Colonna Capper/Corker

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MartyB

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Yes, the Colonna deserves another new thread.

Corked a batch of mead into bottles the other weekend. The only way that the Colonna could have made it easier, is if it supplied someone else to pull the lever. Loving this thing.

My LHBS has the capper-only model for sale. It is downright puny compared to the combo unit.

The only thing that bugs me, and maybe some other Colonna owners can chime in.
When capping bottles, does it seem like the cap "fins" are getting caught in the gaps in the segmented bell?
I have to cap, give the bottle a slight turn, then run the bell down again to get the cap crimped evenly the whole-way around. With this process, it's almost quicker using my black beauty capper.
 
The only thing that bugs me, and maybe some other Colonna owners can chime in.
When capping bottles, does it seem like the cap "fins" are getting caught in the gaps in the segmented bell?
I have to cap, give the bottle a slight turn, then run the bell down again to get the cap crimped evenly the whole-way around. With this process, it's almost quicker using my black beauty capper.

Yep, the same thing happens to me, although I don't bother with the second press. At first I was nervous about not getting a good seal, but I've been using the thing for 6 months and haven't had any flat/undercarbed bottles, so it's just a minor annoyance at this point. I sometimes worry that the extra wear and tear will shorten the life of the bell, but looking at it I can't see any damage; it's built like a tank - like the rest of the unit.

The only other (very) minor nitpick I have with the unit is that there's no place to store the cork funnel plate when the unit is set up for capping.

Those two issues aside, I've been exceedingly pleased with the quality and operation of the Colonna. It works great both as a capper and a corker, is built to last, and was surprisingly inexpensive. Having bought it online without a hands-on demo I was expecting some sort of unexpected drawbacks, but there really have been none.

TD
 
I don't have the capper model, but I wish I did because I make a lot of mead and I have a ton of flip tops and I just got into kegging.

I stilll use a few bottles and crown caps for long term aging, possible contest entries or for taking to my local club. I opened up on of my recently bottled beers and it had no carbonation. I wonder if the fin/gap problem caused this. I agree that even if you havle to turn the bottle and give it another press, it's still a great capper. Much better than the wing type.

How the the corker work? What size corks can you fit?
 
I just bottled and capped a 5-gal batch yesterday morning. Even with the 2nd-press on every bottle, I was still done in no time. Although I did take a HUGE gamble with this batch. Did 1/2 in twist off bottles. Wish me luck!

BBBF, I'm pushing #8 corks with little effort at all (compared to my hand corker). I think I'll move up to #9 corks for a little better long-term seal on my meads.
 
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