Crown capper recommendations?

Brewed_Force · Nov 14, 2014

For my next brew I'm considering moving on to glass bottles, as I've found a cheap source locally. Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent crown capper?
I'm after something robust that wont fall apart after a year and I don't want the type that has its own stand. I've seen several twin-lever types on eBay and in Wilkos, but don't know enough to make an informed choice!
Also, are all crown caps created equally?

tubthumper · Nov 14, 2014

i use one of these http://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.uk...od_1814636-Colt-Counter-Top-Capper-Black.html its best one i have found and very robust

fivegoldstars · Nov 14, 2014

Brewed_Force said:
For my next brew I'm considering moving on to glass bottles, as I've found a cheap source locally. Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent crown capper?
I'm after something robust that wont fall apart after a year and I don't want the type that has its own stand. I've seen several twin-lever types on eBay and in Wilkos, but don't know enough to make an informed choice!
Also, are all crown caps created equally?

Can't fault my Wilko one so far. A couple of hundred bottles and counting.

tubthumper · Nov 14, 2014

as for crown caps have had a few duds but they all seem to much the same
just don't leave them in steriliser for too long or they will rust( sterise what you need only)
get a little bottler too as they help a great deal with not putting to much in bottle and having it overflow
and one of those bottle trees are great to use as well helps with drying or dripping out the water after cleaning them well worth the investment
with those 2 items you will see your filing improve

Brewed_Force · Nov 14, 2014

tubthumper said:
as for crown caps have had a few duds but they all seem to much the same
just don't leave them in steriliser for too long or they will rust( sterise what you need only)
get a little bottler too as they help a great deal with not putting to much in bottle and having it overflow
and one of those bottle trees are great to use as well helps with drying or dripping out the water after cleaning them well worth the investment
with those 2 items you will see your filing improve

Yeah, I've hinted to the missus about a bottle tree and hope to get one as a xmas present!
I already have a little bottler, which is so easy to use.
I find bottling quite satisfying, but not the cleaning and sanitising beforehand!

tubthumper · Nov 14, 2014

well bottle tree make sit easy just put them in dishwasher then a big bucket of no rinse and then hand on tree
they even do a bottle washer that fits under tree for even easier cleaning
good luck on santa bringing you the tree

dbg400 · Nov 14, 2014

Since I started bottling last year I've been using a mate's steel twin lever capper like this one - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crown-Cap...ver-Home-Brew-Beer-HIGH-QUALITY-/390936562888 - then the other week I was in Wilkos and thought it was finally time to get my own, and got one of the ubiquitous black plastic cappers with a magnet holder like this one - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Youngs-Tw...own-Caps-Home-Brew-Beer-Bottles-/231017775162

I used that one for the first time tonight, and whilst it is lighter and a little more comfortable to use, it feels much more flimsy and seemed to struggle more with some styles of neck. Then I picked up a Wychwood bottle - which I normally just chuck in the recycle bin - that I hadn't noticed when sanitising them. Gave it a go and BANG - broken glass everywhere

Fortunately it was just the neck, so no beer spilt, but with tiny shards all over I had to discard that one

The issue comes down to the design of the clamp section of the capper. In the metal one in the first link there is a rubber grip (the two red 'C' bits at the bottom of the picture) but the black plastic capper just has a metal plate to do the job. This obviously concentrates the force on a much smaller area, so breakages seem more likely to me.

It was a bit of an impulse buy, but I'll put it down to experience and get the first link type for the next session.

MyQul · Nov 14, 2014

dbg400 said:
Since I started bottling last year I've been using a mate's steel twin lever capper like this one - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crown-Cap...ver-Home-Brew-Beer-HIGH-QUALITY-/390936562888 -

In the blurb it say you can crown cap plastic PET bottles. I've never heard of this anyone had any experience of this? I use coopers 500ml bottles and I wouldn't mind being able to crown cap them if its possible (sorry for the thread hijack)

dbg400 · Nov 14, 2014

You can get PET bottles that are designed for crown capping - I don't think it's possible to crown cap a screw top neck. I bought some brown PET bottles last year - quite a bit cheaper than the Coopers screw cap ones (30p/bottle vs 50p), and with more of a glass bottle look (just a domed base, not the usual studded/dimpled base like the Coopers) . They've worked out very well, but the local supplier I used (as it happens the same one behind that eBay link) says they are out of stock - http://www.home-brew-online.com/equipment-c40/bottles-pet-plastic-500ml-crown-cap-p1137 - though oddly they are in stock on their Amazon outlet at twice the price!

