Barley Crusher Issues

[b-boy]

Well, it finally happened. After 3 years of use my Barley Crusher has started acting up. I've been reading about this problem for the last few years, but my mill has always worked flawlessly.

During the last 3 brewing sessions the slave roller on my mill started binding up during the crush. The only fix is to dump the hopper and repour the grain. Sometimes reversing the drill will do the trick, but lately that hasn't been working.

I thought it might be grain stuck somewhere, so I dismantled it, cleaned it, and reassembled it. It's still binding.

This just happened during a 3-batch RIS brewing session, so a broken grain mill was a real problem. We had over 100 lbs of grain to process. We got through it, but it took several hours.

Send it in for repairs? New mill? Any advice?

 

[Hello]

I'd send it in for repairs providing you can reach the guy. An assumption based only on forum posts that suggest the guy is MIA 99% of the time. In the meantime, if you're thinking a new mill wouldn't be a bad idea you can buy new and sell the BC when it is returned for a decent price and offset the cost. Honestly, I don't have cash to throw around but on the other hand, I think I'd do that.

 

[Minbari]

what is binding? is maybe a bearing seized up? I know hobby stores have great quality bearings for RC helis, etc. about every size you can imagine. (of course mcmaster carr or grainger prolly does too.)

 

[bja]

I posted this in another thread about a year ago.

The major design flaw is the two sheet metal pieces connecting the bushing plates together. They are in no way stiff enough and allow the bushing plates to become misaligned with each other. When the 1/4" fasteners holding the bushing plates to the base plate are tightened, the torque often times twists the bushing plates causing binding. Care must be taken to ensure that this doesn't happen.

If this doesn't take care of the problem, try opening the gap a little.

 

[b-boy]

Thanks. The binding is weird. It doesn't happen on every revolution. Sometimes it spins freely for 3-4 revolutions, then just sticks. Once I took it apart it worked for about 15 minutes, them started acting up again.

I'm going to send it in for repair. It has a lifetime warrantly, so hopefully that will be honored.

I have heard that customer service can be a little sketchy, so I'm crossing my fingers. If I don't get a fast response I'll probably just get a different mill and sell it after the repairs have been made.

 

[Dirty25]

Mine started to free spin. Contacted customer supported, crickets. Finally got a response a few weeks later told me to so some bullcrap. It didn't fix the problem. I then tore it down and cleaned it no luck still free spins. Contacted him again 4 months ago still waiting the response.

 

[mikescooling]

I know a guy who can't kill his BC, thousands and thousands of pounds and the thing still works. but if it were me, as this one was getting fixed, I'd get a monster mill then sell the BC when it gets back.

 

[Dirty25]

I know a guy who can't kill his BC, thousands and thousands of pounds and the thing still works. but if it were me, as this one was getting fixed, I'd get a monster mill then sell the BC when it gets back.

That's exactly what I did, but seriously where is my response back BC?

 

[blizz81]

I had mine seize up similarly not long after we got ours. Disassembled, reassembled, I think I used some automotive grease or something on the roller. Worked ok for a few batches, started seizing again. I thought you just had to disassemble and reassemble them frequently, but noticed from others that wasn't the case.

Accidentally left it out on the deck overnight after a brew and rust formed on the rollers, so I disassembled it again and dremel'd off the rust. Reassembled, but used a little bit of gun oil on the rollers. Have not had any signs of a problem since.

 

[govner1]

Buy a Monster Mill and sell the BC for scrap.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[hunter_le five]

My Barley Crusher still works fine, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a heavy user by any stretch, one 5-gallon batch per month worth of grain on average.

I keep reading all the horror stories about BC's customer service, and I've decided that if it ever fails on me I'll probably just cut my losses and buy a different brand of mill. That is, unless anything improves on the customer service front. I certainly don't plan on buying any more of this guy's products.

Let us know how it all pans out, b-boy.

 

[b-boy]

Thanks.

Up until now I've had great luck with the BC, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I emailed them this morning, but no response yet. If I don't hear back by tomorrow I will escalate.

Sunday was a nightmare with this thing. It added at least 2 hours to the brew day. We had to disassemble the BC multiple times. We were close to scrapping the whole session.

I have some brew days scheduled in a few weeks, and I need a mill. If I don't get some response quickly I'll have to buy something else and I really don't want to spend the money right now. both my kids just went back to college and the tuition bills are flying in.

 

[Swiller]

Thanks.

Up until now I've had great luck with the BC, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I emailed them this morning, but no response yet. If I don't hear back by tomorrow I will escalate.

Sunday was a nightmare with this thing. It added at least 2 hours to the brew day. We had to disassemble the BC multiple times. We were close to scrapping the whole session.

I have some brew days scheduled in a few weeks, and I need a mill. If I don't get some response quickly I'll have to buy something else and I really don't want to spend the money right now. both my kids just went back to college and the tuition bills are flying in.

