Bench Cappers - Are they worth it

I'm thinking about getting a bench capper. I currently use a red-wing capper.

I'd like to find out what folks think about them. I have seen a number of reports of problems with them.

Looking at getting the Super Agata Bench Capper.

I love mine but its attached to my brewing cart along with the malt mill. Its great when i pull everything out to bottle an entire batch but a pain to deal with when I want to bottle a sixer off the keggerator. If it fits in your set up I say go for it. I really depends on where you're going to put it and how accessible it will be come bottling day. Then again, don't mount it to anything and it will be as portable as the x-wing capper. I prefer to have it hard mounted for better stability.

I picked one up at a local swamp meat a while back, real cheap. It takes longer to cap with but I feel you get a better seal (though that is probably just my imagination).

I am glad I have it though, sometimes when I bottle beer in foreign bottles the winged capper has a lot of trouble due to the thick glass they use. The bench capper makes easy work when it comes to Duvel bottles and such.

I like my bench capper but keep it un-benched for portablility. Hard to compare though since I haven't tried red wings.....wait, are we still talking about beer?

GodsStepBrother said:

local swamp meat

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lol

I love my bench capper, the same one you're looking at. I don't have it mounted to anything and find it perfectly stable. Well worth it IMO. I keep a wing capper as back up as I'd read some reviews say the plastic anchor that provides the size adjustment can break, mostly if you change the bottle size often. I don't as I only use one bottle size so I've been good for a ridiculous amount of bottles and can't say if those reviews are accurate or not.


Rev.

If all the bottles are the same size,a bench capper is great. If they vary, it can be a PITA.

I have an antique capper a friend gave me. Used a wing capper and I'll never go back. It's a little finicky, being antique, but once I figured it out it makes bottling day that much better. Even with bottles of different heights, its worlds faster and easier.

Spartan1979 said:

If all the bottles are the same size,a bench capper is great. If they vary, it can be a PITA.

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+1

I knock over at least one bottle every session with the wing capper. The bench capper is annoying (or at least mine is) when you use a bunch of different size bottles.

Edit: It just occurred to me that I should get make a of shims to put under short bottles to get rid of the annoyance...

Thanks for the input; mostly positive.

I usually use 2 different size bottles; standard 12 ozs, and bombers. Generally bottle 6.5 gallons a batch. The Super Agata is supposed to adjust easily.

I do OK with the winged capper, but I am concerned that it may not be sealing as well as it could on some bottles/with some caps.

If a bench capper seals better and is rugged, I'll get one. If there is no difference to the winged capper and/or it's fragile, I'd rather not get one.

Spartan1979 said:

If all the bottles are the same size,a bench capper is great. If they vary, it can be a PITA.

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I still have the Ferrari Super Agata bench capper, though I haven't used it in close to a year now now that my kegging operation has fully matured. But when I was still bottling I found it very efficient, and actually quite accommodating to different size bottles due to the nearly automatic height adjustment function.

That said I had eventually winnowed down my 16 cases of bottles to a standard profile (pretty much defined by what Sam Adams/Wachusetts/Mayflower/Harpoon/Shipyard use) and with that I could literally cap a case of filled bottles in two minutes flat.

The one thing I did to mine was to mount it to a piece of maple board, with silicone rubber feet on the underside, to prevent any skidding on our tiled kitchen counter top when I was really rocking the capper.

I gave away most of my bottles to guys just getting into brewing, but I've kept the capper for nostalgia if nothing else...

Cheers!

Spartan1979 said:

If all the bottles are the same size,a bench capper is great. If they vary, it can be a PITA.

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I agree! Because of this, I try to use bottles from the same brewer each time I bottle. Having all the bottles of the same height works great. Otherwise, I LOVE my capper -- the normal Agata Capper.

I abandoned the "red baron" wing capper for my Grandpa's old Prohibition-era bench capper. As has been said previously in this thread, it works great if the bottles are the same height. I use nothing but standard 9" longnecks, so no issues......

Spartan1979 said:

If all the bottles are the same size,a bench capper is great. If they vary, it can be a PITA.

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This is why I bought the Colonna capper/corker. Easy adjustment for any size bottle and can cork wine and Belgian bottles too. It is faster and I think it seals the bottles better. You can also use Euro size caps, even though I have never used anything other than standard cases. I've used it to cap in the neighborhood of 65 cases w/o any isssues.

Definitely prefer the bench version. Much faster, much securer and no broken bottle necks. You do need to sort your bottles so you cap all of one size at a time. Then you just slide the adjustable base to fit the rest.

day_trippr said:

That said I had eventually winnowed down my 16 cases of bottles to a standard profile (pretty much defined by what Sam Adams/Wachusetts/Mayflower/Harpoon/Shipyard use) and with that I could literally cap a case of filled bottles in two minutes flat.

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A bit off track for a moment but I'm glad to see Shipyard's name mentioned! I love their brown ale and IPA. Very English (or at least, what I think English ales tasted like in the traditional sense).

Back to the point: I have used a bench capper from the start. I read that the alternatives can sometimes lead to broken bottles. Changing sizes isn't at all a hassle, and it's certainly a lot easier than picking up glass in the middle of a bottling session.

Plus, it's fun to use the lever. I feel like some sort of specialist or technician.

