New barrels

[Rocky]

A question on new barrel conditioning (leak proofing). If one used very hot tap water instead of boiling water, would that work? I have the barrels in the basement and no means to boil water. My tap water is about 140-150 degrees. Is that good enough? I could buy an electric hot plate and boil water in the basement, if necessary. I would like to hear from the forum on this. When we prep-ed barrels long ago, we just used water right out of the tap. I am not even sure if it was hot or cold.

 

[ibglowin]

I have an Insinkerator in the kitchen and used that and still had some issues with my second sealing up (it took almost a full week). I would either crank up the hot water for a few hours to 180 or use a hot plate.

I think the Head is a critical spot (inside and out) as most of the hard to stop leaks seemed to come from either Head. If you use hot water it will probably work but could take several applications. At the end on my problematic barrel I filled with hot tap water and it took over 3 days more still of draining and filling with hot water before I finally got a drip free overnight. I still had a few drips out of it once I filled with wine if you could believe that. I finally sealed the problematic spots with a bar of canning wax from the grocery store (didn't have the time to wait to mail order special barrel wax).

My first barrel sealed completely in 48 hours. It was my second one that was the headache. I called Sandor, sent pictures, etc. He said he gets like 2 sent back each year and he gets them sealed up and sells them locally at a discounted price.

 

[Rocky]

Thanks, Mike. I think I will spring for the hot plate and use boiling water. In for a penny, in for a pound.

 

[Rocky]

Well, I got the hot plate and that was a really good call. I went through the procedure that Sandor sent and I have the barrels filled with (hot) tap water. There is some leaking, but not anything to cause concern at this point. I will watch the barrels for a day or two for signs of leaking and if there are none, will load them with "Ricetta di Stefano." Yum, yum!

 

[Rocky]

Checked both barrels this morning and they are looking to be water tight. I see some water stains around under the steel bands in some places, but they do not appear to be leaking. Both barrels took 350 ml of additional water to top up. Gives an idea of how much would have soaked into the wood.


One caution, and I don't know if this is specific to the galvanized banded barrels that I got, is that I found some really sharp burrs and metal splinterson the bands that I had to file off. If you are not careful, you could get a very nasty gash from them.


I plan to watch them for one more day, at least, and keep topping up as necessary.

 

[ibglowin]

Make sure you have them on a counter top or hard surface that any drip will bead up, not soak in like unsealed concrete or wood so you can easily spot a drip or two. Wipe the bands first with a finger to feel for a water leak then with a paper towel looking for drips.

Here are a few snaps of my troublesome barrel and what to look for. You should have dry wood, not wet/moist wood like in these. This was taken after 4 days. I finally got this leak to stop after 6 days but I still had a few drops leak after filling with wine. I got those stopped with wax like mentioned previously. Those extra soaking days took out a bit of oak I am sure.....

 

[Rocky]

Thanks for the information, Mike. Here are some pic that I just took today. I started the process yesterday at about 4:00 PM. I think they are doing well. Good point on affecting the oaking. I hope to fill them tomorrow.

 

[ibglowin]

I would get those oak stoppers out now before they get stuck and you have to use a mallet to get them out!

Replace with the silicone ones I think you ordered as well. Once the oak swells they will be almost glued in place!

 

[Rocky]

Good idea, Mike. I did buy the silicone bungs but I got two different styles; one tapered and one t-shaped. It offended my sense of consistency and I was going to return the t-shaped one to Sandor for a replacement. I think I have gotten past that so I will keep it. Variety is the spice of life.

BTW, both barrels took another 100 ml of water when I changed bungs. That is a total of 450 ml each. Also, note my Grandfather's hammer. Ever see one like that?

 

[ibglowin]

Have not seen a hammer like that one!

Sounds like they are swelling and sealing nicely. Remember to change the water ~ 24 hours with fresh HOT water. Once they are tight you will lose about 3 oz a week to the angels give or take a little bit.

 

[ibglowin]

Whats the status your your "twins" Rocky?

 

[Rocky]

Mike, There is no sign of leaking but the water level is still going doing about 100-150 ml per day. I was hoping there would be more of a slowing of what I assume is a combination of evaporation and absorptions into the wood. I would hate to loose this much wine.

 

[ibglowin]

If the outside of the barrel is dry and no drips on the table top I would fill them pronto. Your losing oak into the water with each passing day. Fill those pores with wine not water!

 

[Rocky]

Mike, I loaded 6 gallons of my Ricetta di Stefano into one of the barrels. I was going to fill the second barrel but noticed a little water under the barrel. I don't think it was from a leak, rather from the overflow caused when the longer stopper is inserted. I refilled it with hot water and will watch it for a few hours and then load some Old Vine Zinfandel.


Thanks for getting my aspiration in gear.

 

[Rocky]

Whoa! I just came back from my cellar and the barrel that I loaded with wine is leaking in several places. By this I mean that there are wine stains on the barrel in several places, but no puddles of wine under the barrel. I did not see evidence of leaking with water, but the wine has found a waythrough.

The second barrel, currently filled with water, shows no signs of leaking but I am reluctant to put wine in it. I have to say that so far I am unimpressed with these barrels.

I think the workmanship is shoddy (burrs and sharp edges on the metal,wood of questionable quality) and there are visible spaces between the staves on the outside. I followed the instructions to a tee but what was really required would be to submerse the barrel in hot water to totally seal it.


At this point I am thinking of taking the wine back to a carboy and using the barrels for kindling.

 

[ibglowin]

Rocky that is normal for these barrels. Take a look at mine. If you spray them with K-Meta over the stains they will be drawn into the wood and for the most part completely disappear. This bad stain is now gone after I transferred out one wine and washed the outside well with water and rinsed the inside. Relax, have a glass (or two) of wine and fill the other barrel!

 

[Wade E]

Mike, is that barrel hooked up to the Mac via a USB cable?

Rocky, typically all barrels will bleed thus why some wineries actually stain the barrels with wine at least around the midsection to make them look more pleasant to the eye of onlookers.

 

[Rocky]

Thanks for the encouragement, Fellows. My barrel looks much like Mike's in the second picture. Mike, when you say to lessen the stains with K-meta, do you mean while there is wine in the barrel or after it has been reomoved?

 

[Wade E]

Most likely while in there!

 

[ibglowin]

@ Wade not USB, FIREWIRE baby!!!!!

Rocky, just take your K-Meta spritzer bottle and spray any stains. I also spray the top with K-Meta after topping off and you get a small "seap over stain" after you reinsert the silicone bung.....