2021 ᐈ

Housekeeping is often associated with the need to prepare food for animals and poultry. The basis of the diet is grain, but whole grains are not suitable. It needs to be crushed.

Many people purchase industrial grain crushers for such tasks, but their price is sometimes steep. This forces us to look for alternative solutions and assemble them ourselves.

In practice it's not that difficult. Especially when you have the right old household appliances, a set of tools and ingenuity at your disposal.

Design Features

A grain crusher is like a coffee grinder enlarged 10-20 times.

But the difference between one and the other machine lies in some parameters.

Unlike a coffee grinder, a grain crusher grinds grain not into a fine, powder-like powder, but into a coarse-grained substance.
The grain crusher is capable of grinding tens of kilograms of grain in one grinding session.
The more grain you need to grind, the longer the device works. For example, to satisfy the monthly demands of a chicken coop in which, say, 20 chickens lay eggs every day, more than one hundred kilograms of grain will be required. To grind 10 buckets of the same wheat or oats, it will take at least one and a half hours of operation of the unit.

The design of the grain crusher includes a number of components.

Protective housing – made of metals, plastic and/or composite.
A support that is permanently installed in a specific location or removable (portable).
Bracket adjustable with nut and bolt.
The second base has a softener in the form of a rubber “shoe”.
A pair of engines and the same number of sets of pulleys with a diameter of 6 cm. They are equipped with mortise bolts and keys.
Seals that soften vibration from motor shafts.
Knives that chop grain and grass. Both chopped ingredients are the basis of compound feed.
A funnel with a lid into which unground grain is poured. The second funnel allows the crushed raw materials to be poured into a previously prepared container.
Frog type lock.
Removable gratings that allow fractions of different sizes to pass through.
Rubberized wheel.

Each of the above components can be easily and simply installed on an old washing machine.

A grain crusher made from an activator washing machine (or automatic machine) is a device that has the highest performance and capacity compared to similar ones made from other electrical appliances.

Components selected and/or made by hand must be compatible with the overall dimensions of the final device.

No one will install knives that are several times smaller in diameter into the tank for an activator washing machine - the operation of such a device would become extremely ineffective. A volume of grain that would normally be ground in 20 minutes would take an hour or an hour and a half with reduced knives. In other words, the homemade device is physically balanced.

Similar to the device of a coffee grinder, in a grain crusher the knives, combined with the shafts of electric motors, immediately start when the device is connected to the household lighting network. They finely chop small branches, seeds and grass. The crushed raw materials fall on a sieve, which removes husks and small debris. What has been filtered passes into the container through a funnel, collecting in it.

Flattening equipment

Most often, rollers are used to flatten grains. The number of rollers in each apparatus depends on the size of the initial grain:

For large ones it is better to take three rollers,
For medium and small, two are enough.

In addition to rollers located horizontally, the apparatus consists of:

Frames,
Metal or wooden case,
Bunkers for receiving raw materials,
Drive and motor,
shock absorber,
Unloading auger.

One of the two rollers is fixed motionless, and the second must rotate. This ensures the flattening process. To ensure the necessary pressure, spring shock absorbers are attached to the rotating shaft. They mitigate the consequences of pebbles and other foreign objects getting inside. To obtain the best results, the grain crusher should have two slits. The larger one is necessary for pre-flattening, and the smaller one has an adjustable size. In it, flattening occurs to the specified parameters, and the working gap is adjusted with bolts or a disk.

What can it be made from?

Let's look at how to make different components for a grain crusher at home.

The grinding tank is made of thin (0.5-0.8 mm) stainless steel. A metal frame with a valve is fixed next to the base. The outer part of the body is made of a seamless metal pipe with a diameter of 27 cm. The wall thickness of this pipe can reach 6 mm. Inside the same pipe there is a stator, for the manufacture of which a pipe of a slightly smaller diameter was used - for example, 258 mm. In both sections of the pipe, holes are drilled to secure the loading hopper, remove crushed grain, install a grid with the required mesh size, and hangers to secure the shipping hopper. Both pipes are mounted in such a way that they are held in the grooves of the auxiliary flanges located on the side. The latter are connected to each other using several pins. One of the flanges has an internal thread for studs. The second one is drilled in several places. Both flanges also have holes drilled through them to secure the journal bearing housings and are secured to the metal frame using bolts and nuts.

