Barley crusher.. 3 years a good run or should I expect more?

[khannon]

I have a barley crusher brand 2 row mill. I've been having some issues getting it to mill recently.. I adjust the gaps, fiddle with it a bit and eventually it starts pulling grain.

I brew 10 Gals at a time, probably average 10 brews a year. I do brew with a bit of wheat, but it is always mixed in. Usually 25-35 lbs of grain, no corn etc..I do clean the mill by blowing it out with a compressor each time with a take apart cleaning once a year or so. everything rolls pretty well, so no seized rollers.

Looking closer, the "driving" roller seems significantly more worn than the other roller. Should I be expecting more from stainless steel rollers, or do I just plan on replacing every few years? I'm also thinking in the geared roller direction. I guess even with the cost of a new mill every few years I'm still saving by buying full sacks.

 

[day_trippr]

I still have an original Barley Crusher. They did not have stainless steel rollers, they are mild steel, are not hardened, and are notorious for wearing out and losing the ability to grab grain.

That said, back when my BC was new I was brewing almost 200 gallons per year and my math says I put almost 3000 pounds through that mill before its antics grew too tiresome, so I bear the BC no hard feelings. I bought a Cereal Killer mill - built more sturdily than the BC and which does have hardened steel rollers - and have been pleased with it to this day.

Meanwhile, I reversed the rollers on my BC, set the gap for 0.020", and now use it reliably to mill malted wheat, oats and rye, allowing me to maintain an unmolested "barley gap" on my CK mill. That's an option to perhaps double the useful life of the BC...

Cheers!

 

[khannon]

Sounds like a plan to me.

 

[Franktalk]

IMO you should expect more. It's been said before, and I know it'll sound like a broken record. I purchased a JSP Malt Mill in 2010, and it still works great. I did change the bushings a few years ago, swapping the original ones with better ones. With the new bushings it seems it will last another decade or so. The whole thing cost less than $100. I am not sharing to show how brilliant I am. I'm just trying to answer the original post. You should expect more.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I replaced my Barley Crusher with a used JSP and have been happy with it so far. I was disappointed the Barley Crusher, but I used it for many years. It too was having trouble pulling the grain through. I cleaned the rollers with a wire brush and that helped get me through a load of grain. After several attempts I contacted BC and was able to send it in for a rebuild. Not sure what he did to it, but it certainly didn't work much better. Shipping the roller head was expensive and in the end a waste of money. I still use it for emergencies, but the JSP is my main mill.

Franktalk, where or what kind of bushings did you get for your JSP? Since I love mine so far I might stock some bushings for it. Thanks!

 

[odie]

Mine did that a lot. even when new. Mills with a roller that is "free wheeling" or not powered can hang up.

I bought another mill that had gears on both the rollers so they both were powered. It's unstoppable.

Buy a "geared" mill and call it a day.

 

[Zenmeister]

I had the same problem with my Barley Crusher a couple of years ago, and created this post here: Grain Mill Broken. I followed day-tripr's advice and reversed the roller. Works great if you remember to set your drill motor to reverse.
Ultimately, tho, I went to the Blichmann Grain Mill. Pretty spendy, but if you run a lot of grain through it, it is well worthwhile.

 

[doug293cz]

Mine did that a lot. even when new. Mills with a roller that is "free wheeling" or not powered can hang up.

I bought another mill that had gears on both the rollers so they both were powered. It's unstoppable.

Buy a "geared" mill and call it a day.
View attachment 813151

I got this same mill. Price can't be beat for a motorized, geared roller mill. I have only used it once, but it worked great. Even at a gap of 0.020" it didn't shred the husks. It mills slooow and steady, but I don't have to babysit it like I did the BC. Grain hopper is kinda small (~5 lbs at a time.) The gap adjustment mechanism is kind of cheesy, but seems to work fine.

Brew on

 

[PCABrewing]

The adjustment looks kinda crude but there is a lot of benefit to simplicity.
How much engagement do the gears retain when the mill is set to the widest (.065) setting?
I am surprised by the low price. My Barley Crusher still works fine but I am intrigued.
It would be nice to not have to hold the 1/2" drill while crushing the full bill.
Increasing the hopper capacity would be pretty easy with a roll of flashing and some pop-rivets.

 

[doug293cz]

The adjustment looks kinda crude but there is a lot of benefit to simplicity.
How much engagement do the gears retain when the mill is set to the widest (.065) setting?
I am surprised by the low price. My Barley Crusher still works fine but I am intrigued.
It would be nice to not have to hold the 1/2" drill while crushing the full bill.
Increasing the hopper capacity would be pretty easy with a roll of flashing and some pop-rivets.

