Grain Mill Drill Question

I have a Barley Crusher and I use an 18V cordless Makita. It has 2 speed ranges and low gear tops out at 450 rpm. It works perfect for me. If your cordless has a low gear try that before you go buy something.

 

Ryobi 18v. Seems expensive.Does this one work better then the 90$ ones out there which i have.

 

This is what i use:


I think my cordless would probably work but seems like it's always dirty. I got this corded drill on eBay for 20 bucks and it lives in the house . . . only exposed to grain dust.

You didn't ask, but be prepared to fiddle around with roller settings (get the gauge also). I believe the manufacturer recommends 0.042 inches, I ended up going lower than this. Do some experimenting and when the sparge is stuck you've gone too far. On my MM the roller setting sometimes move slightly between grain additions. For a 5 gal batch you typically add three times, I always re-gauge the distance before reloading the hopper.

 

Cordless is fine if you're not doing too much, and you should have your second battery ready to go as well; but I'll agree, corded is a good choice. I wouldn't buy new though, look around for garage sales and stuff like that, those old tools can't be beat for quality as compared with what they're putting out today.

 

Corded drills are quite cheap and typically have more power too.

Note that cheap drills will have a cheap chuck. That is the part that tightens on to the mill shaft, driver bit, etc. You will wear away the mill shaft if it is not kept very tight and the cheaper varieties do not like to stay tight.

My LHBS has a problem with this on their in store mill...I'm blaming all the brewing newbs. And it ruins the mill.
Cheers.

 

When I first got my monster mill, my plan was to use an old corded drill my grandfather had given me. It crapped out as soon as I put grain in the mill and put a load on it. My 18V Ryobi couldn’t cut it either and I slightly bent the drive shaft when it got stuck and threw the mill off the bucket. I had some HD gift cards, so I bought a 1/2” corded drill. Worked great. Replaced the bent drive mill with a 1/2” shaft since I now had the bigger drill and have never looked back. Drill has come in handy too.

 

Your drill should work. I prefer a drill that requires a key to tighten on the shaft. No slip and if it's plugged in, no stopping. My mill is currently attached to a old millers falls gear reduced plumbers drill.

I guess the drill is at least 15 lbs so it is permantly attached to the mill. Looks funky, works great.

 

Good point. For the OP, if you haven't ordered yet the 1/2" drive shaft is way to go. Also, stainless upgrade is nice . . . I live in a high-corrison area and have been pleased.

 

My 18V Harbor Freight 1/2" cordless drill worked well for about the first 6 batches, but it's now starting to show signs of being worn out by my use of it for milling grain.

Their new 'Hercules' series drills look like they have the right stuff to hold up to milling grain though.

 

I use a 14v dewalt

 

I use the harbor freight drill that was like 15 bucks and it smoked badly the first time I used it. Unplugged it and let it chill. I've now used it around 8 times and haven't had anymore problems. I won't upgrade but if you can get a variable speed drill with an adjuster spinner on the trigger for better control of RPM. Also definitely go corded, you will have so much more power than a 4.0Ah battery powered drill.

 

I recommend corded, and go slow and steady. I also suggest ignoring the urge to mess with width settings.

 

I have a Porter Cable 20-volt 1/2" drill. I've been using it for milling since I got my Barley Crusher a couple of years ago, and it's still going strong. No issues, whatsoever.

 

I have 2 Ryobi 18V Li-ion powered drills that I use on my 2-roller Monster Mill. Both work great, but the key is the Li-ion batteries. Ni-Cd batteries don't cut it. Overall, I prefer these drills over using my old Black and Decker corded drill. Cheers!

 

This.

I use an 18v Skil on "high torque" setting (0-450rpm). It still drains the battery pretty hard.

 

I had an old drill I used for a few years...it was pretty well shot before milling with it (brushes, etc.). I went out and bought this:
https://www.amazon.com/Bostitch-Var...7506010&sr=8-5&keywords=bostitch+impact+drill

Has twice the power of my old one and can also be used for drilling into concrete if needed.
Bring on the unmalted wheat!

 

Is that a drill or is it an Uzi!?!

Cheers!

 

Since it's a mill subject i recently had a issue with my cheapo crusher. There's a small rod welded to the shaft that fits into the roller. Thought the knurl was worn but somehow that rod would catch then release the roller. Some JB weld and it's fine. Little tip before you trash it.