The rotor is assembled on the basis of prefabricated metal pushers and is equipped with washers. If necessary, these pushers are reversed. After assembly, the rotor is checked for imbalance. If beats are still detected, the rotor is balanced immediately - parasitic vibration can shorten the service life of the entire device.
The drive shaft contains feather keys and ball bearing sets. Protective washers for ball bearings are based on the requirements of GOST 4657-82 (size 30x62x16).
The supporting frame with the table is manufactured in a welded version. The starting material is steel angle 35*35*5 mm. The valves are made of thin sheet steel.
Having prepared the necessary materials and workpieces, we begin to assemble the grain crushing device.

Drawings of a grain crusher drum.

– flange (coulter disk).
– disc hub with bearing.
- toothed drum.
– base flange.
– drum flange.
– electric motor.
– sieve plate.
– supporting arc.
– corner 45 x 45 mm.
– hole for ground grain.
– M8 bolt, nut (2 pcs.).
– electric motor shafts.

On a lathe you need to modify the brake drum, bore the drum from the inside, make the internal diameter - 285 mm, drum depth - 65 mm. You also need to cut a side hole in the drum for the sieve.

Flange modification – the flange is ground down to a diameter of 282 mm.

Schemes and drawings

The grain crusher from the washing machine contains the following components:

grain bin;
frame;
rotor;
shaft;
unloading hopper;
pulley (the requirements of paragraph 40 of GOST 20889-88 are met);
V-belt;
electric motor;
frame with table;
loading and unloading valves (valves).

Drawings of analogues made on the basis of a motor from a vacuum cleaner, electric drive of an angle grinder, drive and mechanism of a meat grinder differ little from the device made on the basis of a (semi-) automatic washing machine. The principle of operation of the device is no different - which cannot be said about the type of chopping mechanics used.

Drawings of a grain crusher frame.

The grain crusher is mounted on a frame, the figure shows drawings of the frame; a metal corner 50 x 50 mm is used to make the frame.

Stand (corner 50x50 mm, 4 pcs.).
Tsarga (2 pcs.).
Strapping.
Drive shaft area.
Crossbar.
Area.
Platform for an electric motor.
Lower cross member (2 pcs.).

I recommend watching a video that shows the structure of a hammer-type grain crusher and its operation.

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Master class on making a grain crusher from a washing machine

If you have purchased a new automatic washing machine, do not rush to throw away the old type of device. It will definitely make a high-quality and productive grain crusher. You just need to develop a detailed drawing and purchase some elements.

What you need for work: prepare the essentials

The list of materials and tools will depend on the chosen scheme. Most often, only the motor from the washing machine is used. However, if desired, you can also use a tank.

You will also need:

rolled metal: plates, pipe sections;
fasteners;
sealant.

Device diagram

In terms of its design and operating principle, a grain crusher is similar to a coffee grinder. During the manufacturing process, the main attention should be paid to the knives and the hopper for receiving the finished product.

Preparation of prefabricated elements

We begin work by preparing the grain bin. We increase the diameter of the drain hole to 12 - 15 cm to ensure sufficient performance of the device. From pipe sections we make pipes of the required size and configuration for discharging crushed grain.
We cut three knives from durable steel. These should be plates 20 cm long and 1.5 - 2 mm thick. To make the device last longer, you can use a hand saw to make these elements. We drill a mounting hole in the middle of the prepared plates. We sharpen the parallel sides.
We make a filtration grid that will not allow whole grains to leave the container. Its diameter should be slightly larger than the diameter of the manufactured pipe. The holes in the filtration grid must ensure the unhindered passage of crushed grain.

