Bench Bottle Capper Problems

That stinks. From what I know, (I use a wing capper when I bottle), bench cappers are supposed to be the end all, be all of cappers. I'd double check the size of your caps, and your attachment to the capper to make sure your sized match, (26mm?)

I have a hunch that the female attachment on your capper will work great on stubies, liter bottles, and 16 oz bottles. *JEALOUS .*

 

That happened to me once when using my wing capper, then I realized that the bell section was coming unscrewed, and a quick tightening fixed that problem. A glance at the link that you included makes it look like your capper has the same bell on it, so check it to see if it has come loose.

 

Huh, you've got me scratching my head a bit. I starting writing a different response with some suggestions, but then re-read your original post and saw that you already had a bench capper before this, so my suggestions probably would have just been insulting. So all I got is a +1 to making sure the bell is on tight enough. Mine wasn't quite working right on bottling day once and tightening that fixed it.

 

I've been using that exact capper for 3.5 years now without the problem you are mentioning. The only thing I can think of is that you possibly have the plastic tab set "too high" on the adjustable height metal piece or are not coming down with the arm fully when applying the cap.

The only problem I've had with that capper to date is that the small plastic tabs that you insert into the metal arm wore down and no longer anchor the capper piece. So now I have to hold it in place with one hand while using the other hand to lower the arm and apply the cap.

 

Bringing this back alive. I was bottling yesterday and my capper (same as OP) was not capping right. The cap would be capped slanted and one of the side was not tight. I tried to set the cap on straight and press down straight and use a good amount of force. Is anyone else having this problem or know why my bench capper is doing this?

 

See post #3 above. My other thought is that maybe your magnet inside the bell is on crooked or is missing. That's all I can help with.

 

That's what I thought originally when I started having issue and the bell was little lose. After tightening the crap out of it the problem still persist. I didn't check the magnet. I will check tonight. Thanks for your help!

 

I personally would just get a wing capper. They're cheaper ($15) and they get the job done. The one I have has lasted me about 5 years now.. but I still have an extra one just in case. You never know when the one's gonna crap out on you, and if it's halfway into bottling then you're screwed!

 

I do have a wing capper lukily. Had to bust it out and finsih the job yesterday. I prefer the bench capper because it is a lot easier and faster.

 

I recently bought some caps and they turned out to be on the cheap side. So for my last bottling I rotated the bottle some and then pulled down again. This helped make a better seal. Maybe this would work for you. I use a floor capper, never had a problem knock on wood!

 

Not really sure what "cheap" caps are/. I got mine from Northern Brewer, I think it was $5/6 per 150 caps. I didn't think of rotating the bottle and crimping it again. I will try that next time. Thanks!

 

TT: I just meant it was the cheap caps that drove me to rotating the bottles when capping to get a better deal. The caps I bought from lhbs were very light and when crimped did not appear to be making a good deal. Get what you pay for I guess.

 

just brewed my first two batches and i think im having a similar problem with a vintage capper. beers were nicely carbonated a few weeks after bottling but the carbonation is quickly dropping.. either its my old caps that are 5+ years old or my bench capper is not crimping well.

 

You can try to re-crimp all of them to see if that fixes the gas escape problem. Or you could first confirm if the caps are at fault by immersing a bottle in a bucket of water to see if you get an occasional air bubble coming out. So that you don't have to stand there forever to watch for a bubble, immerse a clear glass in the bucket too, and then allow it to fill with water before turning it upside down and placing it over the bottle. The glass will trap any escaping gas so that you can see it later.

Have you ever had an issue with inconsistent carbonation from improperly mixed priming sugar? That could also be a reason for your lack of carbonation.