Which capper do you all recommend? - reviews are so mixed

[RCCOLA]

+1 on the bench top capper--not bolted down.

My red baron wing capper would not fully crimp corona, modelo, pils urquell, and many other bottles with a thin lower lip. I found this out after filling a case full of corona bottles.

 

[jonmohno]

I was disapointed to break a bottle. I was using a red barron but it was a boulevard brewing bottle with a twist top.It wasnt a twist cap beer though(whats the point of those threads on it anyway, if its not twist off?) So im not using those wonder if Coopers will break too. I was getting an extra bottle out of that batch and was pissed that it broke.
Did some body mention maintanence? On a capper? HOw do you do that?
I would have to agree that a bench capper would be more conveinent to bottle for larger qauntites.

 

[SwampassJ]

My wing capper works great and I never had a complaint until trying to bottle large quantities of short neck Sierra Nevada type bottles. The bench style capper works great for those.

Maybe that's why I like the bench capper more, more than half of my bottles are SN.

 

[KevinW]

Wing capper all the way. I have had no problems with mine!!
Stores easy, replaces(cost) easy, uses easy, what else could you want?

Of course it does not cork bottles but hey, nobody is perfect:cross:

 

[RogueVassar]

Hey Rev2010, I started with the red plastic wing capper. Never broke a bottle but quite a few "slip sideways" if I try to go fast. . .I find that stressful. I looked at all the "new" bench cappers for a while and finally picked one from Ebay.

I went with a 1950 (ish) Eveready antique capper. It's red, made in USA, built like a boulder and will outlive many brewers. There are a lot of rusty crappy ones on Ebay. I was patient & got one that looks brand new/in orig box for about 40 bucks shipped.

It is beyond awsome. I did not bolt it down, it's super stable, faster than my "wing" and best of all. . .SWMBO approved it for a permanent spot on our kitchen counter. It has this very cool 1950's retro soda shop feel. Whoa, brewing equipment on permanent display and works great too? Doesn't get any better than that!

I also got a vintage one off eBay cheap. My issue with the wing capper is that I've had it slip sideways and knock over a couple bottles that were waiting. Personally, I find the bench capper faster but I usually bottle with a friend or spouse and the capper can always stay ahead of the filler so that isn't a huge factor for me.

It was definitely worth it for me to buy the bench capper and I'd do it again.

 

[Nuggethead]

Wing capper all the way. I have had no problems with mine!!
Stores easy, replaces(cost) easy, uses easy, what else could you want?

Of course it does not cork bottles but hey, nobody is perfect:cross:

Jessica Beal to run my capper for me.

 

[Clann]

This is a little but anyone cut the center post with the magnet out?

It wont affect the performance will it?

I put my caps on the bottle and sometimes the magnet will move the cap.

Im thinking mine has got to go.

 

[Hang Glider]

from here.


I love my bench capper like Gregscsu posted, never bolted it down - quite portable.
But I'm waiting to try out my copy of this puppy!

 

[SamuraiSquirrel]

Wing capper vote here. I have broken 2 bottles in 30+ batches. They were likely flawed or weak bottles.... no biggie. Good riddance.

I don't see a reason to buy a fancier capper......... the cheap red one that comes in the starter kits works just fine.

I will agree that it doesn't fully crimp the "thin lip" bottles. It will cap them sufficiently enough that they will carbonate. I just phased those thin lip bottles out of my bottle supply once I accumulated enough bottles.

 

[ILuvIPA]

I saw some Big Ben cappers on EBay in good condition for low cost. Was wondering if those would be good or if the modern one's are better for any reason.


Rev.

Hey Rev, some of the modern bench cappers use plastic/nylon drive pieces. The metal pieces on new models are lightweight aluminum/thin tubular steel. The "antiques" are all heavy steel/cast iron. There is NO advantage to the modern ones unless the antique capper is in poor condition.

The key thing to look for is no rust inside the bell (will scratch your caps but more importantly the capped bottle will "stick" inside the bell after capping.) Cosmetic rust on the body is just that - a cosmetic issue. The antiques all had a circle of cork or other pliable material where the bottle sits. Often that's missing or broken - easy to replace (gives a little "grip" to the base of the bottle when capping.)

A Big Ben will work great. This one has a pic of the inside of the bell - clean as a whistle! Paint job looks new. . .possibly been wire brushed & repainted - no problem there. It needs a circle of cork or thin rubber pad glued on where the bottle sits. I'd buy this one in a heartbeat: http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Big-Ben-Bottle-Capper-Press-L-K-/300518992622?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f853eaee

This is an Eveready (I have 2 of these.) Evereadys are on par with the Big Ben & work flawlessly. This one is missing the cork and is a rusty piece of sh... BUT, for the right price this one can be cleaned up with a wire wheel etc, repainted and would work great. So you can pick one up cheap & refurb or be patient for a clean one. This one needs a lot of work, I personally prefer starting with a cleaner bell: http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-EVEREDY-BEER-WINE-SODA-BOTTLE-CAPPER-CAST-IRON-/280623396753?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4156753791

I use my Evereadys sitting on a wood butcherblock countertop (not bolted down.) It has never slipped or scratched the counter. Sorry for the long post, hope it's of some use to you. These old cappers are a dream to use and will outlast us all!

