Barley Crusher

[zmuda44]

Hi everyone, first post here besides my welcome post, so I apologize if this is the wrong forum.

I am using the barley crusher with this drill http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=295379-79992-DR350FD&lpage=none and I seem to be having a problem.

Basically, the speed of the drill is intermediate depending on how hard you press the trigger and if I squeeze the trigger at low rpms it doesn't have enough torque to even spin the rollers until i squeeze it practically all the way, at which time the whole entire crusher, base and hopper practically start shaking, the grain is flying all around down down at the mill and uncrushed grain is able to squeeze in through the sides, etc.


My question is this, does my drill just not have enough torque at low speeds, or is my crusher abnormally hard to spin. It spins freely w/out the grain and I have it set to the factory setting and even measured it with spark plug feelers and the setting is .39". To be honest with you, the only reason why I switched to the drill is because it was so hard to spin that I couldn't use the hand crank w/out the handle itself just spinning around the top of the crank.

Sorry for the long post, but I searched the forums and couldn't really find anyone with this problem. The barley crusher seems like it's almost set it forget it, but my grain is just incredibly hard to crush.

Thanks.

 

[Yooper]

I don't know the answer to your specific question, but I can relate my experience. I got a barley crusher last November, and it was always hard to crank. I did it by hand, but it was HARD! Then, I started using my drill and I was having problems like you. I changed my gap (using the feeler gauges) and still had problems. I looked more closely, and the rod holding the grinding rolling was bent. I sent an email to the maker, and the asked me to send it back. They fixed it, and returned it. I used it last night- and it worked like a dream!

I guess my point is to first try emailing [email protected], or to go to their website: http://www.barleycrusher.com/

They are very responsive to emails, and have very good customer service. Maybe it's the drill, maybe it's the crusher. But they have a lifetime warranty, and stand by their product.

 

[zmuda44]

yooper, thanks for the reply, and i believe you may be exactly right. The rod coming from my mill is also bent a little, but I honestly wasn't sure if that was the problem because it spins so easily with no grain. With you having the same exact problem, it would be odd if that isn't the case.

I'm new to brewing and very new to all grain and crushing, so I honestly didn't know if it was something natural for it to be this hard to spin or not, but after reading your post it appears it shouldn't be and the problem is most likely the bent rod. I will certainly contact them, thanks for the advice.

 

[Edcculus]

I just had the exact same problem. I was so confused that I took the whole thing apart. I did determine that the rod was bent. While putting it back together, I couldn't get one of the set screws to go back in straight and ended up stripping out the threads. I sent an email and Randy offered to replace the side I stripped out. Haven't heard back about the roller though.

 

[carp]

I had a different issue with my BC this weekend. It seemed to 'break traction', that is the drill spun freely with no reactive torque. I figured the drive shaft was slipping in the roller.
I poured almost all of the grain out of the hopper, and tried it again and it worked fine. I filled 'er back up and proceeded to grind the remaining 20+ lbs of grain with no problems.
Having read about various problems with the BC, this had me a bit worried. Good customer service is fine, but that's not much consolation if the thing fails on brewday.
I'm sort of wishing I had gotten something more robust, although frankly I'm not sure what the best (but not uneconomical) choice would be.

 

[TristanL]

Something similar happened to me last Friday. Same thing as carp described, but I think it's a different issue. I had adjusted the gaps and in the process I think I turned the adjustment knobs too far. For some reason that caused the rollers not to spin normally. I was able to turn the one knob back and get it started working normally again. I don't anticipate adjusting the mill again unless it goes out of wack. Hopefully this is the last time I have issues.

 

[Flic]

I have a similar issue but I don't think it is the BC. I can usually find a sweet spot on my drill where it will work fine. If I stop, it is at times hard to start up again. My drill started to smoke last time actually so you have to be careful. I think it is more of a torque issue with the drill. Luckily I'm using an old drill.......and I still have the original handle if I ever fry it!!

 

[zmuda44]

I've also had that problem too with the barley crusher. It's almost like the grain just doesn't weigh itself down enough to go through the rollers. I also had to empty the entire hopper, which I'm sure you found is more than a pain, but I got the 10lb hopper, so it isn't as bad. And, same deal with me, put the grain back and it was fine.

 

[zmuda44]

flic, I've never seen mine actually smoke, but it certainly has a slight burnt smell to it, if i keep the trigger pressed down light enough for it not to spin. However, I have to admit that mine is like this literally every time, so I'm going to go ahead and send it back and see how it works.

