Bain Marie Oak Aging Barrels

[hjubm2]

First barrel above was made watertight with heaps of wax but the rum at 63% still leaked so ripped the face back out and made a new one, this definitely was a tight for hopefully it doesn’t split, but got the laser engraver out to put some art on it, how long do you reckon I leave the water in to check for splitting before I risk my rum?

Hey Ned, missed your question in this post. I've only been leaving them soak overnight lately & haven't had any problems with the couple dozen I've made since getting the sizing of the head correct. Not sure if yours are tapered like the ones I'm using but I generally sand it so it takes next to no effort to get it 3/4 of the way in and that seems to be able right with the taper on mine.

I worked out the problem with the one of mine that split was two fold. Firstly the head was a bit too tight & wasn't exactly circular, it was a bit oblong in places. Not enough to easily see but enough that it didn't swell evenly. Secondly, it wasn't pushed in level, one side was pushed in further then the other which also put more pressure on it. It took about 3 days though before I noticed the cracks/marks forming in the metal.

Hope this helps you out Ned if it's not too late for you... let us know how you get on

[hjubm2]

Charred a few bits of oak today for some barrels for my wheat whisky & the beech smoked whisky. Wanted a heavy+ char on the barrel for the smoked whisky... only problem with that is the heatshield I've been using didn't like it :laughing-rolling:

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Think I'm now going to have to find someone to cut one out of thick stainless for me...

[RuddyCrazy]

Mate all you need is a 4lb hammer and a stubbie :handgestures-thumbupleft: So bash the plate flat with the 4lb hammer and the stubbie is there to sooth the pain after you hit the free hand with the hammer :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

[hjubm2]

Mate all you need is a 4lb hammer and a stubbie :handgestures-thumbupleft: So bash the plate flat with the 4lb hammer and the stubbie is there to sooth the pain after you hit the free hand with the hammer :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Was doing just that right up until the point where it melted so much it split apart :laughing-rolling: oh well, it was only made from aluminium so time to make a decent one I think. Sure I can get a stainless one made up fairly easily