First Brew With Bc

[jimmyjack]

Ok so the 15 lb hopper was overkill, as i found out today. My 14.4 cordless wouldnt power that much grain. So I hand cranked her which wasnt to bad. I see what you guys mean though. Ten more brews by cranking will kill me. I went to look at the quality of the crack and spilt about 150g on the floor. That was a bummer but other than that the factory settings cracked it perfect!!! Im stoked with this little dude.

 

[Stuster]

Excellent news jimmyjack. I just ordered a barleycrusher this week, with a 7lb hopper.

So the drill didn't cut it. Any idea if a cheap drill (not cordless) will do it? Hand cranking is a good workout then? :lol:

 

[Darren]

. I went to look at the quality of the crack and spilt about 150g on the floor. That was a bummer but other than that the factory settings cracked it perfect!!! Im stoked with this little dude.

[post="91619"][/post]​

I use a plastic rubbish bin under the mill. Only thing that seems to catch ALL those stray grains.
cheers
Darren

 

[berapnopod]

I have the same setup (BC+14.4 cordless+15lb hopper). The drill does struggle a bit, but I do manage to get all the grains through when I use a high torque setting. After cranking through a few grain bills by hand, I tried *really* hard to make this system work with the drill and managed OK

Berp.

 

[pint of lager]

I bought a cheap corded drill from Bunnings, with variable speed. Does the job well. But after 20kg, the drill is very hot.

 

[T.D.]

I ordered a 15lb BC last Monday - I am expecting it to arrive in the first few days of next week.

I bought a corded hammer drill from Bunnings called "XU1" for $14.49!!! Freakin' bargain! Its variable speed so I can try to regulate it to the recommended 500rpm. I used it to build a little table (which will be the 2nd tier in my makeshift 3 tier setup - Freezer and ground being the other two tiers ) and it worked a treat. It feels really solid, even though its a cheapie.

I will give the hand cranking a go first but I expect I will graduate to the drill pretty quickly.

 

[T.D.]

. I went to look at the quality of the crack and spilt about 150g on the floor. That was a bummer but other than that the factory settings cracked it perfect!!! Im stoked with this little dude.

[post="91619"][/post]​

I use a plastic rubbish bin under the mill. Only thing that seems to catch ALL those stray grains.
cheers
Darren

[post="91624"][/post]​

I'm going to use an old 25L pail to collect my grain. Apparently the BC fits quite nicely on top of one of these. I'll only be cracking <6kg of grain at any one time.

 

[Jase]

TD,

What was the damage for freight to Sydney?

Cheers,
Jase

 

[T.D.]

The full quote for 15lb hopper BC was US$193. That means the shipping is US$60. I picked the exchange rate beautifully - around 0.71 - probably the lowest it has been in months! It worked out to be pretty much bang on $270 Aussies, fully shipped. They reckon only 4-6 days.

 

[jimmyjack]

Yea, I paid about the same, It came really quick and it was very well packaged to boot. I wish every company provided the same service!

 

[sluggerdog]

I tried the cordless drill way but this was not good enough so I went onto the corded version, easy as.

I just mill my grain straight into my mash tun, found this to be the easist way for me.

 

[berapnopod]

I'm going to use an old 25L pail to collect my grain. Apparently the BC fits quite nicely on top of one of these. I'll only be cracking <6kg of grain at any one time.

[post="91634"][/post]​

Just a word of caution...
The mill sitting on a plastic bucket is very top-heavy, espeically with 15lb hopper full up. I once managed to spill half a kilo of grains in this configuration. Now I have the mill sitting between two planks and the bucket sits underneath, but doesn't carry any weight.


Berp.

 

[T.D.]

Thanks for the heads up Berp. I'll take easy the first time and see how it goes.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Good value?

 

[berapnopod]

Good value?

[post="91651"][/post]​

For me its definitely good value. Very sturdy design (except for gravity problems). Good crush.
I find the large hopper very useful so I can just dump all the grains in and chug away.

Berp.

 

[Jazman]

you can just order the bc with the body with out the hopper and bottom plate which i made my self it cost me 90 usd inc delivery to the place in the usa that some i know who bought it back for me

 

[tangent]

these crushers look pretty damn simple
has anyone approached a fitter & turner to see what a local knockoff would cost?
seems the freight is a bigger killer than the currency conversion

 

[NRB]

Just a word of caution...
The mill sitting on a plastic bucket is very top-heavy, espeically with 15lb hopper full up. I once managed to spill half a kilo of grains in this configuration. Now I have the mill sitting between two planks and the bucket sits underneath, but doesn't carry any weight.

I've set mine up on a 20L "pail" and stick my knee on the MDF base whilst I hand crank - it's not been a problem so far and absolutely no way fpr grains to miss the bucket.

 

[Justin]

For those looking for another solution to the drill, I have used a 12V windscreen wiper motor to good effect. I'll try and get some pictures of it in the next day or so.

Yes the drill works but I was pretty disappointed with my bunnings XU1 1/2" hammer drill. They have to run way too fast to have any torque and it is hard work trying to feather the speed via the trigger. For what it's worth my drill started smoking last time I used it. It will not last long.

The wiper motor is ideal. The crush is slow and steady on the slow motor speed (I'd guess 70rpm) but the crush is as good as I've seen come out of the mill. Just plan for the extra 10mins it takes to crush the malt. I power mine with a 12V battery charger from Supercheapauto (~$10), just make sure it has a 10amp fuse. The 5amp ones will blow a fuse every now and then.

Hope it helps.

Cheers, Justin

 

[T.D.]

Hmm, I thought $14.49 for the XU1 was a bit too good to be true! :lol: Not to worry, I'm going to try hand cranking for a while when I get my BC (hopefully today or tomorrow!). No doubt it won't be long until I start wishing it was motorised, and then I might look for some better option than the XU1.

For those who use the XU1, on its lowest speed setting (my one has a little dial on the trigger that enables you to regulate the amount that it can be squeezed in) how many rpms do you think it is doing? I have heard that these mills should be cranked at 500rpms or less.