Barley Crusher Grain Mill

[scallopking]

I just got one and did my first mill with it. Learned I need to mount this thing somehow. But main question is what type/size drill does everyone use? I had a monster hammer drill combo and think it was too powerful at full speed is 2800 rpms. my efficiency was really poor. And, any ideas on how to mount this is also appreciated. thanks.

 

[JosephN]

I have a crankenstein 3 roller mill and I use my regular cordless Mikita drill on the high torque low speed setting. I don't have issues at that speed. If I turn it to high speed my crust turns more to dust, but it cranks it out. I'd rather slow it down and get it right. Do you have a speed control switch on your drill or just a speed controlled trigger?

 

[mlafnitzegger]

Also conditioning grains will help a ton by preventing some flouring and keeping husks intact. Just search grain conditioning and you will see how easy it is. And I use a 1/2 drill from harbor freight.

 

[augiedoggy]

Just my take on it but if you grind slow conditioning really isnt needed. Its more of a work around and something I doubt is ever done in a brewery.(or at a supply store) I would think setting a wider gap and using a variable speed drill or a gear reduction motor (what I use) would be the easier and cleaner long term solution. I dont think the rollers in the Barley crusher are made of stainless so this way you dont have to worry about having to clean it and rust forming from the moisture. I get very very little flour and I dont condition. I did get 89% efficiency this week on my last brew.. I use a cereal killer but its essentially the same spec mill design.

 

[scallopking]

I have a crankenstein 3 roller mill and I use my regular cordless Mikita drill on the high torque low speed setting. I don't have issues at that speed. If I turn it to high speed my crust turns more to dust, but it cranks it out. I'd rather slow it down and get it right. Do you have a speed control switch on your drill or just a speed controlled trigger?

Yeah exactly it was dust like. No speed control switch unfortunately on both drills I have. So not thinking I just squeeze the trigger full speed. I'll try my cordless again with a charged battery this time. Tried it first but it didn't work. Thanks.

 

[scallopking]

Just my take on it but if you grind slow conditioning really isnt needed. Its more of a work around and something I doubt is ever done in a brewery.(or at a supply store) I would think setting a wider gap and using a variable speed drill or a gear reduction motor (what I use) would be the easier and cleaner long term solution. I dont think the rollers in the Barley crusher are made of stainless so this way you dont have to worry about having to clean it and rust forming from the moisture. I get very very little flour and I dont condition. I did get 89% efficiency this week on my last brew.. I use a cereal killer but its essentially the same spec mill design.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[jcav]

I have a Barley Crusher and I use a Dewalt 235g VSR 1/2 inch drill. I use it very slowly 150 to 250 rpm, (2 to 4 turns a second) and take my time and it works great. A high speed drill may not turn the rollers at slow speeds. I use Kal's recommended crush for my particular system (electric brewery clone) which is fairly wide 0.045" gap which is about the width of an average credit card. If you BIAB you will need to tighten up and make the rollers closer to each other. Here is a link to the drill I use. http://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-7-8-Amp-1-2-in-Variable-Speed-Reversing-Drill-DW235G/100050769

The mill works great for me and I do not wet the grain or condition before I mill. You may have to adjust the crush for your particular system to get the best efficiency. Hope this helps.

John

 

[augiedoggy]

I also used a credit card to set my gap... it fits fairly loose ... Small enough to crack open all the grain but leaves most of the endosperm and husks in tack... my mill runs at a very slow speed as well this is why gear recuction motors are so great for this, more torque at lower speeds. If you happen to find a large DC motor you can build a very cheap variable voltage (and speed control) ac to DC power adapter from a regular wall dimmer switch and a $3 bridge rectifier. google had lots of pictures on how to wire it up (very simple) and is saves having to buy an expensive high voltage and amperage DC power supply.

 

[scallopking]

thanks guys, I brew with a Grainfather. yeah, happy to hear I don't have to condition specific for this mill, one less thing to do! So when adjusting the crush for my system how do you adjust based on the efficiency? larger or smaller if say the efficiency was 66%? Before I adjust it I think i'll go slower on a different drill then adjust from there. How do you guys have it mounted too? I'm thinking of building something of wood with a hole in the top that I can mount the mill to. then open on the bottom for the bucket to slide under. thanks again.

 

[augiedoggy]

thanks guys, I brew with a Grainfather. yeah, happy to hear I don't have to condition specific for this mill, one less thing to do! So when adjusting the crush for my system how do you adjust based on the efficiency? larger or smaller if say the efficiency was 66%? Before I adjust it I think i'll go slower on a different drill then adjust from there. How do you guys have it mounted too? I'm thinking of building something of wood with a hole in the top that I can mount the mill to. then open on the bottom for the bucket to slide under. thanks again.

Heres a bad pic of mine from my phone.

 

[unionrdr]

My barley crusher was working great until I was forced to take it apart & clean it. Now I can't keep the adjustable roller in spec. I did lube the bushings with a q-tip & olive oil. Any ideas?

 

[augiedoggy]

My barley crusher was working great until I was forced to take it apart & clean it. Now I can't keep the adjustable roller in spec. I did lube the bushings with a q-tip & olive oil. Any ideas?

Is it possible the knurling is worn down... That is a common issue with the Barley crusher. They have a lifetime warranty and will replace it if you send it in but you have to pay shipping costs.

 

[kombat]

Is it possible the knurling is worn down... That is a common issue with the Barley crusher. They have a lifetime warranty and will replace it if you send it in but you have to pay shipping costs.

Not necessarily ... My Barley Crusher wore out after about 100 batches. I shipped mine back to the manufacturer and never heard a word from them. Still haven't. That was last summer. No replacement, no repair, no refund, not even a letter or email. Nothing. I just gave up on it and bought a Monster Mill instead.

