MM2 Mill powered with Garage Door Opener?

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
millstone said:
Is there any concern on the capacitor holding a charge? Should a bleed down resistor be installed?

thanks

tom
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the capacitor in the motor starting circuit? If so, no resistor. They are designed and built just as they should be.
 
Looking for help on my build. I'm using a Chamberlain motor with the original capacitor and have the two parts mounted on a three sided wood enclosure. The motor is controlled by a SPST switch connected to a 3Way switch for forward and reverse operation. I did a NO-Load test and ran the motor for about 5 minutes in the direction I need to run the mill. I also put it into reverse, buy either turning the power on for a few seconds or doing short bursts (to simulate a stuck grind). Everything went well. Motor did start to feel warm but it did not cut out. I unplugged the unit and was just walking away feeling very good when I heard a pop and then a very long pssssssssst. I turned to see a 4 foot long discharge coming from the top of the capacitor. A few minutes later I measured the temp of the motor and it was at about 148°, the capacitor was at 168°, I'm sure the temp was higher a few minutes earlier. So, was it something I did, like the short bursts of power in reverse? Is it a bad motor thermal protection? Bad capacitor? Does it matter if the capacitor is facing up or down or sideways? I have mine with the terminals facing up. something else??

thanks

tom
 
Short bursts will cause the cap to work harder. Mounting orientation shouldn't matter. How old was the opener/cap?
 
Has anyone been able to find another source for an opener since Surplus Center doesn't carry them anymore?
 
The cap and motor are about 15 years old, maybe it was just time. Did have another cap, about the same age, tested it under no- load. The motor timed out after about 4+ minutes, the motor temp was about 150F and the cap was 100F

Tom
edited for sp

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I assume you are using the worm gear reduction with the motor. The motor by itself lacks the torque to turn the mill. The motor/worm gear setup will not get stuck no matter what grain you put in your mill. It would probably mill rocks. With repeated stats, the cap will heat up and fail. It's a motor stating capacitor.
Since the motor isn't designed for constant use, it lacks a fan. Installing a fan to cool the motor is a good idea. Without a fan, I can mill about 20lbs of grain before the overheat protector trips. I just unplug it and wait a few minutes, then mill the remaining grain.

To source a motor, go to your local garage door dealer and ask them for a used lift master/Sears craftsman/chamberlain motor head. They probably have a dumpster full. Just needs to have a good motor, worm gear and capacitor.
 
Yes, I'm using a worm gear to reduce the motor speed. During my first test, I was switching the motor from forward to reverse a number of times, so that could have caused the geyser I had coming from the capacitor. I replaced the cap and this time ran the motor until the overheat protection kicked in. The cap was about 100°, and the motor, at shut-off, was about 145°. I have attached a pic of my setup, still waiting for my lovjoy connectors to show, should be mid week. I have installed a fan, so I hope this helps the cap and motor run cooler.

thanks

tom

MM_GMM.jpg
 
slbradley01 said:
To source a motor, go to your local garage door dealer and ask them for a used lift master/Sears craftsman/chamberlain motor head. They probably have a dumpster full. Just needs to have a good motor, worm gear and capacitor.
Click to expand...

This right here is good advice for anyone looking to get a motor.

I called a place local to me, he was going to give me a few of them for some homebrew and a few dollars. Not a bad deal if you ask me..
 
millstone said:
Yes, I'm using a worm gear to reduce the motor speed. During my first test, I was switching the motor from forward to reverse a number of times, so that could have caused the geyser I had coming from the capacitor. I replaced the cap and this time ran the motor until the overheat protection kicked in. The cap was about 100°, and the motor, at shut-off, was about 145°. I have attached a pic of my setup, still waiting for my lovjoy connectors to show, should be mid week. I have installed a fan, so I hope this helps the cap and motor run cooler.

thanks

tom
Click to expand...

How long did it run for before it tripped out on overheat, and how long did it take to cool back down?
 
It took about 4 minutes to kick out, I did not have a fan installed during that test. I probably let it sit for 10 minutes before running it again. But remember I was doing a no load test just to see what the temps of the cap and motor would be at shutdown. My lovejoy connectors came in today, need to align the two shafts, the garage motor is 3/8" higher than the MM shaft. Need to make a spacer/platform from some 3/8s plywood to raise the mill. Hope this helps.

