M14 Forum

CharlieEcho · February 15th, 2012, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim-analog

Greetings,

Regarding the manual mills, any possibility of figuring a way to connect to a bicycle to run them? Some of the reviews I read on the newer mills make it seem like it's quite a workout to hand crank enough grain for a few loaves of bread. I'll start to keep an eye out a flea markets and yard sales for these. Good tip, thanks!

Regards, Jim

I have seen pictures of the add on for the Kitchen aid.

As far as running the manual mills. The larger one I have was set up to be run off a hit and miss engine. I replaced the flat belt wheel with a v-belt pulley. I put on the largest diameter wheel I could find, 18" wheel for a half inch wide v-belt. I can run it with a 1/4 horse electric motor.

I also have a single cylinder four horse gas engine I plan to run it with. I have very small pulleys on the motor and the engine. I'm not concerned with speed.

I've considered the possibility of running the grinder with a stationary bike. Just haven't gotten that far yet. I'll keep an eye out for one of those bikes at garage sales this year. I have no problem turning the grinders by hand, but my grand kids struggle some. We've ground corn and wheat in ours.

edit; I would add that both my grinders are dual wheel. They have a wheel on both sides of the grinder. The larger grinder is the one we have the belt pulley on. I'll try to post pictures in a day or two.

mrmark99 · February 15th, 2012, 05:03 PM

Heat - I have a new in box kerosene heater in the basement - I have 2 cans of kerosene in the shed out back.
Light - I bought a hundred or so 12 hour candles at the fleamarket some time back and they are in a 20mm can with a 4 pack of lighters. - I have a propane light on a stalk, but if you have something like that, it would attract attention.
I generally have 4 Propane tanks in the shed. Cook with grill, also have gas stove and gas water heater, so I can get by without electricity.
City water tank and well are 4 blocks away, I have checked it out and there is a drain valve - marked as such. Locked with chain and padlocks. Transporting it back maybe an issue. The M416 trailer does hold water, I do have empty 5 gallon jugs. The drain is like 2 inch pipe, and would drain down hill. There appears to be a generator shed there.

Food -I have two 5 gallon buckets full of various noodles, one 5 gallon bucket full of rice, one five gallon bucket of beans.

The alarm system for the shed and house run off of electricity, that is an issue.

huntinghawk · February 15th, 2012, 05:13 PM

Here's the grain mill attachment for my Kitchenaid. But I have a lift instead of tilt Kitchenaid.

http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/product/KGM/

HH

CharlieEcho · February 17th, 2012, 01:52 PM

I am in the process of connecting the hopper with another table that will support the grinders and motors. I plan on using the electric motor and have a position pre-drilled and tapped for a gasoline engine. I have toyed with the idea of one motor driving a shaft to run either grinder seperately, but I want to keep it simple.

The stationary bike is one thought I am kicking around also. The smaller grinder can go a little finer on the grind I think. The course grind is what we use for chicken feed. The small grinder is a side discharge while the larger on discharges in the center at the bottom, not the plastic jug. The hopper on the big one hold about a gallon, while the small one is about 1/3 gal.

Corn sheller and hopper;

Large grinder;

Small grinder;

Results; on the left, small grinder and fine grind, on the right, large grinder and course grind.

huntinghawk · February 17th, 2012, 02:18 PM

Advantage of a stationary bike is your legs are stronger then the arms & last longer. And a youngin could work the bicycle if need be.

Being that big grinder is for coffee, I would think there would be a way to get a finer grind. But the grind you have is great for chicken feed.

HH

CharlieEcho · February 17th, 2012, 02:55 PM

Yes the large grinder is adjustable too. There is a threaded bushing on the back end of the shaft and a wheel adjustment to bring the grinding wheels closer together. The wheels are like a serated disk. One is stationary the other rotates on the shaft. A spring on the inside keeps tension on the rotating wheel and allow some movement.

The smaller on has a cone rotating within a cone. Moving the closer together allows for a finer grind. They both work well.

Like you say the bike would allow for longer working and the kids could do it easily.

Kenny78 · February 19th, 2012, 05:21 PM

I am trying to conduct my preps "layered" and also with a heavy cost/benefit calculation. For example, a small solar setup would be really nice and I do plan to incorporate that but I found an Onan 5kw generator for a good deal. I am now set and dont have to rely on my yamaha "screamer" for short term outages. I am planning on putting propane in my new BIL(just moved out here) and dual fueling the generator for extended outages and less short term reliance on the grid. No fuel will last forever though.

My water solution is another layered approach. First of course is the county water line. I had read about and was convinced Berkey was the best thing going. I found a new royal w/new filters in a pawn shop and gave it to my mother. Its awesome! I have bought a set of filters for myself and have constructed the poor mans berkey. This will allow me to draw off the pond or rainwater(no gutters yet) or filter my well water. The wellhouse has fallen into disrepair but I am going to remove the submersible and drop a bucket down for testing. A new pump and a hand pump of some kind will go back in if the water is anything other than raw sewage, so fingers crossed.