Attention! The diameter of the filter grid holes should be 3 – 4 mm.

We are preparing a container for crushed grain, or we are thinking about a way to secure the bag to the outlet pipe. To prevent the formation of excessive dust during operation of the device, the receiving hopper must be sealed against the outlet pipe.

Assembly of the structure

We assemble as follows:

We install a discharge pipe into the expanded opening of the tank, ensuring sufficient tightness of the connection.
We install the knives on the motor shaft. To avoid overlapping of the blades during operation, be sure to tighten the clamping nut after each plate.
We attach a filtration grid in front of the outlet pipe. It should be located at an angle of 15 - 200 to the horizontal. Considering that the bottom of the washing machine tank is inclined to ensure complete drainage of water, there should be a right angle between the base and the installed plate. To fasten the plate we use bolts.
We coat the joint with sealant to eliminate the presence of gaps and cracks through which whole grain could mix with crushed grain;
Let's start the device. Let's check its functionality.
If you don’t have a solid washing machine, but you still have a working engine, you can also use it to make a grain crusher with your own hands.

Structure of a grain crusher

Grain crushers are mainly used for farms, but ordinary summer residents and people who regularly live in villages often resort to using grain crushers. Some of them, wanting to save money on its purchase, managed to use an ordinary washing machine for this purpose with minor modifications.

A grain crusher is a technical unit with which you can make feed for feeding livestock at home. It is made by crushing and grinding various grains to a fine consistency.

Video: Homemade feed crusher

For more details about the grain crusher with your own hands, watch the video:

It is known that the processed and crushed product is much better absorbed in the animal’s body, which has a positive effect on its reproductive functions and productivity, which is expressed in milk production and egg laying.

Thus, we can say that the grain crusher is an indispensable assistant for any farmer who maintains large or medium-sized livestock and poultry.

Frequent purchases of ready-made feed can significantly hit the budget, but making feed yourself will allow you to save quite a lot of money.

This link will tell you how to make a cultivator with your own hands.

The operating principle of all grain crushers is similar to the operation of a conventional household coffee grinder, only on a more global scale. The unit is first plugged into a regular power supply, after which the engine is started. This is very important, because the engine must first warm up before you can start working.

Next, raw materials for processing are poured into a special tank (hopper), after which it enters the crushing chamber, where the grinding process itself takes place. Grinding occurs using special knives located in this chamber.

Then, the raw materials are sifted through a sieve of a certain diameter (usually there are several of them in a set). It is the diameter of this sieve that will determine the fraction, i.e. degree of grinding of grain or other crops.

By the way, depending on the characteristics of a particular grain crusher, it can process a wide variety of raw materials:

rye;
barley;
legumes;
corn;
cake;
husk, etc.

Some units are equipped with a special disc grater that allows you to grind various root vegetables, fruits and herbs.

In general, the design of a grain crusher is quite simple, so it is quite possible to make it at home.

There are quite a few detailed methods with drawings describing this process on the Internet. The method of converting from a washing machine deserves special attention , because its device is already somewhat reminiscent of the notorious coffee grinder.

You will find all the information about the AID-2 milking machine in this article.

Making your own grain crusher from a vacuum cleaner

If you don't have a washing machine, look for a vacuum cleaner. It can be used in whole or in part. It all depends on which design seems more attractive to you and what skills you have. We invite you to get acquainted with a possible implementation option.

We prepare everything necessary for work

To make a grain crusher from an old vacuum cleaner, you should prepare:

metalworking and metal-cutting tools;
sandpaper;
drill;
fastening elements;
pipe sections about 15 cm long for making an outlet pipe;
ready-made knives or metal plates for their manufacture;
a lattice with small cells, which is necessary for the manufacture of a sieve intended for sifting grain. If this is not available, you can use a metal sheet in which holes of the required diameter are drilled.

Attention! The above list is approximate.

