Motorized grain mill help

[gatsby174]

hi all,
I have a mm2, 1/2" drive and want to motorize it. No pulleys would be nice so little fingers can't get stuck in it. However, electric motors aren't my forte. I assume an ac gear motor will work best and be the easiest (along with a lovejoy coupling?) How many in. lb. of torque will it need? Are all gear motors reversible? I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but for some reason fumbling with what specs I need for components to complete this project! Thanks for the help

 

[Brad2287]

Here is what i plan to go with once i finally get around to motorizing mine.
http://www.allamericanaleworks.com/info.html
It basically takes the guess work out of all of the questions you have asked.

 

[cannman]

I always thought this was the way to go... Is this not what you want?

 

[day_trippr]

It basically takes the guess work out of all of the questions you have asked.

lol! yeah it does. With over 170 inch-pounds at the output shaft there's surely no consumer mill that's going to be too much to handle...

Cheers!

 

[raouliii]

Here is the setup I built:

I built two and have the other one up for sale. The details are in the listing in the For Sale Forum.

 

[fatcop]

I always thought this was the way to go... Is this not what you want?

K.I.S.S.
Keep it simple, stupid!

 

[Teromous]

Just thought I would throw in my opinion as a homebrewer who recently went the route of crushing my own grain. I considered motorizing mine with a pair of couplers and a worm gear, partially because I like doing projects and partially because it would be nice to have it all wrapped up in a package where I could flip a switch. I eventually decided that it would be better for me to just buy corded 1/2" high torque variable speed drill. The overall cost and space footprint was less, and I get more use out of having a powerful drill in my toolbox. This month I've used the drill once to crush grains and twice for other projects. Consider what else you will be using the motor for, and what else you can use a drill for.

 

[Minbari]

Just thought I would throw in my opinion as a homebrewer who recently went the route of crushing my own grain. I considered motorizing mine with a pair of couplers and a worm gear, partially because I like doing projects and partially because it would be nice to have it all wrapped up in a package where I could flip a switch. I eventually decided that it would be better for me to just buy corded 1/2" high torque variable speed drill. The overall cost and space footprint was less, and I get more use out of having a powerful drill in my toolbox. This month I've used the drill once to crush grains and twice for other projects. Consider what else you will be using the motor for, and what else you can use a drill for.

best argument ever! plus a good gear motor is more money than 1/2" drill. I was going to ask what torque spec to look for in a crush motor, but think I will go this route instead.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

Here is mine..A ge motor around 180 rpm I believe. ..