Bottle tree and vinator - how have I bottled without these?

[aubiecat]

I did notice that mine seemed a tad long, but I got it to crunch in there after a second try, and it seems to work great.

It will probably get bent before long. That is what happened to mine.

 

[homebrewdad]

It will probably get bent before long. That is what happened to mine.

Heh. Get bent!

 

[passedpawn]

Yep, I toss all my caps right into the star san foam after I bottle wash....

I toss them in before, while the reservoir is still full. Never a problem.

 

[LandoLincoln]

99? Just 'cuz you love Gretzky?

You can't expand yours? The style I have has levels of 9 bottles each, you can add as many as you like.

(it just so happens I have 10 levels )

4 cases of beer = 96 bottles, which is pretty close to what I get out of my 10 gallon batches.

I just found a place that will sell the "limbs" individually for $4.50, so I guess if I do want one more level I can get one without spending $30 for a whole new tree.

 

[homebrewdad]

4 cases of beer = 96 bottles, which is pretty close to what I get out of my 10 gallon batches.

I just found a place that will sell the "limbs" individually for $4.50, so I guess if I do want one more level I can get one without spending $30 for a whole new tree.

I could definitely see adding one limb to my tree, so that I could fit those last three bottles (with room to spare).

 

[natedoggaz]

Glad I found this thread - I am looking into investing in a bottle tree and a vinator myself. I see there are a few models of trees available. There is an orange one, and a red one, some rotate, and some do not. Also some have handles on top of them, and I believe some you can add more capacity to some models. Is there a preference to any of the aforementioned options? I believe one manufacturer is Ferrari. Where also could I find the best price on a tree and vinator?

Thanks!

Nathan

 

[unionrdr]

I bought both of mine from the lhbs so I wouldn't have to wait for it. Saves shipping cost,so it might be the cheapest way to go. I like the fact that bottles & vinator only take up about 2 feet of space. But I could use one more level to get the other 3-5 bottles on there from the start.
Other than that,it's a great time & space saver! I too put my newly emptied & rinsed bottles on it to dry before storage. Would be without either one.

 

[natedoggaz]

I bought a vinator locally today - I really dont have a place to keep a tree, I could stick it in the garage but it is kinda dusty in there so it would probably defeat the purpose. The vinator locally was $19.99 and it totally saves on shipping and helps the local small business. When I was in there, I also bought some supplies to make some homemade wine from juice - 2 glass gallon jugs and additional stuff - all under $20...

 

[natedoggaz]

Broke down and bought a 45 bottle tree this weekend at LHBS...I'll find a place to put it...
Will be bottling tomorrow. Since the vinator pretty much keeps itself sanitary with it being contained with all the San Star I am not worried abot it, but .... would you have to sanitize the tree before you put the bottles on it to dry?

 

[Fordzilla]

Yes, sanitize the tree before use.

I use a bottle tree, vinator and bench capper. I still despise bottling but I do it like a well oiled machine. Looking forward to moving into a place where I have room for a keezer some day.

 

[CatHead]

Bottled my third batch and my first with the tree and vinator. This easily cut very close to an hour off bottling time. It only took about an hour and half from starting to sanitize to completely finished cleaning buckets and was definitely under two hours and I could count on 2.5-3 hours before these. To me this is the best optional piece of equipment unless you consider a hydrometer optional.

 

[homebrewdad]

Bottled my third batch and my first with the tree and vinator. This easily cut very close to an hour off bottling time. It only took about an hour and half from starting to sanitize to completely finished cleaning buckets and was definitely under two hours and I could count on 2.5-3 hours before these. To me this is the best optional piece of equipment unless you consider a hydrometer optional.

Yep, I have easily saved an hour, as well.

 

[whoaru99]

Broke down and bought a 45 bottle tree this weekend at LHBS...I'll find a place to put it...
Will be bottling tomorrow. Since the vinator pretty much keeps itself sanitary with it being contained with all the San Star I am not worried abot it, but .... would you have to sanitize the tree before you put the bottles on it to dry?

