The Homebrew Review: Barley Crusher Grain Mill

[attyindaburgh]

Glad to hear that customer service has improved. The bc was on my list to buy but when I saw the issues, I had to look elsewhere. Good luck and I hope word gets out about the positive changes.

 

[dave73ok]

I used this mill for about 5 years, pretty much wore it out. Had a few problems along the way, the rollers skipping was definitely the most annoying. I'd tear the thing down, clean/lube it, get half way through a full hopper, and the rollers would slip. Dump out grain, put a handful in, wait for the rollers to catch, then fill up hopper and hope it didn't happen again. It got old fast.
Also, the particle board base doesn't hold up too well either. Good luck trying to get replacement parts from the source. Overall, I would say I got my money's worth out it, though. Hell, the thing paid for itself after a year or so, since it opened me up to buying grain by the sack.
Last year I spent $99 on the Cereal Killer and have been very happy with it.

 

[unionrdr]

I don't know how some of you have so many problems with it? And the base coming apart, rollers sticking, etc? I clean it after every use & don't use a drill. although 7 1/2 pounds was the most I've done in it so far for one batch. I keep it clean & don't horse it, so it's lasted fine for me? At any rate, I tried to keep this one straight forward without writing a novel. Folks on here don't seem to like long, rambling articles/replies, etc. So I tried to come right to the point, feeling that'd be appreciated.

 

[beernutz]

Nothing in this review or the comments that follow makes me regret buying a Maltmill 16 years ago. I believe I have run well over a ton of grain through it since that time and my "maintenance" consists of turning it upside down and giving it a good whack to remove any stray grain right after milling.

 

[broadbill]

@unionrdr Are you seriously saying you aren't aware of all the issues with the BC? There is a multi-page discussion topic right on this forum...
I appreciate your straight forward article, and it certainly has more meat to it that alot of these articles tend to have, but to not address the quality issues with the BC is certainly an omission. I do understand that you have not had such issues personally.

 

[BrewerDon]

In your article you mention the blue Lowes buckets and the orange Home Depot buckets. I just wanted to say that neither of these are food grade plastic. For a little extra money, both Home Depot and Lowes sell food grade buckets. They are usually white.

 

[BCProducts]

Broadbill..I will be the first to admit we have had issues here at B C Products. We had a issue with our customer service for a while which has since been corrected.
We are a family business, Recently i went through an ugly divorce which took a couple years to get completed. The ex wife was working here up till almost the end. This in hindsight was a bad idea. Toward the end i tried to keep distance between the two of us, i was going to do my job and let her do hers. She wasn't. She wasn't responding to emails or letting me know that there was issues to deal with. It took a while to realize what was happening when i did she no longer worked here. I was married for 20 years when this occurred. I lost focus for a while.
I realize personal issues are no excuse in business and not trying to use it as an excuse, just an explanation. Since this time has past i have made many changes, taken on a new role in the company and have been making sure emails and repairs are done on a timely manner.
I care deeply about this business and making a quality mill at an affordable price. I will continue to try to regain the name we had before this happened.
If anyone has any issues with their mill please email me at [email protected]. I will answer your emails in a timely manner and we will get your mill back to running the way it should be working.

 

[masonsjax]

I bought my BC about 6 years ago. It came with a cracked base and a slightly bent shaft. I've been able to somewhat straighten the shaft, but could not get it completely straight so it vibrates like crazy with a drill, but it does get the job done. One time the drive roller bound up solid and wouldn't budge. I had a heck of a time getting it disassembled and cleaned out. Once reassembled it worked well again. Guess I should pull it apart for cleaning more often.
I see a Monster Mill in my future.

 

[broadbill]

@BCProducts Thank you for the explanation, but my comment was directed to unionrdr as feedback for his article and not specifically related toward the quality of BC products. I do not own a mill but plan to in the future. Can you elaborate on the changes that were made that makes it a better product?
I would recommend posting to the thread I referenced as it has many complaints from your customers (you may have done this already). I wish you luck in getting your business back in line.

 

[ghohn]

@Silentdrinker
Agreed and agreed about BC. Terrible support and just an ok product. I'm a Monster Mill man myself.

 

[unionrdr]

I didn't mention the problems folks had with the BC, since the rather lengthy thread covered all that back & forth discussion already. Perhaps I should've included a few examples of the problems people had with it. I keep it clean & never had any bad, broken parts, binding, etc. So you all have my apologies there. I still need a new camera & will see if tax $$ can cover one along with house repairs.

 

[unionrdr]

Boy, how time changes things. Mine finally got gunked up from grain dust, etc absorbing moisture in he moving parts & the free roller stopped spinning. Had to take it apart to scrape & clean with some Starsan, cu-tips & a soft cloth. Lubed it with veggie oil. Lost one of the small lock washers though, & I need to loosen the mounting bolts a tad to free up the active roller a bit. So it's been proven to me that they do eventually need to be disassembled & cleaned/lubricated. Maybe should do a video on that?

 

[Bill]

BeerNutz....Are you still happy with your Maltmill? I've used the Barley Crusher for a couple of years. Experienced the wear out problems described in many of these articles....and the pain of starting a bit of grain, hoping it keeps spinning to the end of the batch, etc. It might be time for a change. Do you have specific advice on your MaltMill? Perhaps a model number?