Price: Used Barley Crusher

[cherbhy]

What's a good price for a used 15 lb. Barley Crusher?

I found on on C-List, but he's asking 140 and I know that you can buy them new for that amount.

He's just had it serviced and had the rollers replaced.

I'm going to make him an offer, but I don't want to insult the man.

 

[BrewCrewKevin]

That seems high... They are 160 brand new...

You won't insult him. It's craigslist. Offer him whatever you think is fair. I would think $100 would be a fair price for a used one.

 

[runkelia]

People are crazy on craigslist.A brand one with 7 lb hopper cost like $130.
Make an offer what you think its worth, and tell him why. Don't worry about insulting him, you're not buying his house.

 

[cherbhy]

People are crazy on craigslist.A brand one with 7 lb hopper cost like $130.
Make an offer what you think its worth, and tell him why. Don't worry about insulting him, you're not buying his house.

lol. Good advice.

 

[acidrain]

1/2 of new is what I would offer... even then it might be a mistake. I own a Barley Crusher, and they are not that good of a product. The reason he sent it in and had it worked on is half the time they don't work.
The rollers are small, and the frame is easily miss-aligned. I wish I would have got a Monster Mill instead.

 

[brewkinger]

Agreed with above. I brewed with a friend for years with a BC and it never seemed to work consistently.
I got a MM for my birthday this year and it works fantastic. He bought one for Xmas.

I think $90-$100 is a good offer. The rollers are new, so that makes it slightly more valuable.

 

[tflew]

Rebel Brewer sells it new for $140 I would probably offer between 70-90

 

[cherbhy]

Thanks for all the replies. He's about an hour from me, so i'm leaning toward an offer of about 75-80 to compensate for the gas to get out there.

1/2 of new is what I would offer... even then it might be a mistake. I own a Barley Crusher, and they are not that good of a product. The reason he sent it in and had it worked on is half the time they don't work.
The rollers are small, and the frame is easily miss-aligned. I wish I would have got a Monster Mill instead.

That's a shame to hear about the quality. I've read a lot of good things about the BC here on HBT, although some ppl have mentioned the misalignment. I've seen nothing but unanimously raving reviews of the Monster Mill.

 

[Hello]

I wouldn't offer nor pay more than $90.

I've had good luck on CL selling and buying but recently anything I sell gets replies such as "will you take xxxx" which is always 50% of my asking price. BTW, I set my price at 25% off retail to start then another $10 lower if it is on CL more than 7 days. When I make an offer, I do 25% minus an additional $20. If they say no, I will raise it but I won't buy from CL if the discount isn't 20% or more.

 

[IslandLizard]

You can get a Monster Mill MM2 for only a little more than $140. For me it became a simple decision.

 

[cherbhy]

I wouldn't offer nor pay more than $90.

I've had good luck on CL selling and buying but recently anything I sell gets replies such as "will you take xxxx" which is always 50% of my asking price. BTW, I set my price at 25% off retail to start then another $10 lower if it is on CL more than 7 days. When I make an offer, I do 25% minus an additional $20. If they say no, I will raise it but I won't buy from CL if the discount isn't 20% or more.

It's nice to hear some craigslist etiquette from someone that frequently uses it!

I am addicted to the Craiglist apps on mobile/tablets, esp. for brewing supplies. It's hard for my to pick up something at the brew store when I know I can probably get it at 50-75% of the cost elsewhere (corny kegs for example). Sorry that was a bit of a tangent.

 

[Hello]

If I saw a barley crusher on CL and I could get it for $90, I would probably do it. Assuming it's the 15lb hopper. But I also think I know what I'm getting into with BC and the customer service. You still have the lifetime warranty, which is nice when you get reach the yahoo.

I definitely do look on CL but timing isn't always perfect and CL posters don't always reply.

