Problem with a barley crusher

[Clanchief]

I brewed yesterday and put around 15 pounds through my barley crusher mill. However, at the end, I noticed that some of it wasn't really milling, and lo and behold, after a hot second of looking, I saw that the rubber banding between the two mill stones had broken. The result was it would send grain through the mill, but not really get it well milled. I really, REALLY don't want to have to send it back for a problem as small as this, so I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for what I could use to replace it. I'll say up front that I'm asking because I'm not the handy of people, and wouldn't really know where to start. However, I'm sure others have had this happen to them at some point, and have come up with a solution.

Thanks.

 

[jhoneycutt]

Can't help you but I have a new one myself. I've only used it once so this could be used for future reference for me. But is that band supposed to stay in one spot mine rolled almost to the middle by the time I was finished crushing?

 

[Yooper]

That black o-ring is designed to fall off. If you tighten the gap a little, the slave roller is supposed to turn by the other roller turning.

I won't bore you with the details, but my barley crusher worked great for about a year, and I've had nothing but trouble with it since (even sending it back twice). That slave roller just "sticks" and you sometimes have to put your hand under the crusher and push it with your hand. I hate mine.

 

[Psych]

I've had my BC for a year and a half now and my black rubber ring fell off (and was consequently mashed without my knowledge) about a month in. No issues since and I've not replaced it.

However, it DID spin and crush better before this. But I never clean my rollers so maybe that's just gunk build-up

 

[Clanchief]

That black o-ring is designed to fall off. If you tighten the gap a little, the slave roller is supposed to turn by the other roller turning.

I won't bore you with the details, but my barley crusher worked great for about a year, and I've had nothing but trouble with it since (even sending it back twice). That slave roller just "sticks" and you sometimes have to put your hand under the crusher and push it with your hand. I hate mine.

That's not good. I actually have it set pretty tightly, at .035, and it snapped and then the second roller wouldn't turn. I'll have to do some testing with it tonight and see if I can figure it out, but that's really frustrating to hear. The first one I got in January wouldn't push grain through at all, so I had to send it back. Now I'm already having trouble with this one. And this was a Christmas gift from my wife, on top of being my most expensive piece of brewing equipment at the moment. Simply replacing it isn't a viable option.

What's kind of maniacally funny about this is that at .035 I found that it was almost too tight yesterday, and I had a hard time getting my grain bed to settle. It almost turned it into flour. I got great efficiency, but also a slightly stuck sparge.

 

[b-boy]

I've had good luck with mine so far. It's about 2 years old.

It does hang-up every now and again, but I just have to reverse my drill and give the hopper a shake. Overall it's worked pretty well.

 

[Xpertskir]

I've had good luck with mine so far. It's about 2 years old.

It does hang-up every now and again, but I just have to reverse my drill and give the hopper a shake. Overall it's worked pretty well.

mine has started to do this and Ive only put ~500 pounds of grain through it.

Ive been careful to take care of it, and I'm hoping I dont regret my decision to pass on the monster mill in favor of it.

 

[RoadKing]

As said, the one roller is passive and if grains are getting through un-milled the gap needs to be tightened. I use .032 and do malt conditioning.
I think the rollers stick because of the weight/amount of the grain in the hopper. I posted THIS awhile ago and besides being able to put 20 LBS. at a time in it, it only lets a small amount of grain to hit the rollers at any time. I may be lucky 'cause I've read other negative reviews but I've never had a problem with mine.

 

[Clanchief]

As said, the one roller is passive and if grains are getting through un-milled the gap needs to be tightened. I use .032 and do malt conditioning.
I think the rollers stick because of the weight/amount of the grain in the hopper. I posted THIS awhile ago and besides being able to put 20 LBS. at a time in it, it only lets a small amount of grain to hit the rollers at any time. I may be lucky 'cause I've read other negative reviews but I've never had a problem with mine.

When it was sticking, it was with only 10 oz. in there. I was milling some Carafa III last, to keep it separated, hoping to put it on top of my mash. The majority of that 15 lbs. that I milled was all 2-row, and it chewed through it without trouble.