Bottles leaking? Need help.

Okay so I'm getting really irritated tonight at this new bottle problem for me. About 3 months ago, my friend gave me some bottles that he had been saving from an old bar. Some were coors banquet bottles, some bud and bud light ...anyway you get the drift. However, they all appeared to be the same height. So, being the anal pain in the butt I am, I decided to get rid of my hodge podge of different sizes and switch them all to the same size bottle. Now, I am noticing that some bottles have lost pressure and leaked. A few times when I peaked into my fridge to move out some bottles that had conditioned, I noticed a real distinct hop smell and wondered how I could smell them through the bottles? Well, duh... They had leaked. So, now after a day of cleaning and getting rid of all of my old bottles a month ago, I am finding my new batch of bottles may not be all that. So, how do I go about ruling out the bottles that may be my culprit? Anyone know what size and dimensions a bottle should be to be okay?

Maybe a dumb question, but are you sure they aren't twistoff bottles?

I'm not sure about your question about dimensions, but I've had problems with Anchor Brewing Co bottles before. The way I could tell is the feel of the capper action. It was really hard to push the handles down and hard to get the cap to seat properly. If it feels normal and the crown is wrapped around the bottle lip it should be sealed. I'd also check your bottle lips for chips and your cap's gaskets.

What kind of bottle capper are you using? If you're using the kind that you place over the bottle and press two handles down to simultaneously grip and cap the bottle (ie like come in the home brewing kits), then certain bottles will not seal properly.. this has to do with the taper of the bottle neck, and that the capper does not properly grip it...

If you want to be able to cap lots of different shaped necks, then you need a capper that doesn't care.. IOW, a capper that does not rely on grasping the neck.. but rather the kind that presses down on the bottle as it sits on a shelf or platform.. Such cappers push the cap down against the bottom of the bottle and not pull the neck up towards the capper...

Also as the previous poster said, you can't use twist off bottles at all...

Hex23 said:

Maybe a dumb question, but are you sure they aren't twistoff bottles?

I'm not sure about your question about dimensions, but I've had problems with Anchor Brewing Co bottles before. The way I could tell is the feel of the capper action. It was really hard to push the handles down and hard to get the cap to seat properly. If it feels normal and the crown is wrapped around the bottle lip it should be sealed. I'd also check your bottle lips for chips and your cap's gaskets.

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r8rphan said:

What kind of bottle capper are you using? If you're using the kind that you place over the bottle and press two handles down to simultaneously grip and cap the bottle (ie like come in the home brewing kits), then certain bottles will not seal properly.. this has to do with the taper of the bottle neck, and that the capper does not properly grip it...

If you want to be able to cap lots of different shaped necks, then you need a capper that doesn't care.. IOW, a capper that does not rely on grasping the neck.. but rather the kind that presses down on the bottle as it sits on a shelf or platform.. Such cappers push the cap down against the bottom of the bottle and not pull the neck up towards the capper...

Also as the previous poster said, you can't use twist off bottles at all...

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Okay, first one is I'm not sure i know what "feels normal" is because I normally used swing tops but it was the red capper that came with my original kit years ago. I started using these bottles for give aways. but is that capper not a good one? I also have a used colonna capper that I never used but it does push from the bottom of the bottle and not pull-up from the shoulder. So, are you guys saying its my capper and not necessarily the bottles?

Edit: not using any twist offs! Btw

I have the red wing capper and I'd guess it's probably not the best thing out there but I've used mine on a number of different bottles, including a case of old Old Milwaukee returnables, and had no seal problems.

First thing I'd do with the leakers is ensure the seal area of the bottles isn't chipped or anything.

I use the red wing capper and it works fine. If the bottles were from Coors, Bud etc, my guess is they are most likely twist offs and that is why you aren't getting a good seal

I guess I'll have to start with a micrometer and check for obvious differences in the bottles, then make sure no chips/cracks and then switch to the colonna to see next. I'm so pissed because I now feel like ill have another 1 out of 5 bottles in the rest of my batch.

cincydave said:

I use the red wing capper and it works fine. If the bottles were from Coors, Bud etc, my guess is they are most likely twist offs and that is why you aren't getting a good seal

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Again, read the post! They're not frigging twist offs!

