when bottling.. use the hot glue gun.. love the hot glue gun..

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oinyo

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I have noticed that after a few batches i was getting less then perfect carbonation.

besides the hoegaarden bottles I never could get a perfect seal so headed out to the home hardware shop and picked up a high heat hot glue gun with a refill pack of 24 sticks.

During my last bottling batch I would clamp the top down then sit the bottles to the side. next i would plug in my hot glue gun. switch it to high heat and wait for the glue to start to come out of the end.

next i would glue the entire lid on by squeezing glue into the space between the lid and the glass making a nice air proof lid.

Man did this work. Every bottle now has high carb with a beautiful huge head and a sweet taste that only a good carb can get you.

I was also concerned when I used a bottle opener to open the bottle that the glue would go in.. nope the glue just peals off like a orange and you can hear a nice hiss when you open the bottle.

Best thing is since the glue never touches the inside of the bottle but only is treated as a extra sealer there is no worries of any contamination ( yeah like heating non toxic glue to 180 will not kill everything and anything on it lol )

I HIGHLY recommend everyone do this if you notice semi flat beer with no head :) even if you want to just test it on 1 bottle in your next batch you will see a huge diff as I did :D


http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50265789/Cordless_Hot_Glue_Gun.jpg
 
If you are not getting a proper seal, I would suggest looking at three things:

1. Are you using European bottles that may have a different crown geometry?
2. Are you using European or otherwise strange caps?
3. Are you using a capper that is appropriate for your bottle cap selection?

You should not need any extra seal after capping. That indicates you are not getting a proper seal, and while your glue trick may work, a proper cap is a much better solution.

Good ingenuity though :D
 
I use the appropriate amount of priming sugar and allow my bottles to condition naturally at around 70 degrees for two weeks and I've never had a problem with the seal between a cap and a bottle. Ever. And I was always able to track a carbonation problem to something in my technique (impatience, under-priming, etc)

If you are having a consistent problem with carbonation, I'd bet that you're problem is either with your capper, or else perhaps a bad batch of caps. Fixing that will be a lot more beneficial than spending the extra time to fix a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place...
 
I have been using multiple caps on multiple bottle types. the problem is that red capping thing does not seal tightly enough. With hoegaarden where it has a ridge deep down i can clamp nice and hard to get the seal but with others I get some carb. Just not enough where when you open the bottle you see bubbles come up like a pop.

I was not able to make a 2 inch guiness head until i started this method :p
 
Man, you have to work on your capping technique or get a capper that doesn't stink to high heaven. You shouldn't need anything to help your seal.


TL
 
Poor guy comes in thinking he has teh next big trick in Homebrewing only do be shot down. You guys should be ashamed! :D

Help meeeeeeeeeeee lol :p

What bottle caper would you recommend? i use this billy.

http://www.homebrewery.com/images/2-handle-capper.jpg

I use this and get perfectly good caps. You maybe not be pressing hard enough. Most bottles you should be able to see the middle of the circle kind of dented down. It might feel like you're going to break the bottle but it won't. Either way, you're just not crimping a good seal. Sorry. What brand caps are you using?
 
Thats the one I use and I cannot understand how or why you are having an issue. I use Sam Adams and Budweiser American Ale bottles exclusively. Are you using twist off bottles by chance????
 
Help meeeeeeeeeeee lol :p

What bottle caper would you recommend? i use this billy.

http://www.homebrewery.com/images/2-handle-capper.jpg

I use the exact same capper with leftover Brewers Best caps from a kit and have never had a problem. I use mostly american pry-offs like Sam Adams, DFH, etc and they work great. On most of them I get a flat dimple in the center of the caps. You may not be crimping hard enough...just a thought ;)
 
Hoegarden bottle have a different lip than US bottles. Try getting a different batch of bottles you will see a dramatic difference.
 
My thought is that if you're getting a dimple in the center - you're capping TOO hard & twisting the cap out of shape. By bottoming out the center - you're pulling up on the edges & weakening the seal.

I've never seen a commercial bottle that had a dented center. If a dented center made a better seal, then I think all commercial bottle caps would have a dented center.

I'd bet the OP has dented caps also - because of the statement
With hoegaarden where it has a ridge deep down i can clamp nice and hard to get the seal but with others I get some carb. Just not enough where when you open the bottle you see bubbles come up like a pop.
 
I love my bench capper. After helping a friend bottle once, I knew I never wanted one of those POS things. The guy at the LHBS swapped out the wing capper in the kit I bought for a bench capper. It cost $20 more, but worth every penny. Between the bottle tree, vinator and bench capper, I do not even mind bottling.
 