I dont mean to ramble but I wanted to share my thought process. My scheme is trying not to get stuck in the aftermath of a tornado etc. and the only thing I have prepped is the anarchists cookbook and thousands of rounds off ammo. Good luck, Kenny

P.S. So much rambling I forgot my original intent. All of my preps are geared towards non electric but like outlined above, I can accomplish a much wider base sooner. I caqn go back later as finances allow and bolstereverything to my satisfaction

BangkokPaul · February 23rd, 2012, 02:03 AM

I kind of do waves of Prepping. I have supplies both in Thailand and in the U.S. I have a Country Living Grain mill, with all the accessories and spare parts. Plus water filters and all the other stuff. When I retire I plan on having a ranch as a retreat and as a get away. Until then I do "incremental" Prepping. When I have the ranch, I plan on being completely off the grid, even if that's an expensive way to go. I plan on a mechanical windmill water pump and a passive solar water heater. I want flush toilets and hot showers even if EMP kill all electronics. I plan on keeping 1/3 of my power wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil.

I have two 80 watt, 12 volt panels to power the Engels MT 80 12/24 VDC and 120 VAC fridge/freezer. I got two 135 watt 12 volt panels a bit later. Last month I got four Sharp 235 watt 24 volt panels from Simpleray. They seems to have the best prices I've found and they will ship any purchase, no matter how large, for $150. I wasn't at the office when the panels were delivered and the delivery guy seems very irritated and rude that I wasn't there to help unload them. Weird! But, the place seems reliable and cheap.

http://www.simpleray.com/Sharp-235-W...p/1100-034.htm

I have MC4 connector cable to easily configure them IF TSHTF. I have 12 and 24 volt lights and other equipment. I'm into QRP ham radio and have several Yaesu FT-817 radios and other's I have built including a Elecraft K2 and several mono band CW rigs. Both to keep in touch and for information gathering. I'm starting to investigate using PSK31 modems as a slow, post SHTF, global internet replacement.

I have about 200 AA and AA Eneloop rechargables, plus pocket solar chargers that can do 4 AA or AAA each in one day. All and all, I have a lot of redundancy.

I think having electricity as long as you can is a great advantage both to security and quality of living.

I plan on getting a 3500 watt sine wave inverter in the next few months. So slowly building capability.

Dredsen · February 25th, 2012, 03:09 PM

I am 10 years from this but my wife and i plan to live int he country with solar and wind power. Only thing i want to know now is can i hook into the grid with the right to terminate the connection when i please.

CharlieEcho · February 25th, 2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dredsen

I am 10 years from this but my wife and i plan to live int he country with solar and wind power. Only thing i want to know now is can i hook into the grid with the right to terminate the connection when i please.

Lots of people have their own power and remain connected to the grid. It's a good idea. And, if you are able to generate enough power on your own there are possibilities to sell some to the power company. At least we can with rural electric co-op. You might research the company where you plan to live.

CAVman · February 25th, 2012, 05:15 PM

I think this question may in fact have been addressed by Huntinghawk some time ago, but it bears repeating, and no doubt HH will jump in at some point...

I was listening to the radio just this last week about folks who have solar and want to be able to recoup a portion of their investment by selling some excess power back into the electrical grid via their local power supplier...

The statement was made to the effect that....IF THE GRID GOES DOWN, SO MUST YOU!

Now, I fully understand the rationale that if you were using generator power, for example, and the local power went down, and power crews were trying to restore electricity...they clearly could be in danger assuming all power lines were DEAD, but you were still pumping Electricity INTO the Grid...And That's A Problem!

So...I Think The Question Is: Can You In Fact Be Connected Into The Grid And Keep Producing Electricity Even When The 'Grid' Shuts Down?
Can You Just 'Flip A Switch' And Use Your Own Power Only...And Not Be In 'Violation'?
(I think 'Selling' Power back to the Utility Is very different from just having a back-up generator where you flip a switch to shut-off the power company and ONLY have generator power!)

I Look Forward To Huntinghawk's Response?

CAVman in WYoming

huntinghawk · February 25th, 2012, 06:23 PM

A grid tie inverter senses a problem in the commercial power it will automatically shut off. It will not allow power to be reapplied to the system until power has been restored for five minutes. That is a grid tie only system.

Problem with those systems is you loose power also.

HH

huntinghawk · February 25th, 2012, 07:05 PM

geeck can probably best explain how his combination system works with this.

HH

2336USMC · February 25th, 2012, 08:24 PM

Every single time I see this thread title pop up on the list, I think you are talking about blasting caps.

never mind, carry on!

art7 · February 25th, 2012, 10:24 PM

I imagine a small wind turbine would be of good use. About the cheapest generator you can lay hands on is an old car generator, which can run about 100Watts. That's not huge, but if you run it into a battery, it charges anytime the wind is blowing, so if you use power only in bursts, it is a big help. Used car parts are about free if you scavenge them properly, and I imagine you can either buy or fashion a pair of blades easily.

I don't know if you can come up with the right blade size to direct drive a generator at it's optimum speed, but that would be an elegantly simple and inexpensive solution.