floor corker recommendations

[west_end]

I am thinking of getting a floor corker. A friend let me use his Portuguese Floor Corker and it seemed to work well. Is there any other brand I should be looking at?

It looks like the Italian Floor Corker is twice the price, is it worth the extra money?


Thanks

 

[Pumpkinman]

I prefer the Italian Corker, just the fact that the longer handle allows you to cork bottles much easier, less effort, and the taller legs for tall people like me, was the decision maker for me.
To sum it up:
The Italian corker is better if you are tall, over 6 ft tall, it is a taller corker, but if you are only corking a few cases here and there, and aren't very tall, the Portuguese will serve you fine.

 

[jojabri]

I just purchased the Portuguese.

Previously, I had only used that plastic piece of trash. EWWWWWW! I didn't have the upper body strenght to use it, so I had to make my hubby do it. That think was HORRIBLE!

Since purchasing the new one, I've only bottled a few but so far, I LOVE IT! I let the hubby do a few and he was like, "Man, this is the way to go!"

BTW, I found mine at the best price at LHBS, was only $59.99. After checking web pricing, I think Northernbrewer.com had the best price after shipping ($7.99 flat-rate). I think there may have been one on Ebay that was like $2 cheaper.

I haven't used an Italian, but I pumpkinman's assessment is about on-spot! I'm research minded and decided to go Portuguese. It's your call though.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I use the portuguese also..and it works well.

 

[jamesngalveston]

heres a link from one of the sponsors here.

http://www.piwine.com/portugese-floor-model-corker.html

 

[Rocky]

West end, I have the Italian model and I love it. I have seen the debate here on the forum and people stating that the Portuguese model is "just as good" when I think most people really mean that it is "good enough" considering the price differential. The question I would ask is, "If the Italian model and the Portuguese model were the same price, which would you buy?"

 

[richmke]

If you make Beer, the Italian has a Capper attachment.

The Portuguese has plastic jaws, and the Italian has brass jaws. I hear the Portuguese wears faster than the Italian.

If you stick with Natural Corks, they both seem to do the job. There are posts about them scoring synthetic corks. Supposedly the Swiss Rapid 12 (a lot more expensive) does not have that problem.

If you are in a populated area, keep an eye out on Craigslist. I've seen the relatively frequent Portuguese go for as low as $40 ($60 + shipping new), the occasional Italian for as low as $75 ($125+ship new), and the rare Swiss for $400 ($850+shipping new). Note: The Italian breaks down for easy shipping (I think the Portuguese does too). Good luck on shipping the Swiss.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Rocky, I couldn't agree more!
richmke, I've tried the capper attachment, it was pure garbage, at least the one I got, I've been using the red capper, it works great, I can cap a dozen bottles in a matter of a minute or two.

 

[Runningwolf]

I own both of them after corking well over 7000 bottles in the Port corker and it still looks brand new. I upgraded to the Italian and it is easier. I find the handle too long making you reach further for it, but I solved the problem by putting a block of wood behind the handle so it doesn't go back so far. This long handle also makes corkering a lot less effortless. On a scale of 1 -10 with the Italian being a 10, I would rate the Port an 8.

To sum it up in my opinion, it's a matter of budget. Yes the Italian is better but the Port corker is almost as good. Is the extra $50 worth it? If your going to be doing 100 gallons or more a year, and if your in the hobby for the long haul I would consider the Italian.

 

[Dugger]

West-end - also note that there are two types of the portuguese models available. The red model is quite common and does the job nicely, but there is also a burgundy model that is more robust and built more like the Italian model. My burgundy corker is an Excelvin. Note however that both the red and burgundy models have plastic jaws (which has not been a problem for me, even with synthetic corks). These two models are also about the same price.