Barley Crusher Issues

b-boy · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

I posted this in another thread about a year ago.

bja said:
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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

mikescooling said:
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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

Buy a Monster Mill and sell the BC for scrap.

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

hunter_le five · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

b-boy said:
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 · Sep 2, 2014

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 · Sep 2, 2014

W0GWT said:
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 · Sep 3, 2014

You using a drill or the handle to crank?

b-boy · Sep 3, 2014

Drill with a spider coupling.

grathan · Sep 4, 2014

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 · Sep 4, 2014

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

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

Owly055 · Sep 4, 2014

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 · Sep 4, 2014

grathan said:
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 · Sep 4, 2014

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 · Sep 4, 2014

I bet you could buy b-boys cheap.

b-boy · Sep 4, 2014

grathan said:
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 · Sep 4, 2014

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

Minbari · Sep 4, 2014

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

b-boy · Sep 4, 2014

MaxStout said:
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 · Sep 5, 2014

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

Swiller · Sep 5, 2014

b-boy said:
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 · Sep 5, 2014

b-boy said:
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.

Barley Crusher Issues

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