Ferrari Bottle Filler Questions - NEED HELP

[ithink2020]

Okay, I need some help. I just bottle 30 bottles using it and about threw it away.

1. What size hose works best for this? I think my hose is a little too big (see below) and could be the cause of some issues...
2. How do you properly get this started?
3. How do I not get this thing to leak?

First, the instructions don't mention how open or closed the red cap needs to be. Mine was apparently closed. When I try pumping my auto-siphon, I got a nice surprise of wine squatting out from where the hose slide on to the inlet. I think my hose might be too big. Had to find a zip tie to prevent wine from squirting out.

NOTE: I might need a different hose, as I do sometimes get tiny bubbles flowing in the tube where it connects to the auto-siphon. So this could be some of my issues. I think I have a 3/8" auto-siphon. Where the hose connects, the outside diameter of the cane is 3/8" wide. The inside diameter of the hose is right at 3/8". It slides on easily to the Auto-siphon and Ferrari.

Second, I don't know why, but I had to restart the siphon several times. (Hose too big?) The hose would start filling with air and the siphon would slow. I would pump the auto-siphon a few times to help. But had to keep doing that. How do you get this properly started?

Third, this thing leaks a LOT! It appears to leak out from under the red cap and/or from the buttons at times. Sometime I would adjust the red cap and it would work fine for a few bottles, it would start leaking again. Then, I would re-adjust, only for it to leak from the top again. I've thought about using the Anti-Foam tube next time, as some of the bottles still had foam from the star-san. So maybe that was part of the issue?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! I really would like to get this to work?

@joeswine I'm tagging you as I know you use one. Thanks!

 

[cmason1957]

I have used one, a small hose seems to work best, but best isn't great. I find they spit liquid out the top almost no matter what you do and make a mess. I have thrown all mine away and only user my allinonewinepump to bottle with.

 

[CDrew]

Terrible design. I call it the Ferrari wine leaker. Mine is history as well. It leaks everywhere. Even the better made version of it, the Buon Vino sucks too. THere are no cheap and good options. I have an enolmatic, which isn't perfect, but it's pretty good, just not cheap. Good luck.

 

[KCCam]

and only user my allinonewinepump to bottle with.

I tried a different kind of auto-stop bottle filler too. It didn’t leak, but it didn’t fill to a consistent level. It was worse than doing it manually. I am also an AIO vacuum pump convert. Bottling is a breeze now, as is racking and degassing. Thanks again Steve, @vacuumpumpman.

 

[Rocky]

Is looks easy in the attached video. I have never tried one but I would practice with water a few times to make sure I had the hang of it. Q: Where do the leaks occur? Also the size tubing seems to be indicated by the mounting post.

 

[cmason1957]

The leaks I had come out the top. In your video, it shows a closed off thing on the top. New ones come with only a top that has a small piece of tubing attached to it. Not that it really matters, that's where the leaks occur and if you put Teflon tape on the threads at the top, you interfere with the operation of it. You can bottle with the Ferrari and I have often recommended it in the past to those without a pump of some sort, one thing that I do really like about it is that it automatically stops filling, once the bottle is full, but it isn't worth the spewing problems we had.

Around here my cellar rat (wife - SWMBO) handles the actual bottling process and she has told me I would have to do that, if I require her to use the Ferrari, I will be bottling by myself, so that drives my choice of things to use.

 

[Rocky]

Here is another bottle filler I found demoed on the internet. (I especially like how the guy says "boo-on" for buon) Seems to work well, at least in the video. I also noted that he has cork finish and screw top (!) bottles that he is filling and corking with an Italian floor corker, so take that for what it is worth. I don't use any of these products. I made my own set up with a pump I bought on eBay and a apparatus that I made.

 

[pete1325]

I have two of them, both came with little clear hose attached to the top red cap. I melted the hose and pinched it shut, that seemed to help. definitely a design flaw. I tried to get a new cap, without the hose, but was unable to find one. they work just okay for a few bottles, then start leaking. I bottle, a few cases at a time, there's got to be a better way.

 

[JustJoe]

I used one of those once and then threw it away.

 

[bstnh1]

I use the plain old spring loaded bottle filler that attaches to a tube from an auto-siphon. Works great, no leaks, no squirts, no dribbles. You have to lift the tip off the bottle bottom to stop it, but it fills to the right level easy enough. It takes roughly 20-25 seconds to fill a bottle.

 

[pete1325]

Yep, have one or two of those as well. They are my "go to" when bottling

 

[KCCam]

Here is another bottle filler I found demoed on the internet. (I especially like how the guy says "boo-on" for buon) Seems to work well, at least in the video. I also noted that he has cork finish and screw top (!) bottles that he is filling and corking with an Italian floor corker, so take that for what it is worth. I don't use any of these products. I made my own set up with a pump I bought on eBay and a apparatus that I made.

That’s the one I tried. It worked OK, but my biggest beef was that the fill level was inconsistent, and highly dependent on the shape of the bottle. And you have to adjust with a set screw to have it trip at just the right pressure. If you get it wrong, or have a poor seal on the bottle, it doesn’t trip, and then can squirt wine. None of those problems with the AIO. No adjustment other than the fill tube height. It works on wine level, not pressure, so every bottle is exactly the same level. If the seal breaks, it stops filling. Genius, in my opinion. Expensive if using it just for filling, but a steal if using it for racking and degassing as well.

 

[Chuck E]

I use the All-In-One. No muss, no fuss.

 

[KCCam]

I use the All-In-One. No muss, no fuss.

And no sitting on the floor, cross-legged to do it. Yah, I know it doesn't have to be on the floor, but the sink is SOOO much nicer.

 

[ithink2020]

I just ordered new tubing and a spring loaded bottling wand. Matt with Labelpeelers' helped me confirm my tubing was too big, causing some of my frustrations.

Sounds like the new tubing and wand is the solution for now.

I may own an AIO some day, but can't swing $250+ at the moment. Someday, just not today.

 

[rustbucket]

@ithink2020 you'll be happy with the spring loaded wand. I started out with the Ferrari Bottle Filler like you did. While it worked OK, it did squirt out the top despite my adjustment attempts. What finally drove me to replace it is the realization that I was aerating my wine during the bottling process. The Ferrari Bottle Filler seems to spray the wine into the bottle. The wine leaves the Ferrari spigot sideways, running down the sides of the wine bottle during the filling process. My spring loaded wand fills the bottle from the bottom so the wine is never aerated.

 

[ithink2020]

@rustbucket I'm just glad I had all these issues with an inexpensive kit. However, I should have taken the time to run through the process with water. So that's on me. But I will say, the online videos made it look pretty simple, effortless, and clean...

I'll be setting up a test run of the new stuff once they are in.

 

[kevinlfifer]

I have used a ferarri for at least a1000 bottles without any of the above issues. UNTIL TODAY, squirts a star pattern all over the place when the wine gets to the top of the bottle. Just ordered a Buon Vino Gravity Bottle Filler.

 

[Chuck E]

I use the All In One. I runs the wine down the side of the bottle.

 

[Sailor323]

Any opinions on the Buon Vino filler? Not the electric version.