Barley Crusher issue...

So, I have this Barley crusher that has crushed about 60 pounds of malt in its lifetime. Last night after milling my grain bill for my brew today, I noticed it didnt seem quiet as fine as it has in the past... not bad, but not the same.

So I check the gap... somehow it was opened up to about 1.038 from about 1.035. A large difference when using feeler gagues. So I start to attempt to adjust it and realize that there is a small pin on the NON adjustable roller that has wiggled out about 1/4" and therefore it is not aligning the roller well with the bushing.

I pop this sucker back in... but now I am having a problem that I have never had before. I insert the feeler gauge, adjust the roller and tighten the set screw to hold it in place... Only problem is, when I tighten the screw, it moves the roller! So, now my .035" gap isnt... it is about .032" and I can barely remove the damn feeler gauge.

Anyone else ever have a problem with this? Where when you tighten the set screw, it actually moves the rollers and throws your gap out of whack?

Looking for some insight here before I call them to see why my adjustable mill, isnt quite so adjustable anymore.

You could try taking the set screws out to see if the ends are uneven and gouging the shaft to push it out of position. Using a file or belt sander to flatten out the contact area might fix the problem.



I am curious about the pin that wiggled out. Can't find anything like that on mine.

AnOldUR said:

You could try taking the set screws out to see if the ends are uneven and gouging the shaft to push it out of position. Using a file or belt sander to flatten out the contact area might fix the problem.



I am curious about the pin that wiggled out. Can't find anything like that on mine.

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Yeah, I didnt realize it either... until last night when my NON adjustable roller was moving about .005" ! On the drive roller, on the end where you do not connect anyting... it LOOKS like it is a shaft that runs through the roller into that bushing. It isnt... the roller has a hole drilled in it, that shaft you see, is actually a pin that sits half in the roller and half in the bushing. It isnt a solid shaft through there at all. I know this now because mine actually fell out.

When I tighten my set screws now, it actually TURNS the adjustment knobs... I got pretty pissed off last night messing with this thing.

I read about this some where. I didn't buy the barley crusher because of this. I hope they have good customer service. A grain mill should last a life time w/o any problem. With no more grain than you have milled..........I would have been pissed as well. Sorry for your problem. Let us know what they have to say.

Dog House Brew said:

I read about this some where. I didn't buy the barley crusher because of this. I hope they have good customer service. A grain mill should last a life time w/o any problem. With no more grain than you have milled..........I would have been pissed as well. Sorry for your problem. Let us know what they have to say.

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Took apart the set screws, one did have a HUGE bur left from the thread hanging off, so I removed that. Now, it doenst "turn" the adjustment knob as much as it did before, but still... when I tighten my set screws, it clamps the rollers down so tight that I cannot even remove the damn feelers. So my .035" gap is about .032" or less now. Grr...

Drop BC Products a line and see what they say.

They've always been very good at solving issues with their products in a timely manner.

mmb said:

Drop BC Products a line and see what they say.

They've always been very good at solving issues with their products in a timely manner.

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Consider it done... currently, I cannot adjust the mill. And the gap... is whatever it mill decides it is going to be after I tighten the screws. This is why NON adjustable mills have a following I presume.

I had the same problem with the drive end. The shaft spun in the roller. I emailed them and they offered to replace it, but I fixed it myself by adding a set screw through the roller. I milled a flat on the shaft where the set screw hit it to be sure it wouldn't spin again. This is something that would also work on the non driving end, but I'd just try some Loctite first.

But if you don't want to mess with it, their customer service is great.

Yah, currently I am lacking a machine shop to re-engineer the mill. If that pin hadnt have popped out of the drive roller bushing to begin with, I may have never had an issue. That provided enough slop to make something noticeable.

AnOldUR said:

... but I fixed it myself by adding a set screw through the roller. I milled a flat on the shaft where the set screw hit it to be sure it wouldn't spin again. ....

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I want a metal shop in the garage too.

Off to browse craigslist and Harbor Freight.

I just noticed that my crush is a little more coarse as well. When I feeler-gaged it I found that the gap was no longer consistent across...it was wider at one end. I'll have to check this. However I did notice that tightening those setscrews did affect the gap...I actually expected* it so that's why I checked it first time I used it.