Don't even bother trying to get in touch with the guy. Simply ship it to him with a note in the box and a receipt for shipping. You'll get it back a whole hell of a lot faster than trying to get the guy to reply to you.

 

[W0GWT]

That's a shame. Considering how popular they are, you'd think they'd have their customer service down.

I have a Barley Crusher and haven't had any issues yet, but I haven't used it that frequently.

 

[day_trippr]

That's a shame. Considering how popular they are, you'd think they'd have their customer service down.[...]

The irony (it's everywhere!) is that the popularity is driven by that "lifetime warranty"...

Cheers!

 

[grathan]

You using a drill or the handle to crank?

 

[b-boy]

Drill with a spider coupling.

 

[grathan]

Here is what works for me.

I put just a little bit of grain in the hopper, maybe an inch. Give it a test to see if it catches, if it does I leave it with grain between the rollers and then fill up the hopper. But if it spins out, I fish the crack out with a butter knife and try again. The trick for me is to always have some grain stuck between the rollers before I fill all the way.

 

[W0GWT]

I fish the crack out with a butter knife and try again.

You'll never catch that dragon..
Stop chasing.

 

[Owly055]

I have had problems with my BC recently. I hand crank, so I simply reach under and give the free roller a bit of assistance. I did have to take mine apart and clean and lube it (veg oil). I would suggest replacing the O-ring..... They don't last long, but are cheap and easy to replace.
When I build my mill, it will have two driven rollers............ and the rollers I've built are about 3.5" diameter. The larger diameter rollers are likely to work better, as the grain will suck down more gradually, wedge, and have to go through.

H.W.

 

[b-boy]

Here is what works for me.

I put just a little bit of grain in the hopper, maybe an inch. Give it a test to see if it catches, if it does I leave it with grain between the rollers and then fill up the hopper. But if it spins out, I fish the crack out with a butter knife and try again. The trick for me is to always have some grain stuck between the rollers before I fill all the way.

I'll quote the internet - 'Ain't nobody got time for that'.

I'm anal about quality tools. For me it either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't work it goes bye-bye.

I'm still waiting for a response from BC. I'm already researching new mills. I think I see where this is going....

 

[attyindaburgh]

I was going to buy one of these but based upon all that I have read, I will be going with a monster mill. I just don't want to take the chance.

 

[grathan]

I bet you could buy b-boys cheap.

 

[b-boy]

I bet you could buy b-boys cheap.

real cheap!

Although I might just take it out in a field and go all 'Office Space' on it.


[ame]http://vimeo.com/60821380[/ame]

 

[MaxStout]

If you want the guy's name/address/phone, here it is, from my posting in the BC thread a while back.

 

[Minbari]

What about crankenstien? Heard good things about those and they have both rollers gear driven

 

[b-boy]

If you want the guy's name/address/phone, here it is, from my posting in the BC thread a while back.

Thanks. This is helpful.

 

[b-boy]

Day 4, 4 emails.......crickets. Yep - I see a new mill in my future.

 

[Swiller]

Day 4, 4 emails.......crickets. Yep - I see a new mill in my future.

I'm telling you.. just mail it in. Don't bother trying to get him to reply. I swear to god you're only going to get an email with the address saying to send it in. And you'll wait forever for that. Even if you call him, he won't answer.

Just mail it in with the note stating the problem. Get a receipt that it was shipped. You will get it back in about 2 to 3 weeks fixed.

Mine came back in absolute disgusting condition, but it was fixed. I had to use my toothbrush to clean it, but I was due for a new one anyway.

The rollers were literally black with oil and grease and there was SO many metal shards in the rollers. I was livid.

 

[Yooper]

Well, it finally happened. After 3 years of use my Barley Crusher has started acting up. I've been reading about this problem for the last few years, but my mill has always worked flawlessly.

During the last 3 brewing sessions the slave roller on my mill started binding up during the crush. The only fix is to dump the hopper and repour the grain. Sometimes reversing the drill will do the trick, but lately that hasn't been working.

I thought it might be grain stuck somewhere, so I dismantled it, cleaned it, and reassembled it. It's still binding.

This just happened during a 3-batch RIS brewing session, so a broken grain mill was a real problem. We had over 100 lbs of grain to process. We got through it, but it took several hours.

Send it in for repairs? New mill? Any advice?

I've posted about this a number of times. If you email, you will not receive a reply. I got frustrated, and just mailed it in. It came back with new rollers, with no comment at all. I've sent it back two times, and while it's "ok", sort of, now I would never buy one again. It still pretty much sucks.

 

[Owly055]

I'm basically satisfied with my BC barley crusher. It's not perfect, and I occasionally have feed issues that are resolved simply by spinning the non-driven roller momentarily with my finger...............this is a problem that will always exist in a rolling mill that drives only one roller. It doesn't matter who makes it. The O-Ring wrapped around the non-driven roller eliminates this problem. It ultimately fails after 20 or so batches, but replacing it is easy., and O-rings are cheap. You get what you pay for........ or so they claim. If both rollers are NOT driven, you are going to have this problem.

