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What's the best capper?
I'm wondering whether there's much difference in cappers' ability to seal the bottle or if it's just a convenience thing. I've had uneven carbonation in the same batch and wondered whether my low end capper is part of the problem. It's the basic black two-handle job. I'd happily spend the $15-20 for the red Emily or even $25 or so for a bench model if I thought that would settle the issue.
(I may also begin stirring the primed beer slightly before starting the filling process; maybe it's uneven distribution of the corn sugar solution.)
I bet it is uneven distribution of your priming sugar.
Thanks for the advice, randyfolds.
I'm still curious, though, has anyone out there used two or more different kinds of cappers and found a benefit to one or another?
randyfolds wrote:
"I bet it is uneven distribution of your priming sugar."
That was my first thought. How are you doing your priming sugar? Are you mixing the liquified sugar into the bottling bucket or are you putting the sugar into the bottles? I made the same mistake at first and my result was uneven carbonation. You should be mixing the sugar evenly into your bottling vessel.
I have been using the 2 handle red one that came with my 1st. bucket kit a couple years ago and to this day have never had a bad cap. I make sure that I have it centered well and when the cap is on right I notice a kind of round dimple in the middle of the cap. You can always turn the bottle a little and re-compress to make sure.
Good luck, hope this helps.
Many thanks, Zim. I'm making a corn sugar solution and putting it in the bottling bucket, then adding the wort. At least one book said it should be evenly distributed just with the natural movement of adding the wort. I'm not so sure, so I guess I'll risk a gentle stir before filling bottles. The red capper sounds like it might be worth the small investment. I often mangle 2-3 caps per bottling session.
When adding my corn sugar or DME and water solution to my bottling bucket I do so in 3 additions so I know it gets dispersed well. FIrst when the bucket is empty, again when the bucket is 1/3 full and then finally when its 2/3 full. As for the cappers, I have a bench style capper and it works well for me. It has four holes that so it can be screwed down to a table or bench which allows for quick, one hand capping.
I think the main difference is what types of bottles you can cap. The butterfly one only caps a specific type, while the bench capper can cap any rolled rim bottle. It might be easier to acquire bottles from friends with the bench style, but getting bottles is never much trouble now, is it? What is the price difference in the two? That is probably the biggest factor to consider.
Never thought of the bottle type's " DUH".
I use empty 16 oz. brown glass returnables. I get them el-cheapo from my local beer distributor for the return fee. They work out really well, you just have to take the time to clean them thoroughly when you first get them. Sterilize as usual then.
If they're twist off bottles you might not be getting a good seal when capping. Use non twist off. I also add my priming sugar to water, boil it 5 minutes and add to carboy while i am transfering the beer into carboy. Never had a carbonation problem unless it's been the whole batch from using too little sugar.
I use a red handled capper.
DC
I put my priming sugar right into my secondary, afer it is in solution. I put the pot right into the wort after I sanitize the outside, then I stir it slowly 100 times. I have a spigot on my secondary, so I just throw a bottling hose onto it. What ive noticed is it's not always the priming sugar, somtimes (especially in making pilsners). There is not enough yeast to prime the bottles evenly. Sure they will all prime eventually, but some are ready in two weeks, and some are ready in a month. I started doing this,(evenly distributing the yeast as I stir my priming sugar in the secondary) and I havn't had a problem. The yeast settles on the bottom, and the beer is just as clear.
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