THE BARLEY CRUSHER

[Beer_Tigger]

I'm on 120+ batches on mine and it has recently first started to show signs of slippage.  I find that using my drill on high speed is most likely the culprit.  If I start the crush with a short slow pulse after I put a couple punds of grain in (but not the whole grain bill), the rollers "grab" the grain, then I stop and fill the hopper, then I go at a slower speed.

I'm thinking the high speed "glazes" the grain and rollers.

Will try 120+  more batches with my new technique.

[grathan]

I've got maybe 20 batches total from mine. It performs poorly because the roller diameter is too small.

Curious - how does diameter affect crush?

Thanks,

Mike

You have to envision the surface area that is grabbing the grain. If 2 knurls have the grain in grasp it will pull it down. The likelihood of 2 knurls grasping the husk on a small diameter roll is less likely because of the angle of the arc on the roll that quickly move away from the grain kernel when compared to a larger diameter roll.

This is especially true if the malted barley has lots of plump kernels and you set your gap for a fine crush.

[BILLY BREW]

Careful discussing quantities boys and girls...Elliot Ness might be reading...