Corker Damaging Corks

[BarlimanButterbur]

I have a lever corker that I got secondhand. I did three test corks just now, and it mangled all of them. They seem to go in about 3/4 and then the top gets crushed. Some of it is left sticking out with a dent and raised, saw-dusty sides. The corks are #9 medium, natural cork. Is this my fault, the corker's, the bottle's or the cork's?

 

[Airplanedoc]

Knowing what kind of corker did you got would help?

 

[BarlimanButterbur]

It's a lot like this one: https://ozarkmountainsbrewingsupplies.com/images/double-lever-corker.jpg

That said. I just did a couple of attempts with the bottle on the floor so that I could put more pressure on it. I was doing them on the table before. That worked better, but there is still a dent in the cork when I'm finished. Is that normal?

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

i have the same corker, it usually leaves a small dent in the top of the cork, i've found the easiest way to use this one is on the floor. i usually throw the bottle between my knees to hold it steady. that said i'm not sure about the mangling on the sides.

 

[Insomniac]

I have that one and it leaves dents of varying sizes, I usually use my old hand corker to finish pushing down any that refuse to go all the way in

 

[Yooper]

You may have better results with a hand corker using #8 corks.

 

[WineIsRed]

I have a corker like that, and occasionally noticed the same thing. After some experimentation, I noticed that if I moved very slowly and gingerly that I'd almost always leave some of the cork hanging out with a “dent” in the end. If I move carefully but briskly, the corks always went in perfectly.

(I'm assuming that you soak your corks in starsan or similar right before corking...)

 

[BarlimanButterbur]

I didn't sanitize the corks in anything, partly because I've read not to and partly because it wasn't necessary for the test runs. I had considered that perhaps the slipperiness of the Starsan could aid by lubricating the corks, since if there's less resistance, there should be less force necessary and therefore less chance of corks being squished vertically. Does anyone know if that's the case?

Yooper, I want to bottle some mead, and I want the corks to last. I understand that #8s do not last as long. Should I not worry about that?

 

[WineIsRed]

If you didn't soak your corks, it wasn't really a "test run" - unless you intend to use dry corks with full bottles... and I would expect you to have all kinds of problems with dry corks.

 

[johnnync]

I wouldn't recommend soaking corks. Yopper has a way she steams them but that's about as close as I would get.

 

[BarlimanButterbur]

Then I guess this answers the question about what I was doing wrong!

 

[Airplanedoc]

Get a floor corker. Second best $50 I ever spent on equipment. A vacuum pump was the first BTW.

 

[Yooper]

I wouldn't recommend soaking corks. Yopper has a way she steams them but that's about as close as I would get.

I don't steam them. Well not exactly. Since I buy them in big bags, I always have an open bag of them that is simply twisty tied closed.

So, when I use them, I get a cup of water and a couple of campden tablets boiling in the microwave in a pyrex measuring cup. (Do NOT inhale this!) Then I place it, cup and all, in a big tupperware bowl and place the corks around this and cover it. The sulfite "steam" works as a sort of mini steam room with sulfite in it. It's really not steam at all, but a sulfite solution that is hot and condensing on the lid.

It's more like a sulfite mist in there, like a humidor for corks.

Then I go ahead and sanitize my bottles and use that sulfite solution in the bottling bucket when I rack the wine into it. It may not really be doing anything at all, but it makes me feel like I"m sort of sanitizing the corks.

You should never boil or soak corks- you'll ruin them!

 

[johnnync]

How old are the corks? Not some left over by your great uncle or anything?

 

[Clann]

I just dunk the corks in starsan as I bottle. I also have a double lever corker and always use#9 corks. #8s do not seal as well.
This could happenhttp://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17632

 

[FeelinKindaGiddy]

I had that problem with some "old, cheaper" corks that was gave to me, but when I bought some high end new corks the problem was solved! I just dip them in B-brite no rinse sanitizer right before I cork em'.

 

[BarlimanButterbur]

I actually just bought the corks the day I posted, but I couldn't help but wonder whether they might be old and dry. I don't know because I haven't got experience with this yet. All I did was went to a wine kit store and asked for advice, saying that I didn't really want to use #8s although I had a hand corker.

I've got it working better now, the corks go in all the way, but it does leave a dent still.

 

[huesmann]

I'll second the suggestion for a floor corker.

However, if you're still getting dents, how about trying to glue a washer (same dia as your corks) to tip of your plunger?

 

[feffer]

I've got it working better now, the corks go in all the way, but it does leave a dent still.

I think the dent is to be expected with that type of corker. If they're going in all the way, you're doing fine. Floor and table corkers, like the Italian ones, use an iris to compress the cork to a slightly smaller diameter so they slide into the bottle's neck with less pressure, hense the dent is temporary with these.

I agree with other's who like the floor corkers. If you just bought your lever one, you might be able to return it to your lhbs for a full price trade. On the other hand, if you don't think you'll make that much wine, and you're okay with your present corker, it will be fine.

 

[huesmann]

IMO the extra couple of yuppie food stamps that I paid for the floor corker is worth the savings in frustration over using the lever hand corker I bought when I started.