Barrel Hoops - Finishing?

[ibglowin]

OK, no, now its definitely you!

Thanks folks, what a weird situation. I assumed it was not normal as soon as others started posting! Just my luck I guess. The first food processor I ever had (wedding present) caught fire the first time I used it. No one had ever heard of that. Also, my prime, expensive shovel that I purchased a few years back - I snapped in half the first time I used it. Again, the store had never heard of such a thing happening before. Used them both properly, nothing weird, they just *pfft*!

Maybe I just have weird luck with new stuff? All the second hand things I own work perfectly!

Well, I'm just going to keep it soaking with water/kmeta until the new barrel arrives. Hopefully the new one gets here soon! My planning has screeched to a halt with all of this

 

[Pumpkinman]

Raelene....LOL...ya know what the common denominator is don't ya?...LOL
Just kidding! It's funny, sometime the most honest people get the crappiest luck with new items, the kicker is that most nice people feel bad about complaining...here on the east coast...I'll even narrow it down to NY and NJ, we have a way of making our point known, heck some stores have adopted a no questions asked return policy, can you imagine...no questions asked!

 

[the_rayway]

Lol Mike & Tom!! Thanks for that.

 

[StoneCreek]

As someone who tries to salvage anything worth salvaging I would suggest salvaging that barrel so you will have two for the price of one. Removing the barrel head is not at all difficult and then you will have access to the interior where you can scrape the insides back smooth or at least remove the splintering with some coarse sandpaper. After the rough spots have taken care of a quick charring with an inexpensive plumbing torch (which can be picked up at any big box home improvement retailer or plumbing supply house) can get the interior back to where you want it. Of coarse, if you have a small flame thrower attachment for a portable propane tank I would use that since its the same thing the cooperage used in the first place. A quick google search produced an easy to follow PDF on removing and replacing the barrel head and hoops. I think an afternoon of easy labor is well worth the effort to have two usable barrels.

http://seguinmoreaunapa.com/pdfs/Removing_and_Replacing_Barrel_Heads.pdf

Forgot to mention, once you have the hoops off you can then clean them up and spay paint them the color of your choice before putting them back on. - Dave

 

[JohnT]

Rayway,

If you use the usual, standard procedure for prepping your barrel, bacteria should not be much of a concern. I cringe thinking that you plan to pull that barrel apart and not use it....

 

[ibglowin]

That is so true John. Wine don't care what the barrel looks like on the inside! As long as it doesn't leak like a sieve I would use it. Of course this just means you are going to have to double your production to keep both of them filled! Double batch of La Bodega Port should do it!

 

[WI_Wino]

Regarding the barrel interior: yes, I do know that the inside has been charred . But it should not look like someone took an axe to it afterwards. It is water tight, but my concern is that there are going to be bacteria that are already in those gouges from whatever did that to it, and it will ruin my wine. (maybe when I drain the water/kmeta out, I can get a picture for you guys, seriously, it's not like a little scratch here or there, that would be ok!). This barrel is definitely not in prime condition, and I wouldn't use it for my wine.

Is there anyway to get a picture of the barrel to see what it looks like?

 

[Scott]

Chaulk it up to experience and move onto the next batch! Think about all of the past good wines and the future ones.

Nothing like the smell of fermenting wine in the morning well maybe bacon!!

 

[Boatboy24]

Sorry to hear that. I thought everything was being worked out.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Sorry to hear it worked out so badly for you. I know you were really excited to be getting a barrel. Don't let a bad experience ruin your love for wine making. Pick yourself up by your bootstraps and throw some must in a bucket.