Grain Mill Recommendations?

[cdburg]

Does anyone have recommendations for grain mills, other than the Barley Crusher?

I've had it with the passive roller not turning on my Barley Crusher, no matter how many times I take it apart and clean it. I'm trying to work with the Barley Crusher company to get it sorted out, but I've heard of others having the same issue. I'm thinking it might just be a flaw in the product, so it may be time to buy a replacement. Any recommendations?

[Quin]

Can you add an o-ring around the passive roller?

I have a Maltmill that also has a passive roller, but there is an o-ring on that side that provides enough traction so that it is turned by the driven side. There's also a gear drive option if you're really hardcore.

[spiderwrangler]

How much you looking to spend? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K81_Aaxt6BQ&feature=channel

[Beer Addict]

A real simple fix for that problem is to use a piece of cotton twine around the passive roller. If you tie a real small knot and turn you space down small you can crush the knot flat. Once you do that you can crush alot of grain before you ever have to put another piece on. I used this on my own barley crusher and have no problems. There is no loss of grain or crush and it will not bind the roller up.

[PSUHomebrewer]

I think most mills have a passive roller, so even if you went to a mm2 or mm3 you could still have the same issue.
I don't think it's so much of a design flaw that the roller stops. If the roller was "driven" then we would not have intact hulls but just flower. The reason for have a free spinning roller is to cause a speed difference that will help leave the husk intact, but still crush the internals.
The roller stopping could be from having a gap that is slightly to big, the rpm of the drive and what grain you are crushing. Do you see it stop when using a particular type of grain, roasted barley, rye domestic malts, European malts?

[cdburg]

It's not the passive roller itself that's what I would consider the design issue. I know I'm going to find that set up on most malt mills. I the flaw is more related to the size of the rollers and the bearings used. When grain dust builds up in the edges (where the rollers meet the body and bearings), the surface area on the 1.25" x 5" rollers isn't quite enough to overcome the added friction. Even after a thorough cleaning, the passive roller is still having trouble spinning. I'm thinking, perhaps mistakenly, that the Monster Mill's (MM2-2.0 or MM3-2.0) larger rollers (and increased surface area) would make a difference. The Monster Mill also has oil impregnated bushings, which I think might help prevent this situation.

As all Barley Crushers do, mine did come with the O ring initially. According to the instructions, it would fall off (which it did long ago - it's four years old), but the mill would continue to work normally. It did, for a while, but it's no longer a reliable piece of equipment for me. Adding another O ring or piece of string would probably help, but I also think that the mill should work without having to use a band-aid. I'm seeing the passive roller issue with every type of grain I crush - 2 row, pilsner, crystal, munich, vienna, wheat. I'm turning it by hand using the crank, so I don't think it's an issue of using too high an RPM.

I got an email back from the owner of Barley Crusher. I'm going to send the mill body back to him to get the issue resolved. His customer service has always great. I can't fault him for that in any way. He's going to get the mill back to where it needs to be. Once I get it back, we'll see what happens. If the frustration passes, I may keep it. I might also end up giving it to a friend or selling it though and moving on to something a little bigger. I don't want to drop a lot of coin, if it's not needed. I do need to know that my mill is going to work when I need it though.

[EagleDude]

I have the same problem with my barely crusher which is now about 4 years old and used almost twice/month. The O-ring that came on the mill broke off shortly after I got it, but it still worked fine until about 6 months ago. I really like the string idea, so will give that a try and see if that fixes the problem. Other than the last frustrating 6 months when it takes forever to mill grain (nothing happens when the one roller stops), the mill has worked well for me.

[spiderwrangler]

If the roller was "driven" then we would not have intact hulls but just flower. The reason for have a free spinning roller is to cause a speed difference that will help leave the husk intact, but still crush the internals.

I disagree. If both rollers are driven at the same rate, a kernel going through will be pressed from both sides and crushed, leaving the hull intact and not making just 'flour'. If you have one roller stationary and the other spinning, you are MORE likely to shred your hulls. The video I posted is the same exact mill that we have at the shop. We used to have a Barley Crusher, and it worked well until customers got the shaft off center by running the drill too hard.

If you've taken it apart and cleaned it, also check that your stationary roller is free spinning when you re-assemble. Because the bushings are off center in the second roller, if they aren't adjusted correctly it can cause it to bind. This is the main reason that so many of the mills have a stationary roller, so that you can adjust the gap setting. You can play with the knobs to get the gap where you want it, poke the roller with your screwdriver to make sure it spins before tightening the set screws. Of course, if you've already sent it back, nevermind...