 

[carp]

I've also had that problem too with the barley crusher. It's almost like the grain just doesn't weigh itself down enough to go through the rollers. I also had to empty the entire hopper, which I'm sure you found is more than a pain, but I got the 10lb hopper, so it isn't as bad. And, same deal with me, put the grain back and it was fine.

I hadn't thought of that. Are you saying that the issue is not that the shaft is slipping, but rather that the grain stops feeding into the gap? That makes more sense, plus it's comforting that my machine is not apparently on the edge of failure. I can live with pouring the grain out once in a while (I have the 7 lb hopper myself).

Regarding the various drill problems - you guys need an old Milwaukee Hole Shooter with 1/2" chuck. Totally controllable torque / speed from dead start up to high speed.

 

[BeerPressure]

If the BC shakes then the post isnt in the chuck evenly. I have had this problem if it's not centered correctly.

 

[Blender]

I could not control the speed well enough with my electric drill. I now have an 18 volt cordlesss drill that I set to low and it works fine with the trigger about 1\2 way.

My crusher also has spasms where the grainwon't feed. Sometime shaking it will get it going and other times I have to empty and refill.

 

[The Pol]

Variable speed drills need to be pretty heavy duty to provide enough torque at low speeds for some applications. This is why I went with a low speed (geared) variable speed drill with a 7.2A motor. I can crush at about 100 RPM and the drill has plenty of power to crush even at a .035"

It has an adjustment knob on the trigger so that you can adjust how far you can press it, so that you can set the max speed basically.

The mills themselves are not without thier issues, this is my second one in 6 months.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Is it just me or does it seem that barley crusher makes an inconsistent product? I'm sure there are many out there that love them compared to the few that have had problems. Just seems I have seen quite a few posts lately discussing their quality. Hmmmm..... scratch head.

This is coming from a guy who crushes using a knock off corona mill. I don't know what that means but it seemed important a second ago.

 

[The Pol]

I dont know about inconsistent... I mean in threads where they are praised, no one complains. In threads where someone has a problem, people experiencing problems speak up. Luckily, they are quick to replace faulty mills.

 

[zmuda44]

I hadn't thought of that. Are you saying that the issue is not that the shaft is slipping, but rather that the grain stops feeding into the gap? That makes more sense, plus it's comforting that my machine is not apparently on the edge of failure. I can live with pouring the grain out once in a while (I have the 7 lb hopper myself).

Regarding the various drill problems - you guys need an old Milwaukee Hole Shooter with 1/2" chuck. Totally controllable torque / speed from dead start up to high speed.

I don't want to say 100% but that's always what it seems like to me. For whatever reason the grain doesn't fall into the gap and, so the grain just kind of rolls on top of both rollers. Not sure if that's what really happens or if it makes sense for that to happen, but that's what it seems like. I've ignored the warning on the hopper and tried to press it down with my hand (when the hopper was full) and that didn't work at all when it happened to me. The only way was to empty the entire thing, like we mentioned. (i also have the 7lb hopper that's what i meant)

 

[zmuda44]

I dont know about inconsistent... I mean in threads where they are praised, no one complains. In threads where someone has a problem, people experiencing problems speak up. Luckily, they are quick to replace faulty mills.

I agree with this. I searched these forums for a problem like the one I had and didn't really find anything about the barley crusher other than people liking it. From what I've seen everyone is decently happy with it. And, like Pol mentioned, they are very responsive. I didn't mention it, but I actually emailed them with another question and they emailed me right back and from what I've heard, if you have a problem just send it back and they will fix it.

 

[zmuda44]

If the BC shakes then the post isnt in the chuck evenly. I have had this problem if it's not centered correctly.

what exactly do you mean by unevenly? reason i ask is because i have a 3/8 chuck and the rod pretty much fits snugly in there.

 

[KYB]

Hmm, I was going to go with the BC, but I think I may go with the Monster Mill instead.

 

[The Pol]

Hmm, I was going to go with the BC, but I think I may go with the Monster Mill instead.

If I did it again, Id go monster mill probably. As it stands, I paid $130 for two Barley Crushers, so we will see how long this one lasts. The MM is more money, but it is built to a much different standard.

 

[jspence1]

My BC has worked flawlessly. I pulled it out of the box and a year later it is working the exact same as day one

 

[masonsjax]

My BC was tough to spin when I first got it, but after crushing a few recipes it spins much easier. Still, it takes more effort than I want to expend to crank it by hand. Using a drill, it does vibrate a good bit, and upon closer investigation, I believe the shaft is bent. Not bent much, but it definitely spins crooked. It's not enough to make me want to go without it for however long they would take to get it back to me though.

