Barley Crusher Question

I purchased a Barley Crusher a while back and used it for my first AG brew this past weekend. The thing works fine... no problems... I was just in need of CPR after cranking out 14 lbs of grain

I know that I can hook up my 3/8" drill and turn the barley crusher that way, but that brings up a question in my mind. If I use a drill and crush the grains at a lot faster rate than I would by hand cranking them, would this not create more pulverization of the husks and create more flour than I might really want in the process?

Not really. Most of us on here use a drill with the BC. I haven't noticed any problems with mine.

In that case, I think I'll take the crank off of mine and use the drill next time. It's a good bit of work to hold that mill down on top of a bucket while you crank the grain through.

Yes, maybe. The solution is to adjust the mill gap to match the mill speed for an optimum crush. This might be easier said than done and you may not need to make any adjustments at all. The only way to tell is to crush some malt and examine it closely and then make adjustments if needed. Grain is not all the same size, but I think most don't make mill gap adjustments for the variations and settle for a compromise default gap setting. I can understand why this is the case because it's a PIA to adjust most of the mills I have seen.

I have mine at the store hooked to a 1/2 hp 1725 rpm 120 vac motor (ya I know "Overkill" I thought Yuri would be proud) I have it on a Hz reducer turning @ about 25 Hz or so. I spun that damn thing @ 1725 for a week before my reducer came in and I thought the crush was killer. A tad bit flower but just a tad.
Cheers
Jay

Jaybird said:

I have mine at the store hooked to a 1/2 hp 1725 rpm 120 vac motor (ya I know "Overkill" I thought Yuri would be proud) I have it on a Hz reducer turning @ about 25 Hz or so. I spun that damn thing @ 1725 for a week before my reducer came in and I thought the crush was killer. A tad bit flower but just a tad.
Cheers
Jay

Click to expand...

Where did you buy the Hz reducer? Was it expensive?

Thanks!

JMSetzler said:

In that case, I think I'll take the crank off of mine and use the drill next time. It's a good bit of work to hold that mill down on top of a bucket while you crank the grain through.

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You can put your knee on the base to stabilize it while you're crushing.

I'm a *******...I just figured out last weekend (after dozens of batches with the mill) that the damn thing just spans my MLT and I can omit the bucket and crush right into the cooler.:cross:

brewt00l said:

I'm a *******...I just figured out last weekend (after dozens of batches with the mill) that the damn thing just spans my MLT and I can omit the bucket and crush right into the cooler.:cross:

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Oh, so you're one of those grain before water types.
I'll bet you have a Mac and drive a hybrid.

400 RPM is the suggested speed. SO an 18 volt battery powered drill in LOW speed is perfect.

David

AnOldUR said:

Oh, so you're one of those grain before water types.
I'll bet you have a Mac and drive a hybrid.

Click to expand...

...and it sounds like darth vader breathing.:fro:

I've hand cranked my BC for every batch except the last one, which used 23 pounds of grain. That was enough for me to drag out the drill, for sure.

I need to make a permanent place to mount my BC. I just have it sitting on a bucket in the basement, and it makes it hard to handcrank. This fall, I'm going to figure a way to permanently mount it at my "milling station" and I'm sure it'll be easier to hand crank.

I really don't know if the speed would make that big of a difference but...
I picked up a cheep azz right angle drill at Harbor freight with variable speed trigger and just run it at a slower speed.

My cheap azz Harbor Frieght drill was not up to the challenge. I don't mind cranking it by hand, but like Yooper says, it gets old when you have to stabilize the bucket. My plan is to make a span across the posts in my garage and mount it on there. Just slide the bucket under, and start cranking. No more sore knees, and tired wrists!

Catt22 said:

Where did you buy the Hz reducer? Was it expensive?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I bought it at an electrical wholesale house, It was $57.95. I would be more than happy to pick you up one too and ship it out to you.
PM me if you like.
Cheers
Jay

Hey now, I have a Mac and drive a hybrid, and I'd never add grain before water!

AnOldUR said:

Oh, so you're one of those grain before water types.
I'll bet you have a Mac and drive a hybrid.

Click to expand...

I am a grain before water guy (I don't like dough balls). I drive a BMW, what the hell is a Mac

I handcranked a few times. The kids enjoyed it at first. I even gave The_Pol crap about hooking up a drill to his. Then one day I hooked up the cordless Dewalt to grind some grain. I probably won't handcrank again.


