Capping

[Braden]

I have a butterfly capper that I got with my starter kit, it works awesome on pop top lids but Im unsure whether I should be using it on twist tops? Do bench or hammer cappers work better on twist tops? Are there different lids for twist tops and crown seals?

[rwh]

Same caps. My bench capper (a Superautomatica) works fine on twist tops (and even better on crown seals). Hammer type cappers will smash a significant proportion of twist tops. Not sure about the butterfly type, but I think some people use them successfully.

[Braden]

hmmm I might be better off twisting the original caps back on the longnecks. Then i can have carlton draught trivia questions too.

[Noodles]

A fellow home brewer uses a butterfly capper and he said he's cracked a few twist tops due to too much pressure being applied. I use a bench capper and have never had a problem.

Not too sure what sort of a seal you'll get twisitng the original caps back on twist tops, but i'd be guessing it wouldn't be as tight as a capper.

[rwh]

Someone else on here twists the tops back on using some kind of tool. They swear by it. So have a bit of a search.

[atropine]

I use a hammer bottle capper. I"ve done 30 thick glass crown bottles and 24 twist top s stubbie bottles. Just bottles i've picked up as i've been walking the dog, so a large assortment.

I haven't broken any bottles yet. I've noticed the pressure required to put on twist top lids is much greater than for crown seals. I"ll probably get a broken screw top stubbie but 24 bottles and no breaks is a pretty good record.

[rwh]

How about 700 with a bench capper and none broken?

[nanna Gail]

in reply to rwh I reuse twist tops and the special tool is just one of those plastic twist off thingies (for arthritic hands) They seal really tight due to the pressure build up over 2 months (mongrels to open without forementioned "special tool" You can reuse and reuse (yeah I know the new ones dont cost a lot) but if you dont need a bench capper why buy one

[NTRabbit]

I use a butterfly cappert on all kinds of bottles, one broken in over 1000, and that was a very old Coopers Sparkling bottle, the very old style they used to get before the spat with West End over the glass supplier.

I find it to be much better and more convenient to use than the Superautomatica I also have, which unless I'm doing an entire batch in Bundaberg gingerbeer bottles, pretty much just gathers dust.

[Boonie]

I sold my butterfly capper on ebay that came with kit.

I have 2 bench cappers and they are both better than the original capper IMO.

I organise it so I have the same size bottles, plus whether they are twisties or Crown Seal, just to speed up the process and avoid adjusting bench cappers height.

[pure_stoke]

The butterfly cappers are great on crown seals but I had trouble with it catching the lip of the twist tops and snapping the neck off the bottle. Some worked ok but about 3 out of 10 broke before i gave it away

[pacman]

Hi nanna Gail, we discussed reusing twist cap tops on another thread a few months ago.

The tool I was referring to was the type that usually came on a keyring. Came in various designs, some plastic, some metallic. They were more or less a gimmick, designed for the weaker amongst us to effortlessly uncap stubbies.

When twistcap stubbies first came on the market, some of the caps were difficult to remove, hence the introduction of gimmicky tools. Not to mention the various ingenious, and sometimes even crude methods resorted to by the more inventive amongst us.

But the keyring tools were brilliant, and still are, for recapping with 100% success rates (well, 99% in my case).

I have now moved on, and forwards I think, and use swingtops for my HBs. But if the need arose, I wouldn't hesitate in reverting to reusing twistcaps once again.

[BenH]

quick capping question: I have just picked up a 2nd hand bench capper. When I cap any longneck, the cap gets stuck in the little bell bit and is really hard to extricate the bottle from the capper with the cap still sealed on tight. Should I be chuckin this capper, or is it my technique?????

I bought the thing for $6 from the Darebin tip shop, so....chucking it isn't really a worry if its not worth persevering with

[Boonie]

quick capping question: I have just picked up a 2nd hand bench capper. When I cap any longneck, the cap gets stuck in the little bell bit and is really hard to extricate the bottle from the capper with the cap still sealed on tight. Should I be chuckin this capper, or is it my technique?????

I bought the thing for $6 from the Darebin tip shop, so....chucking it isn't really a worry if its not worth persevering with

I found that if you watch the position of the bottle when you cap, you will find the mark where it does not stick. Mine is about 20 mm off centre.

[OldBugman]

Ben,

I find if I cap and it sticks I need to apply a little more pressure and then it comes out fine.

[Hatchet Juggla]

my capper gets stuck every time with twist tops. i dont have any troubles removing them by tilting the bottle off to the side, but i'll try pushing a bit harder, and moving off center to see if it helps

[Chunk]

I went out and purchased a bench capper after using a mates butterfly capper. The butterfly capper worked good on crown seals but I had a few problems capping twisties. He doesn't even use it himself. Prefers to reuse twist top caps by twisting them on with an old tea towel. Another mates swears by his handcapper, so I guess it comes down to what method works best for you.

[OldBugman]

once you use a bench capper there is no going back...


and once you use a keg...

[pacman]

Yeah Chunk, a tea towel will do the job.

Another proven method is to cut a squash ball in half. You then have two recapping tools. Although with me, the only time I did this, come second bottling session, I couldn't find either half of said squash ball!

But unless you are a brickies labourer, don't try recapping twist top caps with a bare hand!

[Parrish]

What are better for bottling??? coopers plastic bottles or normal glass bottles any kind?