Device diagram

The design of the device depends on which part is used. Most often, preference is given to options that involve the use of one engine. It is installed on the base, under which there is a container for receiving crushed grain.

Preparation of prefabricated elements

At the preparatory stage:

we make the base using plywood, laminate or rolled metal;
disassemble the vacuum cleaner to remove the engine;
drill a hole in the base. Its diameter must correspond to the diameter of the motor shaft;
If there are no ready-made knives, we make them from metal plates. With a thickness of about 1.5 mm, their length should not exceed 20 cm;
If there is no ready-made sieve, we make it from a metal sheet.

Assembly of the structure

The process of assembling a grain crusher from a vacuum cleaner includes a number of stages, each of which deserves special attention:

Using a nut, fix the knife on the motor shaft;
install a sieve;
We place a container under the sieve into which the crushed grain will flow.

Attention! Installing a tin box for loading grain will simplify the crushing process.

Features of using a homemade chopper

It will be easier to operate the crusher from the washing machine if the operator adheres to the following rules:

installing the chopper on a barrel or small tank will make using the unit more convenient;
If the cutting organs lose their original sharpness, the elements will need to be replaced. The quality of the grinding of branches or grain will indicate this - if after grinding a large amount of unprocessed material was found in the collection container, then the knives need to be sharpened or completely replaced;
When operating a shredder from a washing machine, you must constantly monitor the composition of the material being crushed. If stones, along with grain, branches or grass, fall into the intake funnel, this can lead to serious damage to the equipment. To prevent this, you need to carefully sift the material before pouring it into the tank.

If wet grain will often be poured into the intake funnel of the chopper, then it is best to pre-coat the walls of the container and the cutting knives with a primer and several layers of paint. This will protect the homemade chopper from corrosion.

From the Bulgarian

A characteristic property of a manual electric grinder is the axis located perpendicular to the cutting disc. To make a grain crusher from an angle grinder (grinder), do the following.

Mark and cut a rectangular piece from thick (1 cm or more) plywood.
Cut a round hole in the cut piece of plywood - in the shape of the main structure in which the cutting disc rotated.
Secure the plywood with the bolts and metal bracket included in the kit. The axis of rotation should be directed downwards.
Make a cutter from a steel strip of suitable length, width and thickness. As in the previous case, the knives must be carefully sharpened and centered. Insufficient centering can eventually break the angle grinder gearbox.
Not far from the angle grinder mounted in the tank for crushing grain, make a hole and provide it with a funnel. Through it, uncrushed raw materials are poured into the grain crusher. The funnel with a hole is placed not under the grinder drive, but above it.
Below the drive, mount a sieve made from a used pan. It is drilled using a small drill (about 0.7-1 mm).

Assemble the grain crusher. Place it on a pallet or box. Under the lower funnel, where the crushed raw materials are poured, place, for example, a bucket. The funnel can be made from the cut off top of a plastic food bottle - the diameter of the neck is enough for the poured grain to easily and quickly pass into the grain crusher.

From a meat grinder

To make sure that the meat grinder will grind the grain, you can use resins, for example, hazelnuts or walnuts in shelled form. There is no need to make a knife that performs the functions of a cutter “from scratch” - it is already included in the kit. For the small fraction of grain, you must use the smallest standard sieve, also included in the delivery set.

In order for the grain to be milled continuously, it is necessary to install a large funnel above the grinding mechanics, for example, from a 19-liter bottle with the bottom cut off.

A hole is made in the lid of a diameter at which the poured grain will not pass through the neck faster than it is passed in crushed form through the crusher of the meat grinder. In principle, the meat grinder does not need to be modified in any way. The grain should not be too hard - not all meat grinders can handle durum wheat equally effectively. If you cannot use a meat grinder as a grain crusher, use a coffee grinder.

How to make a crusher mill with your own hands

Making a grain crusher with your own hands is not that difficult. To do this, you need to have on hand a motor from an old household appliance, for example, a vacuum cleaner or washing machine.

