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03-06-2012, 02:54 PM
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#1
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 259
Liked 2 Times on 1 Posts
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Barley Crusher Adjustments
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I've had my BC for years now and it's never failed me. I never changed the settings on it as it seemed to give me a good crush. This year I decided to tighten the gap a bit to see if I could get a better utilization. First two crushes seemed to work great and I got a 10 pt increase in efficiency. Then everything dropped and my efficiency got WORSE than what I had normally. A few days ago I decided to do some testing and realized when I put grain in the crush, one side of the adjustable knobs slowly moved back to the factory setting WHILE I was crushing the barley. Ah, so there is the problem.
And now? Anyone have a way to fix this? When I did a search for this, I came up with a bunch of posts about customer service, etc.  Yikes! Boy, I hope there is an easy fix for this. Thanks for any help!
__________________
Output 2012: 56 gallons
Goal 2012: 120 gallons
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03-06-2012, 02:57 PM
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#2
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Feedback Score: 1 reviews
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: inland empire, ca
Posts: 1,205
Liked 22 Times on 17 Posts Likes Given: 21
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may be a dumb question but did you retighten the set screws after adjusting?
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03-06-2012, 03:05 PM
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#3
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flourtown, Pennsylvania
Posts: 523
Liked 3 Times on 3 Posts Likes Given: 2
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Ditto. The screws don't just hold the side plate on, they actually hold the gap adjusting eccentrics in position. If you don't tighten those screws enough, the "cams" just back out and you end up with a wider gap.
If you haven't done it already, you might want to take the whole grinder assembly apart and clean and lube the bushings. I've found it's good to do this every 100 lbs or so to keep things operating smoothly and prolong the life of the bushings.
__________________
Primary: Nothing
Secondary: ESB
Kegged:Apfelwein
On tap:Witbier, American Stout, Imperial Stout, Root Beer
Bottled:"Massacreation" Chinook Barleywine, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, English IPA, Cabernet Sauvignon
Next: US IPA
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03-06-2012, 03:25 PM
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#4
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 259
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Oh, no I didn't tighten those set screws. In fact, I didn't know they were set screws, because they look to be in fully and holding the side plate. I will do this and try again to see what happens. Thanks for this information. Also, yes, a good idea to give it a good cleanup too.
__________________
Output 2012: 56 gallons
Goal 2012: 120 gallons
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03-06-2012, 03:35 PM
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#5
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Feedback Score: 1 reviews
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: inland empire, ca
Posts: 1,205
Liked 22 Times on 17 Posts Likes Given: 21
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what do you grease the bushings with?
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03-06-2012, 05:19 PM
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#6
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flourtown, Pennsylvania
Posts: 523
Liked 3 Times on 3 Posts Likes Given: 2
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I just used a dab of keg lube. It's probably less than ideal as a lubricant, but it's food safe and viscous enough to stay in place for a decent amount of time. I also ended up putting a nylon washer over one end of each roller to close the gap on the side, just to try to take up some of the side-to-side play and help keep grist flour from getting into the bushings.
WRT the screws, I'm going from memory so while I *think* they are the same screws that go through the plate, I may be mistaken. At any rate, there is definitely a set screw for each of the knurled eccentrics and without tightening those screws, the gap will do whatever it wants.
__________________
Primary: Nothing
Secondary: ESB
Kegged:Apfelwein
On tap:Witbier, American Stout, Imperial Stout, Root Beer
Bottled:"Massacreation" Chinook Barleywine, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, English IPA, Cabernet Sauvignon
Next: US IPA
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03-06-2012, 05:54 PM
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#7
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Stow, MA
Posts: 5,368
Liked 307 Times on 269 Posts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SixFoFalcon
[...]WRT the screws, I'm going from memory so while I *think* they are the same screws that go through the plate, I may be mistaken. At any rate, there is definitely a set screw for each of the knurled eccentrics and without tightening those screws, the gap will do whatever it wants.
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Your memory is just fine  On a stock BC, the screws holding the plate sans label are the ones that lock the bearing eccentrics...
Cheers!
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