idea for motorized mash mixer

Here's a few pics of the idea I have for a motorized mash mixer. I haven't started on this yet, but it's something I really want to add to the system at some point. It'll be an expensive addition, so it's something I don't care to screw up. I've made a few design mistakes on the system so far, but nothing that I haven't been able to solve or tolerate (I hope!). Alot of contemplation is in order before I move forward with this part. I'm really eager to test a few typical batches before getting into decoction mashing anyway.

The idea is to create an addition to the frame (that can be bolted on when needed and removed when not needed) on which can be mounted a gear driven motorized mixer. The picture below shows an example of such a mixer, although I'd need blades of a larger diameter. The motor would need to be variable speed and capable of around 35 rpms (at least, my understanding at this point is that the blade shouldn't turn faster than 35 rpms). Some of these electric gear driven motors have an rpm range of 0-350 rpms. I'll just need to figure out how much horsepower is needed to stir a typical mash for the size batch appropriate for this system. Theoretically, with 5 kettles, you could split a mash up into 3 parts, stepping up the temperature of each as necessary and then continuing with the mash that has the mixer to bring it up to a boil for a while.

Special thanks to Donald Put, who wrote an article years ago on motorized mash mixing for Brewing Techniques magazine.

I created a new gallery for work on the motorized mash mixer here. For now, there are only a few more pictures of the drawing in the gallery, but I hope to add more later when the work on it is actually being done.