"Barley Crusher" Grain Mill, Anyone own one of these?

[BierMuncher]

If so, ho does it work. I'm eyeing the 7 pound hooper (left) instead of the 15 pounder.

They want $114.50...sound reasonable?

 

[Cheesefood]

Plenty of good reviews on the BC. If you're going to use a drill, make sure you have a good corded drill.

 

[FlyingHorse]

Everyone who owns one loves it.

(I don't own one...I have a Crakandstein, which I also love).

The Crusher is less $$. Go for it.

 

[jeff]

I got mine last month and have brewed 3 batches with it...I love it! My efficiency went up from 75 to 80. I got the 15lb hopper so that I wouldn't have to refill for most of my beers, but the smaller one would work just fine and would probably store easier.

 

[Evan!]

I've had it for a couple months, just used it for the first time a few weeks ago. Worked GREAT! I highly recommend it! Easy to use, and you don't need a corded drill as long as you have an XRP-type cordless. Normal-life/power cordless drills run out quickly, though.

 

[EdWort]

SWMBO got me one for Christmas with the 15 # hopper. It takes about 2.5 minutes to crush 22 pounds, so it was 5 minutes for my last 10 gallon batch of Bavarian Hefe. I just cut the top of one of the FoodSaver bags with my Bavarian Hefe recipe pre-measured and sealed and poured it in the hopper, hooked up my Ryobi 18v cordless drill on the slow setting. Bag # 2 when just as easy. My efficiency when up to the 80s after I got my Barley Crusher. When I'm done, I use my air compressor to blow the dust and clean it before it goes back in the same box it was shipped in. It gets a :rockin: endorsement from me. Lifetime warranty and an excellent crush.

 

[Rhoobarb]

I love mine! I bought mine with the 7 lb. hopper two years ago and paid $109.00, so your price is pretty typical.

I second what Cheese says about using a corded drill. I can get through a normal grain bill with my cordless okay, but add some 'hard' grains like wheat or rye and the batteries wear down pretty quick. Evan, I've never heard of a XRP-type cordless and I typically pride myself on keeping up on such things! That might be worth investigating.

 

[Brew-boy]

You cant go wrong with that one. I met the owner at his house when I picked mine up Randy is a hell of a nice guy. He will stand behind the product for a lifetime. Mine works like a champ.

 

[Got Trub?]

I'm happy with mine - I've done 10 batches in the last 6 weeks with it. My efficiency went from 65% from LHBS to 85% with this. I don't use a drill and find I can crush a typical batch in under 5 minutes without much fuss...

 

[coppola73]

Do they have a website or can anyone share their contact info.

Thanks

 

[boldone]

http://www.barleycrusher.com

There is this new site out there called Google, it is a wonderful thing :cross:

This may be my next purchase for my brewery. Got to get it approved by the SWMBO.

 

[Wables]

Fantastic piece of equipment. My batches are usually about 12#, and I can't crush a whole batch with one 14V battery. I now use a corded drill.

As was posted earlier, my efficiency went from the low 70's to the low 80's with this crusher. That is with batch sparging.

I would definitely recommend this crusher!

 

[Grimsawyer]

I'm really confused. on that website there isn't a shopping cart to order. do you just mail a money order to that address or what? That seems like one hell of a grain mill for the money. Is the deal too good to be true? from what everyone here has posted it seems to be a KICK @$$ deal! Just mainly confused on how to order one....

 

[EdWort]

They take PayPal or you can mail them a check. Go to the ordering page below.

http://www.barleycrusher.com/ordering.php

Click on the PayPal link. Bingo!

 

[BierMuncher]

...I don't use a drill and find I can crush a typical batch in under 5 minutes without much fuss...

I think I'll do the same if I ever get enough scratch to buy one. Hand cranking a mill is like pulling the arm of a slot machine. Ain't no substitue for good old mechanics.

 

[Grimsawyer]

I think I'll do the same if I ever get enough scratch to buy one. Hand cranking a mill is like pulling the arm of a slot machine. Ain't no substitue for good old mechanics.

HAHAAH!!! and then you can say, but honey. I DO WORK OUT!!! I mill my own grain BY HAND!!! hahahah!!!

