Rusting floor corkers?

[Milwood]

Has anyone had any problems with their floor corkers rusting? I usually rinse my corks in K-Meta before inserting in to the bottles. Yesterday I was bottling a small batch and I noticed that tiny particles of rust were getting into the bottles. Luckily I noticed this pretty quick. I took apart my Portugese floor corker and noticed that the insides were rusted pretty bad and the paint was flaking off. I wonder if anyone else has had this problem and if anyone using the Italian models has had this problem. My corker works like a champ and I can sand and re-paint but I'm wondering if the finish on the Italian models is more durable. Any thoughts?

 

[AlFulchino]

i left some k meta in a pan for a couple of days when i forgot some items that i was sterilizing...when i went back to the items..the pan was coated in a surface rust....it came right off...thats my anecdotal evidence

 

[grapeman]

Be sure to wipe down the corker the best you can after corking. Yes they do rust and corrode- even the higher end ones can. You can apply a light coating of mineral oil once in a while and wipe it off with a clean rag. If you can get yours apart and reassembled, do it and coat it well after getting all the rust off you can. Even a Ferrari (pun intended) needs a tune-up to keep running smoothly.

 

[ArdenS]

That's also a good reason to rinse your vinator well to keep the spring and ball valves from rusting.

Arden

 

[Wade E]

Kmeta will do this fast if left on metal surface for eve short periods of time, wipe it all down good afterwards like appleman said!

 

[Runningwolf]

My Buon Vino Bottle Filler blew the top right off along with the bearings from not rinsing it well after cleaning it with kmeta.

 

[Milwood]

Thanks Everyone. I didn't realize that the K-Meta that I was soaking the corks in would rust the corker that quick. I'll just sand it down and re-paint it and be sure to be much more careful in the future to wipe it down and dry it after using it.

 

[smurfe]

Yup, here to. I havehad corrosion issues with all the above mentioned items. I have the Italian corker.

 

[Waldo]

A lot of the problem is that around and under the jawsthey are not painted when new and that is a potential problem area. I loaned mine to a friend once and he left it outside in the rain for 2 days and it rusted up around andunder the jaws. I had to sand itdown and repaint it. Do you reckon I will ever let him borrow it again ???

 

[Brewgrrrl]

I am just now reading this... after noticing that the screw on my buon vino bottle filler is rusting. I am sure it was the k-meta but what an expensive lesson - is it really ruined? :-(

 

[Runningwolf]

My BV bottle filler came with that screw rusted. However I did ruin my filler by running k meta through it when cleaning and not flushing it with plain water afterwards.

 

[Waldo]

Come on.Somebody else......Stand Up And Testify !!!!

 

[Runningwolf]

Come on.Somebody else......Stand Up And Testify !!!!

Alright Waldo, I'll go again..LOL. As a follow up to my BV filler being trashed by leaving K-meta in it, it is an awesome filler. I ran out and bought another one immediately. I would not be without it in my arsenal of wine making tools. Just remember if you are using K-meta for sanitizing anything with metal it is very corrosive and you need to rinse it off.

 

[Bert]

Even Stainless Steel will corrode from K-Meta...Be sure to rinse it off well after using......

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Any ideas on how to test my filler to make sure the rusted screw is not contaminating while I bottle? It looks structurally okay, except for the obviously rusted screw.

 

[xanxer82]

Maybe idophor would be better to sanitize that type of equipment. That's what the vinyard owner I know uses. He's got one of those 6 bottle fillers. And all the huge stainless tanks.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

I think that's a good idea too - I started out homebrewing before I learned how to make wine and I always used either a light bleach solution (carefully rinsed with hot water afterwards) or idophor. It might color the tubing a bit but I bet it's not as corrosive. I hope this filler isn't ruined... :-(

 

[grapeman]

I don't have it in front of me right now, but if I recall correctly, the screw you are talking about doesn't ever touch the wine. Other than rusted looks I don't think it will bother the wine.

 

[Runningwolf]

Appleman is correct on that.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Yay! I will run some water through it and make sure it's not damaged in any other way before I bottle. Thanks, guys.