Bottle capping question

[Thirsty Jim]

I recently bought a second hand Superautomatica bottle capper on eBay that appears to be in perfect condition except that there was a crown seal and broken bottle top wedged in the bell.  That was easy enough to remove but not having used one of these before I am wondering if someone can tell me if there should be a rubber washer in the bell ?

I have always used a hand capper and rubber mallet and the hand capper has a rubber washer in the bell, but maybe that is just because of the impact involved.

Also does the broken bottle top and crown seal wedged in the bell indicate a fault ?  Would it mean I need a new bell ?

I still bottle because it is my rationing system.  I find draught beer dangerous as I lose count and never know when to stop.  The extra labor of managing bottles is fair cop for my indulgence. 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

I don't have one of those but the capper device I did use had no rubber in it. Worked fine. 

I doubt the broken bottle top is a fault with the capper, more likely a fault with either the bottle itself or the person using it.  Try capping a few empty bottles and see how it goes.

[Thirsty Jim]

Thanks Otto.  I am very protective of my old school bottles.  I thought I'd ask before putting any at risk for the sake of a washer.  

Inspecting the broken bottle top that was wedged in the capper it seems to have sheared off at the rim  as though the bottle twisted under force.  Maybe the bottle wasn't properly seated when the cap was applied, maybe the capper wasn't bolted down and became unbalanced.  

The hand capper served me well (I must have had it for 40 years !) but I have been bottling later at night and I don't want to disturb others with my hammering. 

 

 

 

[Gus96]

Just had a look at mine, no rubber.

I also bottle for that reason, to easy to just have one more

[Thirsty Jim]

Thanks Gus.  It seems like I am good to go.

I only bottle 750ml bottles, no stubbies.  There are no small glasses in my house.

Bottling has its advantages.  I like to give beer away as presents (but usually in PET bottles).  The other thing I like about bottles is that you can find one in the back of the cupboard that actually had a chance to fully condition  

I love having an abundance of beer and lots of variety.  I generally try to set aside half a dozen or so from each brew and put them in the cupboard so they all get mixed up.  It's like a box of chocolates.   

It reminds me of when I was a student in the old days and we'd have brew parties.  Brewing was pretty popular among my crew and we would all turn up with a brew.  So much beer and so much variety !  We didn't have two bob to rub together but we always had plenty of beer.  

[Otto Von Blotto]

I can't speak for everyone who has kegs but I found the excessive consumption only lasted while it was still new, a novelty. The old "wow that one poured well, I better pour another to make sure it's all still working properly" sort of thing  Once that wore off I just went back to normal. I didn't find it too much different to having a new batch ready to drink that tastes really good, you just want to keep drinking it because it tastes so good.

I've had kegs for a bit over 3 years now and I'd never go back to full time bottling unless I absolutely had to. Kegs are just way more efficient, quick to clean, quick to fill, no worrying about whether it's warm enough to carbonate them etc. I know everyone is different, but beer being in kegs/on tap doesn't magically flick a switch inside my head that increases my consumption (other than that novelty period of course). I drink the same regardless.

I can appreciate the advantage of bottling with regards to variety, though I have seen 6-7-10 tap keg fridges, and giving beers away as presents or whatever. I do brew a number of 25 litre batches which obviously results in a surplus since kegs are only 19 litres. Whenever I get around to getting a capper again I'll probably bottle this small amount on some batches, a couple of six packs per batch would build up a nice little surplus of variety.

Edited November 15, 2018 by Otto Von Blotto

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

You got to be strong when kegging. Agree with the sentiments here. Its too damn easy to pour another one. My rationing system was always putting 2 beers in the fridge before i went to work in the morning. Id finish two then there would only be warm beer. With a keg its always there. Still. Not giving up kegs for anything. Its the best way to have great beer.

[porschemad911]

I definitely get through 6l of beer from my Tap-a-draft in the fridge much faster than the same volume bottled every time. I've had the Tap-a-draft setup for years now, so it's not the novelty, just the ease of use.

Cheers, 

John

[Worthog]

No rubber washer, just the spring loaded plastic centraliser.

By the way, there are 10 reasons to bottle and I've listed them on here before. Mr Otto Von Blotto disagrees, of course.

Cheers

[Thirsty Jim]

Thanks gents.  The capper checks out.  Tested it on a couple of empties.  All good.

There are now 11 reasons to bottle :  I have a bottle capper.  

I 100% agree with the advantages of kegging and I look at those marvelous set ups on the other thread and I want...  but I remain mindful of my weakness and will be bottling for a while yet. 

Every year I consider kegging, every year I inch closer to making the change... then back off and bottle.  

It is just that every time I think about kegging it just kind of mushrooms into this whole industry - not that there is anything wrong with that, it is just that I have been down that road where hobbies turn to obsessions (another weakness of mine)  and I am trying to live more simply in my dotage.

I do have my eye on a neat little 9.5 litre cornie that will fit in the fridge which would give the equivalent of 12 bottles on tap and 18 actual bottles on the shelf - best of both worlds.  I divide my time between my suburban hovel and a beach house down the line and the half cornie is an ideal size for transport.  I  am sure one keg would lead to another. 

Apart from the odd box of PET's the bottle capper is my first capital expense in terms of brewing since I can't remember.  Sometimes I sit on the porch and have a brew and do the maths of my bottle banging plastic brewery - makes me smile .