In addition, you must have some locksmith skills. By the way, when assembling such equipment with your own hands, you need to remember the safety rules. Since all engines operate on electricity, it is necessary to take all measures to reduce the traumatic risk of the assembled product.

We must not forget that fast-rotating parts are used as a working body, which can cause injury to the person working on it.

Structure of a grain crusher, design features of the machine

Manufacturers put a variety of crushers on the market, with different characteristics, productivity, etc. Most of this equipment is easy to maintain and does not take up much space. As noted above, in practice crushers are used that use rotary or hammer principles in their operation.

Rotary machines have a drum with knives. In hammer mills, hammers are used as a working tool, which are loaded inside the drum.

By the way, there is equipment that uses compressed air as an energy source. The processed raw material moves inside the drum along with air. As a result of this, the quality of the resulting product increases dramatically. In addition, in this, and in many other designs, magnets are used that select metal particles that get into the mixture.

Crushers for home use

“Vikhr ZD-350K”
Among factory-made grain crushers, the following models are most suitable for private farms:

"Whirlwind ZD-350K";
"Zubr-2";
"Three Little Pigs 350";
"Farmer ISE-05";
"Cyclone-350";
"Bison 400";
"NIVA IZ-250".

"Zubr-2"

Important! The average cost of a factory installation, depending on power, performance and brand, ranges from 2000-2300 to 6200 rubles. Assembling a homemade device if you have an unnecessary working washing machine, an old vacuum cleaner, or an angle grinder will cost only 500-1000 rubles.

"NIVA IZ-250"

How to choose a grain crusher: expert advice

Choosing the right model

How should you choose a crusher that will meet all consumer requirements? To do this, you need to know the answers to some questions:

Performance. A high grinding speed ensures high productivity in obtaining finished products, and accordingly, the use of such an installation will be highly efficient. Such installations can be considered the optimal solution for large farms. For home work, an installation with a low or medium processing speed of raw materials is sufficient.
Price. The equipment must not only ensure high quality of the resulting product, but also generate certain income to recoup the investments made in this equipment.
Grinding degree. The device must be selected based on the type of livestock and poultry the produced feed will be intended for.
Drive station power. The greater the power of the installed power plant, the greater the productivity of the installation. It must be taken into account that the higher the engine power, the higher the energy costs.
The company is a manufacturer. Undoubtedly, there are world-famous companies that produce shredders, but you need to think three times about how quickly the funds invested in brands will pay off.

When choosing a model, you must be guided by the characteristics specified by the manufacturer.

Types of grain crushers

Grain crushers are equally used both on large farms and on private farmsteads, and differ in the size of grain grinding. For fine, medium and coarse grinding, dry crushing devices are used, and if very fine grinding is needed, then a grain grinder using a wet method is needed.

Grain crushers have a number of advantages:

Compactness allows you to move the device,
The device operates from a regular electrical network,
Large selection of models,
Easy to make at home,
The necessary spare parts for grain crushers can be found in every home.

A roller grain grinder grinds the product between two rolls that rotate in opposite directions. Rotary ones differ in that the knives are attached to the main rotary shaft. In hammer crushers, the main working unit includes a drum, a sieve and decks. Crushing occurs under the influence of impacts in a hammer-shaped drum. In jaw crushers, raw materials for processing enter from above and are crushed between two jaw plates. And in a cone device, crushing is carried out in a constantly rotating cone head.

One of the most popular models, which is used in many grain shops, as well as on farms and private farmsteads, is the Shmel grain crusher.

It is easy to use and accessible. The standard package includes such spare parts for grain crushers as lingums, devices for drawing in grain, a sieve with a mesh of four millimeters and a sieve with a mesh of six millimeters, as well as a power cable.

The bumblebee can produce up to two tons of crushed grain per hour, and the drum section is designed to produce more than 200 tons of grain between maintenance.

