How does YOUR Barley Crusher adjust?

I know I read the instructions for mine, and that they read to me that to close the gap on the rollers I needed to adjust the knobs so that the hash marks turned towards the rollers to decrease, and away from the rollers to increase the gap.



I made my IPA this weekend, and adjusted my gap to 11 and 1 o'clock, with the hash mark on the knobs being turned in towards the rollers, as viewed from above.

My efficiency went from just slightly over 70% to 59% on the same recipe with the same ingredients. I was bitter, but it looked like I had a good crush. Tonight I went to adjust the thing back to the factory setting, and I figured I'd screw with the knobs just to see if they worked as advertised.

They don't. They turn away from the rollers to decrease the gap. Can this be an assembly error, or am I reading the directions wrong?

I've never adjusted my Barley Crusher. But did you check your gap with feeler gages, just to double check that you didn't go wider?

That's just it, the instructions as I read them said to adjust the mark in ( see the crappy drawing I made) to close the gap and make a finer crush, but upon closer inspection now I see that this is the opposite on mine. No, I'm an idiot and didn't check the gap with my feeler gauges, as they're covered in oil and toolbox gunk from the last time I used them for valve clearance checks on my old Volvo. I assumed that I was turning them the correct way, and we all know where assuming gets you, don't we...

I'm just now trying to see if mine is different then everyone else's, or if I'm an illiterate nincompoop who can't read simple instructions.

I might be confused but wouldn't you close both sides by adjusting the rollers to 11 O'Clock. It sounds like maybe you turned one in and the opposite out. I used a feeler guage when I did my adjustment just to have an idea on the size of the gap.

Nope, just double checked. Both sides adjust the gap tighter by turning the hash mark out, away from the the rollers. I've now got mine at 11 and 1 o'clock, but the opposite of what I used on Sunday. If I can locate the gauges and clean them up before my next brew session I'll check the gap, if not I'm going to go with this.

Alright, curiosity got the better of me and I had to go dig out the feelers...

With the factory setting I had .040" on one end and .038" on the other. With the setting I had on Father's Day, I had .044 on one end and .042 on the other.

Next batch will be at .038" on both ends.

I'm still wondering if my BC is adjusting opposite of what it should, and I'm also a little ticked to find that the hash marks don't align to a uniform gap.

ma2brew said:

Next batch will be at .038" on both ends.

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That's the setting I'm using. I don't remember the specifics of adjusting it, but I do recall that the factory setting was visibly uneven. I set it to .038" with feeler gauges, and haven't touched it since.

My efficiency went way up with my BC....in fact the first few batches I made came out a lot stronger than I had intended.

So what is the answer??? Are you an illiterate nincompoop??? Inquiring minds want to know...

I need to dig out the instructions on mine but when I adjusted it turning the knob out closed the gap and turning it in opened the gap.

I verified with feeler gauges and the factory settings on mine were .040 on 1 side and .037 on the other. I set both sides to .037 and get a good crush.

The one I built woudl work either way, depending on which side the eccentric was. If installed with eccentric at top, you'd rotate the top toward the other roller, but if the eccentric was at the bottom, you'd rotate the bottom toward the other roller.

Good enough reason to pick up another set of feeler gauges for like $2 at an auto parts store and dedicate it to your mill.

Funkenjaeger said:

Good enough reason to pick up another set of feeler gauges for like $2 at an auto parts store and dedicate it to your mill.

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I was starting to think that I was the only one that did things like that. I got tired of having to go find the wrenches that I need to work on my kegs, or unhook my CO2 tank, etc, so I just picked up a few extras and threw them in with the beer gear, and they never leave their designated spot.

rabidgerbil said:

So what is the answer??? Are you an illiterate nincompoop??? Inquiring minds want to know...

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If you ask my wife she'd say there's no doubt!:cross:

rabidgerbil said:

I was starting to think that I was the only one that did things like that. I got tired of having to go find the wrenches that I need to work on my kegs, or unhook my CO2 tank, etc, so I just picked up a few extras and threw them in with the beer gear, and they never leave their designated spot.

Click to expand...

ah yes, another true tinkerer. I dont keep tools at home. I'm a mechanic and got tired of people wanting me to sweat on the weekends so they could get to work on monday. I have just what i need for my hobbies, and tell them my weekend is worth more than they have.

I found this thread as I am trying to figure out how to adjust my BC. I have never adjusted it. Tomorrow I plan on brewing with rye malt so I need to tighten the gap up a bit so the rye gets a good crush since it's smaller. I tried turning the knobs but they won't turn. Do I need to use a vice grips to turn them or is there a release underneath the plates?

How do you guys adjust yours?

Scott

I don't remember there being specific instructions about which way to turn the knobs. I just looked at the gap while I was turning them to figure it out.

weirdboy said:

I don't remember there being specific instructions about which way to turn the knobs. I just looked at the gap while I was turning them to figure it out.

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Huh. So mine must stuck. I'll try a little more effort to see if I can get the knobs to twist.

Thanks.

Scott

scottlindner said:

Huh. So mine must stuck. I'll try a little more effort to see if I can get the knobs to twist.

Thanks.

Scott

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Ah, I missed your previous post. I did use pliers or something to help get a grip on the knobs. You really don't want them to turn easily, or else the act of milling the grain could screw up the gap.

scottlindner said:

I tried turning the knobs but they won't turn. Do I need to use a vice grips to turn them or is there a release underneath the plates?

How do you guys adjust yours?

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Did you loosen the two screws on the back plate before trying to turn the knobs? I would highly recommend not using any tools on the knobs -- I sure didn't need to.

Nate

JenkintownBrewer said:

Did you loosen the two screws on the back plate before trying to turn the knobs? I would highly recommend not using any tools on the knobs -- I sure didn't need to.

Nate

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Is that the magic? Loosen those screws? I did not think of that. I just tried it and sure enough, the knobs turn easily by hand now. That wasn't obvious. I thought those screws held the back plate on.

Thanks!

Cheers,
Scott

Thank you! I would never have guessed that you needed to loosen those two back screws. I really wish there was an instruction manual available at the Barley Crusher site.

GNBrews said:

Thank you! I would never have guessed that you needed to loosen those two back screws. I really wish there was an instruction manual available at the Barley Crusher site.

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If you need a copy of the instructions, shoot me an email and I can send them to you.

Ed

is that offer to send the instructions for the barley crusher still good? I would love to get a copy. I just bought one used from someone getting out of brewing. I want to check and set the gap on the mill before I use it for the first time.

bwitt said:

I verified with feeler gauges and the factory settings on mine were .040 on 1 side and .037 on the other. I set both sides to .037 and get a good crush.

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After having the BC for a year, I never adjusted or checked the gap as I was pretty happy with the crush, but this thread made me go look at mine. Yep, one side was .038 and the other .040. Now it's an even .038.
Thanks for the info!