I was going to build a barley mill, and stumbled on the BC Enterprises Barley Crusher... a little over $100, I had about $137 with shipping, and the quality is excellent, so on a whim, I ordered one. NO REGRETS.......... It arrived yesterday, and I just doughed in my first home crushed brew half an hour ago. The crush is beautiful...... I tightened it up just a tad from factory......... a VERY SIMPLE operation.....just loosen a couple of set screws, and turn a couple of knobs...... Made it too close at first, and backed off. I want a fine crush due to my BIAB process. No more having to buy small quantities crushed at the store!! A 50 lb bag of two row from the local micro brewer (friend) is $30, as compared to between $1.75 and $2.00 a pound at the LHBS. That cuts my grain bill to 1/3 what it was, even including the specialty grains. At about one brew a week (2.5 gallons), with 5 pounds of two row......that would be around $10......... now $3...... A savings of $7 per week...... about $350 per year. It's a no brainer!! And my mashing efficiency should go up due to the finer crush. It's a win win situation. It also plays into my plans to experiment with home malting.... but that's a ways down the road yet. Living in grain country where malting barley is grown, most of my friends being farmers and ranchers, it only makes sense to trade for barley and wheat and malt it myself. A long time friend is just now seeding in a quarter section of Harrington 2 row............ I'll manage to get a few hundred pounds right from the combine..........
To me simple is beautiful...... if it works well. This mill is very simple construction, with eccentrics to adjust gap, opposing "threads" turned on the rollers, creating a diamond pattern, solid aluminum end plates, brass bushings on the cranked roller, and some sort of internal bushings or bearings on the other roller. An O-ring round the non driven roller contacts the driven roller, making it turn......... an elegant and simple solution......... There is a lot of simple innovation, resulting in an over all excellent product.
When I get around to finishing my home build mill which has 3" diameter rollers, I will be "stealing" ideas!! ;-)
H.W.