Plastic Bottle stoppers

[neurotypical]

I finished and bottled my first kit a couple of weeks ago, Youngs 7 day which came complete with everything from buckets to plastic stoppers.

Today I went to bottle my second kit, and after filling 6 bottles went to put the plastic stoppers in only to find they were too small for 3 of the bottles! Fortunatley I had a large supply of empties and after trying the stopper in all 50 bottles found it was too small for over half of them and too big for a couple of them.

Is this a common problem? Do plastic stoppers come in different sizes? Any help would be appreciated as I have 3 gallons on the go and not enough bottles with stoppers that fit!
Thanks!
NT

 

[pittsy]

hi , NT on another post it mentions shrink-fit capsules may be you could use these , in the posts some people use a hair drier to heat them to fit , check your local homebrew store or internet for some , i have never used them , ive just read it on other post , they might do you, hope this helps :thumb: , mark.

 

[Moley]

Is this a common problem? Do plastic stoppers come in different sizes?

Yes and no.

Yes, it's a common problem. No, the stoppers are all the same but the bottles' internal neck diameters can vary considerably.

The stoppers will vary from snug to very tight in previously corked bottles, and may need a good whack with the side of your fist or a bit of gentle persuasion from a rubber mallet to drive all the way home.

Screw necked bottles vary the most (from good to useless), and I would always check with a plastic stopper before bothering to remove labels.

You can re-use the screw caps, but try to select those with a plastic insert rather than a foiled cardboard disc.

 

[spangles]

Welcome

I've had exactly the same issue. I have a lot of screw top bottles, of which the plastic stoppers fit non. They only fit some bottles a bought from Wilkinsons. So I've just bought corks and a corker from Wilkinsons. I was a bit dubious of the corker, which didn't look up to much but I corked 12 bottles on Saturday with ease. :) Does mean having to buy corks all the time though

 

[Moley]

Does mean having to buy corks all the time though

Shop around, decent quality corks should work out around 75p a dozen.

Plastic stoppers are more cost effective in the longer term as they can be re-used, but you need to select your bottles carefully.

With juice wines for home consumption I quite often use cider bottles and crown caps.

 

[bobsbeer]

The cheapest option is to reuse screwtop bottles. They are freely available and the screw tops are genrally the same thread and size so no need to match top to bottle. As Moley says the plastic/foam insert seal are the best and can be reused many times. The foil inserts tend to delaminate after a few uses and I'm not sure about the steralising. But having said that I've never had a problem. I now collect spare tops so I can swap them over when needed. Start up cost - nothing, ongonig costs - nothing. No brainer really, but then I am not trying to impress by showing off a fancy bottle.

 

[neurotypical]

Thanks all! Much appreciated, think I will go with the screw tops for now and ask for a corker and corks for my birthday!