FWIW, I love mine. No way I would go back to a red wing capper. I used to break at least one bottle per bottling session with that thing. My bench capper is portable (not mounted) and I usually set it on top of a towel on my counter when I cap. It takes me less than half the time bottle 6 gallons. Once you develop the feel for it and get your height setting correct, you can fly!

I generally use the old bench capper my friend's dad gave me when he got me started in brewing.

I also bought a wing capper for resealing 1/2 bottles if I don't want to finish it all (pre-kegging days) and for when I'm just capping a couple of bottles filled from the kegerator.

Both work great, but I prefer the bench capper for bottling day. Adjusting for different sizes is not a big deal except for the very short Founders bottles. I need to use a piece of shim under them cause the capper doesn't go down that far.

Rev2010 said:

lol

I love my bench capper, the same one you're looking at. I don't have it mounted to anything and find it perfectly stable. Well worth it IMO. I keep a wing capper as back up as I'd read some reviews say the plastic anchor that provides the size adjustment can break, mostly if you change the bottle size often. I don't as I only use one bottle size so I've been good for a ridiculous amount of bottles and can't say if those reviews are accurate or not.


Rev.

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My bad SWAP MEET!

I started out with a Super Agata, but switched to the Red Emily Hand Capper after a while; using the bench capper only for unusual bottle shapes and sizes. Of course now that I keg, I don't use either anymore.

It's really a matter of what works comfortably with YOUR bottling process. A bench capper is no better than a wing capper. It's whatever works in your system. I have one but I never use it because with the way I've dialed in my process, as chronicled in my thread, a bench capper actually slows me down...I've tried, but a wing capper allows me to go to the bottle rather than bring the bottle to the capper, and with my system that's what works for me......I can't stress this enough...figure out what makes the job easier for YOU. Don't go by what folks say.... bottling is a pain but if you tailor the process to suit you, whether it's with a bench or wing capper, then the job becomes easier....

I have the one you're looking at and love it. I mounted it to some baltic birch ply that's big enough to sit a six pack on either side of the capper. I use a pair of LARGE spring clamps to clamp it to the table or counter in question, and it's stable enough to have the twelve bottles sitting on it as I go through them. I'll fill a case or so, and then cap them all. Quick, easy, and no risk of tipping like a wing capper.

I took a sharpie and marked the height settings of all the bottles I use: 12oz short/tall, and 22oz standard, and 22oz Laganuits (there's are a notch different). From there, I just make sure that I fill/grab the same size in a row as much as possiable to minimize the amount of height adjustments.

Revvy said:

It's really a matter of what works comfortably with YOUR bottling process. A bench capper is no better than a wing capper. It's whatever works in your system. I have one but I never use it because with the way I've dialed in my process, as chronicled in my thread, a bench capper actually slows me down...I've tried, but a wing capper allows me to go to the bottle rather than bring the bottle to the capper, and with my system that's what works for me......I can't stress this enough...figure out what makes the job easier for YOU. Don't go by what folks say.... bottling is a pain but if you tailor the process to suit you, whether it's with a bench or wing capper, then the job becomes easier....

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For my process, either would work. I'm trying to find out if there is a benefit to using a bench capper from people who have experience with them.

So far, the general consensus is the bench capper better in that it caps quicker, seems to have less risk of breaking bottles (however, I've not broken a single bottle in over 10,000), and is perceived to seal better.

I've heard reports of the cappers breaking after a short amount of use, but so far no-one has reported as having had this problem.

Calder said:

For my process, either would work. I'm trying to find out if there is a benefit to using a bench capper from people who have experience with them.

So far, the general consensus is the bench capper better in that it caps quicker, seems to have less risk of breaking bottles (however, I've not broken a single bottle in over 10,000), and is perceived to seal better.

I've heard reports of the cappers breaking after a short amount of use, but so far no-one no-one has reported as having had this problem.

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My bench capper has been going since the 1930s, no problems with durability. Grandpa used it to bottle homebrew during Prohibition. My main reason to switch to it from the "red baron" capper I got with my original kit is that a bench capper is easier on arthritic wrists than the wing capper. Its main drawback has also been mentioned....mine requires resetting if the bottles are of different heights. Not a problem in my case, since I've just standardized on 9" longnecks.

Yes, they are worth it. I got the super agata/ferrari whatever.. the one that auto adjusts for bottle height. When I bought it, I was told to be sure to mount it onto something so that it would not flex when in use. In one vendors experience regarding longevity, it was better to mount them than not mount them.

So I scrounged a wood cutting board with a handle and mounted the capper to that. Now it is mounted to a solid piece of wood, but it is also portable. Also, it works great. I have two wing cappers hanging around that I'll never use. I keep trying to fob them off on newbs getting into the hobby.

nutty_gnome said:

I have two wing cappers hanging around that I'll never use. I keep trying to fob them off on newbs getting into the hobby.

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I keep one around, just in case the bench unit ever did fail. Cheap insurance.

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I recently had to go to bottling from kegging since I downsized to apartment brewing and the kegerators went to storage. I use to use a red wing capper when I bottled off the kegs, but recently I bought a bench capper. I will say that I probably would not have bought the bench capper if all my bottles weren't Abita bottles and I didn't realize they don't work well with the wing capper. I realized this on bottling day and after i had stockpiled over 100 Abita bottles. I can say that the bench capper does "feel" like it makes a better seal, but I would bank on that just being an illusion. That's my two cent! =)