Barley Crusher Help!

We ordered the 15 lbs barley crusher and when we turn the crank nothing happens. The grain won't go through the crusher. We haven't changed the pre-set settings. Has anyone had this happen. We're turning the crank clockwise. If we turn counterclockwise the grains go through the mill but don't crush at all.

I have the same crusher, used it only twice. Work it back and forth, or kind of give it a good shake...the same thing happend to me in the middle of a crush, I just gave it a good shake on the top of the bucket.

KellyK said:

We ordered the 15 lbs barley crusher and when we turn the crank nothing happens. The grain won't go through the crusher. We haven't changed the pre-set settings. Has anyone had this happen. We're turning the crank clockwise. If we turn counterclockwise the grains go through the mill but don't crush at all.

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you really need to tighten the screw that hold the crank handle on the crusher. i had the same problem. Just connect a drill to the barley crusher. much easier anyway

Happens to me all the time. I find it is helpful to start with about a pound in the hopper, and then add the rest of the grains after it starts to crank through. Shaking may also help.

Also, it is easy to miss but there is a flat spot on the end of the drive shaft. The handle needs to be positioned such that the screw comes down on that flat spot while it is being tightened. I missed that fine detail that first time I put the handle on.

If you had also missed it that will make all the difference in the world.

ChemE said:

Also, it is easy to miss but there is a flat spot on the end of the drive shaft. The handle needs to be positioned such that the screw comes down on that flat spot while it is being tightened. I missed that fine detail that first time I put the handle on.

If you had also missed it that will make all the difference in the world.

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What he said as well as check and make sure the screws are tight. Look at the write up page that came with the mill and if I remember right you need to loosen or tighten about four to six screws to adjust the mill. One of the screws may be loose and you can't notice it until the grain is passing throught the mill. Of course you can't see the grinders with grain in the mill. Contact them by e-mail, they have great coustomer service. I had a dent in mine and they were fast to respond and take care of business. And the rubber O-ring that makes the other grinder turn won't last long at all, but the mill still works like it did with the O-ring. Hope this helps you out man.

its funny If the handle is spinning and the guy did'nt know that's hilarious

Kinda reminds me of the guy that rents a chainsaw, when he returns it to the rental center, the guy behind the counter asks "How did the saw work for you?". The renter says "it was terrible, very heavy and cut really slow". the guy behind the counter checks out the saw and starts it up. The customer then says. "What's that noise?"

badumpbump

Well, if it's spinning backwards okay, then it should spin forwards okay...at least, you'd think.

My BC gets stuck once in awhile like this (a problem which is exacerbated if, like me, you accidentally try to send flaked barley through there). What's happening (at least in my case) is that some grain(s) are getting stuck between the dummy roller and the hopper fin. I find that all you need to do is hand-turn the slave roller backwards a little bit, manually from the underside.

Evan! said:

Well, if it's spinning backwards okay, then it should spin forwards okay...at least, you'd think.

My BC gets stuck once in awhile like this (a problem which is exacerbated if, like me, you accidentally try to send flaked barley through there). What's happening (at least in my case) is that some grain(s) are getting stuck between the dummy roller and the hopper fin. I find that all you need to do is hand-turn the slave roller backwards a little bit, manually from the underside.

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This has happened to me as well when I was milling flaked oats with the rest of my grist. It stuck the slave roller up pretty well and I had to spin it quite a few times to get all the junk to pass through. I don't think I will be milling oats anymore, although the flaked corn I milled yesterday gave me no issues. Anyway, make sure your slave roller is spinning free, if that gets jammed it won't pull grain in, it will just kind of bounce around on top of the drive roller.

wilserbrewer said:

Kinda reminds me of the guy that rents a chainsaw, when he returns it to the rental center, the guy behind the counter asks "How did the saw work for you?". The renter says "it was terrible, very heavy and cut really slow". the guy behind the counter checks out the saw and starts it up. The customer then says. "What's that noise?"

badumpbump

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Well...... what was the noise?

Have you removed the o-ring? I had the exact same problem with my BC until I removed the o-ring and spaced the rollers .02 closer. Might be worth a shot. I can't say for sure that the o-ring was the cause, but removing it fixed it.

cubbies said:

Have you removed the o-ring? I had the exact same problem with my BC until I removed the o-ring and spaced the rollers .02 closer. Might be worth a shot. I can't say for sure that the o-ring was the cause, but removing it fixed it.

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That shouldn't have any effect; moving the rollers closer together should actually have a negative effect on the possibility of grains passing through the mill. I can't see why anyone would adjust away from the factory crush settings; I haven't changed mine, and I routinely get 80%+ and never have stuck sparges.

I changed my crush because my efficiency dropped about 10 points when I got my Barley Crusher. It wasnt until I adjusted the setting that I got back to the mid 70's where I was pre BC.

Evan! said:

...I can't see why anyone would adjust away from the factory crush settings; I haven't changed mine, and I routinely get 80%+ and never have stuck sparges.

