pulley for the grain mill to save the motor from too much stress.

Jeff is the large diameter pulley on the mill side? Just to make sure...

As far as rpm goes I'll wing it and adjust my gap accordingly. Not a big fan of a fine grist anyway.
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Offline boapiu

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #19 on: July 15, 2012, 04:23:24 pm »
The ideal speed for a mill is 400rpm.  You would need to make a design change to allow for more rpm at the motor.  This would likely involve a larger drive pulley at the motor side. Again, you'll need to calculate the size pulley needed to drive the mill at approx. 400 rpm.
I have a Valley Mill and the sticker on the side states MAX SPEED 300 RPM. Last time I was using it with my cordless drill the battery ran out on the last few pounds and I had to attach the hand crank. I wound up with a bit of sweat on the browe and had to swap hands but when it was all said and done it had a therapeutic feel to it. It was as off I had put more of myself into the brew days effort. I may opt for that next time but make sure the drill battery is charged, in case.  ;)
Beer is an ancient beverage that has been consumed as part of a balanced diet for centuries - it contains the goodness of sprouted grain extracted into rich liquid and fermented to produce a nutritional 'liquid cereal' beverage.

Offline jeffy

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #20 on: July 15, 2012, 04:57:44 pm »
I'm happy with my crush and I have the mill turning way slower than that.
I use a DC motor from a tread mill and chose a very large pulley for the grain mill to save the motor from too much stress.

Jeff is the large diameter pulley on the mill side? Just to make sure...

As far as rpm goes I'll wing it and adjust my gap accordingly. Not a big fan of a fine grist anyway.

Yes, the larger pulley is on the grain mill.
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Offline punatic

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #21 on: July 15, 2012, 09:23:12 pm »
I suspect that on commercial mills the volume of grain that needs to be crushed would favor higher RPMs.  I think ultimately it is the crush of the grain being as close to optimum that matters most, regardless of the speed.  Motor power, roller gap, pulley size are all variables that come together to achieve the desired crush.

Anyone have any experience at DIY drying and cracking corn?   
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Offline weithman5

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #22 on: July 17, 2012, 03:35:53 pm »


Anyone have any experience at DIY drying and cracking corn?   

jimmy does, but i heard he doesn't care anymore 8)
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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #23 on: July 17, 2012, 04:20:13 pm »


Anyone have any experience at DIY drying and cracking corn?   

jimmy does, but i heard he doesn't care anymore 8)

yup
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Offline tubercle

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #24 on: July 17, 2012, 04:34:40 pm »

Anyone have any experience at DIY drying and cracking corn?

Yes. About 20 years worth. But we dried corn on the stalk and stored it in a stall in the barn, shucks and all. Grandpa had a sheller we would run the cobs through to strip the kernels then a grinder that had several screens of different sizes the meal ran across to drop out different grades.

The last (biggest) size got fed to the hogs. ;)

 If you got a specific grind you're looking for...a cheap corona mill does fine - so I'm tole.


AS far as RPM, mine runs however fast the corded 3/8 drill motor from Sears can turn it.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2012, 04:37:21 pm by tubercle »
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Offline corkybstewart

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #25 on: July 18, 2012, 08:12:45 am »
i am more curious how speed affects the crush.  if 400rpm is ideal, there are a lot of hand millers suffering.
When I went from hand milling to using a drill at 200-300rpm I got a much finer crush without changing any other variables.  My extraction went form about 70% to over 80%, but I have also had some slow or stuck runoffs.  There's always a tradeoff.
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Offline weazletoe

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #26 on: August 23, 2012, 12:14:28 am »
The rpm of the motor should be right on the plate that's stuck to it. Once you have that, just do a little math, on the gearing, 2/1 etc....and you can turn the BC whatever speed you want. And how sweet is it going to be to kick back in your chair with the remote in your hand, and mill your grain with the push of a button!
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Offline kvp

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Re: Garage door opener
« Reply #27 on: August 23, 2012, 07:09:08 pm »
I tried a garage door motor and it didn't hold up. I think it had to do with the duty cycle they are rated at and it didn't like running for the duration I was asking it too.
You may have better luck but I'd try it before locking into a build with it.
Be flexible in your build and you can change motors if need be.