BC Products Enterprises Inc. Barley Crusher Maltmill

Manufacturer - BC Products Enterprises Inc.
The Original Barley Crusher MaltMill, the "Home Brewer's Best Friend" has proven to be just that. A high quality grain mill constructed using materials that will last a lifetime, 1018 Cold Rolled Steel for the rollers, 6061 Aluminum for the mill body and hopper, tool steel for the axles with Oil Impregnated bronze bushings.
Precision machining with Quality Control and a LifeTime Warranty assures the homebrewer that this will be the only grain mill they will ever purchase!
While I'm not exactly sure what was supposed to be accomplished by the rubber grommet, it was rendered irrelevant when it wore through and became part of a brew (Rubber-Grommet Ale -You'll bounce back for more!).
It relies on friction between the grain and the other roller to drive the second roller -and while initially I had doubts about this, it seems to work just fine. I get an excellent crush and not too much flour -haven't had a stuck mash yet and get a nice bed of husks.
I motorized MINE (after verifying with BC that being motor-driven wouldn't invalidate any warranty on the bearings) with a chain-driven gear-motor. It's not terribly fast but its strong as an ox (first time out with the motor, I pulled the mill off its' mounting (mounted on my brewing bench) when crushing wheat -I re-mounted it and did a better job of it and have had no issues at all), I mean I could pass my mother-in-law through this thing and it wouldn't even belch.
I've been passing grain through this thing for about 2 yrs now.
Would I get another? Absolutely!
Price Payed: $145.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Great mill for a lower than average price
Fully adjustable roller (though factory setting delivers the best crush for me) lifetime warranty on bearings (even if motorized).
Cons: None as far as I'm concerned, but only one roller is 'driven' -and this may concern others.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

If you want a mill that's ready to go out of the box, without building a hopper or base, this is the best bet in town. It has everything you need to mill grain, including a hand-crank if you don't own a drill. The rubber feet on the base fit snugly inside a standard hardware store plastic bucket, so very little flour/dust escapes as you mill.
While it's supposedly factory adjusted, the rollers were uneven on mine. Nothing a few minutes with a screwdriver and feeler gauges can't fix.
Since switching from pre-milled grain, my efficiency has gone up several points. Crushing your grain right before use has to make better beer...think about coffee, for a good analogy.
Great product at a reasonable price.
Price Payed: $124.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[stever]

The best 120.00 I ever spent. Great product and when you hook up your drill you are ready to brew in no time without the sweat.
Price Payed: $120.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[Evan!]

I couldn't recommend this product more. Perfect crush with factory settings, and I'm routinely getting 80%+ efficiency with infusion mashes.
Price Payed: $125.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[Glibbidy]

I got mine with the large hopper attachment. For a two roller miller it is the real deal.
Price Payed: $138.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[zman]

Works as advertised. Great crush every time. I highly recommend it. Great product at a great price
Price Payed: $125.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[dagrar]

Works as advertised. Makes an excellent crush. My efficiency went up by ten gravity points. Overall very happy with the unit.
Price Payed: $125.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[humann_brewing]

Just got it, but already love it, now I can buy bulk grain


Price Payed: $150.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[radtek]

A great product at a great price! Comes with a detachable crank but you can zip through the pounds when operated by electric drill. The 7# hopper can be easily modified to hold more grain.
Only adjusts down to 0.015" but that should be deep inside "scary"...!
A great starter mill for beginner and veteran brewers alike. Comes assembled so no fuss.
Price Payed: $125.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[JoeBob]

Great Mill, easy to adjust and hook up a pulley/motor system. I will be making a larger hopper as I did not want to pay to the 15lb extension.
Price Payed: $115.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[BarryNL]

Top product - turns grains into perfect grist with just a bit of elbow grease.
Price Payed: $175.00
Recommended? Yes

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Comes with a crank handle that you will use exactly one time

. After that, just hook it up to your favorite power drill and crush 15# in about 2 minutes! Fully adjustable gap, comes with either a 7# or 15# hopper, and a base that fits perfectly into the top of a bucket. Great product, and well worth the price after you buy grain in bulk for the first time. One of my best purchases yet!
Price Payed: $155.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Quite a bit cheaper than the other options out there and has better features.
Cons: Price?

