Bought new caps, struggling to force them on. Is it the caps or the capper?

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piojo

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I reuse cleaned beer bottles. I have a bench top capper that looks like this, which I think is the most popular and cheapest unbranded capper (though not from the specific store I linked to). I've used it without problem, but the most recent batch of crown caps I bought is pretty hard to use. (It's the first time I've bought any that didn't claim to be oxygen absorbing, so it's possible all the previous ones I got were made by the same brand.) Previously, capping felt so easy I was afraid it didn't seal*, but now I have to put muscle into it, and I'm often afraid of breaking the bottle.

Is is more likely the caps don't quite fit the bottles, or could it be that the capper doesn't fit the caps? Of course I can replace the caps, but it would be good to know whether modding or upgrading the capper might be another solution.

*I checked, and my old caps did seal, but they sometimes released bubbles when I pasteurized. Adequate, in my opinion.
 
Check the bell of the capper to be sure it's screwed in tight. On the few occasions mine didn't seem to want to work properly, that was the culprit.

If not that, then I have no ideas.
 
How about the bottles? Are they the same type/brand that you have used in the past? I had a problem with bad capping and breaking bottles. Turned out, I was using bottles from brands like Bass Ale. I now use those either from the LHBS or re-used Samuel Adams bottles.
 
How about the bottles? Are they the same type/brand that you have used in the past? I had a problem with bad capping and breaking bottles. Turned out, I was using bottles from brands like Bass Ale. I now use those either from the LHBS or re-used Samuel Adams bottles.
I've used dozens of brands, even one of the beers brewed by Samuel Adams, so it's not the bottles. Thanks for the idea, though.
 
I had a capper like that once. Eventually it started giving inconsistent results. Probably, over time, the bell got slightly deformed--probably made from some cheap, soft metal.
 
There are two sizes of crown cap and associated bells, the standard 26mm and a larger 29mm used on wider necked bottle. A 29mm won't fit in the 26mm bell and will fight being compressed onto the bottle.

If you still have one or two unused caps from the old stock, visually check them against the new ones and also how deep they sit inside the compression bell.
 
I have a wing capper and a bench capper. I bought several 144 count bags of oxygen absorbing caps. I noticed right off that they were harder to crimp. Thicker metal? It was the same with either capper.

When I first got the bench capper they would sometimes stick in the bell. I used keg lube inside the bell and that helped. It also seems to be getting better with use. Either I am grinding out whatever the caps were getting stuck on or the bell is bending to a shape that doesn't catch on the caps.

Isn't it the 26 mm bell that is used for most bottles? I doubt the OP is trying to cap 29 mm with a 26 mm bell.
 
I'm having the same problem. I have a wing capper that came with the morebeer kit. Worked great for the first four batches, but started having trouble with the last two batches and I actually broke a couple of bottles with the last batch. All the caps came from the same source (morebeer.com) but are different colors and bought as different times.

Visually I don't see anything wrong with the capper and I can't see a difference in the caps.
 
I'm having the same problem. I have a wing capper that came with the morebeer kit. Worked great for the first four batches, but started having trouble with the last two batches and I actually broke a couple of bottles with the last batch. All the caps came from the same source (morebeer.com) but are different colors and bought as different times.

Visually I don't see anything wrong with the capper and I can't see a difference in the caps.
The all-plastic wing cappers suck. I actually find them dangerous to use.

I have a mostly all-metal one, from MoreBeer, and has been going strong for 10 years, although I don't bottle much anymore since I started kegging 5-6 years ago.

Make sure the bottles have the right distance between the (top) rim and the gripping edge. Not all longneck bottles are the same.
 
Someone already mentioned the 29mm caps. Assuming that's not the problem, (but you need to check just in case) try lubing the inside of the capper bell with some wax -- beeswax or a paraffin candle.
 
Thanks for the tips! For mead, lubing with beeswax seems most poetic, so I'll do that. (FYI beeswax only works as lube when it's clean, so don't try to use it on a zipper or door hinge.)

I didn't even think about looking at how the cap is seated in the bell (both before and after crimping), so I'll check the clearances. But since I bottled another batch or two with no broken bottles yet, it seems okay as long as I make effort to push slow rather than simply pushing hard enough to crimp.
 
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