Porter-Milton Grain Mill

Hello all,

Here's my set up for my mill. Not 100% completed but enough to see what the final result will look like (the rat's nest is cleaned up).

Goals for this build:

1. Completely encapsulate the sheaves.
2. Reversible
3. Slider to start/stop the grain from feeding.
4. Large enough to hold 30+#s of milled grain

A huge thanks out to Hoppopotomus and mrjofus1959 for their ideas and assistance.

Links to parts incoming.

Thanks,
perogi.

Parts list:

Case final dimensions (approximately)
--------
35" Tall
31" Deep
25" Wide

Mill (crankandstein 3d)
----
http://www.crankandstein.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13

Motor
-----
Baldor L3504
1/2 hp, 1725 rpm
Final rpm: 108

Sheaves
--------
1 - 3" G2894875 (http://www.zorotools.com/g/00070944/k-G2894875/)
1 - 6" G1159846 (http://www.zorotools.com/g/00070895/k-G1159846/)
1 - 1.5" CA0150X062 (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/CONGRESS-VBelt-Pulley-3X893)
1 - 12" CA1200X050 (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/CONGRESS-VBelt-Pulley-3X938)

Spider Coupling
---------------
1 - Coupling Insert: G0284742 (http://www.zorotools.com/g/00055746/k-G0284742/)
2 - Spider Coupling: G1995034 (http://www.zorotools.com/g/00025752/k-G1995034/)

Flange Bearing
---------------
4 - 1-201-08-4 (https://www.surpluscenter.com/Item.asp?item=1-201-08-4)

Belt
----
2 - Power Twist V-Belt (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BQDS8I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20)

Switch DPDT
------------
1 - DPDT Switch (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/CARLING-TECHNOLOGIES-Toggle-Switch-4X850)

Odds and Ends
--------------
3' - 1/2" rod from local hardware store
Motor switch from HD
Nuts and bolts from hardware store.

Next steps:

• Close up both sides.
• Get a door on the front - probably use a recycle bin set up to have it roll in and out.
• Build a "cover" over the milling area so I can use it to weigh materials before milling.
• The drawn out area around the close up picture will be routed out to accept a clear piece of lexan so I can see what's going on during the milling process.

Thanks for the parts list. Great job. How is your crush? I have a crankenstein three roller mill and sometimes I have to double-crush and my usual efficiency is around 70-75%. My calculated mill rpm is ~215.:cross:

Your 1.5" sheave link show one with a 5/8" bore. Is that a bad link or did you use a bushing?

jeepinjeepin said:

Your 1.5" sheave link show one with a 5/8" bore. Is that a bad link or did you use a bushing?

Click to expand...

Hi jeepinjeepin - the motor is 5/8".

mrklueber said:

Thanks for the parts list. Great job. How is your crush? I have a crankenstein three roller mill and sometimes I have to double-crush and my usual efficiency is around 70-75%. My calculated mill rpm is ~215.:cross:

Click to expand...

mrklueber - The crush looks really good. I'm planning on conditioning the grain with water before I
Originally with the 1.5" -> 12" I would have had 215 rpm but I wanted to take it down a bit.

Here's some images of my crush with the mill

perogi said:

Hi jeepinjeepin - the motor is 5/8".

Click to expand...

Ok, good deal. I didn't think to look there. I couldn't see you making that mistake with as good as everything else looks. Good work.

Good looking crush. How is your efficiency?

Thanks jeepinjeepin!

mrklueber said:

Good looking crush. How is your efficiency?

Click to expand...

I haven't brewed yet with this mill - this weekend or next will be the first run. Probably going to do a Oktoberfest

mrklueber said:

Good looking crush. How is your efficiency?

Click to expand...

Did a brew last weekend (see issues below). Ended up with a 91% brewhouse efficiency. No lautering issues (note that I'm using a Kal Clone).

Issues: I could only put a little bit at a time into the hopper. I then removed a link from both of those belts and it worked great until the set pin came loose. I forgot to flatten one side of the bar to put the set pin on it.

Question: Should I drill a hole through the pipe and add a cotter pin or bolt or flatten it?

Thanks for any advice.

IMHO, I would drill a hole and put a cotter pin in it. Make sure you roll at least one leg of the cotter pin so it doesn't come out. Glad everything worked out for you.

Perogi, nice looking build.

Is it possible that you could have mounted that last pulley directly to the mill, eliminating some parts and reducing cost.

purplehaze said:

Perogi, nice looking build.

Is it possible that you could have mounted that last pulley directly to the mill, eliminating some parts and reducing cost.

Click to expand...

Thanks Purplehaze!

If I think you are asking about the top most pulley, I didn't do it for two reasons.

1) I wanted to be able to remove the mill for cleaning.
2) I wanted to make sure there wasn't any lateral torque on the mill bearings.

Also, I think it would have been difficult to keep the pulleys enclosed if we used the mill's rod.

Or did I misunderstand what you were saying?

After I posted, I read that one of your goals was to encapsulate the mill pulleys.

I built a similar setup using multiple pulleys (out of necessity) and never thought the tension on the bearings being bad, but it makes sense.

Again good job.

mrklueber said:

IMHO, I would drill a hole and put a cotter pin in it. Make sure you roll at least one leg of the cotter pin so it doesn't come out. Glad everything worked out for you.

Click to expand...

I will give that a try. Thank you.

Great looking build!

I ended up drilling an indent into the rods and tightening the set pins into the indents. Ran 28#s through last Saturday and it worked really well!