How to stop barrel from leaking

[Denizh]

Bought an unknown quality but new barrel from craigslist and did the warm water treatment twice in the past 24 hours. The barrel still seems to leak. Is there a way to stop the leak? Epoxy? Some kind of putty? Wood glue?

[The Baker]

Bought an unknown quality but new barrel from craigslist and did the warm water treatment twice in the past 24 hours. The barrel still seems to leak. Is there a way to stop the leak? Epoxy? Some kind of putty? Wood glue?

No, No, No.

Beeswax.

But others with much more expertise than me will explain.

Geoff

[HDNB]

put a couple of quarts of nice clean dilution water in there, roll it back and forth a couple times a day, stand on one end, then the other.
i'd be surprised if it's not good in less than 5 days. once it's sealed, fill it.
if it's still leaking on day 7, wax.

[Saltbush Bill]

Where is the leak ? what part of the barrel? Are all of the hoops in the exact position they should be in ?

[aircarbonarc]

Don't you just keep it filling it with water for 48+ hours till it stops leaking? Beeswax also works. How big is this barrell

[Copperhead road]

How big is the barrel? Did the seller give you any indication of how long the barrel has sat around empty since it was made ?

[Denizh]

The barrel is 1 gallon. It leaks out of the ends. The seller didn’t know anything about it since it was supposed to be a gift but it doesn’t look too old.

I will wait longer and if that fails, I would like to know more about this beeswax method. Where do you get it? In what form and how do you apply?

Thank you!

[Denizh]

Where is the leak ? what part of the barrel? Are all of the hoops in the exact position they should be in ?

It is leaking out either end. Hoops are in the right position.

[fizzix]

You can find beeswax on Amazon to start.
You want 100% natural, usually yellow when unbleached. Of course don't get perfumed or furniture polish versions.
I warm it up in my hands to make it pliable, apply it horizontally (turn barrel) to where the leak is evident, and heat it with a hair dryer
to let it spread and adhere better. Works like a champ.

[still_stirrin]

A 1 gallon cask....I’d fill it with water and sink in into a 5 gallon bucket of water. Put a brick on the top to keep it submerged. Leave it in the water like that for 4 or 5 days. The wood will swell just fine and chances are, it’ll stop leaking. You’ll note the oak will darken, but that gives the cask a nice “well aged” appearance.

When you pull it out of the bucket, drain it completely. You’ll note some charcoal dust coming out...which is perfectly natural. Fill the cask with clean (warm) water and set it stand on your stand. I would also put a cookie sheet or flat pan under it so you can see if it continues to leak. If, after a day or two of non-leaking observation, you can again drain it and fill it with your spirit.

But bear in mind that a 1 gallon cask will age quickly. I’d speculate a couple of months in the cask will do you just fine. Put it in a warm, moist spot for aging (I put mine in the furnace room). And don’t forget to pull a small sample once a week so you can track the progress.
ss

p.s.- when you sink the cask, make sure the spigot is inserted into the head, otherwise it won’t fit...because the spigot hole will swell making insertion nearly impossible after the fact.

[durty_dunderpants]

if storing in a coolish climate i found coconut oil a decent alternative to beeswax..

[Copperhead road]

A tiny little barrel like that I would use to polish the spirits in for a month or so after aging in bigger barrel or glass Demi & dominos....
Have got a mate who uses one as a spirit polishing barrel before bottling and he says it’s fantastic after a month in little cast.

[jonnys_spirit]

Sealing barrell leaks is sorta like soldering. I’ll heat the leak spot with a heat gun, buff with sandpaper, reheat, rub the beeswax on and it’ll wick into the leak. Repeat this a couple times. Buff - don’t sand. You want to heat the wood sonthe wax wicks into the leak area.

Before doing that you normally swell the outside heads too by filling with boiling water and soaking several times then donthe same on the inside.

Eventually fill with water and let sit a couple days.

Any leaks treat with the beeswax.

You'll probably spring an extra leak or two that still need repair once spirits are in there because it’s significantly less viscous.

Good luck!
Cheers,
J

[Denizh]

Sealing barrell leaks is sorta like soldering. I’ll heat the leak spot with a heat gun, buff with sandpaper, reheat, rub the beeswax on and it’ll wick into the leak. Repeat this a couple times. Buff - don’t sand. You want to heat the wood sonthe wax wicks into the leak area.

Before doing that you normally swell the outside heads too by filling with boiling water and soaking several times then donthe same on the inside.

Eventually fill with water and let sit a couple days.

Any leaks treat with the beeswax.

You'll probably spring an extra leak or two that still need repair once spirits are in there because it’s significantly less viscous.

Good luck!
Cheers,
J

Should I wait for the barrel to dry before I apply the wax or can I do it shortly after I drain all the water out?

Since leaking is between the staves and the head, I am not sure where to sand unless I take it apart.

[aircarbonarc]

You'll probably spring an extra leak or two that still need repair once spirits are in there because it’s significantly less viscous.

Good luck!
Cheers,
J

Yah youd have to store it over a drip pan. Don't want to lose any great spirit.

[jonnys_spirit]

You don’t need to empty it if you already filled it and it’s leaking. Start the preparation process by standing it on end and pouring boiling water over the heads - refilling several times, letting it sit/soak for hours - flipping it over and repeating - then filling and letting it sit till it doesn’t leak. 5 days?

If it leaks after that it should be minimal. Use the wax then.

Leaking is natural and expected but prep and maintenance can mitigate.

Cheers
J

[Karooboy]

Can i seal top and bottom with epoxy, its leaking on both sides, tried swelling and wax, half way through the top disk it also leaks. Rings are correct. Have used it before but it dried out.

[jonnys_spirit]

Can i seal top and bottom with epoxy, its leaking on both sides, tried swelling and wax, half way through the top disk it also leaks. Rings are correct. Have used it before but it dried out.

What size is it? I wouldn’t use epoxy or anything other than bees wax and wood to repair it.

Breaking it up and using the staves to age on glass isn’t a bad option either if you can’t get it to seal.

There are a few very helpful threads on here that go a bit deeper in identifying exactly where it’s leaking and remediation of specific leak issues.

Cheers,
j

[Demy]

Insisting with water is the trick, along with tight circles. If the rims are ok, try soaking the outside as well, hot water works best.

[NormandieStill]

If you can steam it, the swelling will be faster. Not necessarily trivial if you're not set up for steaming, but a kettle and little ingenuity might get you a steam source for long enough to swell it up. If the staves were properly loose at some point and have moved, some gentle tapping with a hammer can get them to go back where they're supposed to be. There's no one size fits all solution though. You're going to have to improvise... just not with epoxy (or anything else that you wouldn't actually put inside the barrel with your spirit).

[Steve Broady]

Lots of good advice here. I’ll just add that is worth considering the fact that if your barrel is leaking, anything you use to stop the leak will inevitably be in contact with the spirit inside. So anything like epoxy, glue, varnish, etc. Would be out of the question in my opinion.

[howie]

Can i seal top and bottom with epoxy, its leaking on both sides, tried swelling and wax, half way through the top disk it also leaks. Rings are correct. Have used it before but it dried out.

there's a good thread here
viewtopic.php?t=90726

how are you applying the wax?
i find that flaking a load of beeswax off the main block, then using a heatgun to melt and force the wax into the problem area usually works for me.
leaks in different areas (end grain/staves etc) require different solutions.

[subbrew]

Adding to Howie's, once the beeswax is over the crack, take a flat faced rod and a hammer to tap the wax and force it into the crack. The wax will not use capillary action to draw into a crack like water would. You need to tap, reapply and tap some more to drive the wax into the crack.