 

[cuinrearview]

Found this barely used on craigslist. It didn't have a handle(darn) and I saw a few specks of rust on the rollers. Since I plan to brew with all-grain I figured I'd pick this up. On the way home I bought ingrediants for a batch that I wanted to make that day and tried this out when I got home. I didn't bother with the (very)little bit of rust since I figured that the grain would scrub that off. After nine batches with an average of 2lbs. per batch ground the rollers are clean and working fine. DEFINATELY better than the crush I got at Bell's before I bought this. I see that they have bought one of these now. Too bad they don't have a Dewalt to run it

Price Payed: $65.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Very easy to adjust and use
Cons: I only grind three lbs. at a time

 

[menschmaschine]

Overall great product. Grinds 15 lbs of grain in a matter of minutes.
Only suggestion for improvement is to upgrade the screws that you loosen to adjust the roller gap to stainless steel. The aluminum screws can easily lose their head with the slightest bit of over-tightening. Then when you use an easy-out to get the screw shank out, you can break off the tip of the easy-out inside the hole you drilled into the screw shank (despite having plenty of experience using easy-outs) requiring you to disassemble the whole thing and take the aluminum block to a machine shop to get the screw/easy-out tip out of the hole.

Price Payed: $150.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: .
Cons: .

 

[The Pol]

Excellent piece of equipment. Fully adjustable, well built, ready to mill right out of the box. AND it is less costly than the competition, while offering more options.
Price Payed: $125.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Well built, assembled, consistent, ADJUSTABLE, AFFORDABLE
Cons: None...

 

[pintsized]

I got this for my husband's birthday, and he loves it! He's been getting great efficiency with it (probably 80% on up). He usually uses a cordless drill to crush, but he has used the hand crank once when his batteries were dead.
Best birthday present I ever got him! For more info, and a pic of the BC in action, check out my Examiner.com article:
Crush Your Own Grain
Price Payed: $138.00
Recommended? No
Pros: large hopper
hand crank or use drill
Cons: none so far

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

I just got my BC last week and sent 14 pounds of grain through. The crush is way better than the LHBS, and I can do it myself. It's a great little mill. Get one!
Price Payed: $129.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Easy adjustment, good price, good crush
Cons: None so far.

 

[Tmeister]

Well I just got this mill and it seems great. I used it on one batch so far and got a 80% efficiency, which is higher than I usually get. This feels like a sturdy mill and the best thing I like about it is it fits great over a bucket which reduces dust and simplifys the task of milling. I do think this is a steep price for this mill, but the other mills out there are expensive as well. Overall I reccomend it as a good general mill.
Price Payed: $135.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: easy, sturdy.
Cons: expensive.

 

[Starderup]

Not only is the product solid, and can be crushing grain five minutes after receiving it, the people running the company understand their customers. UPS did not handle the box well, and damaged my mill. I sent an email to BC Products letting them know, and filed a claim with UPS. I immediately got emails back from BC indicating they were sending me a new one with a return label for the damaged one.
This is above and beyond what they had to do by a mile.
Personally, I wanted UPS to pay for it, but I got grain to crush, beer to brew, so I accepted their offer.
Two days later, I have a mill that arrived in perfect shape.
If I ever have to buy another grain mill, I'll buy from BC Products. Seeing how sturdy this is built, I doubt that will be necessary.
Thanks, BC!!!!
Price Payed: $132.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Fast, sturdy, included hand crank that I hope to never have to use
Cons: None

 

[GroosBrewz]

This thing is a work horse at a fantastic price. I have never had a problem with it and it not only made my brew day faster but it increased my efficiency as well.. A great product at a great price.
Price Payed: $129.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: No assembly, perfect setting right out of the box. Works fast and beautifully! The best purchase I ever made.
Cons: Careful not to get any drops of moisture on the rollers. They will rust if they get wet.

 

[Pittwitt]

An electric drill makes quick work of 20# of malt; I never put the crank handle on. Now we can brew when the urge strikes and not need to wait for the brew store to open.
Price Payed: $160.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Christmas gift. Ready to use out of the box.
Cons: MDF base is not going to last long in my brew barn and is smaller than my mash tun.

 

[fata2683]

a must have, attach a drill and go to town. I did a 20 gallon batch with some fellow HB's in FL and we crushed 40+ lbs in minutes with this thing. Skip buying the collar and build one yourself, you'll save money and make a larger one.
Price Payed: $130.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: crushes my grain with the quickness
Cons: rubber gromet

 

[Squirrels]

Get this with the 15lb hopper. It works great!
Price Payed: $143.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Easy to use and adjustable roller distance. Perfect if you do BIAB or just like to adjust the crush size. You can use a drill with it. Really if you like buying bulk uncrushed grain this is a good way to do it. I went with the 15lb hopper so I can just fill grind and be done.
Cons: Doesn't grind itself?

 

[Salpino]

No regrets with my purchase. Well-packed from the factory, with shrink wrap covering the hopper to prevent dust/junk soiling the rollers. Instructions are straight forward. I do wish the base was larger, as I mill into an old fermentation bucket that is wider than most generic homebrew buckets.
Price Payed: $137.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Perfect crush on factory settings
Cons: Needs a good dusting straight out of the box.

