Bottling and Capping

[D34THSPAWN]

So just did my first 5 gallon batch of Bottling, found out I hate the capper I have and the Bottling wand I have leaks like a seive, anyone have any personal favorites?

[mtsoxfan]

I use a bench capper if I do any bottling. Some here use the same one, Super Agata (I think) and it makes short work out of bottling. Using a helper works wonders too!!

For filling, I hook up my bottling wand directly to the pale spigot using a short piece of tube to connect. Then it's like milking a cow, without all the squeeing, lift a bottle, fill, and pull down when filled.

[teutonic terror]

I use a bench capper if I do any bottling. Some here use the same one, Super Agata (I think) and it makes short work out of bottling. Using a helper works wonders too!!

For filling, I hook up my bottling wand directly to the pale spigot using a short piece of tube to connect. Then it's like milking a cow, without all the squeeing, lift a bottle, fill, and pull down when filled.

This!

I had a wing capper that I used for about 7 months until I started cracking bottle necks and came up with a bunch of under or not carbed beer.
These are the exact steps I took to remedy the problem.
If the wand is leaking where the tip goes into the bottom of the bottle, try taking the tip off and move the spring around. It might not be seated all the way!

[Inkleg]

A bench capper does make it easier, but once you get the feel for a wing capper it's not that bad. There should be a few drips form beer left on the outside of the wand after removing from the bottle, but no leak.
Try reseating the plunger (little black thingy), also check it for an o-ring. It should have one, it's small, black and looks like part of the plunger. Kinda easy to miss, overlook, not be there. The Borg at the old place helped me with that one. If it's leaking from where the wand goes into the spigot, a 2 inch piece of silicone hose works great to connect the two.

[D34THSPAWN]

I do have the tubing between the spigot and wand but if you lift it out of the bottle when you are done filling it will constantly trickle out, it leads to only losing a few drops but i had to move quickly, this is the one without the spring so i will try checking it's seal and everything, maybe I could add a small o ring if it doesn't have one.

The capper seems to work better on some bottles than others as well, do any of the wing cappers work better than others?

[RickBeer]

Never seen one without a spring, how does it seal between bottles?

[Inkleg]

Just went and took this picture. Left to right, Good, Good, Can work but takes finesse.

The capper uses the 2nd lip to grip and apply leverage to seat the cap. The shorter 2nd lip on the far right bottle can make it troublesome. Practice will make it easier. I went through about 24 (practice caps) before the first time I bottled, just to get the feel for it.

Bottle necks.JPG (60.72 KiB) Viewed 958 times

And it sounds like your missing the spring in your wand.

[mtsoxfan]

I also have a redwing capper, never had an issue with it. I just wanted to make the bottling process easier.

If it's leaking, I missed that part, try cleaning it. Run hot water through both directions. This happened to me once, and the hot rinse fixed it.

If you lived closer, I'd give you my wing capper. I think shipping would be more than buying one. They are only about $8.

[Inkleg]

Bottling wand should have all these parts. The o-ring is on the plunger.

Bottle Wand.JPG (67.21 KiB) Viewed 957 times

[John Sand]

Good advice above. I also bottle on/over the open dishwasher door, it catches any leaks. I sanitize a stainless mixing bowl to hang the wand in between bottles. I prime, fill and cap bottles six at a time in six pack carriers. Sometimes my filler drips more, jiggling the tip helps seat it better.

[D34THSPAWN]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew ... iller.html

That is the filler I got with the kit, it is gravity operated, it does not seem to seal properly either time i used it so I think I might spend the 3 bucks and get the spring tip one.

I have the red capper, It worked fine with the bottles like you showed Inkleg but it definitely did not like bottles that had an even shorter collar such as guinness bottles. It liked to go on crooked for some of those, nothing leaked though so hopefully they carb properly.

[RickBeer]

Sometimes my filler drips more, jiggling the tip helps seat it better.

Wow, this is a family site...

[BlackDuck]

I have both the one with the spring and the gravity one Spawn linked too. I like the one with the spring better. It will still leak a few drops, just put a small bucket under it so it doesn't drip on the floor.

[Wings_Fan_In_KC]

So I've been looking at the Super Agata on Amazon but saw some reviews that made me pull up short.

#1: I spent about $39 to purchase the Super Agata bench bottle capper and I already feel like I got cheated. After capping only 10 to 15 bottles, the little magnet that holds the crown caps in place came off never to be found again. Also the small plastic rectangular piece used to adjust the moving unit up and down according to bottle size got badly mangled from the start. This capper does not come with instructions, I cannot find replacement parts anywhere, and each time I tried to use it I ended up grabbing my old Emily capper (which btw costs only $18.00 or so). I definitively do not recommend this product!

#2: The first thing you notice on this abomination of crap is the fact that the domed top of the piston that takes the most pressure and beating when you pull the handle down to cap is made of SOFT PLASTIC. How positively stupid is that? In about a week of use the inner spring piston area became deformed (you guessed it - also soft cheap plastic) which prevents the capping bell from retracting and now I have to manually push the capping bell back up after every cap I put on a bottle. This is one beyond belief piece of junk.

#3: Second batch, 5 gallons - my wife decided to assist me and run the capper. The stupid thing BROKE. The plastic plunger somehow go stuck down, sideways, and the housing cracked. My wife is not exactly a bruiser. This thing is a piece of junk, made of cheap plastic. If you're going to go for an Agata, go for the basic, not the super, at least it doesn't have the stupid auto-adjust. Maybe if you're lucky it won't break. But you'd be better off sticking with a wing capper. That's what I'm doing for now.

#4: Total crap. I was able to cap about 6 bottles before the thing broke on me. The peg that holds the capper in the correct height position is made of soft plastic and it becaame deformed after just a few bottles and now you cannot cap at all with it. I pulled out my red barron capper and finished the job. The red barron is faster and caps better anyway. I would return it, but the cost to return this large item just isn't worth it. I really regret buying this item.

So, is this just a few idiots who can't work a bench capper lipping off or is the Super Agata really that poorly made? I know a lot of you BORG have the Super Agata to....let me hear from you on your impression of these reviews?

Thanks!!

[mtsoxfan]

OK, I can speak of the cheap plastic peg. On my first SA capper, I didn't know how to properly use it, and I recieved no instructions. The plastic piece is made so you know where to stop for height adjustment, not as a stop. If you try to cap, as I did, using it as a stop, it will deform. Let's say the body that does the capping is stopped by the plastic piece, you would slide the body down until it clicks into a hole slot, about 1/8" down. I'm sure that's the proper use, at least I never had the deformed plastic piece issue anymore.
Hope I explained it clearly...

Once I figured that out, I never had an issue in 20+ cases of capping. I would recommend one...