OK, reviving this dusty thread...

I just picked up a bottle tree and vinator and have a continuation of the above question.

So, you need to sanitize the tree...got it.

Now, about the bottles, do you take them off the tree, sanitize with the vinator, then fill each bottle repeating that sequence, or do you typically sanitize all the bottles using the vinator, return them to the tree, then start filling after all have been sanitized?

 

[user 144271]

I do the latter.

Wash all bottles, sanitize then when my tree is full I start bottling.

 

[CGVT]

When I bottle I spray the bottle tree with Starsan then sanitize the bottles and put them on the tree. I take the bottles from the tree and fill them. I sometimes sanitize the bottles and stand them up on the bottom rack of the dishwasher and fill them from there, too.

Sometimes I store the bottle tree full of bottles, but I'll sanitize them before I bottle so the Starsan is wet when I bottle.

 

[passedpawn]

Easy on the vinator I'm about to buy my third one. They can crack just above the threads. Or I'm too aggressive with sanitizer.

I got about 2 years with mine. Cracked on the threads. I couldn't find a glue that would hold it.

 

[whoaru99]

In assembling the vinator I see the spring doesn't go all the way to the top of the cavity inside the spray nozzle, and that a fair portion of the spring isn't guided. I may see if I can find a different spring and or come up with some sort of spring guide, prior to cutting off some coils as others have done.

 

[Ivypunx]

I have been looking at those wondering how much they actually do

 

[passedpawn]

I have been looking at those wondering how much they actually do

IMO they are a must-have for bottlers.

 

[unionrdr]

I have been looking at those wondering how much they actually do

What do you mean,how much they actually do? They shoot a stream of sanitizer up inside the bottle. I pump it maybe 3 times,drain & onto the peg. I've had mine over two years & hasn't failed yet.

 

[Malty_Dog]

Vinator is a godsend. Blew my buddy's mind when he saw it in action. He'd been struggling a bit with his bottling process. I have a pass-through above my sink (where the bottling bucket sits). Vinator to my left full of sanitized bottles. Sink in front of me. Small bowl of starsan w/caps soaking on right of sink.

1) pull bottle off tree
2) fill bottles in sink
3) place sanitized cap loosely on each bottle as I go
4) fill sink with bottles, when sink full get out capper
5) cap bottles
6) repeat until done!

Its a solid process, much less risk of spillage on floor.

 

[sieglere]

With 2 buddies helping, I can bottle a batch of beer between 30 and 60 minutes. As for prep, assuming no labels, I just soak my bottles over night, have two people rinsing and sanitizing, I fill and cap.

This is with no extra equipment

 

[passedpawn]

This is with no extra equipment

Except 2 extra buddies

 

[homebrewdad]

Except 2 extra buddies

No kidding. There are many tasks in life where the addition of one person's labor will cut the total time needed to less than half.

With the vinator and bottle tree, I can bottle five gallons in less than an hour by myself, assuming bottles are already delabeled.

 

[whoaru99]

In assembling the vinator I see the spring doesn't go all the way to the top of the cavity inside the spray nozzle, and that a fair portion of the spring isn't guided. I may see if I can find a different spring and or come up with some sort of spring guide, prior to cutting off some coils as others have done.

Found a spring of the same OD, made with slightly lighter gauge wire and a few less turns at the local Fleet and Farm type store in their slide out tray assortments. It cost $1.80.

Next, I found that if I cut off the two ends of the plunger from a 6cc syringe I got from the same store, it fits almost perfectly inside the spring but the plunger stem's thin "+" shape cross section doesn't impede the flow and seems to keep the spring from buckling/bending quite nicely. The syringe was $0.65 or something like that.

 

[passedpawn]

With 2 buddies helping, I can bottle a batch of beer between 30 and 60 minutes. As for prep, assuming no labels, I just soak my bottles over night, have two people rinsing and sanitizing, I fill and cap.

This is with no extra equipment

This is how you halve your bottling time. Takes a little coordination, but it really does speed things up.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/double-barrel-bottling-now-twice-fast-257264/