Little Bottler

[earthwormgaz]

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/little-bottler.html
Anyone tried one of those?

Had a right job siphoning off my brew last night, had one of those tubes you connect on and nothing comes out until you press it into the bottom of the bottle but it went wrong and the stuff was coming through really slowly, it took ages. Did the last few and just went back to squeezing the pipe with my fingers to stop the flow.

I snapped the bottling thing in half at the end in a rage haha.

Little Bottler might be the fix? Any other good bottling gizmos anyone knows of?

 

[RichK]

I've got something similar but stainless steel, which I think is slightly fatter. Works a treat, wouldn't bottle with anything else now.

 

[The Baron]

I use one and have for years but the type that goes on the end of the syphon tube and not the barrel.
Very good IMO

 

[Graz]

Although my bottling is usually only the difference between a 19L keg and the volume of whatever kit I've brewed I still wouldn't be without one of these. When kegging I fit it to the end of the siphon tube, fill the half dozen or so bottles I need then carefully detach it and siphon the rest into the keg.

It will also fit on a tap as shown and in the past when I have bottled an entire brew I would siphon into a bottling bucket with the tap fitted, batch prime, and bottle from the tap with the bottling wand fitted. So much easier than trying to balance a siphon tube, tilt the fermented and so on.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I use one and have for years but the type that goes on the end of the syphon tube and not the barrel.
Very good IMO

I use the same method, i cut the tube off at the point below (pic #1) then stick it on the tapered part of the tap in pic #2 on the end of my auto syphon tube, i used to use a standard syphon which worked but i find the auto much easier, a bucket clip helps keep everything in place.

 

[earthwormgaz]

Yes, I have to get one of those clips as well and avoid arm ache.

 

[Victor Churchill]

I have a number of these bottling wands (Little Bottler type). Seemed like the bees knees at first, but after a while I too found that they get slower at delivering the flow. The spring loaded valve in the doohickey at the end of the rigid tube seems to not quite clear the housing that it springs into when stoppping the flow, so it's always obstructing the flow even when you have the tube grounded in the bottle. I ended up taking the assembly off the rigid tube and just putting each bottle up to the FV tap and filling using the tap. I like the sound of a SS one though...

 

[Chippy_Tea]

The spring loaded valve in the doohickey at the end of the rigid tube seems to not quite clear the housing that it springs into when stoppping the flow,

I have noticed if you push it too hard into the bottom of the bottle the flow slows so my technique is to press it all the way then releasing it a couple of millimetres which allows full flow, my little bottler is a few years old and still works so i dont think age has any bearing on performance, have you taken the valve apart to clean it?

 

[Victor Churchill]

Agreed CT, I did find the same as you - if I grounded the tube in the bottle the flow would be less than if it was then raised a touch. But even that 'raised-a-touch' flow was well less than the flow I'd get using the wand with the whole cartridge detached. I do recollect taking one apart and then having trouble getting it back together again; I should be doing some bottling tomorrow so may have a go at cleaning one up and get some comparative timings.

 

[Rwilts]

Agreed CT, I did find the same as you - if I grounded the tube in the bottle the flow would be less than if it was then raised a touch. But even that 'raised-a-touch' flow was well less than the flow I'd get using the wand with the whole cartridge detached. I do recollect taking one apart and then having trouble getting it back together again; I should be doing some bottling tomorrow so may have a go at cleaning one up and get some comparative timings.

Just make sure you control the disassembly or you may spend an hour looking for a spring in the garden.

 

[Rwilts]

Didn't think I had anything constructive to add but.. what I have done very successfully for past two years is to connect the wand directly to the pressure barrel tap , which I use as a bottling bucket. I found that the white joint highlighted by CT above fits perfectly on the tap spout.

 

[earthwormgaz]

I have a number of these bottling wands (Little Bottler type). Seemed like the bees knees at first, but after a while I too found that they get slower at delivering the flow. The spring loaded valve in the doohickey at the end of the rigid tube seems to not quite clear the housing that it springs into when stoppping the flow, so it's always obstructing the flow even when you have the tube grounded in the bottle. I ended up taking the assembly off the rigid tube and just putting each bottle up to the FV tap and filling using the tap. I like the sound of a SS one though...

That does sound just like what had happened to mine ...