a question about my new 7 lb. barley crusher

Systems, Gear, & DIY
1

i just got a new 7lb capacity barley crusher.

base has nifty little rubber feet for whatever it sits on.

but, whatever does it sit on?    and where does the crushed barley go (obviously on the floor with nothing underneath it)?

2

I find that the feet are just about perfectly spaced to fit inside a 5 gallon bucket. I set mine on the bucket and the legs kind squeeze into it, holding it in place.

3

Same here…and I hook up my power drill to and grind away.

4

thanks guys.  now i’ll begin the search for a five gallon bucket…

do i need it to be made of PET safe materials?

5

a Homer bucket will be fine.  I use some homer buckets to store my grains (though most of my storage bins are food grade buckets)

stick a bag that your grains come in in the bucket if you’re skirred, but really, its going to be in the bucket maybe an hour?

6

I use one of my old fermentor buckets

7

thanks all!

8

Buckets? Check with your local bakery. They get icing in 4-5 gallon buckets that have a rubber seal in the lid. Just wash it out good & leave it open to void the icing smell. It eventually goes away.  Walmart sells them for a buck.  Just call the bakery & ask them to save you some.

9

Old fermentor bucket here.  Fits like a champ

Fred

10

10 gal igloo works good and holds more grain than a 5 gal bucket

11

I use mine on a Homer bucket.  I line the bucket with a plastic bag, and fill more than bag one when doing 10-gallon batches or some higher-gravity beers.  After mashing, I use the same plastic bags to collect the spent grain.  I take the grain to the local historical society’s farm and they feed it to the goats and chickens.

12

I used to mill into a 5 gal bucket but now I throw my BC right on top of my mash tun (10 gal round cooler) and mill directly into that…it just spans the top and you have to be careful that it doesn’t tip back when you fire up the drill.  I stabilize it with my knee or foot on the wide part of the base to keep it in place.

13

I grind mine into a 5 gal bucket as well. I also found the stock board is big enough to mount a small motor on for motorizing…yeah…I am lazy! Hahaha

14

Deepsouth- how’s the BC working for ya? You’ve had a few months to play with it.

I monkeyed with the adjuster knobs and came up with two settings which I marked with a sharpie. Sometimes the grain-bill composition and/or humidity forces me to back off on the gap otherwise it becomes a real PITA to get the malt to run through the rollers.

The grist is excellent and the husk isn’t destroyed.

15

i’ve actually only brewed once since christmas and i used the default setting it came with.  my effeciency was 69%, so i probably should futz with it.  i’m not too mechanically inclined though…

/shame

16

I’ve gotten around 75% using the factory settings on mine over the last few batches but I’m also conditioning the grain.

17

Conditioning? How is it done?

18

Kai’s got a good description of the process…

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Malt_Conditioning

19

I tried something like that a few times to make the husk stretchier. I agree with Kai as it really isn’t required to make good beer. Got my own brewing approaches so I knows about preferences in certain small things.

20

I just got a Barley Crusher and brewed an APA back to back, first with the default setting, then with it at 0.030". Mash efficiency went from 79% to 87%. I did have a slow sparge with the tighter gap, but I’ve used Kai’s spray-bottle conditioning method since then and had much faster runoff. Running the pump wide open fast, actually.