F$#@ing Buon Vino Bottle Filler...

[Mike]

So I was attempting to bottle two batches Saturday. This would be the second time using my Buon Vino automatic bottle filler. The first time, it worked quite well. This time, however, not so much. It would constantly sputter air into the overflow tube. Also when the wine filled the bottle and the flow was supposed to shut off, it wouldn't shut off. It would always just flow into the overflow. Very frustrated, I pulled out my laptop to see if I could find a solution for the issue. About 20 seconds later, the end of the Buon Vino siphon pulled out of the bucket spilling the half-full overflow bottle of wine ONTO MY LAPTOP! After completely taking the laptop apart and drying it out, it still works, but there is pixel damage/wine stain on the screen. I don't feel like spending $400 to fix the f*cking thing so I'll have to deal with it for the rest of the laptime's life.

ANYWAY, does anyone know how I can fix the god forsaken Buon Vino filler?

 

[Horkalugi]

hmmmm, if that happened to me, I think a sledge hammer would be the right tool to fix it.

 

[Mike]

As much as I wanted to, I didn't want any more casualties that day.

 

[DageonYar]

I was debating getting one of those fillers... after reading this, I think I'll stick to my 4$ bottle filling rod. Sorry for your bad luck Sounds like maybe you have an air leak somewhere. Good luck with the debugging.

 

[upper]

Must not have had your Pop-Up blocker enabled Upper

 

[RadarLuv]

I find if I have the adjustment screw in the full open possition it works just fine. I end up with about 300cc of overflow from a 6 gal batch.

 

[Tom]

I dont have a problem. Ck the adjustment screw and play with a little

 

[xanxer82]

Rule of thumb is to keep anything electronic away from your work area.
Best bottle filling combination is my autosiphon and el cheapo filling rod.
IF you're techinically inclined, you can replace the screen yourself from parts on ebay.

 

[Mike]

I originally used a siphon and beer bottle filler, but the filler was totally annoying. I was always battling to activate the filler against the interior punt. I wanted something more automatic.

 

[cpfan]

I originally used a siphon and beer bottle filler, but the filler was totally annoying. I was always battling to activate the filler against the interior punt. I wanted something more automatic.

That's one reason some wine makers are very picky about their bottles. Although I do accept 'free' bottles, many are recycled because of shape, label, effort to clean. I've been paying less that a $1/bottle for new bottles, and have recently learned of a couple of cheaper sources nearby. The cost is worth it to me versus the hassle of a 'bad' bottle.

Steve

 

[Runningwolf]

Mike I have bottled over 900 bottles with this filler and it still works great. Like Tom said play with the adjustment screw on the side. You could also fill a bucket with water and play with a few bottles till you get the adjustment right instead of wasting good wine. When i was going to upgrade to an electric jet filler George talked me out of it and himself out of a $300 sale telling me what I had was just as good and not any quicker.

 

[Julie]

Whew, I started to get worried there for a minute on this bottle filler. I put it on my Christmas list and I was thinking "Oh Boy" this might not be so good. But after reading all the posts I think I will be find.

Actually, I'm not the one who does the filling. My husband is my toady. He does most of the manual work, I normally just tell him what to do. It is such a great arrangement.


Julie

 

[Wade E]

I have only bottled 4 batches with mine and it does take a few batches to really get the adjustments set really good but mine works great and I have mine hooked up to my electric vacuum pump and now that Ive done a few batches I only get 1 glass worth in the overflow! did you clean it out properly when you finished using it last time??????

 

[rawlus]

i stopped using my buon vino automatic for the same reason. totally not worth it.
right now, nothing seems easier or performs more reliably than a double-drilled #3 stopper, a vacuum pump and a few fittings. works very slick, vacuum bottles the bottle, i have fine adjustment and it is easier to move around from bottle to bottle than the top-heavy buon vino.

 

[smurfe]

Mine does the same thing. It is n old one. THere was a found defect and they were supposed to fix that problem. My vendor told me to send mine back for replacement but I never did. I just stay by mine and shut it off manually when the bottle is full. I too just started using one of the $1.99 wands that works just fine.

 

[Tom]

Funny some of U guys/gals have had problems. I had mind I guess 2+ years. I have bottled at least 2,000 bottles. Except for "fine tuning" I have never had a problem..

 

[Runningwolf]

I've done half as many as Tom. Sounds like operator error..Call OSHA! Really though if you can get it working it is a great tool for the price. I can do 30 bottles in no time at all. When I was going to upgrade to the electric one George told me to stick with the one I got as a $300 upgrade would be no quicker. He uses this one when he hosts bottling nights. I wonder if there was a bad batch out there. By the way, this is what makes George so great. He sells what he believes in (tried and trusted) instead of trying to make the big buck!

 

[AlFulchino]

similar to Tom, i have bottled a number that is in the thousands w this machine.....this machine made me end up deciding to also purchase the Buon Vino Super Jet Filter which in the last week transferred/rack over 400 gallons...both pumps, in my view just don't stop....and unless you get a foreign object into it....and that is the bottom line on this machine

and like Smurfe, if i have an issue, i just stand by it and manually turn on and off

the Buon Vino filter which i also use to rack you must use a pre-filter....i would suggest also using one on the bottler because when you get down to the lees, lets face it...who wants not capture that *last* bottle? we all do...and that is where the problems start...air in the overflow...loss of flow and or prime....thats when we start cursing and asking where ALL the towels in the house are


its about the settings, its about cleaning, its about keeping debris out of the pump and its about lubrication of any necessary parts...one other issue is making sure the hoses are properly clamped to insure no air gets in the lines

oh and one other tip..i strongly recommend rubber-banding or otherwise tying the bottom of your fill tube to a stick or rod so that the filling point of the bottom of the hose/tube is controllable as to where you ultimately have the wine entering the tube.....this way it wont *wander* on you

 

[Runningwolf]

Hey Al, I agree with everything you guys are saying. Just wondering if you are looking into getting an electric bottle filler at some point. Have you or anyone else ever looked into or used the enolmatic bottle filler. I have heard a lot of great reviews on this. I do realize you could essentially do the same thing with vacuum pump.

 

[Tom]

If it's the one i'm thinking of no. The one I think it is, is also pricy right? Send a link of which one you are talking about.