 

[ILuvIPA]

Ah, one more thing about the antique bench cappers. Even back in the day there was a discount option (good, better, best.) If you go with an oldie I recommend steer away from the old stamped steel versions.

Check out the first 2 pics in this link. The first pic is an Eveready (heavy body, uses more cast pieces.) The second pic uses a lot more stamped steel plate. kind of looks like an old bumper jack! http://shebrewsgoodale.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/cap-it-up/

Happy hunting if you decide to go old school!

 

[glenn514]

When I started brewing, I bought a bench capper. With every batch, I would ruin 4-5 caps because the bottle and loose cap were not centered under the "bell." A couple of batches ago, I got frustrated and grabbed my "Red Baron" and that was the first time I used it...and I liked it! Just bottled another batch this past Tuesday, and didn't ruin one single cap using the "Red Baron."

glenn514

 

[Rev2010]

When I started brewing, I bought a bench capper. With every batch, I would ruin 4-5 caps because the bottle and loose cap were not centered under the "bell."

Yeah I kinda wondered about this myself nice there's no centering mechanism or guide. But since no one had mentioned it up till now I figured it probably wasn't an issue.

@ILuvIPA - one last question, do you know if the Big Ben capper bells are replaceable? Do they screw off like the common ones today and can we use the commonly available replacement bells?


Rev.

 

[BrewThruYou]

See with a wing capper, you take the capper to the bottles, with a bench capper you have to take the bottle to the capper. I can have a whole case of bottles with the caps fitted on already sitting on my table, and just walk over and without moving the bottles, just lean over and go "blam, blam, blam, blam" 24 times in succession.

I can't picture this at all. The wing cappers have like a one-foot wingspan when capping. Are you leaving 1+ foot in between each bottles on your table? If I put 24 on my table and then tried to "Blam, blam" without moving the bottles first, there would be knocked over bottles everywhere. If I spaced them evenly, I would have 24 capped by my bench capper in half the time it took to space them.

The problems I had with the wing capper were:

1. It wasn't stable at all. You needed to be directly over the bottle and the bottle can't be on a slick surface. I broke one plastic guide on the side because the bottle slipped on my counter.
2. It needs two hands.
3. It doesn't do thin-lipped bottles well.
4. It doesn't do twist-offs (not that I do them anyway)
5. It involves a lot more effort.

Considering my bench capper was $33 or so, I think it's a great investment. I gave away my wing capper after capping one batch with my bench.

Yeah I kinda wondered about this myself nice there's no centering mechanism or guide.

Mine has a guide. The base (where the bottle rests) is made of rubber or something and it has concentric rings. Picture: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/images/Agata-Bench-Bottle-Capper-web.jpg

Look closely at the red base. You see a lot of circles. Place it in the center of the rings...bam...there's your centering guide. Haven't had a problem yet.

 

[two_hearted]

Wing capper has never let me down. Mine's ~5 years old.

 

[Rev2010]

Mine has a guide. The base (where the bottle rests) is made of rubber or something and it has concentric rings. Picture:

Nice, thanks for posting that! All the other pics I've come across on the net were too small to see that.


Rev.

 

[Rev2010]

OK, so I got to thinking.... why not just buy a bench and wing capper? Because if the bench one somehow broke, which I hope it won't of course, then I have a backup to complete capping with. Duh, makes sense.


Rev.

 

[ILuvIPA]

Yeah I kinda wondered about this myself nice there's no centering mechanism or guide. But since no one had mentioned it up till now I figured it probably wasn't an issue.

@ILuvIPA - one last question, do you know if the Big Ben capper bells are replaceable? Do they screw off like the common ones today and can we use the commonly available replacement bells?


Rev.

Not designed to replace. The bell is swaged on. You could grind off the metal (like a rivet head) & remove the bell but you'd need some engineering/machinist skill to attach a new one. That's why I recommended look for one with a clean (rust free) bell. Uh. . .take a close look at the Big Ben comming up on 'Bay. . .I don't think you'd be disappointed in that one. . .It looks awfully clean!

Hope my input has been of use

 

[cbauer210]

You do not need anything more than a red wing capper. I have been using mine for almost 6 years. It works great, cheap as dirt, and very compact.

 

[RCCOLA]

My wing capper hasn't been used since I got my benchtop capper.

Like the difference in a Pinto and a Mercedes.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

On the bench capper, you can simply align the bottle as the bell approaches the cap. It's pretty "self-obvious".

M_C

Yeah I kinda wondered about this myself nice there's no centering mechanism or guide. But since no one had mentioned it up till now I figured it probably wasn't an issue.
Rev.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

I love my bench capper. Bottled a batch two nights ago in about 45 minutes.

 

[SKMO]

I got a bench capper at a yard sale 5 years ago and have never touched the wing capper since. Though my red wing worked OK, the bench capper seems a lot more solid.

 

[BaldManBrew]

I have used both, and they both are easy to use. I am faster with the wing capper, I lay out several of the bottles on a table, rest the caps on the tops, and then just cap away. Approximately capping 1 every 2 seconds.