Tom


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Did any of you have to shave down the shafts on either the mill or the motor to get the lovejoys to fit? For some reason neither will fit for me...
 
Make sure the allen screw is not stopping the coupler from sliding onto the shaft, also put a little bit of lub on the shaft, it made it easier for me to slid on. The only filing I did was to make a flat on the shafts so the allen screw would not slip.

tom
 
millstone said:
Make sure the allen screw is not stopping the coupler from sliding onto the shaft, also put a little bit of lub on the shaft, it made it easier for me to slid on. The only filing I did was to make a flat on the shafts so the allen screw would not slip.



tom
Click to expand...


Sanded down the motor shaft, 1/2 coupler slid on no problem. The 3/8 coupler will not slide on the cereal killer 3/8. I'm going to have to really sand down the 3/8 on the mill in order for it to fit. Kinda disappointing.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I just finished mine. I had bought a motor etc from the surplus shop and used MDF to build the case. Unfortunately the screws ripped out of the MDF and basically it proceeded to crack the pulsing etc. My buddy, who owns a garage door company hooked me up with a couple of motors. I wired it up and put it back on my Rubbermaid lid.

Essentially I'm trying to make it storable in my brewing closet. So far so good. I've got a 5g cullingan type water bottle that I cut the end out of as my hopper. I also added a 110v fan to the top to keep the motor cool. I'll figure out a cover for the fan so that it doesn't eat a finger! :rockin:

image.jpg
 
SliverXZennon said:
Did any of you have to shave down the shafts on either the mill or the motor to get the lovejoys to fit? For some reason neither will fit for me...
Click to expand...

I filed some flat parts so the screws have a better surface to sit on... However, if the LoveJoy couplers do not fit at all you might have ordered the wrong size; they should be "snug as a bug in a rug"
 
funnycreature said:
I filed some flat parts so the screws have a better surface to sit on... However, if the LoveJoy couplers do not fit at all you might have ordered the wrong size; they should be "snug as a bug in a rug"
Click to expand...
Cereal Killer has 3/8" shaft, ordered a 0.375" bore Lovejoy, should have fit nicely but oh well. I shaved down the mill and it fits snug now. Thank god for a dremel!
 
SliverXZennon said:
Cereal Killer has 3/8" shaft, ordered a 0.375" bore Lovejoy, should have fit nicely but oh well. I shaved down the mill and it fits snug now. Thank god for a dremel!
Click to expand...

Have you used you mill before, with a drill? I have found that if my drill slipped it would gall the shaft a bit - didn't look like much and the drill didn't care but if you tried to put a coupling on it it would of gone due to the tiny peaks of metal. What you did would be the fix, good to here it is all working now.
 
mattd2 said:
Have you used you mill before, with a drill? I have found that if my drill slipped it would gall the shaft a bit - didn't look like much and the drill didn't care but if you tried to put a coupling on it it would of gone due to the tiny peaks of metal. What you did would be the fix, good to here it is all working now.
Click to expand...
Nope, always by hand good thought though... Once I get it all set up I'll get some pictures up.
 
As a former garage door tech I can tell you caps generally blow after years of use. I am unsure if running the motor longer will cause it to fail sooner or not.
 
Bobbybob said:
As a former garage door tech I can tell you caps generally blow after years of use. I am unsure if running the motor longer will cause it to fail sooner or not.
Click to expand...
When you say years... do you mean the caps have years of life in them? Or years as in 10 years on/off?

My parents have had the same door lift motor for 20+ years and it's still going strong!

This kind of reminds me of windshield washer motors. They only have a actual lifespan of like 1 month. But that's only 2-3 seconds each time used and it takes years for them to fail.
 
Generally, capacitors don't blow due to age, although older caps are more prone to failure. In this instance, since they are a motor STARTING capacitors, repeated starts under load will cause failure. Shouldn't be a big problem with a grain mill as you generally only turn it on once, grind, then shut it off.
 
Finally got to try out the new motor, did two brews on it. The first one was about 21lbs of grain, the second was about 19lbs of grain. My setup has an on/off switch, pilot light and a three way switch for forward and reverse. I also have one of those remote Xmas light controllers so I can start or stop the mill without having to be on top of the mill. *I also have a fan mounted on the motor side of the enclosure to help cool the motor. The garage motor ran a lot slower then the 1/2" HF drill I had been using, so I needed to adjust both mentally and for this additional time required to grind the grain. Both grain amounts took about 7 minutes to complete and the motor did not overheat, it ran until it was done. Motor was warm to getting hot and the capacitor was cool to the touch. Forgot to take a picture of the finished grind. The garage motor was very quiet compared to the HF drill. When using the drill, I needed ear protectors, with the garage motor I was able to carry on a conversation. Thanks to the OP, it was a fun project.

