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\okay, after bottling my latest brew I've come to the conclusion that I need both an auto-syphon and a proper capper. Any recommendations?

auto siphons are a bit expensive i think - i think as long as you have clips and some kind of bottling cane you only need to start your siphon once - something like this should do.
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I myself just use one of these attached to a basic syphon tube.
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As for the capper - i use the twin lever capper
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And i dont have any problems with it. But i prob dont cap bottles as much as others. I use a mixture of mini kegs, swing tops and capped bottles...
There are lots of grolsch bottles doing the rounds in pubs... I got 72 of them off my brother last week. You might be able to get some from your friendly local barman.

I have the standard Young's autosiphon that the Irish shops have and recommend it. Been using the same Young's twin-lever for nearly two years without breaking a single bottle so no problems there either. When it eventually dies I'll probably buy a bench capper but don't feel the need to now.

I also like the autosiphon, but do NOT try to remove the hose after attaching it; it's pretty easy to break at the 90 degree turn.

I had some whole hops get sucked into the bottom on my last batch and while trying to get them out a tiny plastic piece came out and it's NEAR IMPOSSIBLE to get it back in place, as it needs to go back in from the inside, bottom of the auto siphon and be oriented correctly. (I think it would take a 1 meter long pair of tweezers to put it in there correctly...)

Once you lose the plastic piece on the end it doesn't have enough pressure to prime itself and isn't particularly useful as an autosiphon.


As I have a kegging setup now, I've asked Santa for the Blichmann "beer gun", which would allow me to bottle directly from a corney, at which time I can kiss my autosiphon goodbye!

The autosiphon is a good thing to have and definitely feels more professional than using a ballpoint pen to start a siphon... (I've done and still do both when I bottle.)


Adam

&amp;quot;Biertourist&amp;quot;:3kcsu7og wrote:
As I have a kegging setup now, I've asked Santa for the Blichmann "beer gun", which would allow me to bottle directly from a corney, at which time I can kiss my autosiphon goodbye!
[/quote:3kcsu7og]
I like the sound of that. How much are we talking? The website says hopandgrape are their distributor in the uk - but i dont see them on the h&g website.

Edit: found it on the h&g website - with a pile of other shiney stuff from blichmann - theyre sold out though and there doenst seem to be a price beside it.

[quote:2iryh5zo]Been using the same Young's twin-lever for nearly two years without breaking a single bottle so no problems there either. When it eventually dies I'll probably buy a bench capper but don't feel the need to now.[/quote:2iryh5zo]

I managed the near impossible and broke mine after my second brew. Surely a record!

Have to say the bench capper, although pricier, is far handier.