I used that same red capper for the first 5 or 6 batches I brewed. Haven't yet come upon a bottle that wasn't carbed. And my bottles are 10 cent returnables that I buy outa' the back room at my LHBS, so I know I've tried about a gazillion different brand bottles...

...That aside, my bench capper is in the mail...
 
You could also bedazzle your bottles with jewels and other shiny stuff!

LMAO. I see infomercials in your future. Can you wear a headset on one ear and say things like "Shamwow! It was made by the Germans. Everything made by the Germans is good." and "You're gonna love my nuts?" If so, there are plenty of riches in your future. :D
 
You better patent that before Martha Stewart jumps on it. You might as well just dip the neck and cap in this:

plastidip300-786251.jpg
 
+1 on the capper being the culprit (although I do appreciate the trick with the glue gun!)

Although I have successfully used a wing capper, my bench capper does well, especially if the bottles are all the same height. I'd recommend you try one of those. The right cap and a good capper should always give a good seal.
 
You better patent that before Martha Stewart jumps on it. You might as well just dip the neck and cap in this:

plastidip300-786251.jpg


:off: Anybody ever tried applying this stuff to the bottom of a glass carboy? Seems like it would be a good way to help insure it doesn't crack or chip if you accidentally set it down too hard or something. Thoughts?
 
Or you could set your carboy on carpet, or a towel, or a pad of some sort. Or wrap the whole thing in newspaper and duct tape. Or, ferment in a closet, and buy a used mattress for the floor!

On a serious note, it seems like most glass carboy accidents occur from dropping or banging the sides... neither of which would be helped by a plastic bottom coating. It couldn't hurt, but it just seems like a waste of money to me, but that's just one man's opinion. Cheers.
 
:off: Anybody ever tried applying this stuff to the bottom of a glass carboy? Seems like it would be a good way to help insure it doesn't crack or chip if you accidentally set it down too hard or something. Thoughts?

It's generally too thin to really absorb much shock. Dunno how well it would stick to glass in the first place unless you prep'd the surface...
 
If i had that Plasti-Dip in my possession everything in my house would have a plactic coating on it, not for functional purposes, but out of sheer boredom.

That stuff looks fun
 
Are you boiling your caps for a long time? That could cause the seal to not be as good. I use sanitizer on my caps.

Also commercial caps don't have a ring in the center since they use something similar to a bench capper (though bigger, badder and more expensive), nothing like our hand cappers, so... no ring.
 
Sounds like your capper is broken or you aren't using it right. That red one is the same one everyone uses and I've never heard of anyone having a problem sealing all different kinds of bottles. I probably have 25 different kinds of bottles and they all work just fine.
 
It's generally too thin to really absorb much shock. Dunno how well it would stick to glass in the first place unless you prep'd the surface...

Too true, but it might make the breakage a bit less explosive. I wonder if it would be worth it to wrap some tape around a carboy before carrying around. Oh well, the milk crate thing is a good idea too.
 
Bedazzler FTW!!!

Plus we are up to post #29 so +27 for faulty capper.

(And to go against the tidal wave I prefer my lowly wing capper because I can line up a dozen filled bottles and just jump the capper from one to the next and seal. Takes me 5 seconds per bottle or one minute for the whole 12.)

The only problem with my method is that there is no way to adhere any rhinestones or other nifty bling.

Finally to complete my 'let's offend everyone' post. I am brand new to kegging and have never had the chance to say this before: You should just try kegging your beer. No worries about lameass cappers or glue guns . . . Ok JK

Addendum: That Plasti-dip stuff reminds me of when I got my Dremel. I went around the house looking for stuff that in one way or the other neeeded to Dremeled. The dog wouldn't get near me for a week.
 
Get yourself another capper. Use the original as a standby. I have not had any problem with getting a good seal with the Emily, but recently found that a stand-by capper can be necessary. Was merrily capping along, when the capper broke. Was able to fix it but a good 45 minutes went by with my brew in the bottling bucket. I was sweating that I wouldn't be able to finish the batch, and I had only just started. I will obtain another capper. Another good stand-by is a second thermometer. I was heating some 150F sparge water and the therm was reading 120 but then it started to boil.
 
I had that same capper that came with my starter kit and it broke the very first time I used it after only 4 bottles!!!! One of the "wings" snapped clean off, I guess I didn't know my own strength!

I used it as a perfect opportunity to upgrade to a bench capper and haven't looked back since.
 
I have that capper and have capped 22 batches without a problem - I hope you have fixed whatever problem you had .
 
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