Crusher balancing process

Most equipment that uses rotating components as a working tool undergoes a balancing procedure. This work can be done either independently or with the help of invited specialists.

When balancing, the following sets of work must be performed:

identifying the causes of vibrations and eliminating them;
monitoring the condition of equipment in terms of vibration;
balancing shafts in existing bearings;

Why is balancing necessary? The answer lies on the surface. The thing is that the presence of excessive vibration leads to failure of the bearing units, and as a result, everything can end very sadly.

Grain crusher performance

The process of functioning of a rotary chopper involves the movement of the cutting knife. It is needed to crush the masses that should be fed inside the receiving hopper.

The hammer preparation can grind grain efficiently using hammers that are attached to a strong base.

Products obtained using a hammer machine will be considered the most effective. This can be achieved with the help of a high amplitude of movement of the hammers, which are capable of crushing even individual grains of grain.
At the same time, the impact crusher can consume much less electricity and has a high productivity factor.
If the farm has a large number of adult livestock and poultry species, it would be best to buy an impact crusher. But in the case when a farmer breeds smaller poultry and a large number of young livestock for trade, then the optimal choice in this case will be in favor of hammer grinding of grain.
It is imperative to test a device that you have produced yourself. It is worth remembering that the grinder engine requires regular lubrication, otherwise it will quickly break due to abrasion of the main elements in the device.

Homemade grain crusher: diagram.

The grain crusher consists of the following units:

Gate valve for regulating the flow of grain into the working chamber.
Grain bunker.
Electric motor on/off button.
Electric motor.
Sleeve.
Axis.
Washer.
Screw.
Screw.
Base.
Working chamber housing.
Container for crushed grain.
Bolt.
Screw.
Metal mesh (sieve).

Diagram of the crusher working chamber.

Base.
Working chamber housing.
Screw.
Sieve.

Recommendations

To ensure that the shredder's performance is high enough, follow the advice of experts.

Insulate the motor using an additional casing made from, for example, a large tin can. The fact is that the motor gets into a dusty environment - this dust is formed when grinding dry grain. The engine may become clogged with deposits, and its operation will slow down - a noticeable part of its useful power will be lost.
Do not use the grain crusher at maximum speed, trying to grind tons of grain in one go. A large farm with large numbers of farm animals will require two or more grain crushers. It is better not to skimp on equipment so that it does not break down after a few days, but works for a number of years.
Use grain collection containers with as large a capacity as possible.
Clean and lubricate the mechanics every three months or six months. Regular maintenance - and scheduled replacement - require bearings, without which no electric motor would work.
The listed measures will allow the user to process large volumes of grain without investing extra in repairs and without stopping urgent work.

Rating of grain crushers by quality - what does the market offer?

On the modern market you can find a huge number of different grain grinders, each of which has certain properties and a number of pros and cons. We have compiled our rating of the highest quality units that can last for a long time without requiring special maintenance or repair. There is not a single Chinese model in our review, since they do not have a high service life and are not able to withstand significant loads.

In fifth place in our rating are units of the Khryusha brand. At a low cost, these machines are in great demand due to their ease of use. The manufacturer offers a wide range of crushers with a capacity of 300 to 400 kg of finished product per hour of operation.

Among the disadvantages are the low quality of the metal from which the receiving hoppers of the units are made and the high cost of spare parts. Fourth place was taken by Elicor brand cars. These crushers have gained popularity due to their low cost and large power reserves. At the same time, the units of this brand are quite large, which does not allow them to be used in different areas of the farm.

The third place was taken by units of the “Farmer” brand. These machines are quite reliable, have high build quality and a long service life. However, the high cost of the units often prevents beginning farmers from purchasing them.

The second place is occupied by household crushers "Kolos". These units are not highly efficient, but they are quite reliable and can withstand long-term loads even at extremely low temperatures.

The first place was confidently taken by the well-known Zubr brand shredders. These high-quality units have a long working life, small dimensions, they are quite reliable and allow you to process almost any type of grain.