90 replies to this topic

[HVB]

Nice!  In that second picture I would make the hole in the plywood the same diameter as the opening of the water bottle.  If not you are going to have grain sitting on that "shelf" an not make it into the mill.

[Big Nake]

This thing is a beast. What an unbelievable crush. It will be interesting to see if my efficiency improves.

[Big Nake]

Nice!  In that second picture I would make the hole in the plywood the same diameter as the opening of the water bottle.  If not you are going to have grain sitting on that "shelf" an not make it into the mill.

The original small base is the one that he built and that hole was for a funnel that he used. When I was done I thought I should have opened that up but with the bottle all the way down against that piece, there are just a few kernels sitting on that ledge and I just shook the mill and everything fell into the mill without an issue.

[neddles]

I met with DarkMagneto last night and we had some beers at a local place. He gifted me this 3-roller Crankenstein and I fashioned a base and "funnel" for it and I plan to use it today. I wouldn't call it my finest hour in terms of craftsmanship but I think it's going to work nicely.

 

Woah! Nice guy! You owe this man some beer!

[Big Nake]

Woah! Nice guy! You owe this man some beer!

I paid for beers that night and offered him dollah billz but he wouldn't take it.  He's a good guy.

[zymot]

This thread reminded me that I own a Barley Crusher. I won a gift certificate from a home brew supplier in near Atlanta and used that to fund part of a Barley Crusher. The thing is at least 7-8 years old. I never got it to work with a drill. My LHBS always has a mill for customers to use, and they allowed us to set the gap. I buy my grain per recipe within a week of brewing, a mill was not a must have.

 

Pulled it out, cleaned it up and ran some spare pre-crushed grain through it cranking the handle.It nominally works fine with that marginal test.

 

The last two batches, were crushed with the house mill and seemed to have too much flour/powder. My efficiency has been poor. Not that I am distracted efficiency but I want to have a predictable process I guess I am going to stop off at the LHBS and get a some samples of 2 row, wheat, rye and something else and see if I can get the kind of crush I am looking for.

 

Once that is settles,I can by sacks of base malt and crush my own. I can pick up sacks of grain local, no delivery charge., so the more I brew, the more I save.

[positiveContact]

What do you mean you never got it to work with a drill? If it works with the handle you are literally seconds away from it working with a drill. Remove handle, put drill Chuck on rod, tighten and go.

[zymot]

What do you mean you never got it to work with a drill? If it works with the handle you are literally seconds away from it working with a drill. Remove handle, put drill Chuck on rod, tighten and go.

You are right, it does not make sense.

I do not remember the the details. I know I tried with my 18V lithium ion drill and my 120VAC drill, neither worked. It jammed up or would slip on the shaft or something. It got to the point, I gave up, set it aside and used the LHBS mill.


I do 5 gallon batches. If the handle works, I do not mind cranking 8-16 lbs of grain through it to get a good crush.

[positiveContact]

Sounds like it wasn't feeding. Usually I try to start slow to get the grain moving.

[MyaCullen]

Sounds like it wasn't feeding. Usually I try to start slow to get the grain moving.

open upthe gap a teeeeny bit, IIRC hand cranking means a narrower gap, faster drill = wider gap

[zymot]

If I can get the hand crank to work, I will probably just stick with that. I do not mind a few minutes of manual labor.

Maybe I will change my mind before my next imperial porter.

[positiveContact]

If I can get the hand crank to work, I will probably just stick with that. I do not mind a few minutes of manual labor.

Maybe I will change my mind before my next imperial porter.

 

I once said the same thing

[Big Nake]

Even with this Crankenstein... sometimes it slips and nothing goes through the mill.  I might turn the rollers in reverse, shake or bump the mill a little bit, etc. to get it to catch and start milling again.  With my barley crusher, the issue was far, far worse.  I usually have everything ready to go and my water is heating for the mash while I'm milling and on some batches I thought I was going to have to abort mission because I couldn't get the mill to work.  In three batches with this Crankenstein, I have seen the mill slip a couple times but it catches again within a couple seconds and I'm off and running again.  Milling with a hand crank sucks.

[HVB]

Wait .. you can use a crank with a mill!?!?!  Nope, not in my brewery

[Big Nake]

Wait .. you can use a crank with a mill!?!?!  Nope, not in my brewery

I've done it but I don't really want to do that anymore.

[HVB]

I've done it but I don't really want to do that anymore.

My mill never even came with a handcrank.

[positiveContact]

My mill never even came with a handcrank.

That's how you know it was made for the experienced homebrewer.

[macbrak]

If your barley crusher is slipping it could benefit from a cleaning and "sharpening" the burs. I have to take mine apart every two years or so and clean it well. I then take a triangle file and try to sharpen the burs some. I'm probably just roughing them up but it improves things.

 

I use the lowest speed possible and barely squeeze the trigger. I start the rollers before adding any grain to the hopper.

[Big Nake]

If your barley crusher is slipping it could benefit from a cleaning and "sharpening" the burs. I have to take mine apart every two years or so and clean it well. I then take a triangle file and try to sharpen the burs some. I'm probably just roughing them up but it improves things.

 

I use the lowest speed possible and barely squeeze the trigger. I start the rollers before adding any grain to the hopper.

I cleaned mine pretty often and oiled it up too.  Some here have mentioned that the BC had/has a lifespan and that the rollers and knurls will wear down over time (2000 pounds of grain?) and that seems like what happened to mine.  

[zymot]

Barely crushers come with a “lifetime” warranty. I have no idea how generous or literal Barely Crusher honors the lifetime warranty.

The only thing that could be wrong with the mill is the lubrication is old. I have crushed less than 10 pounds with the device. I never got it to work with a drill. I set it aside and forgot about for the last 7-8 years.

There is an odd little LHBS not far from work. I will pick up some test TR and see what I get.