just purchased barley crusher...

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tommyguner03

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and well im having a hell of a time to get this to go clockwise.. ive tired shaking checked all the screws.. tried two pounds and nothing wouldnt go clockwise. i also tried with drill and hand and both seem to not work.. anyone have any ideas? should i just return it?
 
Is the roller stuck when you try to spin it using the crank shaft? Can you reach in and spin the roller with your fingers or is it not moving at all?
 
I vote return it. Just because the threads here that spell out reliability issues and poor customer service. Get a monster mill and never worry about milling again.
 
Is the roller stuck when you try to spin it using the crank shaft? Can you reach in and spin the roller with your fingers or is it not moving at all?

With no grain in hopper everything works but once I put grain in hopper nothing happens in clockwise
 
With no grain in hopper everything works but once I put grain in hopper nothing happens in clockwise

Does the roller spin in place without grinding? I had a barley crusher that did that and never figured out why. Other people had the same problem but no one had an answer. You have a defective product whatever the problem is. You deserve a refund or replacement and it would probably just be easier to pursue that route. Sorry I couldn't be of anymore help
 
With no grain in hopper everything works but once I put grain in hopper nothing happens in clockwise

Are you using a drill? If so, what kind. a cordless drill won't mill grain on my monster mill with my gap setting. A cheap corded one powers through it.
 
its an old drill and that could be the problem. which it most likely is. im still confused on why it wont work with the hand crank. any idea on what drill to get?
 
a 22 dollar Black and Decker 6 amp corded drill from wal mart is all I use on the barley crusher. Plows through with ease.
 
My 18v Rockwell from Menards easily chews through all grain types including Carapils and the tougher crystals.

What is your gap setting at? Mine is right around .030". If you don't have one, pick up a cheap feeler gauge set and measure your gap on both sides.

The factory setting on BCs is supposed to be .032" but that can be off.
 
I have a kobel? 9amp cordless.. And maybe I have the gears to close? I don't recall what the gap is at I'll measure when I'm home..
 
When you try to turn the crank by hand, does the handle turn but not the roller? First time I tried using mine, I didn't realize that there is a special notch where the handle connects to the roller that the screw has to be in. I was cranking and cranking away, but the handle was just spinning on the roller. Make sure the handle is connected properly if that is the issue.
 
You explaination is a bit confusing.
Can you confirm I understand what you are saying:
1) Drive roller will spin (forwards/backwards) with no hopper in place
2) Drive roller will not spin forwards with hopper in place (either by hand or drill)
4) Drive roller will spin backwards with hopper in place (either by hand or drill)
3) Idle roller doesn't spin in either case (?)

Do you have any pictures of the setup? It sounds like it is out of square and possibly not fitted up tight. Then when the weight of the hooper is placed on it the frame is flexing and the rollers (posiibly idle roller only) binding up.
 
Got it to work!! Took a little adjustment. And the drill doesn't work so I had to hand crank 5lbs of Munich ..hopefully I didn't over crush..you be the judge

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Looks like a good crush to me.

My Barley Crusher slips sometimes, by that I mean the second roller stops moving while the drive roller just spins but no grain gets pulled through the gap. Tightening the screws on the sides seems to fix the problem.
 
Glad you got it adjusted.
You will be the only one who can determine too fine a crush. If you get a stuck sparge, it is too fine. As fine as you can get without shredding the hulls too much and no sparge problems is the aim.
 
not sure what the issue was but i am glad its working .. now i just need to get a new drill then i should be all set .. cranking by hand was a pain the bucket was dancing all over the place
 
Seems like this thread is old enough for me to jack now. I just got my barley crusher, do people really mill a 1/2 pound of grain between use? Seems kinda wasteful. I am getting into AG brewing now and plan to continue brewing every 4-5 weeks. Obviously I will use the dry paint brush and a few drops of oil to keep it clean and lubed up.
Thanks in advance.
 
Seems like this thread is old enough for me to jack now. I just got my barley crusher, do people really mill a 1/2 pound of grain between use? Seems kinda wasteful. I am getting into AG brewing now and plan to continue brewing every 4-5 weeks. Obviously I will use the dry paint brush and a few drops of oil to keep it clean and lubed up.
Thanks in advance.

What? No.

I've had mine for 1.5 years and have done nothing to it buy crush grain when needed. Maintenance is for suckers.
 
Seems like this thread is old enough for me to jack now. I just got my barley crusher, do people really mill a 1/2 pound of grain between use? Seems kinda wasteful. I am getting into AG brewing now and plan to continue brewing every 4-5 weeks. Obviously I will use the dry paint brush and a few drops of oil to keep it clean and lubed up.
Thanks in advance.

from what i read and from the directions you are supposed to run at least a pound threw before using. and toss in garbage.. you dont want metal shavings in your beer..
 
thanks tommy. I guess I will need another trip back to the lhbs. It would be so much better if they just explained that in the instructions instead of just saying to do mill a 1/2 pound of grain with no reasoning.
 
Use at least a half-inch drill. In my experience, a 3/8 inch corded drill heats up quite a bit when grinding 9 lbs. My old 1/2" Milwaukee D-handle does not even notice however much grain goes through it. Or find a scrap 1/2hp motor and a coupla pulleys.
 
Just used my new Barley Crusher on Friday night: LOVE IT ! ! Beats my Phil Mill by miles and miles.
 
thanks tommy. I guess I will need another trip back to the lhbs. It would be so much better if they just explained that in the instructions instead of just saying to do mill a 1/2 pound of grain with no reasoning.

I would not bother making another trip to your LHBS. The idea is just to mill some sacrificial grain prior to human consumption. You could put a bit of rice, oat meal or corn flakes through it as well.
 
You could put a bit of rice, oat meal or corn flakes through it as well.

That's exactly what I did, a lil mixture of both so the wifey wouldn't say anything, and even used real corn kernels just to see what it would do..dang I was impressed. My cordless 12v drill works, but it has to be really charged up good, I handcranked the last few pounds, but didn't see a difference between the 2. Thinking of investing in a corded drill, but the hand crank wasn't bad once you get into a rythm.

I also have a Nylon and SS wire brushes that I use to sweep off.
 
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