Best Bench-top Capper??

[Puddlethumper]

Does anyone make a decent bench-top bottle-cappper? I've checked all the usual mail-order houses and they all seem to be selling about the same items and most aren't getting consistently good reviews.

It's time to retire my old 1950's bench-top capper. I ordered one from a mail order house and wasn't at all impressed. All plastic, pressed together parts ... the bottle caps stuck and I had to wrench the bottle free of the capper... etc.

If you've found a good one I'd like to know about it, where you found it and about how much it cost. Thanks

 

[Hammy71]

I've had my Super Agata for about a year and a half. Yes, it feels cheap...but has worked fine so far. Love the ability to bottle different size bottles with no real adjustments required. I usually throw out about 25% of reviews on line for almost everything. Some people are never happy and are upset that a 20 dollar item isn't up to par with the older 200 dollar item they owned. I rarely bottle though, so my review will have to be weighted accordingly.

 

[zx2tuner]

Really like my colonna capper/corker

 

[unionrdr]

I got the super agata bench capper after my red baron capper stopped sealing the caps all the way. Yeah,some bottles will stick in the bell,but not many. The good part is that it'll cap any bottle,whereas the wing cappers would get stuck on the shorter ones. The German bottles seem to work the best with it. Easy to adjust for bottles sizes by pulling the handle straight up,& slide up or down a little.

 

[day_trippr]

I still have a Super Agata, I used it for years and never had any real problems with it. Occasional bent cap, mostly due to operator error, but I don't ever recall getting a cap stuck. Keep the bell lubed and don't rush and the thing just works...

Cheers!

 

[Puddlethumper]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your comments.

 

[unionrdr]

That was it,I forgot to lube the inside of the bell.

 

[orangehero]

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/z112976?lang=en&region=US

What's wrong with your 1950's one?

 

[Puddlethumper]

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/z112976?lang=en&region=US

What's wrong with your 1950's one?

Slips a lot. Hard to get it to hold in one position for a session of capping and gets to be a pain. But to its credit it seems to seal OK.

 

[deadfall]

I have a similar Capper. Mine has a board attached to it with a chunk of leather over the steel foot. On the other side mine has a spring. Any chance yours is missing the spring?

 

[Puddlethumper]

I have a similar Capper. Mine has a board attached to it with a chunk of leather over the steel foot. On the other side mine has a spring. Any chance yours is missing the spring?

Spring is still there. I now have a board attached to the bottom of mine too. The patch of leather is a great idea. This thing just won't hold one position consistently and because the mechanism moves up and down I can't figure out a way to put a clamp or something on it to hold it in one place.

 

[deadfall]

I can't take credit for the board or the piece of leather. I found it in a old house years ago. Actually I didn't even know what it was. When I started brewing I glued a few garden hose gaskets in it and a magnet and it was good to go.

I have a mark on the side of mine for the standard bottle. I have to be careful to not lift the handle all the way up or it moves. I was messing with some rubber bands and came up with this which might work.

 

[unionrdr]

The super agata works like that too. Just don't let the handle go completely vertical.

 

[deadfall]

The super agata works like that too. Just don't let the handle go completely vertical.

I think the rust on mine may actually make it work better. It is good to know that my antique capper is the latest technology.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I have a mark on the side of mine for the standard bottle. I have to be careful to not lift the handle all the way up or it moves. I was messing with some rubber bands and came up with this which might work.

Yours is very similar to mine but they are different in a couple of ways. Any markings to indicate who made yours?

 

[deadfall]

Mine is labeled Indestro November 21 1921. Thank for asking, I never looked before.

 

[mvcorliss]

With what and where do you lube your capper? And is it something we should be doing with all cappers?

 

[day_trippr]

With what and where do you lube your capper? And is it something we should be doing with all cappers?

You should always keep a film of some kind of lube on the inside surface of the bell. It helps make for solid seals and keeps caps from wedging inside the bell.

I use keg lube (is there anything that stuff can't do? ) but you can use veggie oil in a pinch. Definitely use something...

Cheers!

 

[Puddlethumper]

Mine is labeled Indestro November 21 1921. Thank for asking, I never looked before.

Mine is an Indestro also. Can't find any dates or other markings on it. Maybe I should get some naval jelly and see if I can get through the rust

 

[deadfall]

Mine is an Indestro also. Can't find any dates or other markings on it. Maybe I should get some naval jelly and see if I can get through the rust

The date was right on the top of the handle. I don't think it's worth the hassle to make it shiny again. I prefer to call it patina. It would eventually just come back anyways.

 

[Puddlethumper]

The date was right on the top of the handle. I don't think it's worth the hassle to make it shiny again. I prefer to call it patina. It would eventually just come back anyways.

Thanks for telling me where to look. But I've scanned mine really close and there's nothing on it except the Indestro name in sort of a rough script on the handle. I agree about not expecting it to stay shiny for long, especially as pitted as it has gotten. But it might help find some markings that may be hidden under the rust.

I wonder if these things have any value as antiques? I had no idea mine might be that old.

 

[deadfall]

The vintage cappers seem to sell for about $20 if they can even find a buyer. I picked up a brand new vintage capper/corker for $10 from my local wine brewers supply shop. I figured it would be a good backup if mine ever broke. Even better I might actually meet another local that wanted to learn to brew.

 

[Puddlethumper]

That is good to know. Had no idea what mine was worth.

It has been in the family for years. My dad made a couple batches of "home brew" when I was a kid back in the mid-1950's and I remember him using the old capper then. I don't know if he bought it from somebody or if it was something he'd had all along.

Had forgotten completely about it until a few months after I started brewing. I was talking to my brother about it and he told me he still had Dad's old capper, and did I want it? I said sure. So next time he was down our way he brought it along with him.

I'd been using a Black Beauty capper that came with my newbie brewers startup kit. I thought it was really cool that the old capper worked far better than the wing-capper and didn't break the necks of the New Belgium bottles that occasionally sneaked into the supply. After an aborted attempt to replace it with a newer model I've about decided it is the best darned capper I'm likely to find so I'd better learn to work with it's shortcomings.