 

[Evets]

I have one and I love it, and by God, I'm gonna go use it right NOW!

 

[EdWort]

Fantastic piece of equipment. My batches are usually about 12#, and I can't crush a whole batch with one 14V battery. I now use a corded drill.

My 18V Ryobi does 22# with juice left over for a bit, but I do have my old Craftsman corded which comes in handy when I forget to have a battery charged.

 

[fins2rit]

i have the 7.5 lb barley crusher and just used it for the first time this morning and it worked great i can not wait till see what the beer is going to taste like.
very easy to use

 

[Waldo]

It really is a great little mill, I've had mine for over a year now and its still going strong, I've always hand cranked it but am seriously looking for a good corded drill. The small beers are pretty easy but my shoulder takes a beating on bigger beers.

I got mine when I switched to AG brewing but I think the crusher would be great for extract brewers as well, you can get your LME and DME in bulk and stock your specialty grains and crush when needed.

 

[Evan!]

Evan, I've never heard of a XRP-type cordless and I typically pride myself on keeping up on such things! That might be worth investigating.

"XRP" is the proprietary name that DeWalt gives that product line. In general, DeWalt stuff is pretty good...not the greatest, but good for the money. I've never had a DeWalt product actually fail on me, except through my own fault. I had two regular (non-XRP) 12v cordless drills. When I got my Barley Crusher, I tried using one of them to crush grain. It was going well, until I stupidly shifted speeds on the thing while it was going. It burned up the gears instantaneously. Luckily, Lowe's takes anything back, so I took it back...but instead of just getting another regular 12v, I thought I'd upgrade to an 18v. I asked the guy in the tool dept. what he thought, and he said that the 14.4v XRP model was a much better drill than the regular 18v model. It's contractor-grade, heavier, all-metal locking chuck, 3-speed, and the batteries have alot more power and charge life than the normal ones. I've been thrilled with it so far.

 

[photogscott]

why is everybody's efficiency skyrocketing when they crush their own? Don't any LHBS's know how to crush grain?

 

[Waldo]

why is everybody's efficiency skyrocketing when they crush their own? Don't any LHBS's know how to crush grain?

Thats it! They crush just enough to do the job, they don't want to crush to fine for fear of causing stuck sparges.

 

[FireBrewer]

Thats it! They crush just enough to do the job, they don't want to crush to fine for fear of causing stuck sparges.

That and how often does the LHBS check and adjust the gap on their mill? How many times does that thing run?

I love my BarleyCrusher, does a great job.

 

[Cheesefood]

Don't forget that they often batch-crush, so those tiny ground up starches fall to the bottom of the bag and the husks sit on top. I'm sure they shake it up, but it just seems like a lot could fall out.

 

[SAS98M]

I wonder if the guy behind the counter at the LHBS would be offended if one were to ask to have the gap checked or to have the crush checked just as the grind is started and to have the mill adjusted as needed at that time ?
I know that the efficiency of the wheat batch I brewed this weekend went way up I think to the most ever.....I used the rolling pin on the kitchen counter and gave almost the entire grain bill a further crush,my little helper would spread grain a cup at a time out for me and I'd roll it then I'd scrape the grist off into the waiting mash tun on a chair next to the counter-worked for me. Shane

 

[boo boo]

Geez Ed, everytime I look at this pic I see a toilet as a base. I know it isn't but I can't get the thought out of my mind. Please tell me it isn't ,lol.

 

[EdWort]

Geez Ed, everytime I look at this pic I see a toilet as a base. I know it isn't but I can't get the thought out of my mind. Please tell me it isn't ,lol.

Nope, it's not a toilet. It's a 8 gallon bucket wine fermenter. It works out great especially since I have a lid for it. Just mill the grain, put the lid on, & I'm good to go till dough in time.

 

[boo boo]

At least you eased my mind , lol. I have much the same setup for my Porkert mill, but I transfer to a sealable bucket until mash time. Usually the next day.

 

[Buford]

I just got a 7# hopper model Barley Crusher by UPS yesterday. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, probably this weekend will be the first chance.