 

[JVD_X]

I looked more closely, and the rod holding the grinding rolling was bent.

How odd... I just returned... and it was replaced... for the same reason.

 

[KYB]

If I did it again, Id go monster mill probably. As it stands, I paid $130 for two Barley Crushers, so we will see how long this one lasts. The MM is more money, but it is built to a much different standard.

Yea, I'll probably do that then. I know I'll be the guy that's gets a bent rod. I don't mind building a hopper and everything. Actually the cheapest one is $104, or $119 shipped to me.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I dont know about inconsistent... I mean in threads where they are praised, no one complains. In threads where someone has a problem, people experiencing problems speak up. Luckily, they are quick to replace faulty mills.

By inconsistent I simply meant what you alluded to. They either work flawlessly and people love them for years or the break in 6 months like yours and your stuck wishing you had done something different. I do understand their customer service is good but sending a mill back and pausing a brew day would not be ideal at all. I do realize most people love them while a small majority have problems with them.

 

[The Pol]

Like I said, the MM is more $$, but if you compare the specs to the BC, you will see why. I think that the Crank and Stein is probably the mid point between the BC and the MM. I know BMW is starting to sell the Crank and Stein mills, and they are using the C&S to mill thier malt for customer orders now in lieu of the BC.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

How about the Shmidling malt mills? $155 for their top of the line dual adustable version. They seem rather well built simply on looks alone. Just curious about these as well.

http://schmidling.com/maltmill.htm

 

[Edcculus]

Never tried it. Looks like it wouildn't have any problems stalling since its geared though. That hopper is tiny!

 

[bendavanza]

I bought the BC because of the hopper, I did not want to make one. My cordless drill did not have enough torque to spin the rollers slowly, either, so I bought a geared drill like thePol and it's smooth sailing now. My rollers were a bit tight in one spot on the rotation but after a couple batches it' smooth. I have it set just a bit tighter than factory and it is serving me well. If I was going to do it again I might buy the monster mill but my BC works fine and it sounds like they are happy to fix or replace ones with issues.
You would need a better drill no mater what brand you buy.

 

[weirdboy]

How about the Shmidling malt mills? $155 for their top of the line dual adustable version. They seem rather well built simply on looks alone. Just curious about these as well.

http://schmidling.com/maltmill.htm

FWIW, my LHBS in Long Beach uses one of those and it seems pretty solid. Pretty high duty cycle, and no problems that I'm aware of. Personally I like my BC but I would be upset if mine exhibited any of the problems mentioned in this thread.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I bought the BC because of the hopper, I did not want to make one. My cordless drill did not have enough torque to spin the rollers slowly, either, so I bought a geared drill like thePol and it's smooth sailing now. My rollers were a bit tight in one spot on the rotation but after a couple batches it' smooth. I have it set just a bit tighter than factory and it is serving me well. If I was going to do it again I might buy the monster mill but my BC works fine and it sounds like they are happy to fix or replace ones with issues.
You would need a better drill no mater what brand you buy.

How much does one of these drills cost?

 

[The Pol]

$25 or so...........

 

[Scut_Monkey]

$25 or so...........

Is it a harbor freight product? Anybody have a model number or specifics so I can get one. I'm in need of one for my corona mill and if/when I upgrade to a malt mill.

 

[bluegrassbrewer]

I love my BC. I only brew 5 gallon batches so I just crank it by hand, it only takes on average around 7-10 minutes of cranking to crush my grain bill.

 

[The Pol]

Is it a harbor freight product? Anybody have a model number or specifics so I can get one. I'm in need of one for my corona mill and if/when I upgrade to a malt mill.

Here is the one that I own... but I only paid like $25. But, I own this, it will break your arm!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93632

 

[zmuda44]

sorry to bump this thread needlessly, but just wanted to let everyone know that I sent mine back and the guy from Barley Crusher sent me a new one back. Great customer service from that company.

 

[uglygoat]

did all you with bent shafts purchase in the same time frame?

i've not had any problems with mine, and use a wimpy little black and decker drill to crank it.

 

[polecreek]

When my BC quits feeding grain through I momentarily reverse the drill instead of emptying the hopper, this usually fixes it. I have a wobble in the shaft that can be felt when using a drill but it still works fine. Probably not the best piece of equipment I have bought, but does the job.

 

[bandt9299]

I usually put my hand under between the mill and the bucket and spin the non drive roller while running the drill on the other roller and it catches every time and I still have all my fingers (for now). Since BC replaced the rollers I haven't had any problems with the mill catching and pulling in the grain, until today, I used Briess 2 row which I never use and had a heck of a time, weird.