Grain Mill - Finishing Touches

Update 6/27/2012: My grain mill is featured in an AHA Pimp My System article!  Check it out here.  

Grain mill is done!  I ending up replacing the adjustable pulley that came with the motor with a 1.5" one.  Unfortunately the adjustable pulley was just too big which meant it was turning the roller too fast.

As far as final assembly goes, everything went smooth.  The only hiccup was when I went to turn the mill on and it was rotating the wrong direction.  Fortunately that was easily fixed by removing the motor's cover plate and swapping a pair of wires.

Speaking of the motor, it's only 1/4 horsepower but it seems to be working well.  I'm a little concerned whether I'll be able to start the mill with a full hopper or if I'll have to start the mill first then fill the hopper.  I think the shape of the hopper may help by restricting the flow of grain just enough to allow it to start even when full.  We'll find out when I go to use it for my first brew.

Per the instructions, I ran a couple handfuls of grain through the mill a few times to clean off the rollers.  It worked great, I got a nice crush, and the plastic carboy/funnel worked great as well.

Overall I'm really happy with the way this project turned out.  In the last 12 months, I've added a custom brew stand, a custom fermentation chamber, and now a custom grain mill.  This will probably be the last of my big projects for a while.  About the only other thing I'd like to do is build a keezer to replace my kegerator.  I think a keezer would be nice for summertime BBQ's because I'd be able to roll it right out on the patio rather than making my guests go back to the garage for a beer.  I probably won't do that for a while unless I find a screaming deal on a freezer and/or my kegerator bites the bullet for some reason.

Click here for part 1.

Click here for part 2.