 

[porschemad911]

James, I like your style

My bench capper was one of the best purchases I made. It also made bottling look so fun that my wife wanted to help out which was great!

Cheers, 

John

[Otto Von Blotto]

5 hours ago, Worthog said:

No rubber washer, just the spring loaded plastic centraliser.

By the way, there are 10 reasons to bottle and I've listed them on here before. Mr Otto Von Blotto disagrees, of course.

Cheers

Well, maybe not with all of them... But enough not to go back to it

[Potatoes]

1 hour ago, porschemad911 said:

James, I like your style

My bench capper was one of the best purchases I made. It also made bottling look so fun that my wife wanted to help out which was great!

Cheers, 

John

If you wrote a book on how to get your wife to help out with home Brew, I’d buy it! 

James I also like your style!

[Thirsty Jim]

+1 on the wife helping.   Maybe we could get Superautomatica to take a fresh look at the lawn mower as well. 

I have used the search engine to try to find the '10 reasons to bottle' without success. I love a list.   Any other clues how I might find it  ?  Thread title maybe ? 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Not sure, I remember it was in a thread discussion but I can't remember the thread title now. It may have been in my kegging thread but I don't think it was.

[Hoppy81]

8 hours ago, James of Bayswater said:

I have used the search engine to try to find the '10 reasons to bottle' without success. I love a list.   Any other clues how I might find it  ?  Thread title maybe ? 

Here you go James  https://community.diybeer.com/topic/12160-to-keg-or-not-to-keg-that-is-the-question/?tab=comments#comment-152929

 

[Thirsty Jim]

Thanks Hoppy.   That was a very entertaining read.  I never realised how many brothers I had.  

They are all good reasons to bottle and there are many good reasons to keg.  I reckon I am more tolerant of bottling because I have learned good bottle management (from bad bottle management) and I don't do stubbies which are twice the work.  

I have never really liked stubbies.  They always seem like half a sandwich to me and those silly bloody Euro 330ml jobs are simply not enough beer.

I actually don't mind bottling.  I generally have a beer while I bottle and invite Neil Young to sing me some songs.  By the time Neil is done so am I.  

I'll get that half cornie one day and that will likely open the door to kegging and I wont look back - but it isn't a road I really need to go down. 

[Otto Von Blotto]

I used to use stubbies only because I didn't want to drink a whole tallie each night. As you say it is more work and probably part of the reason I got sick of bottling. The bottling itself didn't take an eternity, but just the constant cleaning of bottles gave me the shits. I would use them for surplus now though because it's only about a dozen or so instead of 65-70 of them per batch. 

Definitely agree about the 330mL size though, it's also a reason I don't like buying beer much - a lot of the craft beers are in that crappy size now as well. 

[The Captain!!]

5 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

I used to use stubbies only because I didn't want to drink a whole tallie each night. 

I use a those bottle stopper things. The wife likes a king brown of stout but sometimes only a glass. I whack one of these on my the top and sheds good for another couple of days

[Otto Von Blotto]

I thought about that but I got kegs instead

[DonPolo]

I thought I'd add to this conversation rather than start a new one. I just picked up a Superautomatica bottle capper on Gumtree. I had arranged to pick it up while the guy was away and left the money under the mat (honesty method). There were not instructions and I was just wondering if there is anything special l should do or not do in order to avoid smashing any bottles.

My assumption is that I put the bottle on the base and ratchet the bell down until it is resting on the new cap which is placed on the top of the bottle. Then you pull the handle down until you can feel the top crimp onto the bottle.

I was a little worried that if I should have a gap initially it would be too low and I'd run the risk of shattering the bottle as a pulled down on the handle.

Any tips would be gratefully accepted.

I've decided to do more glass bottles because I'm finding results in the PET bottles a bit too variable for my liking. Plus the aesthetics of the bottles are better when you're sharing/giving them away. 

[Shamus O'Sean]

@DonPolo I use a Brigalow capper.  It is height adjustable. 

1. Set the height so the bell is 0.5-1 cm above the cap
2. Pull down the lever
3. Feel the bell start to compact the cap around the bottle top
4. Continue with the pressure on the lever 
5. Mine "clunks" the last half cm into the sealed position 
6. Use good bottles 

Maybe do the first couple on the sink until you get a feel for it.

[DonPolo]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

@DonPolo I use a Brigalow capper.  It is height adjustable. 

1. Set the height so the bell is 0.5-1 cm above the cap
2. Pull down the lever
3. Feel the bell start to compact the cap around the bottle top
4. Continue with the pressure on the lever 
5. Mine "clunks" the last half cm into the sealed position 
6. Use good bottles 

Maybe do the first couple on the sink until you get a feel for it.

Thanks all good suggestions, particularly the one about the sink!

[Otto Von Blotto]

The superautomatica ones are height adjustable too I think. You should be able to move the bell down close to the tops of whatever bottles you're using. 

[DonPolo]

1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

The superautomatica ones are height adjustable too I think. You should be able to move the bell down close to the tops of whatever bottles you're using. 

Yes that is right. I was just wondering how far to bring the mechanism down. It seems that 0.5 to 1cm above the cap could be the right height rather than flush with the cap.