 

[luke2080]

Rubber grommet to help the slave roller turn broke after 5 seconds - but it is supposed to work without it. However, it didnt.
The whole thing was built too tightly, and the slave roller wouldn't turn. On my first time using it, I had to take it apart to try to widen it. Ended up needing to use it with only half of the base connected, since using the other screw to keep it tight over tightened the rollers.
Have heard terrible things about their customer service - am going through that process now to return this or get this fixed. Will update here with more feedback.
Price Payed: $138.00
Recommended? No
Pros: None
Cons: Rubber Grommet, Not working out of the box, Customer Service, 15 lbs hopper doesn't hold 15 lbs of grain,

 

[opusx11]

awesome mill, easy to use, and can't go wrong for the price considering it came with a base and a hopper!
Price Payed: $130.00
Recommended? No
Pros: very easy to use, excellent quality/assembly, and adjusted correctly at the factory
Cons: none yet!

 

[Violentbrew]

Price Payed: $120.00
Recommended? No
Pros: Good crush, when it works and while it lasts.
Cons: Slave roller will not turn without o-ring. After roughly 300lbs of grain the bronze bushings are wearing heavily resulting in a excess slop and play in the bearing and an uneven crush.

 

[jborho]

have had four years and runs like a champ. Really wish I could automate this thing easily with out reading a million forums and needing an engineering degree.
Price Payed: $120.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: works well
Cons: Wish they made after market stuff, larger hop, pulley system

 

[bobbrewedit]

Saving money by buying base grain in bulk will pay for this mill in no time. I tried to upload a photo but the system seems to have a glitch. There is a photo in my equipment album. The mill comes with a removable hand crank. The crank comes off so you can use a drill to operate it. I use a drill and wouldn't even bother with the crank.
Price Payed: $129.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Adjustable grain crush...two screws and a turn of two graduated knobs. The bottom wooden plate has rubber bumpers that secure it to the top of a 5 gallon bucket.
Cons: I've read that the factory settings will give a good crush, but mine had to he tightened a bit. I only mention this so first time users dont take for granted that its automatically set right.
Synopsis: I love this mill...that said, its the only mill I've owned. I've read other reviews complaining about the rubber bushing that drives the slave roller. The slave roller turns just fine as the grain passes by, with no need of the rubber bushing. The instructions even mention that its not necessary. I've run over 100 lbs through mine and no issues. Saving money by buying base grain in bulk will pay for this mill in no time.

 

[Hawkster]

Product is great, customer service is the worst I have ever experienced. I ended up having to go through PayPal to get my money back as there was no communication from BC Products after numerous emails, no Phone number on their website and worst of all no product delivered after receiving the shipping notice from UPS.
PayPal has an arbitration process which allows correspondence between seller and buyer. This was great and it got Tony's attention at BC Products however, they would never step up and accept accountability for their lack of response to emails and how they made my experience a particularly bad customer experience. Tony chose instead to use the forum to argue and call me a liar? I was very taken aback and simply escalated the claim within PayPal.
PayPal refunded my money however, I'm out return shipping charges
I found a BC at my local home brew store for less than BC's website price including shipping.
Lesson learned for me, do not by directly from BC and patronize your local home brew store as much as possible.
Love the BC product though! Relax and have a Home Brew!!!!!
Price Payed: $0.00

 

[macchiato]

Idiotic construction. The lever is almost round! How are you supposed to use that as a crank when it's almost round? The rollers are almost stuck. The hand crank just slips, and slips no matter how tight you fasten the screw. The only setting allowing the grain to pass is the widest, rendering the crushing utterly useless.
Unable to use it with a drill as well. Rollers are stuck and won't mill.
Based on the many positive reviews here I gather I have gotten a sour lemon, but I really regret this purchase at first glance.
Price Payed: $220.00
Recommended? No
Pros: Sturdy materials
Cons: Doesn't mill
Synopsis: Rubbish

 

[obarnhart]

Price of $127.79 included shipping. Did not ever plan on using thehandle anyway. I do wish the base was slightly larger. I would buy it again.
Price Payed: $128.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: I used it directly out of the box. Worked exactly as advertised.
Cons: Wish the base was a bit larger. Handle could be longer.
Synopsis: The handle issue is not really an issue. I planned on using a drill to turn the rollers anyway. If you used the hand crank on the grain bill I just milled (15 lbs of grain) I would have arms like Popeye in a month. Great product.

 

[hunter_la5]

Used it for the first time at the factory setting, WAY better crush than LHBS. Had a substantial increase in efficiency, made my fly sparge go so much more smoothly, and my Vorlauf cleared super quickly. Awesome tool.
Price Payed: $150.00
Recommended? Yes
Pros: Ready to go out of the box, great crush
Cons: None
Synopsis: Wish I bought this sooner

 

[Stefan0572]

This is a great mill which I have used for years. However I have had to replace the rubber o-rings to get both rollers to spin. Otherwise the grain will stop and I have to use a push rod to get it to "catch". I would recommend using some method to get both rollers to "run" together rather than using an o-ring.