Swing-Top Bottles [and a side question on priming sugar]

I like my swing top bottles. However, I am not sure if I snapped them down wrong, if they're not tight enough, or if I really didn't mix my sugar in well enough. About half of my bottles have no carbonation, about a quarter have mediocre carbonation, and the remaining quarter are perfect. I have not encountered a single bottle that was over carbonated.

I do know that the amount of sugar I used was rather low for the amount of carbonation I wanted, but that doesn't seem to be the problem with the bottles that have no carbonation in them.

Now, I mixed my sugar syrup up and mixed it into my brew by slowly stirring for about two minutes. I then siphoned into the bottles.

However, I have noticed one thing. The bottles that have good carbonation have a ring on the rubber gasket that is symmetrical around the center. The ones that have mediocre or no carbonation have the ring off-center. I assume this means I set them down somewhat crooked. Would this have caused them to lose pressure?

If that is the reason, can I use those gaskets again - with the crease off-center, or should I get new gaskets? Or flip them over and use the other side?

If that is the reason, when I open one with no carbonation, could I drop in a little sugar syrup, put the top back down, and leave it for a few weeks for it to recarb up? They have been refrigerated for about two weeks and bottled for about a month and a half - nearing two months.

Thank you for the help!

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Finally, is there a recommended type of sugar for bottling? Is there anything wrong with using bakers sugar? Or should I buy priming sugar from a brew shop - usually DME, corn sugar, and maltodextrin mixed. And is corn sugar really better than sucrose? Or what is best?

Thanks again.

M-

I had the exact issue with my store bought new flippers. I HATE them and will NEVER use them again. They are just sitting there waiting to go to the recycling.

If you did not get them seated "square" then yes they will not seal. I typically take off the seal and flip it around after every batch. I have yet to have a swing top not carb. On a side note the seals are really cheap for a package of them.

Whiskey said:

If you did not get them seated "square" then yes they will not seal. I typically take off the seal and flip it around after every batch. I have yet to have a swing top not carb. On a side note the seals are really cheap for a package of them.

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Cool. Thanks Whiskey. Square it is. I will pay closer attention next time. First time around I was attaching the swings to the bottles plus closing them (ooo, my fingers). This time I will just be lining them up and snapping them down.

maztec said:

Cool. Thanks Whiskey. Square it is. I will pay closer attention next time. First time around I was attaching the swings to the bottles plus closing them (ooo, my fingers). This time I will just be lining them up and snapping them down.

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I typically soak all the swingers in a bowl of star-san, put the swinger on the bottle and fill. I then rotate the top into position and set the bottle aside. As long as the top and seal are wet with star-san you will be fine for sanitation. Once all of the swing tops and other bottles are filled I double check to make sure the seals are level before seating the swinger. If I have to reseat one I shoot it with star-san and then reseat. I am on my 4th or 5th batch on this set of seals and have just started adding new seals as the bottles are emptied. It seems that flipping the seals after every batch may extend their life a bit.

There is something satisfying about that pop you get when you slide off the swingtop.

Thanks for the good advice Whiskey. I will definitely watch it with the next rounds.

Now, I just wish I could find a bunch of growlers for cheap.