Shrink Band applicators... for home use

[Sam & Oliver]

I know when small wineries make wine, they have a machine that corks the bottle with a pull handle, or automated 1-at-a-time machine. And then you take the bottle and put a plastic/foil type cap over it all and rest it on a 45 degree rack and push the bottle up into a round hole that causes that cap to shrink around the neck, etc...

Woozy bottles can be ordered with shrink bands. They say you can use a heat gun or hair dryer, which works... but not really smoothly. If you start directly above the bottle and then work the side and bottle while spinning it, you get the best shrink... but I'm sure there's got to be a better way.

Perhaps a shrink banding machine much like the winery has? I tried looking online and at food service catalogs. They all start at 7500 and go to 20,000. I'm not a factory, but I also don't want to do 500 bottles with a heat gun. Inconsistencies, human error, etc. I want a uniform shrink.

Anyone know of a brand of 1-at-a-time heat shrink applicators that can be bought for under $250?

 

[salsalady]

500 shrink bands with a heat gun isn't bad,

no worse than 500 labels,
and 500 date stamps,
and 500 (or 1000, if the product has won more than 1 award) award stickers
and 500 price stickers..........

all required for one bottle to go on the shelf.....


Of all the aspects of running a hot sauce business, smooth shrink bands are the least of my worries. If the price of a "smooth" shrink band is $7500+++, I'll live with wrinkled shrink bands.

Thanks for bringing this up, though. Hopefully someone will have a link, I'd like to at least look at something in that price range.

EDIT- I've seen some sauces from people who use co-packers that have smooth bands. Kinda makes sense, the co-packers are in a position to be able to invest the $$$ for a machine that will do smooth shrink bands.

 

[Sam & Oliver]

I'm thinking it'll end up being some kind of homemade induction coil thing, haha. But I'd love to find something that let's me blow through a bunch of bottles with a consistent look and shrink.

 

[salsalady]

de-construct a toaster and make the coils into a circular tube? Sounds like the basic premise.



darn, the 'Kid's past the grade of "science fair" school projects, or that would of been a good experiment for him.

 

[Sam & Oliver]

you know, if I were younger I would def try this. But now I fear I would just start a fire, lol.

 

[JDFan]

For the bottles they use heat tunnels that are like an oven with rollers that spin the bottles as they go through the tunnel to keep the heat evenly spread around the bottle. -- Perhaps preheating an old toaster oven or wide slot toaster turned on its side and placing the bottle with the wrap in the open door\slot while spinning the bottle slowly to keep the heat spread around it would work.

 

[Sam & Oliver]

I've got an old toster oven in the garrage. I'll give that a go. thanks for the idea!

 

[chitownpepper]

I once attended a home brewing class (wine) and we capped the bottles using one of these machines.  But the capsules are made of tin.
 
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/horizontal-thermocapsuler.html
 
I wonder if it would work on the plastic shrink bands if you pulled it out really quick.  The toaster contraption would definitely be cheaper but could be worth it for the consistent look.

 

[RedtailForester]

I have found that if you put the shrink bands on while the bottles are still hot, they are nice and smooth.

 

[RocketMan]

Check this out:
 

 
More info at:
 
www.stpats.com/index.htm