 

[unionrdr]

I should've clarified that I can't get the adjustable roller to hold the measured spec. I always set it to the little lines the adjuster knobs line up with. That puts it at .039".

 

[scallopking]

Guess I have some issues to look forward to.

 

[JosephN]

Imo you get what you pay for. If you get a deal on a $80 mill then it's obviously not super high quality. Monster mills and crankenstein seem to be the most solid mills out there. Then again some friends have purchased the barley crushers and have not had one problem with them. Each one of us has a certain level of income, so if you can't afford a higher quality mill then go get what you can. That's one thing I love about our "current capitalist" society.

 

[unionrdr]

I just need to get the adjustable roller to stop loosening up & moving out of spec...

 

[augiedoggy]

Not necessarily ... My Barley Crusher wore out after about 100 batches. I shipped mine back to the manufacturer and never heard a word from them. Still haven't. That was last summer. No replacement, no repair, no refund, not even a letter or email. Nothing. I just gave up on it and bought a Monster Mill instead.

Wow, you need to post on this thread where I already took a lot of heat for pointing out the BC had an issue with the rollers wearing out..

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=570604

 

[augiedoggy]

I should've clarified that I can't get the adjustable roller to hold the measured spec. I always set it to the little lines the adjuster knobs line up with. That puts it at .039".

I dont use the knob lines on my cereal killer as I found them to be off... I use a feeler gauge (credit card) while ensuring the non driven roller still spins freely on its own after adjusting ... I only recently experimented with adjusting it and seeing how much difference in efficiency the gap causes.

 

[augiedoggy]

I just need to get the adjustable roller to stop loosening up & moving out of spec...

Isnt there locking nuts to stop it from moving once adjusted? My cereal killer has them and I thought they were clones of each other more or less?

 

[augiedoggy]

Imo you get what you pay for. If you get a deal on a $80 mill then it's obviously not super high quality. Monster mills and crankenstein seem to be the most solid mills out there. Then again some friends have purchased the barley crushers and have not had one problem with them. Each one of us has a certain level of income, so if you can't afford a higher quality mill then go get what you can. That's one thing I love about our "current capitalist" society.

No problems with my motorized $99 shipped cereal killer... Actually there arent many complaints at all on the newer generation ones that came out like 2 years ago. most are because people have issues with understanding the adjustment system and bind the non driven roller. I did the same in the beginning. They have bearings and hardened rollers it seems that the BC lacks..

I'm not saying there aren't better quality mills out there. (they surely are) But I feel so far I have gotten just as much out of my mill as if I would have paid 3 times as much for it... Granted I only put 9 sacks of 2 row and whatever specialty grains Ive used in that time thru it... For someone who doesnt brew often a $300 mills advantages will never pay for themselves in most cases meaning the owner will get less value for their money not more depending on how you want to see it.... Sadly the majority of people that get into hobbies such as this abandon them just as quickly...

IMHO there is really no reason a quality mill should cost $300 each. The manufacturing costs are simply not anywhere near that and theres no research and development costs involved its a simple device really.... On that principle alone I cant justify spending that kind of money myself. In this case it has nothing to do with my income.

Just heads up the "cereal killer" mills are nothing more than these very generic $100 mills made in the netherlands from chinese components sold on ebay alibaba and aliexpress http://www.ebay.com/itm/6680-Crushe...hash=item280f4d59d7:m:mUz2JMdhId8se-zJGN-Dzsw. They work well and the rollers can be ordered in stainless or cold rolled steel... I wonder if the rollers are the same dimension as the ones BC uses.. if so you could likely order replacement roller from them for the BC that wont wear out as quickly? In any case these generic mills with ball bearing and better rollers appear to be a better value.

 

[DemonsRun]

Have not had issues yet with my Barley Crusher, I use a 1/2 in. Spade Handle Mud Mixer from Rigid, has more than enough torque and can go incredibly slow. It did cost twice as much as the Mill, so unless you are also doing any home remodeling it may not be worth it, but I love it.

 

[scallopking]

Have not had issues yet with my Barley Crusher, I use a 1/2 in. Spade Handle Mud Mixer from Rigid, has more than enough torque and can go incredibly slow. It did cost twice as much as the Mill, so unless you are also doing any home remodeling it may not be worth it, but I love it.

I looked it up on home-depot, this variable speed? I couldn't tell exactly - says 500 rpm though. If I am going to have to buy a drill might as well be the right one. thanks.

 

[DemonsRun]

I looked it up on home-depot, this variable speed? I couldn't tell exactly - says 500 rpm though. If I am going to have to buy a drill might as well be the right one. thanks.

Yes it is a true variable speed based upon pressure on the trigger, the one fault this has is the trigger only locks at max speed. so you have to hold it lightly for the slow speeds.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-1-2-in-Spade-Handle-Mud-Mixer-R7122/100523157

 

[unionrdr]

Isnt there locking nuts to stop it from moving once adjusted? My cereal killer has them and I thought they were clones of each other more or less?

I'll have to check it out again. I need to fix that before crushing the grains for the mumme'. I think that problem is the reason I got so much poofy trub in the primary for the Hellfire IIPA? I had to crush a couple times to get it done somewhat more evenly.

 

[scallopking]

so I used the same drill again this weekend with much better results 76% efficiency but is a pain to keep the trigger at a low speed and had occasions where it sped it all the way. I think I will try Harbor Freight for the mud-mixer. Might be cheaper than home depot. sure is much better than having to go to LHBS for milling now. thanks everyone for the feedback and tips.