Tom

GM_Mill.jpg
 
millstone said:
Finally got to try out the new motor, did two brews on it. The first one was about 21lbs of grain, the second was about 19lbs of grain. My setup has an on/off switch, pilot light and a three way switch for forward and reverse. I also have one of those remote Xmas light controllers so I can start or stop the mill without having to be on top of the mill. *I also have a fan mounted on the motor side of the enclosure to help cool the motor. The garage motor ran a lot slower then the 1/2" HF drill I had been using, so I needed to adjust both mentally and for this additional time required to grind the grain. Both grain amounts took about 7 minutes to complete and the motor did not overheat, it ran until it was done. Motor was warm to getting hot and the capacitor was cool to the touch. Forgot to take a picture of the finished grind. The garage motor was very quiet compared to the HF drill. When using the drill, I needed ear protectors, with the garage motor I was able to carry on a conversation. Thanks to the OP, it was a fun project.



Tom
Click to expand...


Nice setup! Did you build the mill itself as well? From the picture, the mill frame appears to be made out of wood. My eyes playing tricks??


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
"I have to say thats a sweet setup. is that an adjustable Schmidling mill?"

No it's the original Monster Mill, bought it in 2007. and thanks for complement.
--------------
"Nice setup! Did you build the mill itself as well? From the picture, the mill frame appears to be made out of wood. My eyes playing tricks??"

Looking at the pic it does look like all wood, but it's not. I had to raise the mill 1/2" for the two shafts to match so I use a piece of plywood to raise the mill. The grain shoot is all wood except for the white part, that's ridged foam that came from a computer shipping box. I cut the shape of the bottle on the top part of the foam so the bottle could rest and not wiggle off while the mill is running. I also put dowel pins on the plywood platform, one in front and two in the rear to keep the whole setup from sliding off the tub while running. Because I use a Xmass light control, I tend to do other things and not stand by the mill while it's running. Trying to keep the control box nice and small I used despard switches and pilot light, some stuff I had kept after rewiring my house. And thanks for the complement.

tom
 
Anyone have any new leads on cheap garage door openers? None on CL and a coworker gave me a 1/2 HP motor, but by the time I by sheaves it gets pretty bulky and spendy. This looks simple and compact.
 
Is "Marion, Ia. " near any decent sized cities, that might have garage door installers?

That's who I called, and they said "come look in the scrap pile", as they haul off the old opener when they change them out.

I took the manager 2 small growlers of home brew, and told him:"Gimme call when they are empty, as I would like my growlers back"

I hauled off 3 identical openers, parted them out, and a Buddy used the findings to power his mill.

Which reminds me..........He owes me some beers...........
 
Since this thread has surfaced again, I've got a question for anyone that used the Surplus Center garage door openers.

Did anyone do a build with an indirect drive, besides me? I wanted to keep the top surface as clutter free as possible to allow a cover to fit over it so I can use it for other purposes - Scale, and rolling cart for moving a pot of hot wort (it's a wheeled printer stand). So, I mounted my motor below, and used the sprocket for a chain drive to the mill. Worked great for a few uses, then the chain somehow jumped the drive sprocket and broke all the sheet metal screw posts on the gear case leaving the motor hanging by 1 end. There a pic of parts I used on the build back around page 4 or 5.

Since you can't fix molded plastic screw posts, I devised a new mount around the output shaft to support that end, and it's more solid than before. But, I did not trust the chain and sprocket any more, so I changed over to a toothed timing belt. And not a cheap change I might add. The toothed pulleys were around $25 each. Got it all fixed up, including making a new output shaft for the gear so it sticks out plenty for the timing pulley, and learned the hard way that rubber timing belts are not strong enough to handle the torque. It works, but without stretching the belt to ridiculous tension, it slips too much to be usable.

I'm tempted to go back to the chain and sprockets, with a guide of some nature to ensure it can't jump the sprocket again, but if anyone has a better idea I'd love to hear about it.

