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

[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.