taking barrels apart???

[1965 wite]

i have a old 3 gallon bourbon barrel that has been used to age a few different cocktails. its been sitting full of water for a while now and when i emptied it out some weird fungus or mold came out with the water. Not a lot of it but a few chunks. I am thinking about trying to take it apart to clean and rechar the inside. anybody ever had any success taking barrels apart and them putting them back together and having them not leak?

[Halfbaked]

There was a good thread (I think it was Randy White) that did a thread 3 or 4 weeks ago. That's the only one I have ever seen. It was a good thread. Didn't look hard.

[jedneck]

It was randymarshct shouldn't be to hard to find

[Bushman]

Also I believe Dad300 can help, last year when we met up at the ADI national conference he introduced me to his wife and I believe (we met in a bar) he said his wife is a cooper.

[1965 wite]

cool thanks guys. Happy Holidays

[rad14701]

You really only need to take one end off to clean and re-char... No need to fully disassemble...

[1965 wite]

thats what i was thinking rad. is it necessary to remove the old char? if so whats your method?

[Truckinbutch]

Let the barrel dry for as long as you can before you open it . Just open one end . You will need a serious band strap or two for reassembly . Shouldn't be difficult if you have a basic idea of barrel making . Some good videos to watch on YouTube .

[rad14701]

thats what i was thinking rad. is it necessary to remove the old char? if so whats your method?

Not sure what the proper way is but I did one for a guy once and all I did was use a wire wheel in a drill to remove the oldest loosest char and then used a flame thrower (weed burner) to re-char... Seemed to do the trick...

[heartcut]

Jimbo's method of enlarging the tapered hole in the barrel to fit a tapered oak plug might be an answer too. That's my plan for a couple of older barrels.

[Bushman]

Jimbo's method of enlarging the tapered hole in the barrel to fit a tapered oak plug might be an answer too. That's my plan for a couple of older barrels.

OP thinks he has a fungus problem as well which that won't address without removing an end.

[Truckinbutch]

Would anyone else here consider giving it a healthy StarSan wash rather than a tear down ?

[rad14701]

Would anyone else here consider giving it a healthy StarSan wash rather than a tear down ?

I wouldn't because it would saturate the charred oak... Removing the one or two end rings and taking that end off would be the simplest solution... Need to give it a look-see, clean it up, and go from there... Might as well re-char as long as the end is off... Most barrels can be re-charred a few times...

[corene1]

Here is a thought from left field. At work we tumble rusty dirty fuel tanks with gravel to knock all the rust out. Do you think it would work with the char in the oak barrel. Let it dry out tumble then wash out with water and re char.

[woodshed]

Don't see why it wouldn't work corene but I have found the wire wheel to be most effective as rad mentioned.

[jedneck]

How would you rechar. I believe it would be near impossible through the bung. I also have a five gallon toasted barrel that needs chard. I think I will pop one head loose.

[woodshed]

You gotta pop the head. Torch is your best bet.

[Truckinbutch]

Would anyone else here consider giving it a healthy StarSan wash rather than a tear down ?

I wouldn't because it would saturate the charred oak... Removing the one or two end rings and taking that end off would be the simplest solution... Need to give it a look-see, clean it up, and go from there... Might as well re-char as long as the end is off... Most barrels can be re-charred a few times...

Makes sense to me . It was just an idle thought to help a novice . I have the tools and skills to open and reclose barrels and that's what I would do .

[cob]

make a hoop tool first.

put the hoops back on tight before you do any work.

recharing the loose head can warp it so reassemble ASAP

[woodshed]

About a month ago there was a great thread here about this subject. Don't remember who it was but they redid the whole barrel one stave at a time.

[cob]

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... r#p7267725

[woodshed]

Thanks cob. I was just going back and looking for that.

[bearriver]

Damn. Beat me to it....

Maybe aging in a moldy barrel will be all the rage in 100 years. There are far stranger methods for producing a tasty treat. Take good cheese or dunder for examples...

[woodshed]

You might be onto something bear. Send me that barrel 65. I'll start an experiment

[cob]

Damn. Beat me to it....

Maybe aging in a moldy barrel will be all the rage in 100 years. There are far stranger methods for producing a tasty treat. Take good cheese or dunder for examples...

casu marzu ? http://mentalfloss.com/article/20523/ca ... iterranean" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

almostsorryaboutthehijack

[bearriver]

Lutefisk.

I swear, I could not help myself.

[1965 wite]

Would anyone else here consider giving it a healthy StarSan wash rather than a tear down ?

I wouldn't because it would saturate the charred oak... Removing the one or two end rings and taking that end off would be the simplest solution... Need to give it a look-see, clean it up, and go from there... Might as well re-char as long as the end is off... Most barrels can be re-charred a few times...

Makes sense to me . It was just an idle thought to help a novice . I have the tools and skills to open and reclose barrels and that's what I would do .

what tools are you speaking of? i can build just about anything. seems easy to take apart but getting it back together is another story. i do have two crappy ebay oak barrels i could practice with. they showed up full of wax and ruined the stuff i filled them with.

[1965 wite]

watched a few u tube vids. looks like i need a clamp...

[Bushman]

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... r#p7267725

I don't miss too many threads but this is one I am glad you reposted! Nice work Randy.

[1965 wite]

popped out one end of the barrel tonight and started scraping it out. I think ill use the wire wheel idear. was thinking about taking some high proof heads and tails and lighting them in the barrel and letting them burn. Has anybody tried this to rechar a barrel? If not ill just use a torch. hoping this barrel will possibly add some interesting flavor. Its had a few cocktails and a wine aged in it along with being a bourbon barrel originally.