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how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Mon Aug 14, 2017 7:58 pmby ed9362
being the tight ass that I am I bought a 5L barrel from a Melbourne brew shop over the internet, the barrel was relatively cheap so I thought what the hell.
once I got it I was disappointed to find that the bung in the top is a plastic insert with a plastic lined stopper. also the tap appears to be internally all plastic. on top of that the whole barrel looks to have some kind of lacquer coating.
im thinking about pulling it apart and removing/ replacing the bits that I don't like. are they difficult to pull apart and reassemble and would a cork be an ok replacement for a bung?
cheers
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:03 pmby Sam.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:46 pmby ed9362
thanks for that,
I might try taking one end out and see how I go
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:51 pmby Sam.
You will be right mate, if you can do all you need to do by just taking and end out it won't be bad at all. It's once you have broken it apart completely it can be a bit trickier but still isn't too bad. I managed :laughing-rolling:
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Mon Aug 14, 2017 9:22 pmby Wineleader
Quote" im thinking about pulling it apart and removing/ replacing the bits that I don't like. are they difficult to pull apart and reassemble and would a cork be an ok replacement for a bung? "
Ed, if your going to refurbish the barrel just check that the wood is actually Oak.
I've see a number secondhand port barrels that appear to be pine.
Probably not good for storage of spirit.
Whiskey bottles use cork use so I assume sealing a small barrel with cork should be fine.
Good luck with it.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 5:28 amby ed9362
the barrel is new,
it is marketed as a barrel for aging spirits and wine so its definitely oak.
I think the biggest problem is its cheaply made.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:54 amby Minpac
Just because it's marketed for ageing doesn't mean it's oak. You should check - if you've got some real oak, saw a notch into each and smell, it's reasonably distinctive.
I've pulled apart a barrel - it can be annoying aligning everything again. I'd recommend putting one end in a bucket or using one of those flat freight tie downs to keep pressure on one end while you pull the top apart. Number the staves on one side before you start, and number the metal bands too.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:20 amby woodduck
Would they really make a barrel for soaking alcohol, weather it be spirit, wine or port out of pine? I would've thought that would be dangerous not to mention taste like arse?
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:42 amby Minpac
I've come across one that wasn't oak. It could be why this one had a plastic liner in it - poor construction=leaks and not oak =weird tastes....of course the plastic wouldn't contribute anything good either.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:45 amby Wineleader
ed9362 wrote:once I got it I was disappointed to find that the bung in the top is a plastic insert with a plastic lined stopper. also the tap appears to be internally all plastic. on top of that the whole barrel looks to have some kind of lacquer coating.
cheers
The flag for me was the comment indicating that it maybe "internally all plastic" therefore the contents was never going to touch any wood.. So I suspected that the wood is probably not oak.
Anyway, Looking at the grain ED should be in the position to determine the wood type.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 5:03 pmby hillzabilly
I was given a small 5lt barrel by a well intensioned mate ,it turned out not to be oak and the inside had been coated in wax of some kind :angry-banghead: wasted 5lt of good stuff before I realized,my advice would be ta buy from a known cooper even more so with bigger barrels ,do the maths on what the contents is worth and how much time and effort ya stand ta lose.Have a go by all means but donot put ya good stuff into it first time after ya done.cheers hillzabilly ;-)
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:17 pmby ed9362
Wineleader wrote:ed9362 wrote:once I got it I was disappointed to find that the bung in the top is a plastic insert with a plastic lined stopper. also the tap appears to be internally all plastic. on top of that the whole barrel looks to have some kind of lacquer coating.
cheers
The flag for me was the comment indicating that it maybe "internally all plastic" therefore the contents was never going to touch any wood.. So I suspected that the wood is probably not oak.
Anyway, Looking at the grain ED should be in the position to determine the wood type.
sorry to create confusion, its just the bung and tap that are plastic. the barrel looks like oak from the outside and the paperwork that came with it says it has a medium char, not to mention it is too heavy to be made of pine. im thinking I will remove two of the bands on one end and take out the end cap with the tap, I will replace the tap with a stainless one and drill out the insert for the bung on top, then sand as much of the external coating off as I can and then reassemble it. (do you think just taking two of the bands off will give me enough to pull an end cap out?) the problem is there are 3 tiny nails holding each band in place. I don't think I will be able to get anything under them to pull them out so I might drill the heads off and use new nails when I re assemble.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 9:47 pmby Wineleader
ed9362 wrote:
sorry to create confusion, its just the bung and tap that are plastic. the barrel looks like oak from the outside and the paperwork that came with it says it has a medium char, not to mention it is too heavy to be made of pine. im thinking I will remove two of the bands on one end and take out the end cap with the tap, I will replace the tap with a stainless one and drill out the insert for the bung on top, then sand as much of the external coating off as I can and then reassemble it. (do you think just taking two of the bands off will give me enough to pull an end cap out?) the problem is there are 3 tiny nails holding each band in place. I don't think I will be able to get anything under them to pull them out so I might drill the heads off and use new nails when I re assemble.
Ed, I don't have the experience to advise you on the best way to pull the barrel apart. Sam above has provided some guidance and a link that should help.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:13 amby Sam.
You will probably have to take the end bands and middle bands off to get the end off, if you do it one end at a time you should be good.
I would try to get the nails out first, are the bands hard or soft?
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:53 amby ed9362
Well i pulled all the bands off, removed 4 staves and got rid of all the plastic, it now has a nice stainless tap with a food grade silicone seal. The inside seemed to be well charred, it went back together quite easily. All i have to do now is sand the coating off and i will be quite happy with it. Thanks for the input guys. Gave me the courage to just have a go at it.
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:35 pmby Sam.
:text-worthless:
Just kidding, good to hear it turned out ok :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:44 pmby bluc
Awesome another sucess..
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:53 pmby ed9362
Sam. wrote::text-worthless:
Just kidding, good to hear it turned out ok :handgestures-thumbupleft:
I thought about putting a pic up but i think it would be beyond my technological capabilities
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:54 pmby Sam.
Email it to me if you can and I will put it up :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Re: how hard is it to pull apart a barrel.
Posted:
Thu Aug 17, 2017 2:28 pmby ed9362
I didnt take any phoros while it was apart, i can take one now if you like but it just looks like a barrel.
Another question, my plan was to put BWKO in it for the first run, but now im thinking i should buy some cheap port and soak that in for a while. Is it worth putting the port in or should i just go straight BWKO