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I closed my gap down to 0.025" on mine and I get 92% brewhouse efficiency with no stuck sparges.

Let me ask you: What kind of funnell is it? I bought my unadjustable grain-mill with a round plastic funnel, wich was a real piece of sh*t. The way the funnell is formed plays a vital role. Otherwise, the grains just stay in one place and wont crush.

dunno, I've had absolutely no problems with my barley crusher (as was said before. The black O-ring that drives the slave roller will wear out, but it won't (or hasn't) affect the operation of the mill -my understanding from the seller was that the rubber ring was really there just to help make things work until the rollers were 'seasoned' -and after a handful of batches would not really be needed.

It really does sound like your handle is slipping on the shaft -I first missed the flat spot on the shaft (well, actually I saw it, but didn't pay it any mind for some reason -and tightned the screw on (it turns out) the round side of the shaft. Slid pretty bad, and at first I was a little startled and disappointed that the thing didn't seem to work as advertised (gee thats never happened! ) after taking the handle off, and making sure the screw was on the flat spot (and tight) I've had absolutely no issues with the grain mill -it seems to do a good job at the factory setting -but is adjustable if I feel otherwise).
I'm curious to find out what the issue was, ultimately, when you figure it out.
For my part, I'm going to have to sit down and do the math, to figure out what size pulley to put on this thing (have a motor that turns about 14oo RPM from an old dryer, it has a really small pulley on it) -my target speed will be about 150 RPM for the mill. Though in truth, I really don't need it to be motor driven -but who among us can deny the desire (need?) to tinker and improve?

Like you NB, my Barley Crusher works a treat. Sorry to hear its a problem cos mine's a bewdy and I now can't imagine life without it. As the Nightbiker says, post how you made it work cos a lot of brewers can't imagine the problem (cos our BC's work fine .. but maybe some day it won't)

ChemE said:

I closed my gap down to 0.025" on mine and I get 92% brewhouse efficiency with no stuck sparges.

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0.025! Isn't the factory setting .039? That's a huge difference. I keep mine at .039 except for wheat, for which I change it to .037.

cee3 said:

0.025! Isn't the factory setting .039? That's a huge difference...

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Yes, the factory setting is 0.039" and yes, I've tightened my gap pretty aggressively. I think for my setup 0.025" is the smallest I can go without getting a stuck sparge. My runoff took 2.5 hours but the efficiency was incredible and I had plenty of other things to do during that time so it wasn't a big deal. I always mash out so the sugar profile was fixed and didn't drift during the runoff. I'm gunning for 94% efficiency during my next brew. I've identified a few places in my last process where I did waste some sugar needlessly. If I can just keep nailing 92% I'll be pretty darn pleased though.

EDIT: I just checked my laboratory notebook and my runoff actually took 3:40. I had a pound of oats which slowed things down a little but I would chalk most of that up to my gap setting. Like I said, a very slow runoff but incredible efficiency.

A three hour run off might give great efficiency but damn that's a long time.

ChemE said:

Yes, the factory setting is 0.039" and yes, I've tightened my gap pretty aggressively. I think for my setup 0.025" is the smallest I can go without getting a stuck sparge. My runoff took 2.5 hours but the efficiency was incredible and I had plenty of other things to do during that time so it wasn't a big deal. I always mash out so the sugar profile was fixed and didn't drift during the runoff. I'm gunning for 94% efficiency during my next brew. I've identified a few places in my last process where I did waste some sugar needlessly. If I can just keep nailing 92% I'll be pretty darn pleased though.

EDIT: I just checked my laboratory notebook and my runoff actually took 3:40. I had a pound of oats which slowed things down a little but I would chalk most of that up to my gap setting. Like I said, a very slow runoff but incredible efficiency.

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if my runoff took over 3 hours i would shoot myself in the foot

I suspect in order to get extreme efficiency we are required to undertake extreme processes. A three and a half hour run off was annoying but I had plenty of things to keep me busy. I was fly sparging so I just checked on the level every 30 minutes but other than that I watched the Titans kick the crap out of Jacksonville.

I might set up a Hartford loop on the outlet of my MLT so that the water level in the MLT is determined by the outlet plumbing. Then I'll never have to check the water level because it will be unable to vary.

ChemE said:

......but other than that I watched the Titans kick the crap out of Jacksonville.

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Among the many reasons that I would never stand for a 3+ hour runoff is that I might have to watch the Lions!

ugh, 3 hours of my life, versus 10 minutes of batch sparging, just ain't worth the $0.50-worth of grain I might save by getting 92%.

I'd be curious to see what kind off eff you'd get if you just did a double-batch sparge like me, which takes 10 minutes. Yeah, I have stuff to do on brewday too, like...brew other beers. I can knock out 2 batches in 7 hours or less...I shudder to think what adding 6 hours onto that would do.

3 hours seems a bit excessive -but to each his own.
Uhm, whats a 'hartford loop' ?