# Sulfuring Barrel Issues



## AndyG (Apr 8, 2011)

Hey there,

Just getting into using oak barrels and trying to learn how to deal with sulfuring/sulfating for storage. My first barrel was stored with Potassium metabisulfate and citric solution, which of course is expensive & time consuming, etc. 

Recently I recieved another barrel (used, 52gal. Am.Oak, 3-4 years old).
that had already been filled with S02 gas from a compressed gas system at the winery. That was at least a month ago, and since I won't fill it for another month, I decided to try burning a sulfur pastille (sized to create enough So2 for a 60gal barrel) suspended inside the barrel on a homemade disc holder.

The problem is that the discs aren't burning completely. I think in the beginning there was still alot of inert gas in the barrel, which extinguishd combustion. So I left the barrel open overnight, which lead to better burning of the disc, but it still only burns ~ 1/4 of the way through or less.

Any ideas? I'm lighting these things with a regular butane grill lighter - should I be using a torch or something? I read somewhere that mold in a barrel can cause sulfur sticks/discs to go out due to lack of oxygen in the barrel - but I've looked inside and I couldn't find any mold...

Any thoughts/info would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Andy


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## Wade E (Apr 8, 2011)

If you atre burning a sulfur disc designed for bigger barrel then it will go out as thats why. Its designed to size wise for that. If yo have a smaller barrel then cut it down appropriately or get smaller dics designed for this size.


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## robie (Apr 8, 2011)

Make sure that barrel is bone dry when you burn the sulfur in it. If not dry, you can get some nasty, poisonous acids from the water and sulfur reacting.


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## AndyG (Apr 9, 2011)

Thanks for the response guys!

The difference in volume between 52 gal (the size of my barrel) and 60 gal (which the pastilles are size for) is only about 13% and the first disc I tried burned less than half way through. The second about a quarter. Hmmm, maybe together that is about right...

Yeah, and I'm aware of the acid issues with burning sulfur in wet barrels - thanks for the heads up though. The barrel was clean, dried and sulfured at the winery it came from about a month or so ago. Totally dry inside, so no worries there.

Cheers,

Andy


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## Wade E (Apr 9, 2011)

Maybe these disca are old? I am really winging it here!


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