sixfinleys said:
Is there any difference between the Portugese and
Italian models besides $$$? Are they equally easy to use?
close. i had a portuguese for over a year and bottled probably a
dozen kits with it. after a couple incidents of broken beer bottles
with a metal inart hand capper i decided to upgrade to the italian
corker. (I've now sold the portuguese to a friend who is starting out)
(btw, i bottled my very first batch of mead with a two arm hand
corker and immediately ordered the portuguese. don't even waste your
money on one of those!)
here is a list of pros and cons of the portuguese vs italian after using both:
- italian has alonger arm, better leverage.
the portuguese arm is 6" + 12" (pivot to plunger and plunger to end of handle)
the italian is 6.5" + 18.5 " for better leverage. (the mechanism seems a bit stiffer new, but i expect it to loosen up.)
either one could be re-engineered to be longer with a piece of pipe.
- the italian arm can be broken down shorter with bolt and wingnut.
-
the base crossbar can be disassembled more easily with two wingnuts for
storage in a narrow space. (The Port. crossbar can too with a big screw
underneath)
- capper attachment.
- champagne ability in case i ever need that.
-
built a bit more sturdily except the handle tube that fits over the
handle arm is sheet metal and fits a bit loosely, not a major problem.
a bit of shim or tape might fix that.
- brass iris (although i bottled probably over 600 bottles with the portuguese and there is no sign of wear on the iris)
i've never
used a good bench capper, so i can't comment. the capper on the italian
requires the bottle to be rocked and pulled loose because it has no
moving parts like the 2 handed one. not a major problem.
- the italian is about twice the price. ($120 vs $60)
the portuguese needs to be screwed down to a plywood base to make it
more stable and keep it from scratching the floor. the italian one has
square tubing that needs feet on it. i was going to whittle down some
broomstick pieces and mount crutch tips on them, but i think champagne
corks shoved in the ends will work just as well.