wing capper

beenjammin · 11-09-2007, 07:36 PM

i know wing cappers aren't the best, but i can't afford a better one right now so that's what i'm using....but do wing cappers eventually stop capping well? bottling my beer tonight and i'm a little over half way through but my capper won't make a good seal anymore....if my capper's busted is there any way i could preserve the few remaining bottles until i get a new one? this is very frustrating....any advice appreciated

**Yooper** · 11-09-2007, 07:41 PM

I still have (and use) my original capper so I'm surprised yours is broken already. Are you using the same type of bottles and caps you started with? I know that some bottles are easy to cap and some are impossible. Sam Adams bottles cap easily- Pilner Urquell will not cap for me no matter what I try.

Cookiebaggs · 11-09-2007, 07:57 PM

I'm still using the same wing capper I got with my first brew kit in 1994.

malkore · 11-09-2007, 10:40 PM

some bottles definitely don't like to cap well with a wing capper, as mentioned.

Its possible that abused bottles may 'grind down' a little and not seal well.
its also possible that a really cheap wing capper's made with soft plastic that has stretched a little over time so it doesn't crimp right.

I'd like to get a bench capper cuz my wife does the capping during bottling and hates the wing job.

beenjammin · 11-10-2007, 04:27 AM

the reason i thought it might have worn down or broken is because i was capping bottles that on previous brews were fine. actually learned the pilsner urquell lesson as well...it didn't seem to matter what bottle i tried...i tried corona, harp, and bass and i just couldn't get any of them to seal well...i had 18 12oz bottles that i couldn't cap left, so i wrapped them in plastic wrap...if i get a new capper (or overcome the stubbornness of this one) by tomorrow do you think it will still be able to carbonate well? i used 3/4 cup priming sugar...i'll keep the iffy bottles seperately labeled so i know that whatever may be wrong with is most likely due to this mishap...

homebrewer_99 · 11-10-2007, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beenjammin

the reason i thought it might have worn down or broken is because i was capping bottles that on previous brews were fine. actually learned the pilsner urquell lesson as well...it didn't seem to matter what bottle i tried...i tried corona, harp, and bass and i just couldn't get any of them to seal well...

Those are all imports. They have a (slight) different size bell on the capper. Try loosening (unscrewing) your bell a few turns. Sometimes it'll work better that way.

brewt00l · 11-10-2007, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebrewer_99

Those are all imports. They have a (slight) different size bell on the capper. Try loosening (unscrewing) your bell a few turns. Sometimes it'll work better that way.

And I have found in reverse that if your bell is loose, you may have difficulty capping many domestic/std bottles. I've had that "Doh" moment where after 5 duff caps in a row, I find the bell has loosened up a few turns.

homebrewer_99 · 11-10-2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewt00l

And I have found in reverse that if your bell is loose, you may have difficulty capping many domestic/std bottles. I've had that "Doh" moment where after 5 duff caps in a row, I find the bell has loosened up a few turns.

Exactly....