What disaster bottling was l.

[Soulshine2]

As I said ..." looks like"...or..."missing a part"... Something is wrong and it appears to be the capper

On that same page in your link is a spare crimping cup. Is there something similar that is in the position where the cap is placed on the bottle? If not that could be the issue. It looks like it may be there but that central plastic part within it appears to be far to low to allow it to cap and crimp.

Your bottles look fine. The capper only works one way and should not cause bottles to break.

You really can't do it wrong. Place a cap on the bottle, center the capper over the cap, push the handles down. It is done. You can't over crimp or otherwise crush the bottle.

FWIW. my red baron has the magnet in the crimp cup. I place a cap on the magnet and then take it to the bottle , lightly press down with arms while using more wrist to extend the "wings" to just past flat. Hardly any effort. The only time I've ever had an issue is using a bottle other than a standard 12oz long neck. Hofbrau uses a slightly different bottle , the neck collar is slightly shorter . It works but takes a second light crimp.

 

[brewingmeister]

Don't forget to use the correct bottom plate size depending on your bottle necks, the bottles will brake..
All bottle cappers I have seen have reversible plates, pull out and reverse.​

View attachment 627360

Always pull out...

 

[brewingmeister]

On a real note I can't fathom why you have this ridiculous bottle holding contraption. This seems like a problem to me. A flat surface is all you need to cap bottles with a wing style capper.

 

[BrewInspector]

I'm finding it interesting that so many have trouble using the wing capper on non-long neck bottles.

I keg my beer but sometimes I'll bottle part of a batch. I use an antique bench capper that will not extend low enough to cap any of the shorter bottles. Rather than placing a support under the bottle too raise it high enough to work, I'll use the wing capper on these short and varied bottles. Never had any trouble with it. Other than the occasional unaligned cap getting crushed it always works.

I don't understand the need for someone to hold the bottle or these bottle holding devices. As said by another above, a flat surface is all that is needed. If your bottle is slipping and sliding around you are using too much pressure and/or not pushing straight down. I'll admit that I have tipped ONE bottle over when putting the capper on it in SEVEN years.

 

[Jayjay1976]

post a pic of that please. I was looking for a nice bench capper, couldnt find one with any with even mediocre reviews.

Sorry for the delay, here are pics.

 

[tellyho]

I've definitely broken bottles with the wing capper. But I reuse quite a lot. Bench capper was the best investment I've made. Almost as good as kegging equip.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

It may be an issue with the dome and possibly the wrong size. Does it have a magnet to hold the cap in place? If so put a cap on it and send a pic of that. It is possible to use a capper wrong. Are you allowing it to grab the neck of the bottle properly? Cap an empty bottle and show us what that looks like.

Also there are different sized caps. Do you have the right size? It looks like you do in the photo...just a thought

 

[balrog]

View attachment 626751 Ok went to bottle my beer finally. The bottler wasn’t crimping the bottles and it also kept on breaking bottles. I wasn’t even giving it much pressure either. I wasted a whole 4 gallons of beer and only got 12 pack. Is there any better bottlers then this.

Late to the party here but there is something weird about that with the central piece sticking WAY down below where the bell edge is

 

[IslandLizard]

Sorry for the delay, here are pics.

View attachment 629765 View attachment 629766

Now that's a bench capper!

 

[HopsNTails]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/gloria-bottle-capper.html

Check out the second picture. @balrog hit the nail on the head.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Now that's a bench capper!

You can pick up one of these on Ebay for ~$25, or check shopgoodwill.com where I grabbed two of them for $18 shipped.
I spent a couple of hours scouring and polishing it up, greased the moving parts and wiped the paint down with linseed oil, then I used the ancient bolts it came with to mount it to a spare cutting board. I glued a rubber washer in the bell to help it eject the bottle after capping and since the old dried up rubber on the base was useless I scraped it off and just put a couple of beer coasters down to cushion the bottle. I've capped several hundred bottles with it so far with zero failures, and it is soooo much easier on my wrists than the wing capper I used to use. Why spend $200+ on a new heavy duty bench capper? None of them are cast iron and so are prone to wear, bending, plastic part failure, etc. The crimping bell on mine is super strong, machined from solid steel and so far no signs of it rusting despite all the starsan it comes into contact with. I've been waiting for this old dog to come up short sooner or later just based on its age, but so far it has performed flawlessly.