Here's the best pic I can find where you can see the drive chain, before it failed. The top sprocket has a cover that's not in place here.

Mill.JPG
 
If you want to mount the motor under the table, couldn't you just mount the mill under the table too and go to a direct drive and avoid all the pulleys/chains/belts? My direct drive setup is still going strong, no issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
wilconrad said:
If you want to mount the motor under the table, couldn't you just mount the mill under the table too and go to a direct drive and avoid all the pulleys/chains/belts? My direct drive setup is still going strong, no issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Click to expand...

Yes, I could have but there are numerous reasons I chose not to go that route.
 
Stealthcruiser said:
Hmmm.........Such as ?

You wanted it "clutter free", and the mill under the table would "free up some clutter".

:mug:
Click to expand...

I'm guessing the big one would be since he is using a printer cart that mounting it below would mean you could no longer fit a (decent sized standard)bucket under there to collect the grain
 
Ok, since everyone seems to be wanting to point out all the reasons I should have done it differently....

Clutter free means that the top of the table has the mill on it, and nothing else. It stands less than 3" tall. No motor/drill, fans, boxes, etc. Makes for a much neater design, and allows me to have a cover over it to keep out dust & dirt and be a flat surface when I'm not milling, and that cover is not 6 or 8 inches higher.

With the mill on top, accessing the hopper screws, and gap adjusters is painfully easy. Underneath would be significantly more inconvenient. And my receiving bucket slides into a captive ring that keeps it in position with no gap whatsoever. The only dust I get comes out of the hopper at the end.

I use that flat surface of the top primarily to support my scale, and whatever bin I'm measuring grain from, side by side. Once I finish weighing out my grains, I put the scale back into a compartment under the milled grain receiving bucket, open the lid, mount the hopper (that stores under the motor) click the switch and mill the grain. When I'm done, I remove the hopper and close the lid, and roll it out of the way. The picture below should make this pretty obvious, although it was not finished at that point. The lid is not shown, the motor cover/switch is missing, and it's not painted. You can see the motor cover and paint in the earlier picture.

Bonus uses I'd not thought of in advance:
When I finish my boil I lift the kettle onto it, roll it over in front of my sink, and hook up the chiller. Once chilled I drain into a carboy. This way I only have to lift the hot wort about 18" of total distance. Once I plumb water to the "brewing tree" I won't need to do this anymore. The lid is covered with Formica, and I put a towel on it in case of any spills or splashing.
It also supports my bottle washing station (large bin) while in use. This connects to my RIMS & pump.
And, it provides a place to store several items on top when I'm not brewing to keep things consolidated, such as the bottle washing station, and buckets/carboys.


So, getting back to my original question, has anyone else used this motor with an indirect drive?

At this point I'm pretty sure I'll go back to the chain drive and add a guide so it can't jump on the sprocket, and with near zero play. I think part of the problem was slight misalignment between the sprockets, a little play, and a little wobble of the welded sprocket. With the new output shaft I made I can align it perfectly, and it will turn true as well.

And before anyone points it out, no the tension pulling down is not an issue. This mill has roller bearings, and I have a pillow bearing right at the sprocket to support it against that downward pull.

After the original sprocket failure, I jumped on the timing belt/pulley idea as I use them on several other business related things I've built, but none of them have any measurable torque. That is the downfall of this use, and I'll know better for future projects.

An additional bonus to indirect drive - I used a bigger sprocket on the mill, and increased the RPM from 110 to 145 (or higher).

Mill.jpg
 
Friend gave me a gear driven opener. Anyone use this? Seems to be possibly a simpler setup and maybe less plastic parts in the drive. I haven't tore into it yet, just curious if anyone has any info or ideas.

Motor.jpg
 

Similar threads

C
Garage door grain mill fan
Replies
9
Views
2K
501irishred
501irishred
mrstevenund
MM2 powered by garage door opener
Replies
6
Views
2K
mrstevenund
mrstevenund
G
  • Article
Cheap DIY Option for a Motorized Grain Mill
2
Replies
49
Views
23K
modobrew
modobrew
Puddlethumper
Grain mill - Garage door opener motor ??
Replies
3
Views
3K
Puddlethumper
Puddlethumper
R
Motorized Monster Mill Build MM3-2.0
Replies
26
Views
8K
Robg773
R
CornyKegs 300

Latest posts

Back
Top