Seems to me the simplest solution is just to set it to a bigger gap such that after you tighten the screws it's at the correct gap. It would take some trial and error.

* - I expected it because you see this all the time when setting up guitars...the tuning gets affected so very small 'shifts' are easily detected.

I had this *exact* same problem. In the end, I decided the only way to "fix" it was to set the crush size back to default. If you line up the markings and set everything back to factory, it seems to work properly. It's when you start trying to tighten the gap that you have problems.

Duster72 said:

I had this *exact* same problem. In the end, I decided the only way to "fix" it was to set the crush size back to default. If you line up the markings and set everything back to factory, it seems to work properly. It's when you start trying to tighten the gap that you have problems.

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Same here. When I first got mine, I was just looking around it to know how to works it and seemed to think having only one fulcrum point of adjustment was odd, so I just put it back/kept it at factory settings where it seems to work fine.

PseudoChef said:

Same here. When I first got mine, I was just looking around it to know how to works it and seemed to think having only one fulcrum point of adjustment was odd, so I just put it back/kept it at factory settings where it seems to work fine.

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On mine, the drive roller is not adjustable but both sides of the free spin roller are adjustable. What one fulcrum point are you talking about?

Yes - the drive roller is stationary, but the side that is supposed to be adjustable, only one side adjusts. I can spin the other screw to no affect. This was all just me playing around with/taking it apart the day I got it to become familiar with the settings because I was giddy.

However, I don't worry about it because it has a consistent gap at factory settings where I am happy with my crush and efficiency, so I never saw the need to adjust it down.

mmb said:

On mine, the drive roller is not adjustable but both sides of the free spin roller are adjustable. What one fulcrum point are you talking about?

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My Barley Crusher is adjustable on both side of the free spinning roller also.

Mine is adjustable on both sides, but trying to get the gap even is maddening. I have probably spent 4-5 hours trying to make the damn thing work right and still have problems with it on a regular basis. For me, at factory settings I get an acceptable crush. If I attempt to move it at all I get an uneven gap and get a poor crush.

I also have problems with it intermittently not wanting to pull any grain through. I sometimes have to push down on the grain with my fist to compact it, and sometimes have to spin my drill in reverse and then go forward again to get it going again.

None of this is at all scientific or based on engineering - it's just how I have figured out to cope with the mill based on trial and error.

So, how long have you guys waited to get a response from Barley Crusher?

I've never used a Barley Crusher, but my mill only takes seconds to adjust. If they didn't get back to me yestereday, I would be telling them I want to reurn the thing or replaced with new. Customer service is everything in my opinion. My customers expect it from me. You should not have to be making changes to your mill. If I didn't live a few hrs. from you I would get it taken care of for you. I have several machinists in my Rod club. Sorry for you trouble. Nothing pains me more than crap like this.

The Pol said:

So, how long have you guys waited to get a response from Barley Crusher?

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They responded same day when I had a question about drive options, post sale.

mmb said:

They responded same day when I had a question about drive options, post sale.

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Hrmm, two days have passed... I will wait a week, I dont want to be a jerk... but I have a brew to get out in a few weeks and I need to know what I am looking at here.

Randy (The owner) is a good guy and will take care of any problems you have.

Brew-boy said:

Randy (The owner) is a good guy and will take care of any problems you have.

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Tick Tock??

The Pol said:

Tick Tock??

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How did you contact them?
I have a Barley Crusher and have had no problems with it so I cannot comment on their CS. I run a small web based home manufacturing/sales company and have had customers of mine tell me that they have tried several times to email and I have never received them.

What I am saying is to send a second email or make another phone call and let them know that this is the second(third?) attempt (without being offensive). Your prior message/email may have been lost or never delivered.

Remember that a lot of us smaller MFG companies are simple "some guy" working out of his garage shop and has no help or maybe a wife/GF that answers emails and forwards messages.

I can re-send the email... I just dont want to come off like an impatient jerk. Although, I do have a guaranteed lump of useless metal in my garage now... so I guess I have an excuse to be a little annoying.

Believe me. I would rather get three emails and able to help than to miss one and have an unsatisfied customer.

