Aleforge

Recipes 

Is recommended? I noticed there are a few different ones, some only designated by country. Just getting into corking and would love some advice!

Thanks

__________________
PRIMARY - Irish Red
PRIMARY - Apple Bee Cider
PRIMARY - Dunkelweizen
PRIMARY - Orange Blossom Mead

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -- Mahatma Gandhi

summersolstice

Recipes 

Whatever you decide, make sure it's a floor corker. I use this Portuguese Floor Corker ($67.99 at Northern Brewer) and it's worked very well for me. It will handle most bottles but I have to use a can of tuna to place my 375ml bottles on for the needed height and some really tall 705ml hoch (or hock) bottles or magnum bottles won't fit and I have to use my Double Lever Corker - $24.99.

etp777

Recipes 

Here's another vote for the Portugeuse corker. Got mine almost ten years ago now, still going strong. Love it.

Brandon O

Recipes 

You can not go wrong with the portugese floor corker.

It is super accurate, you can dial in cork depth easily and bottle locks in place as soon as you start to pull on the lever.

I actually had a ton of fun corking with this thing, it's a great piece of equipment I would buy if my LHBS didn't lend them out for free.

Aleforge

Recipes 

Thanks guys, so when you use the smaller 375 bottles and you use something to help space it. How then does the unit clamp onto the bottle, or does it not?

__________________
PRIMARY - Irish Red
PRIMARY - Apple Bee Cider
PRIMARY - Dunkelweizen
PRIMARY - Orange Blossom Mead

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -- Mahatma Gandhi

etp777

Recipes 

The floor corker doesn't clamp onto the bottle, just has a strong spring under that platform and pushes mouth of bottle up against the top part. With the shorter bottles you just use a spacer (as SS suggested, a can of tuna works great)

Aleforge

Recipes 

Brandon are you sure its the same style?

__________________
PRIMARY - Irish Red
PRIMARY - Apple Bee Cider
PRIMARY - Dunkelweizen
PRIMARY - Orange Blossom Mead

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -- Mahatma Gandhi

etp777

Recipes 

I can look at mine again tonight, but 99.9% sure it doesn't lock the bottle itself in any way. he could be referring to fact that cork starts to enter bottle and holds it? Or maybe I'm just completely confused.

EdWort

Recipes 

You can't be a floor corker.

Don't for get to soak your corks.

summersolstice

Recipes 

I actually considered using a hockey puck as a spacer, being more aesthetically pleasing and far cooler, but then I compared the prices and quickly decided on the store brand tuna for $.89. I've been using the same can for three years. I'm convinced that the pressure will cause the can to burst one day and spray everything with smelly rotten canned tuna.

As for "locking" in place, it doesn't actually "lock" but it does push the mouth upwards and then the mouth is forced into a U shaped opening to keep it from slipping free and to line it up with the cork, which is very close to locking.