How to Prime a 3-Spout Bottle Filler

bluecrab · Nov 7, 2020

As my winemaking volume increased, I stepped up to an Italian 3-spout bottle filler, like this one.

I like it. On bottling day, Mrs. bluecrab runs the filler, while I cork. I can barely keep up. What I found odd, though, was the method the instructions gave to start the flow in the three filler tubes or spouts. It said to put your mouth on the tube and suck. That didn't seem sanitary, but if the Italians say suck, then who am I to question it. It worked well for wine. I always got a little taste of what we were bottling. I never cared much for the taste of OxiClean or Star San, though. So, while I respect the wisdom of Italians, there is another way.

Priming The Filler Tubes:

Take an empty wine bottle and fill it all the way to the top with water. This will be used as the primer.
Press down on one of the filler tubes and while depressed slowly slide the bottle filled with water up on to the filler tube as far as possible. This will expel all the air out of the tubes.
Leave the bottle in place and release the filler tube. Water is now stored in the tube.
Remove the bottle. The tube is now primed. You are now ready to bottle.
To prime the remaining 2 tubes repeat steps 1-4 again.

[Directions: 3 Spout Bottle Filler]

Dustwheel · Oct 1, 2022

bluecrab said:
As my winemaking volume increased, I stepped up to an Italian 3-spout bottle filler, like this one.

View attachment 67971

I like it. On bottling day, Mrs. bluecrab runs the filler, while I cork. I can barely keep up. What I found odd, though, was the method the instructions gave to start the flow in the three filler tubes or spouts. It said to put your mouth on the tube and suck. That didn't seem sanitary, but if the Italians say suck, then who am I to question it. It worked well for wine. I always got a little taste of what we were bottling. I never cared much for the taste of OxiClean or Star San, though. So, while I respect the wisdom of Italians, there is another way.

Priming The Filler Tubes:

Take an empty wine bottle and fill it all the way to the top with water. This will be used as the primer.

Press down on one of the filler tubes and while depressed slowly slide the bottle filled with water up on to the filler tube as far as possible. This will expel all the air out of the tubes.

Leave the bottle in place and release the filler tube. Water is now stored in the tube.

Remove the bottle. The tube is now primed. You are now ready to bottle.

To prime the remaining 2 tubes repeat steps 1-4 again.

[Directions: 3 Spout Bottle Filler]

I'm interested in one of these this year. How has it worked out for you? And how many bottles can you fill n an hour ?

bluecrab · Oct 1, 2022

Dustwheel said:
I'm interested in one of these this year. How has it worked out for you? And how many bottles can you fill n an hour ?

There is some set up time when using this, so it works best for large volumes of wine. I have 15 gallon tanks. I’m not sure I would use it for 5 gallon carboys. The method of starting the flow that I posted doesn’t work for me. I still have to suck to get the wine flowing. Once it’s flowing, though, my wife is busy taking off full bottles and putting on empty ones. I have to work to keep up with my floor corker. I’m not really sure how many bottles it can fill per hour, but we bottled 175 in an afternoon.

Dustwheel · Oct 1, 2022

bluecrab said:
There is some set up time when using this, so it works best for large volumes of wine. I have 15 gallon tanks. I’m not sure I would use it for 5 gallon carboys. The method of starting the flow that I posted doesn’t work for me. I still have to suck to get the wine flowing. Once it’s flowing, though, my wife is busy taking off full bottles and putting on empty ones. I have to work to keep up with my floor corker. I’m not really sure how many bottles it can fill per hour, but we bottled 175 in an afternoon.

Thanks! I'll have 25 gallons to bottle in a few months, so I'm certain it will make it easier. Thanks again

David Violante · Oct 4, 2022

You could do that same process with a small piece of tubing attached to the end of the filler tube. This way you're not being unsanitary with the filler tube and still getting it primed by pulling off the air and getting wine to the end. When you're done priming one, move on to the next one by moving the clean end of the tubing. And you get to sample the wine in the process... LOL

Alternately, you could use the same tubing but attach a suction bulb to the end instead. You would have to squeeze the bulb before attaching either it or the tubing but that could work as well, as long as the bulb is big enough to pull enough volume of air.

bluecrab · Oct 4, 2022

David Violante said:
You could do that same process with a small piece of tubing attached to the end of the filler tube. This way you're not being unsanitary with the filler tube and still getting it primed by pulling off the air and getting wine to the end. When you're done priming one, move on to the next one by moving the clean end of the tubing. And you get to sample the wine in the process... LOL

Alternately, you could use the same tubing but attach a suction bulb to the end instead. You would have to squeeze the bulb before attaching either it or the tubing but that could work as well, as long as the bulb is big enough to pull enough volume of air.

I like your idea. My unit has a slit on the side of the filler tube. The end of the tube is sealed. It’s hard to get a good seal on the opening with anything but my mouth. I’ve tried, but in the end I give up.