Bottle capping.

[Bernie]

Hand-held cappers have two grippers that grab the neck before the crimper comes down. I had some bottles that always capped and some that looked the same that never did. The photo below shows the easily capped on the right and on the left one that always caused the grippers to slip.
Glass bottles are coated with tin oxide and a polymer on the outside to make them slip easily against each other on the bottling lines.
I wonder if some problems that hand held cappers are because of the differences in grip on the bottle neck.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

After years of brewing just bitters and using plastic barrels I have made something that requires higher carbonation which I have decided to bottle.

An obvious question is - how much carbonation? If you are looking at Belgian-style 3vol kind of carbonation, then I would suggest using bottles from Belgian beers and certainly avoid any bottles that feel "light" for their size as they are probably not strong enough.

 

[Sozzled Sab]

An obvious question is - how much carbonation? If you are looking at Belgian-style 3vol kind of carbonation, then I would suggest using bottles from Belgian beers and certainly avoid any bottles that feel "light" for their size as they are probably not strong enough.

Good point, the brew I have fermenting at the moment is an Amber hybrid which I believe is around 2.5vol carbonation. I have a collection of around 50 bottles most of which are either ale or cider bottles and a few from a mate who is a bit of a lager connoisseur. I will have to have a good look at them.

 

[Applesnmore]

Second Cheshire Cat, two-handled cappers grip the neck of the bottle and may slip if the neck is the wrong shape. The only problem with bench cappers is that they have to be reset if the bottle height changes.

Agreed. If you use a variety of bottle types / heights it can be a pain. Wish my bench mounted capper was like my wine bottles Corker - spring loaded base.