Speed controller for corded drill, used for milling grain?

[mikescooling]

Sup Brewers, can I use a speed controller for my corded drill to control the speed of the drill, as I use the drill for milling grain?

Talking about this: https://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

THX

 

[beermanpete]

This should work. This is likely the same type of speed controller as used in drills that have a speed controller built-in.
Interesting find by the way. This might work on the pumps as well.

 

[NeoBrew]

I have that exact controller. I use it on my harbor freight 1/2" low speed drill with a Monster Mill 3 roller mill.

I'm pretty happy with how it works. I generally need to run the speed controller at about half way. If I turn
It down more the drill struggles to overcome the resistance of the grain.

Running at half speed I generally just max out the drill trigger and get a nice consistent milling speed.

 

[Morrey]

Very cool discovery!

 

[RonPaul]

I have a harbor freight 1/2" variable speed drill... does anyone know if this will allow the drill to spin at a relatively slow RPM? Slower than I can get it when I pull the trigger in the smallest amount? Right now it seems like the slowest speed it will go is still too fast... maybe 600 RPM or so. If this device worked, I'd be very happy.

 

[NeoBrew]

I have a harbor freight 1/2" variable speed drill... does anyone know if this will allow the drill to spin at a relatively slow RPM? Slower than I can get it when I pull the trigger in the smallest amount? Right now it seems like the slowest speed it will go is still too fast... maybe 600 RPM or so. If this device worked, I'd be very happy.

See my answer two posts up.

 

[user 224599]

I went thru this exercise with a different, relatively high torque, application from another hobby.

Speed control for AC motors, without sacrificing much torque, can generally only be achieved with a variable frequency drive ("VFD") type of controller.
Reducing from 60Hz to 40Hz, for example, will cut speed by 1/3 but VFDs will increase output from 120VAC to something higher (not sure if linear... 160VAC??)
The increased voltage and reduced frequency will reduce speed without losing magnetic saturation in the windings, resulting in roughly even torque output.

"Chopper" type speed controls, as this HF almost certainly is, reduce voltage rather than frequency and motors very quickly lose torque... You may find only a few percent of useful speed range before the torque falls off to unusable levels.

When I get time later today I will try to find cites and references, and now that I'm thinking about it, techniques used in variable speed A/C hand drills.

 

[Strucker]

Hey All, Had a mishap in the kitchen the other day where the garbage disposal started leaking. Well it turns out that the steel covering the motor eventually rusts out and water leaks out of the bottom of the motor. So I went to the Big Box store and bought a new disposal. Now I have a 3/4hp 1725rpm fully enclosed motor that I can use on my grain mill? The shaft is a smaller diameter and only 1/2in long so kind of tight to work with. Any suggestions? I have a MoreBeer Monster Mill 2 roller with a plastic hopper that I want to replace with a larger capacity hopper.

 

[dcbw]

You could file down the shaft a bit and put a small pulley on it, then a large pulley on the monster mill. A 1.5" and a 12" would give you 8:1 which is 215 rpm. Or a 1.5" and a 15" for 175 rpm. Not sure if the motor shaft is ok for a 1" pulley or not. Then just grab any suitable fan belt from your auto parts store. I got my pulley from Zoro Tools fwiw.

http://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=113361&d=1365136836

Or, you can go the geared approach with couplings. A ton of those builds on the forum but unless you get the gearbox off eBay it can get pricey.

 

[Strucker]

Nice looking unit. How many lbs of grain does your hopper hold?

 

[dcbw]

Nice looking unit. How many lbs of grain does your hopper hold?

30 something? Its the standard Monster Mill extended hopper. It's more of a problem once milled since the ferm buckets I use underneath fill up before the hopper empties. I've enclosed the bottom now to contain dust, and put a chute under the mill to make sure it all hits the bucket.

The table is an IKEA kitchen utility table, minus the middle shelf.