Barley Crusher Blues

[BigAl]

My Barley Crusher must be about 4 years old now. Im up to mash #53 (tonight ) with it, these days crushing 20kg per batch, but for the most part only ~10kg so its done well less than 1 tonne. It is driven by a wheelchair motor (courtesy of Doogiechap) which spins at ~150rpm.

When i first got it it was great, it had an o-ring on one of the rollers to drive the second roller, though this o-ring probably lasted one crush before it ripped apart. I found that even without it, it still crushed well and had no problems pulling grain into the rollers even on a very fine crush.

Over time it has begun to stall mid crush, with the roller spinning but grain not being pulled through. I assume its probably the smoothing of the rollers. I would have to constantly sweep between the rollers to try and get it crushing again. Increasing the roller width helps, but it is at the expense of mash efficiency.
Wetting the grain also helps but im not prepared to leave my grain partially wet overnight as i often do the crush the day before. Last night i had to constantly prod the rollers to get the grain crushing again, so a 15 minute relaxing crushing job with beer in hand took more like 1 1/2 hours, :angry:

My question is for the Barley Crusher owners out there.
Are you experiencing the same longevity issues?
Have you managed to come up with any solution to drive the second roller that doesnt clap out after 1 crush?
Can the knurled rollers be re-sharpened so it pull grain in like it used to?
Any other ideas?

Cheers

 

[Doogiechap]

G'day Al,
The BC has a very aggressive knurl (perhaps to compensate for the small diameter roller). I don't know if you could successfully re-knurl the idle roller unless the knurler used was an identical pitch you would probably have to get the roller turned down and then re-knurled. This in turn would reduce the diameter and potentially cause more stalling problems. It may be worth while chatting to Roy at TWOC about spare parts (unless you know someone who could turn up another one in exchange for some well crafted brews ).
Good luck bloke !
Cheers
Doug

 

[johnno]

Don't they also offer a lifetime warranty?

Might be worth contacting them.

cheers
johnno

 

[Simon W]

Heya Al, I don't have one, but I was reading a thread about this problem not long ago. Some people were like you, O-ring gone during first crush, others still have the original O-ring.

I've seen the BC at Roy's but never had a real good look at it, does the O-ring have to drive the knurl on the opposite roller? wouldn't help matters much.
A new O-ring might get ya going again and the rounded-off knurl might not kill the O-ring as quickly.

If Roy hasn't got them, try Repco for new O-rings, take a roller with you. Don't let them try to sell you a whole kit! They do sell them individually although they sting ya. ($2 each!)

Simo

 

[///]

We love our Barley Crusher so much we use it for our brewery - aka over 10 ton thru it and climbing.

The o-ring is not necessary and I found that my roller did stick once and only from being pretty bunged up with dust. So give it a clean and maybe a bit of oil in the scinted bush.

We also crush at the widest gap which saw our efficiency go up. We follow good mash practice, we float our mash and run-off slow - at least 90 mins.

Scotty

 

[big d]

I would pretty much agree with 3 slashes here Al.My BC occasionaly will stall on the crush but a prod and poke gets it going again.Strip it down wipe the ends clean and also the bushes and coat again with a very light oil such as a sewing machine oil.Damn grain dust gets everywhere.This should see you crushing again with ease.

Cheers
Big D

 

[Tony M]

Al,
Mine is not a Barley Crusher but i drive my idle roller very successfully with a bit of bookbinding (cloth) tape. I had previously tried PVC tape but it just squished out.

 

[BigAl]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I did change the o-ring a few times but changing it every crush once it rips apart is a pain to pull to apart and take off my frame.
I might try the cloth tape idea Yony, where do you get it from? Bunnings?

The knurling used to be very sharp on it when brand new but its now relatively smooth. I see some mill manufacturers now offer case hardend rollers.

I'll try cleaning the bearings and re-oiling see if that helps.

Cheers.

 

[pint of lager]

The barley crusher here has seen about 800kg of malt.

The o'ring vanished about crush number 5.

