My Drill won't work my new Barley Crusher

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brettwasbtd

brettwasbtd

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So I had my first all grain brew day on Monday. All went well, except I had to hand crank the barley crusher, not a big deal, but after doing some research I wanted to make sure the crusher isnt broken. It came set to .039, (or thats what the sheet said). I have a craftsman 14.4volt cordless drill - not the most powerful, but still, it had full battery and crushed for 3 seconds before slowing down to a stop. I tried the other full battery, same thing. I was on max torque. I then proceeded to just crank by hand and it really wasnt that difficult. So is my drill not powerful enough? Or do you think something is wrong with the crusher? I def am not stronger than a drill!
 
brettwasbtd said:
So I had my first all grain brew day on Monday. All went well, except I had to hand crank the barley crusher, not a big deal, but after doing some research I wanted to make sure the crusher isnt broken. It came set to .039, (or thats what the sheet said). I have a craftsman 14.4volt cordless drill - not the most powerful, but still, it had full battery and crushed for 3 seconds before slowing down to a stop. I tried the other full battery, same thing. I was on max torque. I then proceeded to just crank by hand and it really wasnt that difficult. So is my drill not powerful enough? Or do you think something is wrong with the crusher? I def am not stronger than a drill!
Click to expand...

I highly recommend a low speed/corded drill for BC operations
 
I would say that if you were able to use the crusher manually, it is working fine... If something was wrong there you wouldn't be able to hand crank it, or you would feel something going wrong.

Sounds like you need to upgrade the drill...
 
Get one of the old steel-bodied drills at a tag sale. They run at a good speed, you can beat 'em up and not feel bad, and they run forever. I use a DeWalt corded drill on my grain mill and it's a PITA because I have to hold the trigger half-depressed the whole time.

...And not with my trigger finger, but with my thumb. Need to figure out a way to use my index finger at the angle I sit when grinding - it'll be good practice for better trigger control at the rifle range. :)
 
pernox said:
Get one of the old steel-bodied drills at a tag sale. They run at a good speed, you can beat 'em up and not feel bad, and they run forever. I use a DeWalt corded drill on my grain mill and it's a PITA because I have to hold the trigger half-depressed the whole time.

...And not with my trigger finger, but with my thumb. Need to figure out a way to use my index finger at the angle I sit when grinding - it'll be good practice for better trigger control at the rifle range. :)
Click to expand...


You ever think of using something like a c-clamp? pretty cheap speed control if you can get it to stay on the trigger/handle.
 
I think the advice to use a corded drill is good. I have an 18V Hitachi, but I crush my grain with an old Craftstman 1/2" AC drill. As was said in a previous post, the biggest PITA is holding the trigger at the correct setting to get the speed I want. It drives a "Corona" type mill with no problems, and it will do unless I start crushing a whole lot more grain than I am at present.
 
My 14.4V cordless works great on my BC, but it's a Milwaukee. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think the problem is that you're using a Black & Decker.

Definitely a good idea to use a corded drill anyways, since even a quality cordless has a fixed number of battery life cycles.
 
BigJefe said:
You ever think of using something like a c-clamp? pretty cheap speed control if you can get it to stay on the trigger/handle.
Click to expand...

That last part is the key. It's a real touchy trigger, too, and I have to adjust trigger pressure when the drill/mill get hot, and add more grain, etc. I gave it a shot with some of the plastic clamps for retaining wires, but it wasn't too handy. Not a big deal - beats the hell out of hand-cranking, that's for sure!

Sea said:
My 14.4V cordless works great on my BC, but it's a Milwaukee. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think the problem is that you're using a Black & Decker.

Definitely a good idea to use a corded drill anyways, since even a quality cordless has a fixed number of battery life cycles.
Click to expand...

:eek:
 
try starting the mill 1st THEN feeding the grain, that is what I had to do with my mill.
 
Get a new drill or a new battery. I have an old Dewalt 12 volt cordless that works fine. I've crushed up to 17 lbs and not had to recharge. My new 18 volt also works but I still like the old one because it runs slower more easily. I also run my mill slightly closer than the factory setting for better efficiency and it can get a little tough with wheat or roasted grains but like I said, the old Dewalt works fine.
 
You should use a makita or a dewalt. They give lots of power at a low voltage.
A 12 V would work fine but you should use a 14v, or a 18 even better.
 
If you have access to one, try a compressed air powered drill. I'm lucky enough to have one and that thing is a monster. *VIZZZZZZZZZZZZ!*:eek:
 
If you have on old drill with a NiCad battery, and you have mistreated it, then the batteries may not last long. You may be able to recondition the batteries by fully discharging it, then fully charging for a few cycles. You should not recharge NiCads when they are only partially discharged. You can always get a new battery. I use an ancient 12V Dewalt, with a Schmidling mill when I'm feeling lazy, and one charge would grind > 30 lbs grain.

-a.
 
My old corded Black & Decker won't budge mine...and I mean not one little bit. Total stall. I keep meaning to rig up an old Sears electric edger motor I salvaged but I need the exercise anyway.
 
My corded B&D works fine on my BC. I would also recommend doing a double check on the gap, regardless of what BC said it was set to by the factory. I did two brews with the factory setting and was getting around 70% eff., but when I finally took the time to get out my feeler gauges and set it correctly I was back up over 80%.
 
Your batteries could be on their last leg. How old are they? Because as they get older they won't hold a charge anymore.
 
The drill you are using should work. I would suspect the batteries are not holding a full charge.

Instead of replacing the batteries I would suggest buying an 18V Ryobi from HD. It would be cheaper than buying two new batteries. I run a nonprofit camp and we have several Ryobi tools. They have held up surprisingly well and if a volunteer drops one off a roof it is not as big of a loss as if it had been a Milwaukee.
 
I used it on my last brew session, had the battery sitting in the charger for 4 hours or so before use. Worked no problem! I will just remember to charge the battery the night before brewday.
 

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