 

[cherbhy]

If I saw a barley crusher on CL and I could get it for $90, I would probably do it. Assuming it's the 15lb hopper. But I also think I know what I'm getting into with BC and the customer service. You still have the lifetime warranty, which is nice when you get reach the yahoo.

I definitely do look on CL but timing isn't always perfect and CL posters don't always reply.

This is true, thx.

 

[Jayhem]

Not sure why there is so much hate on the Barley Crusher. I've had mine 2 years and have perfectly crushed over 300 lbs of grain with never a problem, it's consistent and even let 2 other homebrewers use it when they need milling done. I bought mine new with 7 lb hopper for $120.

 

[acidrain]

Not sure why there is so much hate on the Barley Crusher. I've had mine 2 years and have perfectly crushed over 300 lbs of grain with never a problem, it's consistent and even let 2 other homebrewers use it when they need milling done. I bought mine new with 7 lb hopper for $120.

Well... I got mine brand new for Christmas. I noticed that there was an O-ring installed on the drive roller to friction drive the slave roller. I thought that was weird. I checked the gap and went to crush the first batch and and the grain would not feed into the rollers. I looked and saw the o-ring was gone.
I completely disassembled it to to install a new o-ring, and discovered the two frame halves are only aligned with each other by the little sheet metal screws (going through aluminum sheet metal), and the two through-bolts that hold it to wood base. When tightening those two bolts, it's easy to twist the two frames out of alignment causing the non-roller bearings to bind.
Got it all together and got about two cups crushed before the same thing happened.
This time I put two o-rings on, and put them on the slave rollers instead. Got all the way through the crush, but noticed one o-ring was gone. Found it in the spent grains later.
I deduced that the reason the o-ring is there is to help drive the slave roller, otherwise there is not enough friction to draw the grains into the gap... the rollers are too small.
You may have better luck, but do a search and see all the complaints. Not only about the product, but also the lack of service.
Buyer beware.

 

[Jayhem]

Well... I got mine brand new for Christmas. I noticed that there was an O-ring installed on the drive roller to friction drive the slave roller. I thought that was weird. I checked the gap and went to crush the first batch and and the grain would not feed into the rollers. I looked and saw the o-ring was gone.
I completely disassembled it to to install a new o-ring, and discovered the two frame halves are only aligned with each other by the little sheet metal screws (going through aluminum sheet metal), and the two through-bolts that hold it to wood base. When tightening those two bolts, it's easy to twist the two frames out of alignment causing the non-roller bearings to bind.
Got it all together and got about two cups crushed before the same thing happened.
This time I put two o-rings on, and put them on the slave rollers instead. Got all the way through the crush, but noticed one o-ring was gone. Found it in the spent grains later.
I deduced that the reason the o-ring is there is to help drive the slave roller, otherwise there is not enough friction to draw the grains into the gap... the rollers are too small.
You may have better luck, but do a search and see all the complaints. Not only about the product, but also the lack of service.
Buyer beware.

Sorry for your bad luck, maybe I got lucky? Just wanted to point out that the little O-ring on the rollers is NOT supposed to be left in place. it's just there so you can see how the rollers work before putting grain through it. The grain is what drives the slave roller as it is crushed. I actually asked the seller about the O-ring when I first bought it because I knew there was no way it was intended to drive the slave roller and that's what they told me. Took it off and never a problem. You align the rollers with the marks on the adjusters on either end of the roller, just put the marks at the same position and tighten the set screws, piece of cake. ipe:

 

[SavoryChef]

1/2 of new is what I would offer... even then it might be a mistake. I own a Barley Crusher, and they are not that good of a product. The reason he sent it in and had it worked on is half the time they don't work.
The rollers are small, and the frame is easily miss-aligned. I wish I would have got a Monster Mill instead.

This.^^^

I sent my Barley Crusher back to be replaced and bought a monster mill 3. So now I have a "new" Barley Crusher and a used 15# hopper for sale. I think $90- $100 is fair considering the warranty