The knurls are alot smoother these days.

Depending on the variety of grain, you may need to widen the gap a little. Some varieties have bigger grains.

The larger the variety, the more inclined is the grain to sit above the driven roller and not be drawn down.

These days, I find that I need to force a few grains down between the driven and lazy roller to get a crush to start, otherwise, the driven roller spins away happily and the grain sits above it.

Roller speed can be a factor, you want a very slow start.

Also if the lazy roller bearings are bound up by grain dust, it is harder to get everything to spin. Lubricate the lazy roller bearing, get that roller freely spinning, then load 500gms into the hopper, make sure a few grains are forced down between the rollers and start up. Then fill the hopper.

 

[BrissyBrew]

Seems the o-ring solution has a short lifespan, I have been playing around with o-rings on the mashmaster mill, but still not statisfied. I just think something that lasts 5 crushes is not the way to go. The o-rings do cop a flogging in the process.
Currently investigating gearing them.

 

[big d]

Only trouble with gearing is that if your grain has a hidden stone or the like then it could get pulled through and has the potential to damage the knurl.

Cheers
Big D

 

[BrissyBrew]

Only trouble with gearing is that if your grain has a hidden stone or the like then it could get pulled through and has the potential to damage the knurl.

Cheers
Big D

hi Big D
The knurl on my rollers is very fine, not as aggressive (or prone to damage), if I geared the rollers I could probably get away with smooth rollers for the most gap settings except for the some of th tightest settings (which are really down towards the flour end of the spectrum for malt)

 

[Asher]

How about this for an idea.

At one end of the rollers grind a series of quite agresive slots in both rollers. Block off feed from this end of the chute slightly also. During slipping the driven roller continues to turn and some grain will bounce down the roller to the section with the slots, get caught there and pull through driving the second roller in the process (in a similar manner as the o-ring would). Obviously this small amount of grain would not get crushed properly but it should only be a small amount of the total crush.

Asher for now

 

[BigAl]

Big D, If the gearing is on the outside of the mill, then there should be any problems with rock through the gear teeth.

Yesterday i stripped down the Barley crusher, cleaned and re-oiled the shafts/bearing and put another o-ring in it. Will report back on how it goes. , the o-ring should at least give me a crush or two of painless milling.

 

[Simon W]

Al, I think BigD was refering to the stone getting drawn into the rollers and damaging them, not the gears.

My old homemade mill had an external chain drive and I got a few rocks now and then that just sat there in the 'V' between the rollers(no knurling), but eventually one got caught and stripped the chain gears where they were keyed onto the shafts. My motor is way oversized and has massive torque so there was no chance of stalling it, therefore something had to give.
Toyed with the idea of an adjustable friction/slipper clutch on the input, but decided to build a new mill instead.

My new mill(not yet finished) has two O-rings. The O-rings will never see the knurl or the grain, so hopefully they will survive.

 

[Tony M]

Mine does rocks!
and you can see where I put the tape

 

[devo]

I just purchased a barely crusher last week and found that the O ring made it through the first crush OK.



I may just need to expand the hopper a little cause I tend to do 10kg recipes.

 

[DJR]

Devo

Go down to Bunnings, purchase a plastic bucket for 80c, cut the bottom out and take the handle off, stick it into the top of the hopper, that way you can fit a lot more in without a lot of hassle

My O-ring has been deflowered since the first crush, i haven't found a problem by not using it. 0.82mm gap setting on mine, a little down from the factory.

 

[warrenlw63]

I just purchased a barely crusher last week and found that the O ring made it through the first crush OK.


I may just need to expand the hopper a little cause I tend to do 10kg recipes.

Corflute Mr. Tidy Garage. Either that or lower the OG on yer brews.

Warren -

 

[pint of lager]

Devo, I also use the barley crusher to do 10kg crushes.

The volume of the crushed grain takes up a bit more than a tall 20 litre bucket, so have to change catching buckets part way through.

Didn't worry about changing the hopper, just refill it a few times during the crush.