Barley Mill/Crusher

[Hopper5000]

Hey All,

I am thinking about starting to bulk order grains to save $$ and mill at home. I am wondering who uses mills out there and which ones are good? Thanks.

 

[kombat]

I've got a Barley Crusher with the 15 pound hopper, it works great. I haven't even had to adjust the roller spacing - the factory default gives me a perfect crush.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

I have a barley crusher and a set of feeler gauge. It is good, the o-ring breaks like in your third mill tough. I don´t need a new mill but I think I´ll try some other options if I ever buy a new one.

 

[skiingimpy]

Absolutely agree with the barley crusher. If you recirculate, look at malt conditioning (the hbt wiki is really good) to get a more 'precise' crush. Really allows me to get crystal c
Ear wort into the boil kettle.

 

[bknifefight]

I, too, have the Barley Crusher with 15 lb hopper.

I did have to adjust to get good efficiency, but it is super easy.

 

[Rbeckett]

I have a junk Corona mill in a 5 gallon pail and it does a great job. It was pretty cheap at 20 buck delivered and the bucket was free. Is there a better option, sure but why spend the money. Charly Papazian and the other renowned home brewers are using the same thing so why change? For me it is about money and buying ingredients, not tools and equipment....anymore. I already spent the money on a 3 tier and all of the associated stuff to make it work too. So is a high dollar mill in my future, nope i will take 4 more sets of ingredients and call it good enough.
Wheelchair Bob

 

[Rev2010]

I have a Barley Crusher and adjusted it with a credit card to get a .030" mill gap and get a quite consistent 81% efficiency per batch with a few rare exceptions. It's true about the rubber ring that rolls the second roller, it breaks within the first 3 or 4 mills, kinda lame way to move the other roller. That aside though, the grain being pushed through by the main roller moves the other roller anyway and I've seen no difference at all since the rubber ring broke. I really like mine and have no complaints.


Rev.

 

[Pabski]

Just a note on this old tread, in case anyone, like me, stumbles upon it for a search. The o-ring on the barleyu crusher isn't meant to turn the other roller, it's there to get the right gap in the factory and is meant to be removed. That's why they break after a few mills: they aren't meant to stay on.