Just bottle a kit I made. and I had extreme difficulty in putting the
corks into the bottles. I was re using the bottles I had used before
(after washing & sanitising them & letting them dry). I tried the hand
unit (plastic) that I had used on a previous batch with no problems and
even the new (to me sani brite hand corker). I was using a pack of 9 *
1.5 corks I bought with the kit. Previously I had found that even the
plastic unit was easy to use - I was using the corks that came with my
starter kit (different home brew store though). Any suggestions as to
what I was doing wrong. I soaked the corks in hot water. and even with
all my strength only a few went all the way into the bottle. Should I re
cork the ones that are still "hanging out"

THanks

How hot was the water?

Corks come with a light coating of paraffin on them to facilitate
corking easier. Get it too hot and that comes off.

Also - corks come in different sizes. I mistakenly bought some
thinking they were the same size I previously used, but they were
slightly thicker.

On Jan 26, 11:06 am, John LaBella > wrote:
> Just bottle a kit I made. and I had extreme difficulty in putting the
> corks into the bottles. I was re using the bottles I had used before
> (after washing & sanitising them & letting them dry). I tried the hand
> unit (plastic) that I had used on a previous batch with no problems and
> even the new (to me sani brite hand corker). I was using a pack of 9 *
> 1.5 corks I bought with the kit. Previously I had found that even the
> plastic unit was easy to use - I was using the corks that came with my
> starter kit (different home brew store though). Any suggestions as to
> what I was doing wrong. I soaked the corks in hot water. and even with
> all my strength only a few went all the way into the bottle. Should I re
> cork the ones that are still "hanging out"
>
> THanks

John -
When corks dry out, they become stiff and can be very difficult to
insert into bottles with a hand corker. You don't want to soak them -
that's generally a bad idea, especially if they are the common
agglomerated corks (where the center section or the whole cork is
composed of cork chunks, held together with some sort of glue). But it
is a good idea to keep bags of corks well sealed before use, to keep
them from drying out. If you got a bag of corks with a starter kit,
they may have been handled by the retailer in a way that allowed them
to dry out - the best thing to do at that point is to re-humidify them
by storing them (dry) for several weeks in a high-humidity environment.
Re-using bottles should have no impact on the corking process; if they
are clean and dry, they should behave the same as new bottles, as far
as corking is concerned.

Many people that get into this hobby end up buying a floor corker.
They cost a little more, but just about anyone who has bought one will
tell you it's the best investment they ever made. If it doesn't make
sense to you to buy one, try to find one you can borrow for a day, when
you need to bottle a batch.

Corks do come in different sizes; the most commonly used are # 9,
either 1.5" or 1.75". This size seals well, and is generally easy to
use with a floor corker. You can also find # 8 corks (both lengths)
that do a pretty good job in standard wine bottles, and are easier to
insert with a hand corker. If you're not planning to keep the wine
longer than a couple of years, # 8 corks should be just fine.

The quality of the seal is affected by the length of cork in the
neck of the bottle (among other things), so if half the cork is
"hanging out", you probably don't have a very good seal (besides making
your bottle of wine look pretty darned silly). If you have bottles
with more than, say, 1/4" of cork "hanging out" of the bottle, you
probably should remove those corks and re-cork the bottles. Or use
them first, if the wine is ready to drink. :-)

Doug

I agree with Doug. The one good decision I made in winemaking so far was to grin and bear the price of a portuguese
floor standing corker. They are worth their weight in gold!

Jim

"Doug" > wrote in message oups.com...
> John -
> When corks dry out, they become stiff and can be very difficult to
> insert into bottles with a hand corker. You don't want to soak them -
> that's generally a bad idea, especially if they are the common
> agglomerated corks (where the center section or the whole cork is
> composed of cork chunks, held together with some sort of glue). But it
> is a good idea to keep bags of corks well sealed before use, to keep
> them from drying out. If you got a bag of corks with a starter kit,
> they may have been handled by the retailer in a way that allowed them
> to dry out - the best thing to do at that point is to re-humidify them
> by storing them (dry) for several weeks in a high-humidity environment.
> Re-using bottles should have no impact on the corking process; if they
> are clean and dry, they should behave the same as new bottles, as far
> as corking is concerned.
>
> Many people that get into this hobby end up buying a floor corker.
> They cost a little more, but just about anyone who has bought one will
> tell you it's the best investment they ever made. If it doesn't make
> sense to you to buy one, try to find one you can borrow for a day, when
> you need to bottle a batch.
>
> Corks do come in different sizes; the most commonly used are # 9,
> either 1.5" or 1.75". This size seals well, and is generally easy to
> use with a floor corker. You can also find # 8 corks (both lengths)
> that do a pretty good job in standard wine bottles, and are easier to
> insert with a hand corker. If you're not planning to keep the wine
> longer than a couple of years, # 8 corks should be just fine.
>
> The quality of the seal is affected by the length of cork in the
> neck of the bottle (among other things), so if half the cork is
> "hanging out", you probably don't have a very good seal (besides making
> your bottle of wine look pretty darned silly). If you have bottles
> with more than, say, 1/4" of cork "hanging out" of the bottle, you
> probably should remove those corks and re-cork the bottles. Or use
> them first, if the wine is ready to drink. :-)
>
> Doug
>

#9 corks come in two sizes. Some are 24mm across, others are 23mm
across. The 24mm ones are a problem for any corker that uses a sleeve
to compress the cork (hand tyle or the compressed air driven one in my
store). You may have received 24mm corks.

Some people who use hand corkers always buy #8 corks, I believe that
#8s are always 22mm across.

Despite what it says in some books & learned places. DO NOT BOIL or
even soak in hot water if the corks are pieces of chips. The hot
water/boil is OK for corks that are one piece.

Steve