 

[ClaudiusB]

Late to the party here but there is something weird about that with the central piece sticking WAY down below where the bell edge is
View attachment 629767

Nothing weird , it helps to eject the bottle after capping. Only extends below the bell with the handles up, holds the cap too before capping.

 

[Soulshine2]

Late to the party here but there is something weird about that with the central piece sticking WAY down below where the bell edge is
View attachment 629767

looks like a magnet to me

 

[Soulshine2]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/gloria-bottle-capper.html

Check out the second picture. @balrog hit the nail on the head.

The newest wing capper on the market is the Gloria, made by the Ferrari Group in Italy. We love this capper because it is easy to use, has a smooth capping action, a magnet in the capping head to hold crown caps, and solid metal jaws to firmly grasp the bottle. Fits 26 mm (the most popular size) crown caps on standard beer bottles.

 

[Beer666]

I have broken 4 or 5 bottles a batch before with a cheap capper. A decent bottle won't break but some of them are thin glass and have long necks which are prone to snapping. I am referring to mostly Polish Lager empties.

 

[Jayjay1976]

The newest wing capper on the market is the Gloria, made by the Ferrari Group in Italy. We love this capper because it is easy to use, has a smooth capping action, a magnet in the capping head to hold crown caps, and solid metal jaws to firmly grasp the bottle. Fits 26 mm (the most popular size) crown caps on standard beer bottles.

But its PLASTIC.

 

[Rev2010]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/gloria-bottle-capper.html

Wow, just look at the horrible reviews! I actually lol'd at this one comment, "Buy this capper if you want more pain than joy during your capping session."


Rev.

 

[Gregory T]

I'm not sold on my Ferrari Deluxe bench capper. I wanted a queen lux when I got it, but they were out of stock everywhere. I need a bench capper for my belgian bottles, but I think my wing capper works better on normal bottles

 

[madscientist451]

You don't need a capper, or caps:

 

[lowtones84]

I've been homebrewing for close to a decade and have never kegged a batch (may change soon). Have never broken a single bottle. Red Baron capper all the way. I've literally had -one- for a decade. Yes, it can be a bit of a pain with stubbies, but you find the right touch and technique, and you can cap damn near anything that takes a standard US cap. There is a certain technique to capping, but the red baron is trusty without a doubt. Yes, it is plastic. Quality things can be made from plastic.

I do have a colonna corker/capper as well, but only bust that out when I'm corking some saisons or such and bottling others of the same batch. It is quite smooth for capping, but the half corking required for beers in champagne bottles does take a certain touch as well. Yes, it is also mostly plastic. Quality things can be made from plastic.

Not to deny that cast iron bench capper. That's awesome.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I'm not sold on my Ferrari Deluxe bench capper. I wanted a queen lux when I got it, but they were out of stock everywhere. I need a bench capper for my belgian bottles, but I think my wing capper works better on normal bottles

@Gregory T check out ebay for a vintage capper. If ur outside usa, I could help you acquire a vintage american capper, I'll even tune it up for free before shipping it to you.

 

[Soulshine2]

Sorry for the delay, here are pics.

View attachment 629765 View attachment 629766

JayJay, thats awesome. I love using old stuff

 

[Gregory T]

@Gregory T check out ebay for a vintage capper. If ur outside usa, I could help you acquire a vintage american capper, I'll even tune it up for free before shipping it to you.

nice I like this one

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BENCH-CAPP...176?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10#viTabs_0