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Thoughts on what would make a good barrel wax or other ways to seal a leaking barrel? Before I realized there were good barrels out there I bought a few from Redhead. Shit barrels and don't buy. I have a couple that have developed leaks and still have some life in them and would like to get one more use out of them.

The other reason I ask is that I'm re-charring my first two barrels I bought. A few years back I bought (2) 1 liter barrels to experiment with. One thing led to another and now I am here with my 26 gallon flute. The little barrels are still fun to play with but have lost their life so I'm trying to revive them. I'm putting them back together tonight after cleaning and charring and figure I'll have a leak or two in them.

Funny note, I asked my wife this morning if she had any soft wax. She immediately knew what it was for and responded in a shitty southern accent, "just make some paste." Smartass she is.

Bees Wax, only Bees wax. I have a brick of it from a hobby store. I use it with vegitable glycerine to make board butter used in treating cutting boards.
Just melt some into the cracks on a dry barrel and shave off the excess with a sharp blade before swellign the barrel.
You can buy bees wax candles which are great for dripping into the cracks/seams.

Thanks. I have a buddy that has bees and will get me some pure wax. Can't beat free and from the source.

You can get paraffin wax from your local grocer. Its normally called Gulf Wax and is ~$2-$5 for a pound.

I used barrel wax on a wine barrel that was leaking my high-octane porter beer. Worked great. Not distilled spirits, though. Take it for what its worth.

pao

today i applied bees wax to a stubbornly leaking barrel.
seems to have solved the problem.
got a $5.95 stick of 100% bees wax from the big green shed.
i had leaks around the head of a small barrel and the end grain was a bit rough on the staves.
rubbed the wax into the end grain and put shavings into the space between the head and barrel.
heated the wax up with a heatgun, melted and pushed the wax around.
then i sanded the the rough end grain smooth and reapplied wax and heated again.
job done!
the only tricky bit was trying not to blow the wax shavings away with the heat gun.

I'll heat the area first with a heat gun sorta like a solder joint then rub the beeswax which melts and draws into the pores. Let it cool and buff lightly with some sandpaper and repeat... A couple applications and it's tight.. I like the idea of wedging some shavings/splinters into the leaky spot as well...

Paraffin is a refined petroleum product. I'd also recommend sticking with beeswax too since it's been used for centuries to repair barrel leaks.

Cheers!
-jonny

jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:12 am Paraffin is a refined petroleum product. I'd also recommend sticking with beeswax too since it's been used for centuries to repair barrel leaks. Cheers! -jonny

Paraffin is also made from vegatable oils and fats and it appears that both

forms can be made in a way that they can be considered food grade.

http://paraffinwaxco.com/food-grade-paraffin-wax/

i think the right kind of paraffin wax is ok to use.
i went beeswax because the local shops only sell parrafin wax in 5kg blocks for $48.
i only used about 5gms of the 30g beeswax stick.

howie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:47 pm i think the right kind of paraffin wax is ok to use.
i went beeswax because the local shops only sell parrafin wax in 5kg blocks for $48.
i only used about 5gms of the 30g beeswax stick.

Beeswax and food grade mineral oil makes great wood conditioner for cutting boards, knife handles and wooden utensils.
Make your own boardbutter.

For those in the states, the wax wrapping on babybel cheese is food grade and makes a great barrel wax. I thought it was made from beeswax but turns out its paraffin.

The reason I recommend Gulf Wax is it is inexpensive, readily available, works on leaks for a barrel, and is food grade (its an ingredient in chocolate candy recipes). I think if you can get a good deal, bees wax is always a great option to use as well.

Tummydoc wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:09 pm For those in the states, the wax wrapping on babybel cheese is food grade and makes a great barrel wax. I thought it was made from beeswax but turns out its paraffin.

I thought I was just the only crazy who thought of this .... I used the wax of the "provola" to finish a cutting board together with the beeswax

Apart from that, here in Italy there is a special mastic (I insert a photo) ... I never used it but I know it works These ingredients: paraffin, calcium carbonate, Vaseline.