[69franx]

What a blast 3.5 gallons into the 16 I have to bottle and my capper blows out. Several poor crimps, straighten out the metal edges as best as possible, then 3 crushed bottles out of the next 6. Still picking up shards. Tossed the last 1.25 gallons of the batch I was part way into. Hoping to get a new capper tomorrow and get back on it.  I have extra buckets, tubing, airlocks, etc. Never expected to need an extra capper mid batch. Lesson learned?

[yso191]

Wow that's crazy!  Please post a picture of the capper so any who have one like it can be prepared.

[69franx]

Will do

[Joe Sr.]

I've got 4 or so cappers.  20 years in and not a one has blown out.

I've cracked bottle necks before, but I think its weak bottles, not the capper.

Of course, I've never done several in a row.

[69franx]

My thinking is that that bowing was not allowing the capper to fully grasp the ridges of the bottles. It would slide unevenly to one side or the other instead of going straight down.

[Stevie]

You can't bend pressed steel back into its original form. Once that stress spot forms, it's there for good.

I guess this is a lesson in redundancy. Sorry you had to learn it.

[69franx]

Thanks Stevie, I was already resigned to buying a new one tomorrow out of fear of this. I got almost 3 years and 30 some batches out of it. It came in the original brewer's best kit I started with

[Stevie]

I have a red plastic wing capper that is 10 years old and still works well. Only pain point is short neck bottles as the jaws don't quite fit the fatter neck.

[69franx]

Yeah I know my LHBS carries the red one you are talking about and the black one I just broke. Will ask them for recommendation. Or maybe its a sign to start kegging???

[case thrower]

I've got (had?) the same capper and it was gasping its last gasp this past Thursday.  I was able to finish the batch but I was waiting for bottles to give the ultimate sacrifice!  Fortunately, they never did.  Well, one may have cracked under the pressure but the rest stood firm.  Four years old and about 70 cases of beer.  At least it lasted this long.  I just wish I could use the capper I found in my mother's basement not too long ago.  It's a rust covered cast iron bench capper but when I went to try it out, I knew it was going to shatter the bottle.  Great conversation piece, though.  The biggest irony, however, is that my mother wouldn't drink, let alone brew, a beer to save her life.

[Bob357]

The red one came with my first equipment kit and worked well for several years. I started breaking bottle necks and switched to a Super Agata Bench capper and would never go back to a wing capper. For the few extra bucks, go for a bench capper. It will cap a lot more types of bottles and last for years if not abused.

[69franx]

Thanks Bob, will check it out

[reverseapachemaster]

Yikes that really sucks. I have that same black capper. It's almost seven years old and still works fine.

If you're spending the cash for a new bottle capper then yeah, you might as well think about spending the money to upgrade to kegging or at least a bench capper.

[dilluh98]

Well, a $15 wing capper that lasts 3 years is a far cry from "spending the money to upgrade to kegging," but I've used far less stable rationalizations for purchases before.   

[69franx]

Well, a $15 wing capper that lasts 3 years is a far cry from "spending the money to upgrade to kegging," but I've used far less stable rationalizations for purchases before.   

Every word is 100% correct, kegging was really just a joke for now and in this instance. Honestly, I expected every response to be "blah, blah, blah, start keggin, etc" and am glad it was not