Barley Crusher- attaching a drill...

[coldrice]

Potentially stupid question here: just got my BC and the SS piece one would connect a drill to has only a small divot in it. Its not polygonal in any way and how to hook a drill up to it is beyond me. The website says something about a 'drillmotor' and I (perhaps stupidly) just assumed you could attach a regular drill to it. Nor did it come with a handle to crank it manually. Ugh. Up sh*%#s creek with a turd for a paddle here. Someone please throw me a line...

 

[samc]

Just tighten the drill chuck down on the shaft. Works fine, make sure it's tight!

 

[fishkid]

Yep tighten the drill right onto the shaft, heck I lock the drill way up the shaft, way past the divot.

 

[Berock]

you still should of got the manual handle but yeah use the drill

 

[DirtyPolock]

Yep tighten the drill right onto the shaft, heck I lock the drill way up the shaft, way past the divot.

I do the same. I got the manual handle as well and I have never used it yet.

 

[gunner65]

Without a drill you can build your biceps, forearms, and cursing vocabulary.

 

[coldrice]

thanks for the speedy reply everyone. I thought as much was the case, but it just seemed kinda chincy (is that how you spell that) to me. I may have been over estimating the amount of torque necessary to grind the grains at .035". I just kept picturing the chuck slipping because it didn't have anything to clamp on to. a side note... what the heck is that lone rubber o-ring for on one of the rollers? it seems out of place...

 

[coldrice]

Without a drill you can build your biceps, forearms, and cursing vocabulary.

Solid advice. I'm a chef, though. My vocab's pretty colorful. Im trying to find tranquility anywhere i can now.

 

[bob1852]

a side note... what the heck is that lone rubber o-ring for on one of the rollers? it seems out of place...

It's mainly there to prevent the rollers from getting out of whack during shipping...

It'll eventually break off....don't worry about it when it happens.

 

[DirtyPolock]

a side note... what the heck is that lone rubber o-ring for on one of the rollers? it seems out of place...

Only one roller is actually controlled by the turning of the shaft (...I said shaft), anyways, the rubber o-ring helps to turn the other roller to help crush the grain. Eventually that o-ring will wear out and fall off. That shoudl be ok as the falling grain should help to catch the free roller so that it rolls appropriately.

 

[fishkid]

Yep, the rubber o-ring on mine broke the first time I used it. It helps spin the other roller but I haven't had a problem without it, the grain helps the other roller spin now

FWIW, I used .035 for my past few batches and it has sent my into the boiler efficiency through the roof (cpvc manifold). One of the batches almost had a stuck sparge though and it was gumming up grain bits in the roller's knurling pretty good. I re-adjusted the gap to .0385 so we'll see how it goes. With my feeler gauge there's one more size between .035 and .0385 and that is .0365. I might tighten up the gap if .0385 doesn't impress.

 

[coldrice]

Funny. I asked the guy at Rebel Brewer what their crush was and he told me it was .03. I wanted to call him a liar but decided to keep it to myself. I figure it must be over .04. I just had a 59% efficiency and my technique, I think, is pretty good. I have hit 83% in the past...

 

[PBHBeer]

I noticed my O-ring broke after I had finished cracking all my grain and had to did through 30lbs of grain to find it.

 

[mendnwngs]

I have a BC coming, but I have a concern too about the shaft slipping in the drill chuck.

I'll try it stock, and see, but if it slips, I'll probably mount the shaft up in my (tabletop) mill, and machine 3 flats along the shaft to make it easier for the drill to grip.

Its just a cold steel shaft, right? I mean, not chromed, or case hardened, or any of that junk, so milling a bit off won't ruin any coating, right?

Anyone see a flaw with this? ( i mean, I'm not going to remove so much material as to significantly weaken it or anything)

-Jason

 

[coldrice]

I am prepared to do the same if necessary. I don't think it will hurt it any.

 

[coldrice]

I noticed my O-ring broke after I had finished cracking all my grain and had to did through 30lbs of grain to find it.

Wow, you're very persistent. I would have just mashed it.

 

[BrewSapiens]

I noticed my O-ring broke after I had finished cracking all my grain and had to did through 30lbs of grain to find it.

Your O-ring is broke? I believe most people here haven't even been to prison.

 

[wildwest450]

Stick the drill on the shaft, tighten, hang on to the mill base, and pull the trigger. Don't overthink it. I have run close to 750lbs through mine, it works just fine as is. Cut the stupid o-ring off before you use it.

_

 

[BrewMoreBeers]

back in the day almost all drill bits were cylinders. I have run a ton of large old-school cylinder drill bits through hard wood and that takes way more torque than crushing grain. The drill's chuck will hold the cylinder just fine, that is what it is designed to do. If you are concerned about it, i would spend energy making the chuck as tight as possible before i would take a mill to the grain mill.

Heck, my father used to be a lineman and he had a 2 inch auger bit that they used for drilling holes in phone poles - and the bit was a cylinder. Now the drill, she was a beastly device named Bertha. Bertha would break your arm if the bit got stuck and you did not let go fast enough; the chuck did not slip. the damned thing threw sparks out of the vents when you started it.

 

[mendnwngs]

Yeah, but todays keyless chucks don't grip like the all-steel vice-like jaws of the old wristbreakers

Especially my suzie-homemaker ryobi cordless

Of course I'll try it stock first, Heck, if I dont have to tool up, mark, and layout a piece to be milled, all the better.

 

[sweet_corn]

I have never had an issue with the keyless chuck. If anything the drill has tried to come around.

 

[samc]

DeWalt cordless chuck grabs the BC shaft with no issues. I would also venture to say that if you mill the shaft and have issues, the BC people might not be inclined to honor the warranty on the mill.

 

[Phunhog]

I just hook it up to my corded drill and snug it down. The question I have is how fast do you guys power the drill. I thought I read you want to keep it at around 500 rpm. Is there a downside to just running your drill wide open? Would it give you a bad crush?

 

[mendnwngs]

DeWalt cordless chuck grabs the BC shaft with no issues. I would also venture to say that if you mill the shaft and have issues, the BC people might not be inclined to honor the warranty on the mill.

If I mill the shaft, and then have problems with it, I'll be the first one to say its my bad

Trust me, I've cooked enough things in my history to take the blame when I start walking outside the box..

You know, I smoked 3 Playstation 2s (when they were new, and cost $300 Ea) before I figured out my mod chip design. Never returned them, never asked for money back, its just the cost of curiosity.

Same with this. If it works right, out of the box? Better than great.. I don't have to play with anything.. I'll probably get a cheap drill, and make a custom base to hold it chucked onto the shaft.

If it slips, I'm gonna mill flats.. Never would I expect the BC team to honor my modifications..

But, if (lets say) the knurl "shrugs off" the rollers, or some other insane failure, unrelated to the milling of the flats, It sounds like the BC team understands where my tinkering ends, and their engineering begins.

I will never ask someone to take responsibility for my tinkering

-Jason

 

[Dynachrome]

Zombie thread resurrection...

I found a Barley Crusher for sale, new in the package. I was trying to figure out an adaptor. Thanks for the advice. I was over-thinking it?

I have a 1/2" corded drill. (Biris Karloff voice) ...off to my lab-or-atory!

Remember, never give the mummy more than three tanna leaves.