low quality bottle caps

[O-Ale-Yeah]

I bottled 124 bottles of beer a month ago. I've drank about 12 of them and they range from barely carbonated to moderately carbonated. The caps are extremely easy to take off. You can almost open them bare-handed.

Anyone ever have this problem?

Is there a way to spot bad caps before you buy them?

Is there a bottle capper that does a better job than other bottle cappers?

 

[pigroaster]

I use a capper on a stand and note two things... Here in Canada we get two tops: twist off and the regular tops. Next ... check your rubber under the capper head. Is it worn or too hard??? I always double cap. I lift caper up and turn the bottle 1/4 turn or so and redo it. I also take the bottle and turn it on its side as I put in upright to check for any leakers... I have had two flat bottles in 2000! Flat beer is not what home brewers strive for! Cap on!!

 

[MaxStout]

What capper do you use, and where did you buy your caps? What kinds of bottles are you using, and is there a type that's more prone than others? Are you using twist-offs? A little more info might help us troubleshoot.

I use a bench capper (super agata) and do something similar to what @pigroaster does. Press, rotate the bottle 1/2 turn, press again. A little extra insurance because I notice the capper's plunger goes slightly off-axis due to the force. Never had a leaker.

 

[ncbrewer]

I've had both equipment problems and user error problems. I had a wing capper that broke the necks off several bottles no matter how I did it. I capped dozens previously with a different wing capper, so I'm pretty sure the capper was at fault. I bought a bench capper, which solved the problem. Then I decided to add some insurance to the process. Started pressing down extra hard, twice. Started getting lots of flat beer. I went back to pressing with normal force, and no more problems. I also had some flat beer using twist-off bottles.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

I've had both equipment problems and user error problems. I had a wing capper that broke the necks off several bottles no matter how I did it. I capped dozens previously with a different wing capper, so I'm pretty sure the capper was at fault. I bought a bench capper, which solved the problem. Then I decided to add some insurance to the process. Started pressing down extra hard, twice. Started getting lots of flat beer. I went back to pressing with normal force, and no more problems. I also had some flat beer using twist-off bottles.

The wing capper I'm using has broken 3 bottles. These caps I bought seem thin and light.

 

[MaxStout]

Started pressing down extra hard, twice. Started getting lots of flat beer. I went back to pressing with normal force, and no more problems.

Maybe the extra force crushed the cap liners?

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

What capper do you use

A common looking wing capper.

and where did you buy your caps? Are you using twist-offs?

LHBS, pop tops

What kinds of bottles are you using,

Random typical 12 oz empties from brews I've bought.

 

[ncbrewer]

These caps I bought seem thin and light.

Maybe you could weigh 50 or so of yours and some that you think are "normal" to see if they are actually thinner.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

A brewing friend of mine had a similar problem. Upon investigation it was determined they thought they were getting a great deal on bottle caps. Well, they did, unfortunately the bottle caps they bought for capping homebrew where only good for crafts. There was no liner inside the cap to create a seal. These caps are fine for crafts, but not capping a bottle.

Where were the bottle caps purchased?

 

[NGD]

A common looking wing capper.



LHBS, pop tops


Random typical 12 oz empties from brews I've bought.

There’s a few different styles of wing cappers, and at least one of them is pure crap. Bench cappers are faster if you have a dedicated area for them.

If your noticing dents in the top of the cap, then your pressing to hard. My 10yo daughter helps me cap as an example..and no leakers or undercarbs yet.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

There’s a few different styles of wing cappers, and at least one of them is pure crap. Bench cappers are faster if you have a dedicated area for them.

If your noticing dents in the top of the cap, then your pressing to hard. My 10yo daughter helps me cap as an example..and no leakers or undercarbs yet.

I do in fact have dents.

 

[NGD]

I do in fact have dents.

I made the same mistake...with broken bottle tops as a result. Backing off worked great.

 

[FatDragon]

With my bench capper at least, the best seal is achieved with the least force. Adjust the height of the capper so the bell is just over the cap and it should be quite easy to pull the lever until it crimps the cap on. Pulling harder is just going to put pressure on the center of the cap that could potentially distort the cap and kill the seal.

 

[MaxStout]

With my bench capper at least, the best seal is achieved with the least force. Adjust the height of the capper so the bell is just over the cap and it should be quite easy to pull the lever until it crimps the cap on. Pulling harder is just going to put pressure on the center of the cap that could potentially distort the cap and kill the seal.

I find the same thing. Just enough force to get the cap to seat. I can feel it "bottom out." Forcing beyond that can distort the cap.

 

[tellyho]

I've been bottling for 13 years and never had an entirely bad batch of poor sealing caps. Not to say that this isn't possible, just adding my 156 batch data sample here. I'd look to other equipment problems.

I only recently (face-palm) graduated to a bench capper. Should have bought one years ago. Sooooooo much better than the wing capper.

 

[GPa Bob]

What capper do you use, and where did you buy your caps? What kinds of bottles are you using, and is there a type that's more prone than others? Are you using twist-offs? A little more info might help us troubleshoot.

I have used two different kinds of bottles ... bought them from the lhbs, and 'recycled' store bought beers. I have noticed one local brewery, Summit, has a bottle with a shorter grab area on the neck than most of the regular bottles. The shorter grab area will not seal as well with a wing capper and as a result I no longer buy Summit beer.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

I think I'll retire this wing capper and get a table top capper

 

[MaxStout]

I have used two different kinds of bottles ... bought them from the lhbs, and 'recycled' store bought beers. I have noticed one local brewery, Summit, has a bottle with a shorter grab area on the neck than most of the regular bottles. The shorter grab area will not seal as well with a wing capper and as a result I no longer buy Summit beer.

I never had good luck with Summit bottles, either. That second ring is too close to the top ring on the mouth and didn't allow room for the cap to crimp inward, even with a bench capper. I still buy their beer from time to time, but recycle the bottles.

 

[Saunassa]

Summit bottles work well for me. I bought an Agata bench capper from the start on advice from folks here and have a red Barron winged capper for backup in case it breaks while bottling. I thought capping would take more force so the first batch had some 'smiles' on the caps.
No leaks yet on any bottles.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know about the caps. It is possible that some are thin, I haven't seen any. The crafts ones mentioned certainly would not work.

I bottled thousands of bottle with my Red Barron capper. No broken bottles or leakers. I do think a lot of people use them poorly. Don't lean heavily on the outboard ends of the handles, make a twisting motion with your hands, down on the outboard ends and up with your thumb and index finger on the inboard end. Only enough to make the caps seat.

I bought an Agata capper because the Red Barron is plastic and a handle could fail. I had no backup. The Red Barron is now my backup.

I have never double crimped. Any uneven carbonation I attribute to uneven priming (not many), or infection = one bottle in the thousands that I have bottled.

 

[smata67]

I've gotten the really thin caps myself. They were silver and branded Brewer's Best, but this was a long time ago. I was worried at first, but they did end up working like any other cap. I ditched the Red Baron capper after my first couple of brews to go with the Ferrari Duemila (Super Agata). Night and day, you will love it. The "best" one to get is the one with the black button on the side just like this picture. There are cheaper imitations. There are more expensive imitations. At this point, I have probably capped about 2,000 bottles with and it functions as good as new.