Capping problems

[hcashew]

So the winged-style crimper i bought gave me some serious problems today.

Awkward, sketchy, and i had throw out half of the bottles i was prepping for this batch,

I used Tecate, Newcastle, and Fat Tire bottles.

The Newcastles worked fine but the others were unmanageable

Anyone else have this problems? Any recommendations for crimpers?

 

[mrduna01]

So the winged-style crimper i bought gave me some serious problems today.

Awkward, sketchy, and i had throw out half of the bottles i was prepping for this batch,

I used Tecate, Newcastle, and Fat Tire bottles.

The Newcastles worked fine but the others were unmanageable

Anyone else have this problems? Any recommendations for crimpers?

I have never had a problem. May be a silly question but are you forcing the wings down as far as they will go? You should have to slightly force them down until the cap secures fully. I only ask because I had to help my wife with this when she was helping me bottle once. . Otherwise it may be a defective capper.

 

[dantheman13]

Maybe the problem is the bottles? I buy bottles from my local homebrew store, and haven't had any problems. The capper doesn't really have any tricks to it. As long as both arms go down all the way, the cap should be on.

 

[LVBen]

A piece broke off of my wing capper and I can't use Sierra Nevada bottles with it anymore.

 

[blizzard]

I use New Belgium bottles regularly. Either the capper is broken or it is user error. What specifically is not working?

 

[FromZwolle]

So the winged-style crimper i bought gave me some serious problems today.

Awkward, sketchy, and i had throw out half of the bottles i was prepping for this batch,

I used Tecate, Newcastle, and Fat Tire bottles.

The Newcastles worked fine but the others were unmanageable

Anyone else have this problems? Any recommendations for crimpers?

i believe tecate are twist off. you may have issues with carbing those. i have no problems with the new belgium bottles.

have you adjusted the bell shaped device in the center, that affects the depth of the capping area?

 

[BrewThruYou]

A piece broke off my wing capper too. It's really cheap plastic.

I switched to a bench capper after capping maybe 10 batches and I've never looked back. Bench cappers can cap twist offs too (but it's still not recommended).

 

[drocu]

A piece broke off of my wing capper and I can't use Sierra Nevada bottles with it anymore.

A piece broke off my wing capper too. It's really cheap plastic.

I switched to a bench capper after capping maybe 10 batches and I've never looked back. Bench cappers can cap twist offs too (but it's still not recommended).

Yup, same thing happened to mine after a SN bottle. It still works but I've already upgraded to a bench capper that I got off Craigslist. Cheap plastic.

 

[hcashew]

Thanks, y'all.

I'm definitely using all my strength as I'm BREAKING bottle tops!

It is such an easy instrument that I can't imagine I'm doing it wrong. It must be the bottles.

I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a heftier crimper.

Any suggestions?

 

[day_trippr]

This is what I've been using for years.

Works great - I've never had a problem using it with any size bottle that takes a crown cap.

You can find it on Amazon for a fair price. Likely the closest I'll ever come to owning a Ferrari

Cheers!

 

[mrk305]

I got one of those a couple years ago. I love it every time I use it. I broke a few bottles with the wing capper, also.

Free wing capper at my house. Local pick up only.

 

[unionrdr]

I broke one SN bottle with my Red Baron. It happens because too much force is applied when pulling down on the handles. I have to keep telling myself,"DON'T GORILLA THE CAPPER!". It's a 2 step process,I've noticed. You pull down slowly on the handles just so the 2 hemispherical grippers contact the bottle neck. Then use medium force to press the cap sides down over the lip of the bottle. Don't force it in one quick motion.
Just seat the grippers,then pull down level. That's it. I had to watch closer to see what's really going on.

 

[Bopper2016]

Here's a capper I'm building . Plugs into 120V

 

[william_shakes_beer]

two thoughts

1. Are you using beer caps? my LHBS also sells champagne caps that look identical but are slightly larger. I had the clerk correct my selection more than once.

2. Is the bell on the wing capper screwed all the way on? mine tended to loosen up and as a result I would twist it down every few bottles

3. You said something broke off. Be sure the class that grip the rim of the bottle are still complete.

 

[Revvy]

I'm pretty sure, but could be wrong because it's been a long time since I had either of them, but aren't Tecate and Newky bottles both twist offs? Wing cappers don't tend to work on those.

 

[RCCOLA]

Some bottle neck rings do not work well with wing cappers. Mine does not work well with Modelo or Corona bottles due to neck ring height. Here's a thread I started talking about it with pics showing the issue. Some folks never have problems capping anything with wing cappers. Some do...*shrug*
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=363698