Thanks for posting these. Really useful information for someone new to barrels. I did a couple of 'fixes' to mine that I'll share soon, once I get them in service.
Oak Barrel Plunge
- Thread starter Garagista
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Absolutely. We all would love to learn from experience before we make the big mistakes!
Hey Fred,
I understand your wine box is located inside a warehouse and its quite warm in the Summer. I am guessing you have pulled out the Window AC's thermocouple and it is now sticking outside the box and exposed to the warm/hot warehouse room air temps.
My problem (and hoping someone has/had the same issue) is that the Inkbird works perfectly during the warm daytime but as the outside air temps drop (which they do out here in the desert southwest at night) the thermocouple will read cooler than the set point of the Inkbird and the AC unit will basically not engage the compressor any longer but the unit runs the blower motor continuously all night long. I basically have to raise the set point on the Inkbird every night to like 65 so the unit will shut down and not run the fan all night long and then lower it back to 61 the next morning (once the outside temp has risen enough) and the compressor will kick back in and cool the cellar. Not the best most efficient method.
I need to keep the window units thermocouple around 80 or so 24/7 somehow. Anybody have a simple fix that is tried and true?
Thinking about a night light? Possibly a heating pad that would not shut off but thought I would pulse the forum for ideas.
Yes, the thermo couple is outside the box and you do have an interesting dilemma. Do you think wrapping the thermo couple with insulation might work, it couldn't hurt to try. I was thinking some neoprene pipe insulation.
So I pulled out one of my heating pads I used to help complete MLF when its too cool. These pads do not turn off by themselves and have a cover. I set to low and pulled the AC thermostat back inside and place it between the inside wall and the heating pad. Held it all together with some Duck tape because...... why not! LOL
Its now cycling on/off perfectly like it would when it is hot outside. As you can see the AC thermostat is reading a warm but not hot temp now so I don't think I have a fire hazard. I will probably add a smart AC switch to the heating pad and have it come on (and the heating pad as well) in the late evening around 10PM and then cut off in the morning around 10AM. It will save some electricity and improve efficiency. I will see about tweaking things maybe a few degrees colder after I get some more data.
Its now cycling on/off perfectly like it would when it is hot outside. As you can see the AC thermostat is reading a warm but not hot temp now so I don't think I have a fire hazard. I will probably add a smart AC switch to the heating pad and have it come on (and the heating pad as well) in the late evening around 10PM and then cut off in the morning around 10AM. It will save some electricity and improve efficiency. I will see about tweaking things maybe a few degrees colder after I get some more data.
Just curious, what is the lowest setting on your unit. A few I was able to find data on say 62°.
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Mine would go as low as 64 but the room was about 65-66 during the day. Looks like I'm averaging about 62 during the day now and I might be able to go a few degrees colder. This unit is about 14 years old now IIRC. Still blowing Ice cold air!
Finally got most of my barrels operational. Wanted to share my process for increasing the bung hole diameter. Made a wood jig, then used a 45mm hole saw, which perfectly fits a #10 rubber bung.
Torched the edges using a sheet metal shield with the same diameter. To prep the barrels, I used boiling water turned them over and let them soak for 6 hours. Water was still warm when dumped, lots of yellow. No leaks with water, but had a few with wine seepage. Most self-sealed but had to bees wax 1 of them. Worked great.
Torched the edges using a sheet metal shield with the same diameter. To prep the barrels, I used boiling water turned them over and let them soak for 6 hours. Water was still warm when dumped, lots of yellow. No leaks with water, but had a few with wine seepage. Most self-sealed but had to bees wax 1 of them. Worked great.
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very nice. What is the purpose of the metal plate on the barrel in the last picture?
Since I enlarged the bung hole, I wanted to cauterized the edges with a soldering torch. I made a temporary sheet metal shield to protect the outside face of the barrel from the flame so that I could just hit the inside edges without charing the face of the barrel. Safety precaution: when drilling sheet metal, make sure that it’s clamped down. Almost took part of my finger off.
Wow, wow, wow. Very cool. When engineering meets oenology!
Are those 10 gallon barrels?
Those look great~ is there a coating on them of some kind? Aside from the darker area around the center… I’m curious about any impact on oxygen movement, evaporation, etc… also great jig for enlarging the hole!
I used a vinocolor from morlet family vinyards, which is a pigment extracted from freeze dried grapes (organic material removed) and everything is coated with sullivans mildewcide (2 coats) from barrel builders. The mildewcide allows the barrel to breathe. I found it necessary to coat the vinocolor even though it looks better without the mildecide coating. However, when it gets wet the pigment resets and moves around. With the miildewcide it got darker but does not react when it gets wet. Hides stains perfectly.
5-gal ea - purchased these from More Wine last fall they were $50 off / ea on Black Friday. Wasn’t what I originally wanted, but fit my space well. Very pleased with the quality, just needed a larger bung hole for cleaning, etc.
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That’s great thank you…! Mine are getting vinocolor from overfill staining… they don’t look as good as yours do… 
FYI,
VINOCOLOR is imported from France and packed in small 100 gram, 500 gram and 1 kg containers.
Directions:
VINOCOLOR is imported from France and packed in small 100 gram, 500 gram and 1 kg containers.
Directions:
- In a container, add approximately 100 grams of VINOCOLOR to one liter of water. (One liter should cover close to 40 barrels.)
- Stir well.
- For best results, use a firm sponge or brush and apply two to three coats.
In case anyone is looking for used oak barrels from distilleries. Includes shipping.