Malkin71 · Nov 15, 2014

Another idea is to get flip top bottles. They can be bought as little as 9.99 for 12.

Just · Nov 17, 2014

tubthumper said:
i use one of these http://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.uk...od_1814636-Colt-Counter-Top-Capper-Black.html its best one i have found and very robust

+1 This is what I use and it's great.

Brewed_Force · Nov 17, 2014

dbg400 said:
Since I started bottling last year I've been using a mate's steel twin lever capper like this one - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crown-Cap...ver-Home-Brew-Beer-HIGH-QUALITY-/390936562888 - then the other week I was in Wilkos and thought it was finally time to get my own, and got one of the ubiquitous black plastic cappers with a magnet holder like this one - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Youngs-Tw...own-Caps-Home-Brew-Beer-Bottles-/231017775162

I used that one for the first time tonight, and whilst it is lighter and a little more comfortable to use, it feels much more flimsy and seemed to struggle more with some styles of neck. Then I picked up a Wychwood bottle - which I normally just chuck in the recycle bin - that I hadn't noticed when sanitising them. Gave it a go and BANG - broken glass everywhere Fortunately it was just the neck, so no beer spilt, but with tiny shards all over I had to discard that one The issue comes down to the design of the clamp section of the capper. In the metal one in the first link there is a rubber grip (the two red 'C' bits at the bottom of the picture) but the black plastic capper just has a metal plate to do the job. This obviously concentrates the force on a much smaller area, so breakages seem more likely to me.

It was a bit of an impulse buy, but I'll put it down to experience and get the first link type for the next session.

Thanks for the heads up, I had decided on the Wilkos capper but now I think I'll buy the other one from eBay.

dbg400 · Nov 17, 2014

Later on I discovered a small shard of glass embedded in my forefinger, as that was closest to the neck of the bottle when it shattered - if I hadn't already decided to swap it that would have done it!

Crystal_Ball · Nov 17, 2014

Brewed_Force said:
Yeah, I've hinted to the missus about a bottle tree and hope to get one as a xmas present!
I already have a little bottler, which is so easy to use.
I find bottling quite satisfying, but not the cleaning and sanitising beforehand!

I recommend the "fast rack" for bottling or just for storing bottles once cleaned before bottling day.

Brewed_Force · Nov 18, 2014

Crystal_Ball said:
I recommend the "fast rack" for bottling or just for storing bottles once cleaned before bottling day.

Fast Rack looks like a great idea, seems to be very difficult to find one in UK though. Plenty on eBay, but shipping cost from USA is a bit too much for me to swallow. Homebrew Online have sold out, so must be getting popular.

Brewed_Force · Nov 18, 2014

dbg400 said:
Later on I discovered a small shard of glass embedded in my forefinger, as that was closest to the neck of the bottle when it shattered - if I hadn't already decided to swap it that would have done it!

Nasty!
Out of interest, do you normally ditch the Wychwood bottles for a particular reason?

dbg400 · Nov 18, 2014

Brewed_Force said:
Nasty!
Out of interest, do you normally ditch the Wychwood bottles for a particular reason?

Neither of the two crown cappers I've tried will work on them, and bottles aren't in short supply - my neighbour provides plenty of empties! I know some people have no issue with them, so some cappers must work.

I did look at bench cappers, but my understanding is that they need to be adjusted for the size of bottle, and I have a real mishmash of sizes!

dbg400 · Nov 18, 2014

And I've now got the other capper - you can see the difference in the business end, though the metal ones are a bit larger and quite a bit heavier.

tubthumper · Nov 19, 2014

the thing with the leaver one i posted link to is it can cap any style of bottle no mater what its neck is like so you don't have to worry about the whitcwood bottle that the twin lever ones wont do

Brewed_Force · Nov 19, 2014

dbg400 said:
And I've now got the other capper - you can see the difference in the business end, though the metal ones are a bit larger and quite a bit heavier.

Thanks for the comparison photos, very informative.
I am definitely getting the metal type. Saw one on eBay for about Â£12, so only slightly dearer than the black one.

Crown capper recommendations?

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