H.W.

 

[j1n]

Well, i guess i shouldn't be surprised when this eventually happens to my Barely Crusher.

 

[W0GWT]

Well, i guess i shouldn't be surprised when this eventually happens to my Barely Crusher.

Kind of thinking the same thing...

 

[Owly055]

Unfortunately, the BC issues are not easily solved. Rotational resistance in a sleeve bearing is a given, once it get's a bit of powder on it. Ball or needle bearings must be sealed, or they will be far worse..... It's best that they be well away from the grain dust. They are also much more expensive. The best solution is two driven rollers......... also more expense.

With the BC, compromises were made to keep it affordable. It's extremely easy to dismantle and clean and lubricate, so I find those compromises good ones under the circumstances. As a BC owner, I have also had this problem, and it is annoying. I could easily "upgrade" to sealed torrington bearings by just drilling the aluminum blocks out to fit them. (using a milling machine). The easiest fix is simply to replace the O-ring....... a very inexpensive item, and clean and lubricate regularly.

My own crusher has gone to the back burner .......... the BC was too cheap to pass up. Mine will use 3.5" rollers, and those big rollers would suck the grain in far better. I have the rollers built, and will someday build it using them. I wouldn't even consider building it without driving both rollers..... More work and expense, but worth it. It also will use "farmer bearings"....... double sealed ball bearings with flangettes. And it will be pedal powered. It's a fairly big project, and not high on my list of priorities.

H.W.

H.W.

 

[b-boy]

Well I got a response to my email. Actually I got a response to each and every email I sent. It was the exact same response. Each email had the previous email in the thread. It was obvious he didn't even notice that I had sent multiple emails. I'm guessing they were never read.

This was the response:

Thank you for your email, A couple things I would suggest to try is to take a wire brush to the rollers.This will remove any residue that may have built up over past batches.You can also try to take the mill apart and give it a good cleaning. ( no water) try wiping the end of the rollers and the side plates off and reassembling the mill. sometime dust and residue will build up between the rollers and the side plate that will make the idle roller stick. If you do take the mill apart to clean it, one other thing you can do is spin the idle roller 180 degrees, so the side that's on the right is now on the left.If the knurl on the roller is starting to get dull they tend to dull more on one side than the other. So spinning the roller around will give that roller a somewhat fresh knurl.

If after you try these things and if you are still having problems please email me and we will see what we can do to get your mill back to the way it should be.

I emailed him, but I'm just going to send the unit in for repair and cross my fingers.

 

[Owly055]

Well I got a response to my email. Actually I got a response to each and every email I sent. It was the exact same response. Each email had the previous email in the thread. It was obvious he didn't even notice that I had sent multiple emails. I'm guessing they were never read.

This was the response:



I emailed him, but I'm just going to send the unit in for repair and cross my fingers.

My discovery when I took my mill apart was pretty much as he described...... grain chaff builds up between the ends of the rollers and the end plates. Remember that O-rings are cheap........it takes only a few minutes to take a BC apart and replace the O-ring. It's not a great drive system, but it DOES help.

H.W.

 

[b-boy]

My discovery when I took my mill apart was pretty much as he described...... grain chaff builds up between the ends of the rollers and the end plates. Remember that O-rings are cheap........it takes only a few minutes to take a BC apart and replace the O-ring. It's not a great drive system, but it DOES help.

H.W.

Yes - I've done this a few times. It seems to fix the problem for 5-10 minutes, then it spins again. I'm starting to think the rollers may just be worn down. That worries be a little since I don't use it 'that' much. Maybe 10-12 brew days per year at ~60 lbs per batch on average. That's about 30-35 brew sessions. I do use wheat, but rarely. That doesn't seem excessive to me. I don't think I should be wearing anything out that quickly. Especially an item designed for my exact application. It's not like I'm abusing it or using it as a hammer between brew sessions.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Must say I'm feeling much better about my $25 Corona mill...likely spend that much sending a B/C in for regular servicing.

All kidding aside, they work pretty darn well.

 

[b-boy]

Never tried one, but during my last brew session I thought maybe I should have one as a backup.

I was at a big swap meet a few weeks ago and saw dozens of them for salee. My wife said I should buy one and I said - why?, I already have a mill.

Next time I see one for a few bucks I'll probably grab it.

 

[Owly055]

I discovered the other day that grain dust is NOT the culprit. My second roller developed so much drag that I took it all apart and cleaned it again, and re-assembled it. It was still stiff. I began unbolting it from the base, and noticed that the roller had freed up to the extent that it would free spin and coast! I fiddled a bit, and ultimately left one bolt slightly loose, and it worked like a dream.

H.W.