The country living grain mill is the Cadillac of grain mills. It's only drawbacks are: it’s a fully manual grain mill and it costs $500. After you spent all that money, you really don't wanna spend another $500 for the motorization kit. Well I started searching on the Internet and on YouTube for a cheaper alternative. I found a clip from YouTube's Cincinnatus Again channel using a 12 volt windshield wiper motor mounted directly to the shaft of the grain mill. I tried that, but failed probably because my power supply was rated at only 5 watts. The power supply didn't drive the mill when using a 3" pulley to drive the larger 12" pulley on the mill. I bought a power supply that was rated at 360 Watts for about the same price (amazingly). I mounted the motor on a hinged board about 15" away from the mill, allowing for wobble from an imperfect attachment of the pulley to the motor.
Final result is a kit that runs the mill at 27 RPM, well below 100 RPM, the mill maker's upper limit for keeping the mill from wearing out and for keeping the flour from heating up (and losing nutrient value). Here is a link to the video I made of the motor kit, or view it below.
Parts list:
Motor US$25-40 new at eBay (or amazon). Mine was spec'd for a VW Jetta. Unloaded, it ran at 120 RPM--that speed changes with a load. The motor runs hot to the touch after grinding about a cup of grain.
power supply $21 at Amazon.
v-Belt $8
power cord & plug (from extension cord) $2
Power strip with on/off switch, $6
hinge $2
board $2
wire $2
Motor mount, welded from scrap metal and drilled for the motor, free
3" pulley, $10 from Amazon. Different sizes will work. Anything from 1.5-6" will work fine. Prices vary depending on size and the phase of the moon.
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