They are very old bar returnable bottles. Back when bars used to recycle bottles! Very heavy and thick!

OK, settle down. Missed the edit in your post. didn't realize these were older bottles. Never had a problem with the wing capper, so must be something with the bottles. Maybe try some sam adams or the newer pry offs.

divrguy said:

They are very old bar returnable bottles. Back when bars used to recycle bottles! Very heavy and thick!

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Yup, gotta love'em (assuming you can get them to seal). They are heavy and thick. About half of mine have some real character on the bottles where you know they've been run through the mill many, many times and just keep on going. If only they could talk.

cincydave said:

OK, settle down. Missed the edit in your post. didn't realize these were older bottles. Never had a problem with the wing capper, so must be something with the bottles. Maybe try some sam adams or the newer pry offs.

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Dave, sorry about getting a little excited. I ruined about a six pack in a 5 gallon batch so far.

whoaru99 said:

Yup, gotta love'em (assuming you can get them to seal). They are heavy and thick. About half of mine have some real character on the bottles where you know they've been run through the mill many, many times and just keep on going. If only they could talk.

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I start really going through these thanks

I have a policy that when a bottle refuses to cap properly with my capper or when a bottle doesn't seal I pitch that bottle and replace it. My LHBS sells new bottles by the case, they are all the same height and are made for my kind of capper and since they are indefinitely reusable, the cost per bottle is near zero.

You've already lost a 6 pack of beer worth (at the local store if buying) $10 to $15. That goes a long way toward a case of new bottles.

RM-MN said:

I have a policy that when a bottle refuses to cap properly with my capper or when a bottle doesn't seal I pitch that bottle and replace it. My LHBS sells new bottles by the case, they are all the same height and are made for my kind of capper and since they are indefinitely reusable, the cost per bottle is near zero.

You've already lost a 6 pack of beer worth (at the local store if buying) $10 to $15. That goes a long way toward a case of new bottles.

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I hate dumping beers so i think thats why i was so pissed. I've brewed a couple hundred batches but I've only bottled maybe 100 bottles with this capper. I've always used swing tops and have just started using bombers and regular bottles. This capper is virtually new. Since I'm such a rookie at this kind of bottling I had no idea where to start looking.

You guys have given me some great places to start looking. I opened a beer last night. One of my super hop bombs and it was dead flat. I just went and looked at the bottle I had drying and the top of the rim of the bottle had small little chips in the glass. That gets tossed and I already feel closer now to figuring this out. Since the red capper is like new, isn't I hard to believe that's the culprit with so many brewers using them?

Try giving each one a good firm twist after you cap it. If they are tight they should not be a problem.

OMO

bosco

RM-MN said:

I have a policy that when a bottle refuses to cap properly with my capper or when a bottle doesn't seal I pitch that bottle and replace it. My LHBS sells new bottles by the case, they are all the same height and are made for my kind of capper and since they are indefinitely reusable, the cost per bottle is near zero.

You've already lost a 6 pack of beer worth (at the local store if buying) $10 to $15. That goes a long way toward a case of new bottles.

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Great point. What capper you using?

whoaru99 said:

Yup, gotta love'em (assuming you can get them to seal). They are heavy and thick. About half of mine have some real character on the bottles where you know they've been run through the mill many, many times and just keep on going. If only they could talk.

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The one thing I didn't do was to check all the bottles first so lesson learned here!

divrguy said:

Great point. What capper you using?

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I have a "Red Barron" capper. It seems to cap most of the bottles I've collected. I've managed to break the neck off two bottles and have had 2 more that didn't seal but I've capped well over 1000 bottles with mine. it doesn't really like Corona or Heineken bottles but I cap them anyway. I like the short bottles for certain batches because I don't have to label them, I just know the I've only used the short ones for a certain type of beer and I like the clear Corona bottles to see what the beer looks like. I'm careful to keep those out of the light.