Mama wants a floor corker. Which one?

[richmke]

Here is a review I found about 375ml on the Burgundy Portuguese:

375 ml btles need a extra piece on the bottom to cork. In time the spring rod will jamb and you'll have to oil it.
http://www.eckraus.com/winery-grade...tm_campaign=Learn+How+To+Become+A+Real+Corker

They also might be cheaper. $70, free shipping, 5% discount if you sign up for their e-mail list.

 

[Kraffty]

Hey Lori, I'll just throw this in the mix, just got this ad this morning, free shipping.

http://www.eckraus.com/winery-grade...tm_campaign=Learn+How+To+Become+A+Real+Corker

Might have to order it myself.
Mike

 

[LoneStarLori]

Thanks @richmke and @Kraffty! I was just entering my cc info on the other site when I got your replies. Got the 5% off AND free shipping.. Total with $2 packing fee = $68.35 YAY! Y'all saved me over $20. Thanks for having my back.

 

[Boatboy24]

@Kraffty that's a great deal!

 

[Dugger]

I have used a burgundy portuguese corker for over 10 years with no problem. This model is much more robust than the red one and is a good choice. Some shorter 375 ml bottles require a lift - I put a hockey puck or a roll of electrical tape on the plate under these bottles when corking.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Good suggestions! I'm excited. It might take some of the pain out of bottling.
Sure doesn't take long for the thrill of bottling your own wine to diminish, does it.


Sent from my iPad

 

[Runningwolf]

I do 24 -30 gallons at a time by myself. I don't mind it but with the Enolmatic I can bottle and filter in one step. I bottle 30 bottles or so then cork them all. With the right equipment it's not so bad.

 

[shockcord]

Here's the Portuguese corker at a very good price (includes 200 natural corks). I got it recently and have bottled 1 batch and it worked very well. This is my only experience with corking.

http://corkandwinesupplies.com/portuguesefloorcorker-1.aspx

 

[LoneStarLori]

I do 24 -30 gallons at a time by myself. I don't mind it but with the Enolmatic I can bottle and filter in one step. I bottle 30 bottles or so then cork them all. With the right equipment it's not so bad.

Oddly enough, even with the double lever hand corker it isn't so much the corking. It's the bottle washing. I reuse bottles given from friends and now have a new source, a small winery. It's certainly a pain but I'm saving money and helping the environment.

 

[Runningwolf]

I agree removing labels is the worst. Fortunately I found a winery who's labels float right off after about 15 minutes in oxyclean.

 

[richmke]

I have come to the conclusion that it is not worth my time and effort to clean used commercial wine bottles. Reusing my bottles with plastic labels is fine. They are clean, and the labels are easy to peel off.

 

[cmason1957]

I am so glad to have a couple of the wineries I live by love to donate bottles to wine makers and their labels come off with water and a 15 minute soak. I usually pick up 10-15 cases at a time and they are happy to be rid of them.

 

[sour_grapes]

I have come to the conclusion that it is not worth my time and effort to clean used commercial wine bottles. Reusing my bottles with plastic labels is fine. They are clean, and the labels are easy to peel off.

I'm not there yet, but I am close. I drink a wide variety of commercial wines, some of whose labels come right off, and others, not so much. I keep telling myself to just recycle the ones that pose any difficulty, but once I have some time/effort invested, I tend to keep going. (I have found Brake Cleaner to be a useful addition to the winery!)

When I do have to buy empty bottles, I find that it is such a pleasure to take clean, uniform bottles out of a box! Almost worth the buck-and-some-change per bottle.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Paul
Try acetone - it really works but it should be done outside as it is quite flammable and the offset smells of it - similar to brake kleen - just the next level up

.

 

[calvin]

Label peelers has a special right now. Buy four kits and get a free floor corker. That's the one I'd go with.

 

[sour_grapes]

Thanks, Steve. I do have a can of acetone, but I regard acetone as the next level DOWN from brake cleaner (or mineral spirits) for this task. Ketones (including acetone) have a polar nature, which is useful in some solvent applications. However, my first line of attack on these labels is water-based (with an alkaline solution); therefore, the glues that survive the water stage tend to need a non-polar solvent (like those in brake cleaner), in my experience.


Edited to add: I should say that my choice is not just on theoretical grounds. My line of attack on anything that is not water soluble is generally: first alcohol, then acetone, then mineral spirits, then trichloroethane, then methyl ethyl ketone. (For some things, plain old vegetable oil will work, too.) That is, I start with the most gentle thing (and better smelling thing!), and work my way up. So I did indeed use acetone for some labels, but found it wanting, and so had to go to mineral spirits. Brake cleaner and mineral spirits do a comparable job, but I find that brake cleaner smells better than mineral spirits and dissipates faster. (My brake cleaner is a mixture of polar and non-polar solvents, including toluene and acetone.)

 

[Putterrr]

lacquer thinner will remove any glue left behind after scraping the label off. use lots of paper towel so you dont just end up spreading the softened glue around. I just cleaned up 3 dozen with no issues. rubber gloves and an outside space is recommended

cheers

 

[Runningwolf]

I have come to the conclusion that it is not worth my time and effort to clean used commercial wine bottles. Reusing my bottles with plastic labels is fine. They are clean, and the labels are easy to peel off.

I use used wine bottles for economic reasons. In the past month alone I bottled over 40 cases of wine. The bottles didn't cost me anything but some labor. The second time around with them will be simple to clean up.

 

[richmke]

I use used wine bottles for economic reasons. In the past month alone I bottled over 40 cases of wine. The bottles didn't cost me anything but some labor.

It is the initial bottle that "costs" a lot. re-using that bottle is cheap (easy to clean).

Let's say it takes you 2 minutes to acquire (net additional amount of time vs purchasing), de-label, and clean a bottle. That means you can do 30 bottles an hour. To purchase new, it costs roughly $1 per bottle, or $30 for those 30 bottles.

What is the value of your free time?

 

[homesteader26]

Thx for this post - just ordered mine while it was on sale!