It is re-sent... in the meantime I have been looking at the MonsterMills and CrankandStein in case this doesnt work out.

Well, today is day three with no response after two emails. Thier website only lists an email, there is no phone contact on thier site... not even on the ordering page.

Does anyone have another way to contact Barley Crusher?

I do not yet have a mill at all, so my response needs an extra grain or two of salt...

I have done a lot of research on mills trying to decide which I will be purchasing (hopefully soon). I have decided that Fred's Monster mills are the best quality, most rugged, and he has the best CS. I don't want to knock anyone because I know how defensive everyone is, but he Barley Crusher has seemed like ht cheapest option to me and looks like something that is bound to break over time. Maybe I am wrong, but I have done a lot of reading and observing and research. I would look at the Monster Mills if I were you, I think the slightly extra scratch is worth it int he long run.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

I do not yet have a mill at all, so my response needs an extra grain or two of salt...

I have done a lot of research on mills trying to decide which I will be purchasing (hopefully soon). I have decided that Fred's Monster mills are the best quality, most rugged, and he has the best CS. I don't want to knock anyone because I know how defensive everyone is, but he Barley Crusher has seemed like ht cheapest option to me and looks like something that is bound to break over time. Maybe I am wrong, but I have done a lot of reading and observing and research. I would look at the Monster Mills if I were you, I think the slightly extra scratch is worth it int he long run.

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I have been researching Monster Mills while waiting on a response from BC...

I have to say, they are a better mill IMHO. The adjustment is much more user friendly, larger rollers and larger drive shaft... they are beefier.

Sad part is, I only milled 60 pounds with my BC so far... I have about 10 pounds to mill in 2 weeks.

becareful
you guys can hurt your selves with all thoes barley mills
and you will need rehab ,throw your back out something fierce
Barley Mill Rehab | Home

I got a response this evening.

They said that pin that popped out, should never come out, so they are replacing the mill.

I will let yall know when I get it.

Good deal. Glad they are standing behind it.

That's good to hear being that I bought one just a month ago, then my friend bought the 3 roller monster mill. The monster mill weighed about 5 times as much as the BC. made mine feel less than adequate. It has done a fine job for me so far, increasing my eff. greatly and improving my predictability as well. I did notice the difficulty in setting the gap but by leaving the gauge in the rollers while setting the gap helped. Maybe if they used better adjustment lock screws, or at least set up a jig to face them flatter it would help.

bdavanza said:

That's good to hear being that I bought one just a month ago, then my friend bought the 3 roller monster mill. The monster mill weighed about 5 times as much as the BC. made mine feel less than adequate. It has done a fine job for me so far, increasing my eff. greatly and improving my predictability as well. I did notice the difficulty in setting the gap but by leaving the gauge in the rollers while setting the gap helped. Maybe if they used better adjustment lock screws, or at least set up a jig to face them flatter it would help.

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Yeah, mine was OK until that pin popped... then I couldnt adjust it. If I left the feelers in while tightening the set screws, the rollers would pinch down on it so hard I couldnt remove it.

I am in no way knocking any other type of mill. When I looked at getting a mill I eliminated the ones that took too long to respond to my questions. Fred at Monster Mills bent over backward to answer my questions and was totally honest about what mill to get. I bougt the MM-3 with the stainless rolls. Didn't want to worry about rust. I can't imagine getting a better crush. It adjusts in seconds, but you have to fab your own hopper. I drive it with an old BD 1/2 drill. It turns at 250 rpm. I don't think you wanting service makes you a jerk. My not getting a response from them when I was doing research is why they were off the list. You shouldn't have to wait for a response.

Never mind, I see you got a response. I'm glad to hear they are replacing the thing.

The Pol said:

I got a response this evening.

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Did they mention any excuse for the delay in responding? Vacations, or something? The couple of times that I contacted them, Randy from BC was quick to answer.

He said that he thought he had already responed.

As long as they stand behind the product I think the BC is a better choice for those with less than great DIY'er skills. I had zero interest in fashioning my own hopper and base so I went with the BC. It fits right on top of a five gallon bucket and you are good to go in minutes.

I will be keeping my eye on the "pin" now that I no longer have to look for the 0-ring issue.