Grinding Question

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gsugg
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Grinding Question

Post by gsugg »

I've got a Corona style grinding mill. I just bought a 14 inch swamp cooler pulley and modified to fit in place of grinder pulley. I also have 1/2 HP, and a 1 HP 1725 rpm electric motor off furnace fan. But the pulley on the fans is 3 inch and that doesn't slow down the grinder enough 14 / 3. That only gives me about 325 rpm which is too much. What do you guys suggest, find a smaller drive pulley or maybe use a gear reduction motor? Any ideas where I can find a standard inner shaft hole and maybe a 1 inch O.D. pulley for the drive?
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greggn
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by greggn »

I use my power controller to slow down my 1/2" drill when milling ... a lot easier than gear/pulley reduction.
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gsugg
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by gsugg »

Good idea. I've got a power controller and ampmeter on my 5500W heating element so that might work great.
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Do you have a pillow block or something else to support the stress on the grinder shaft if using pullys?
I just run a drill by hand but I would think that pullys and a motor would cause a lot of wear on the grinder shaft.

What's too fast? I run a drill motor wide open and can grind up 20# of corn in under 3 minutes. Not sure what my rpm is though.
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still_stirrin
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by still_stirrin »

For the Corona mill, 1 rev/sec is "wide open", that is...about as fast as you can grind. Even at that, the Corona works best when spinning a little slower.

Roller mills can grind at faster speeds because the gap is adjusted to "crush" the husks. The Corona mill uses a shear plate to crack the grains into pieces and with a high speed grind, it will pulverize the kernals, turning it into a flour with an uneven coarseness.

Commercial mills are most often 2 or 3 roller mills. They give uniform crack/grind and have a steady, high thoughput. Emulating what the pros do will help us hobbiests replicate, or improve upon the products commercially produced.
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

1 rev/sec? I'm tellin ya I can run that thing much faster! If I didn't put a cover on it it would shoot a rooster tail of corn meal straight up to the ceiling. And it does indeed pulverize, even raw dried field corn.
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Bushman
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by Bushman »

I agree with MC, if your going with pulleys I would also incorporate pillow blocks. Drill motors are quicker but having hands free to pour grain into the hopper is worth the build. The negative is that it probably takes up more space in your work space.
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Truckinbutch
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by Truckinbutch »

MichiganCornhusker wrote:1 rev/sec? I'm tellin ya I can run that thing much faster! If I didn't put a cover on it it would shoot a rooster tail of corn meal straight up to the ceiling. And it does indeed pulverize, even raw dried field corn.
Ditto . I want a flourlike grind . I get a better conversion . Remember , I'm cooking on propane and stirring constantly with a paddle mixer .
I have the same concerns about excessive wear with a belt/pulley drive .
I grind corn 3 times to make it easier on the mill/drill .
*Note : speed controllers will not work on induction motors . The motor must have brushes .
SRD and I have been using my grinder since last December with no appreciable wear running wide open .
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Yes, as TB does so do I.
I should have said 3 min per pass, 3 passes being the perfect grind.
And fewer snapped drive bolts.
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Truckinbutch
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by Truckinbutch »

We have snapped 1 since December . Whole oats are harder to grind than corn :oops:
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by dukethebeagle120 »

i 2nd the last 2 posts.
i grind 3 times also.
comes out like flour and is not hard on the mill
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Re: Grinding Question

Post by shadylane »

gsugg wrote:That only gives me about 325 rpm which is too much. What do you guys suggest
The variable speed 1/2" drill I use to spin my corona grinder is advertised as 850 rpm max
And I run it wide open, but it probably only spins 500ish rpm because it's working hard.
If I was trying to spin a corona mill with an 1725 rpm electric motor and 14/3 reduction.
I'd monitor the motors current with a clamp-on amp meter
And adjust the grinder so the motor doesn't pull more amperage than it's rated for.
Just a thought, if you try to use too small of a pulley, get ready for the sound of a belt slipping :lol:
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