Don't know about gear engagement at 0.065" gap, as I only crush very tight. But, the gear teeth are cut very deep, so I expect they should still have good engagement at a wide gap.

Definitely nice not having to hold on to the drill, and fight with the rollers to feed (or double crush - wide gap, then narrow.)

Brew on

 

[PCABrewing]

Don't know about gear engagement at 0.065" gap, as I only crush very tight. But, the gear teeth are cut very deep, so I expect they should still have good engagement at a wide gap.

Definitely nice not having to hold on to the drill, and fight with the rollers to feed (or double crush - wide gap, then narrow.)

Brew on

The gear engagement was just a curiosity since they used a deep cut gear set to enable adjustment. I can't think of when I would ever set it near the max width either.
The powered option PLUS the gear drive cinches it for me.

 

[odie]

You can sometime score those for a lot less. Amazon warehouse or ebay sellers carry them too.

The geared drive with attached motor is pure dope.

It's slow, but steady. Fill hopper and go do something for 10 minutes. come back and refill hopper. I set my gap with a credit card.

bonus...get an old stereo cabinet from your high school days...well if your old like me...

 

[day_trippr]

Hahahaha! I still have one of those cabinets, pretty sure I bought it back in the 70s.
It's currently filled with vintage video games and carts in the basement.
The Spousal Unit hated that cabinet when new. Still does

Cheers!

 

[Franktalk]

Franktalk, where or what kind of bushings did you get for your JSP? Since I love mine so far I might stock some bushings for it. Thanks!

I got them here: McMaster-Carr

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I got them here: McMaster-Carr

Thanks a Bunch!!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have a barley crusher brand 2 row mill. I've been having some issues getting it to mill recently.. I adjust the gaps, fiddle with it a bit and eventually it starts pulling grain.

It is too bad that Barley Crusher has such a poor track record. It is always nice to have a reasonably priced American made product as an option. In theory the have a lifetime warranty, but most people report it is hard to take advantage of.

I have had mine for many years (18?) but for most of those years I did not brew regularly and I used the hand crank. I have had issues recently, probably partially because I moved to crushing fine for BIAB. These days I double crush. I found that I did not have any issues at the factory setting, so I run the grain through once at that setting and again at a finer setting. It is a little more work, but I like to try and squeeze as much life out of a product as I can. Honestly, it only adds 10 minutes of time while I am heating up my mash water anyway....and I tell my self I am getting the benefits of a 3-mill roller.

I am debating if my next homebrew equipment purchase is a replacement mill.

 

[day_trippr]

It takes about 10 minutes to swap the rollers in the frames and then you'll essentially have a nice new mill

Cheers!

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I got many years and tons of grains of grain run through my BC so I'm good with it. There's not much out there that lasts forever even after rebuilding it. My new old JSP was an upgrade to the BC. I swapped out the gear motor I built into the BC and use it on the JSP mill. After some redesigning it works just fine like the BC did. I keep thinking of new mill but this works fine for now.

Being able to mill my own grain gives me so much more control over my brews. I noticed a difference with the milled grain I got form my supplier so I was glad to be back in control.

 

[govner1]

I have a barley crusher brand 2 row mill. I've been having some issues getting it to mill recently.. I adjust the gaps, fiddle with it a bit and eventually it starts pulling grain.

I brew 10 Gals at a time, probably average 10 brews a year. I do brew with a bit of wheat, but it is always mixed in. Usually 25-35 lbs of grain, no corn etc..I do clean the mill by blowing it out with a compressor each time with a take apart cleaning once a year or so. everything rolls pretty well, so no seized rollers.

Looking closer, the "driving" roller seems significantly more worn than the other roller. Should I be expecting more from stainless steel rollers, or do I just plan on replacing every few years? I'm also thinking in the geared roller direction. I guess even with the cost of a new mill every few years I'm still saving by buying full sacks.

My 3 roller motorized Monster Mill ran well for ten+ years without any trouble.
I now have a 6 roller custom mill that was gifted to me and gave my MM3 to a brew buddy.
I’d think you should check expect more.

 

[day_trippr]

I now have a 6 roller custom mill

Pictures please? I gotta see what that looks like

Cheers!

 

[doug293cz]

Pictures please? I gotta see what that looks like

Cheers!

Yes - pictures pls.

Brew on

 

[Bassman2003]

I got pretty many years out of my BC. So I can't speak too poorly about it. I did send the rollers back to the maker to have them reset and it basically went right back to not grabbing the grain again. I purchased a cereal killer a few years back an it seems to be pretty solid. I see the CK as a better mill and bargain.

 

[govner1]

Yes - pictures pls.

Brew on

I’ll try and get you some photos tomorrow.