BTW, This post probably makes little sense. Had duty/watch and I'm trying to make it through today on about 2 hours of sleep. Can't wait to go home and ****ing crash.

I for some reason have an issue with the chuck slipping on the crank shaft of the BC no matter what type of grain I am crushing, the grain is even conditioned as well??? I am using a Makita corded 3/8" drill and the damn chuck does almost nothing but slip especially when crushing wheat and rye (which seems to be harder than malt).

I have a BC on the way from brewmasters warehouse, along with 20 gallons worth of grain to mill. I plan on using a drill for sure. I hope to see a efficiency increase. I'm not sure how to estimate the RPM coming from a variable speed drill.

off topic-
I also use a mac, and love it. Windows is such a PITA. Any mac haters should use one for a few weeks. All my converted friends think their macs are the coolest.
I dunno what that has to do with grain before water, but I always get my strike water to temp, with enough time for the temp in the cooler to stabilize, before adding grain. I like the idea of milling right into my round igloo MLT but at least the first few batches I would prefer to use a bucket so I can see the crush before getting it wet.
What does having a mac have to do with a hybrid? I prefer infernal combustion, and I don't plan on buying a new car until Full electric vehicles are available with reasonable driving range and reasonable prices.

hukdizzle said:

I for some reason have an issue with the chuck slipping on the crank shaft of the BC no matter what type of grain I am crushing, the grain is even conditioned as well??? I am using a Makita corded 3/8" drill and the damn chuck does almost nothing but slip especially when crushing wheat and rye (which seems to be harder than malt).

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You might want to try roughing up the end of the shaft so the chuck has more grip. Yes wheat and Rye are tougher to mill, and rye is also a smaller grain than most.
-Ben

hukdizzle said:

I for some reason have an issue with the chuck slipping on the crank shaft of the BC no matter what type of grain I am crushing, the grain is even conditioned as well??? I am using a Makita corded 3/8" drill and the damn chuck does almost nothing but slip especially when crushing wheat and rye (which seems to be harder than malt).

Click to expand...

Know anyone that is a machinist? Have then throw a flat on the shaft. Should only take 5 minutes, most of which would be the setup. I bet a sixer would get the job done.

I've been thinking about getting a BC but haven't wanted to make the investment yet. Yesterday went to my LHBS to get some grain and his crusher with drill was broken. A customer was using it and the drill shaft came loose on the handle but the customer kept using it. It stripped the handle and chewed away most of the handle shaft. Also, messed up the drill. Guess this is something to look out for.

Anyway, I had to crush it by hand. It was 9lbs of grain but was a pretty good workout.

TommyBoy said:

Know anyone that is a machinist? Have then throw a flat on the shaft. Should only take 5 minutes, most of which would be the setup. I bet a sixer would get the job done.

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3 flats would be best. You could do it with a file. It will keep the chuck centered on the shaft. Just get a better drill or replace the chuck. It must drill steel like crap.


I have a question. I bought a Jack Shmidling (?) malt mill. The barley crusher looks identical. IS it the same thing? Did he sell his patent? Mine has to be 12 to 15 years old. Works like the day I bought it except the rollers got rusted and I don't care. Getting 83% and improving every batch.

David

I may be mistaken but I think the BC and Malt Mill are fairly close as far functional design. My BC is a good bit smaller than the Malt Mills that I have seen. I don't know if either come in different roller sizes.

MaltMill, grain mill
Maltmill comes with a std .045" gap. They do sell an adjustable version.
The BC is adjustable and pre set at a tighter gap:
The gap default setting is marked and set at .039 at assembly. Adjustment range is from .015 to .070 thousands of an inch.\

I got my BC friday. It looks good. I'm looking fwd to crushing grain next weekend.

I had no problem with drill slippage. I'd check that your chuck is clean and working properly. Here is my barley crusher results after setting the gap to .036:

Not to steal this thread, but since I got my barley crusher
my efficiency went up the arse!
I had an almost stuck sparge from running the grain through twice (there were some uncrushed kernels at the factory .039), but I just added rice hulls, re stirred and voila! The drain was much slower than normal, but again, I blame the double crush.
Nonetheless, I got a 1.072 which equates to 87%!!! I usually ended up with 60% or maybe a little better before with LHBS crush.
-Ben