Oak Barrel Plunge

[mainshipfred]

Did you convert a freezer into a wine cooler?

I did, but not the one you see in the photo. This one is for cold stabilization or keeping fruit frozen until I'm ready to process it. My cellar on the other hand is made from used restaurant refrigeration panels with a modified 8000 btu window AC unit. Attached are some pics.

 

[mainshipfred]

Wrong photo

 

[ibglowin]

Hey Fred,

Looks like you have an Inkbird attached to your AC? Wondering what types od temps you are able to reach/maintain with it and do you have any issues or problems with it?

Wrong photo

 

[Brant]

Wrong photo

Damn! I'm jealous!!!

Where is the condensate line ran from the AC? Are you just draining to a bucket?

I've considered building something similar in my garage but not a walk-in design. I figures I could build it from 2x4s, Plywood and spray foam. Basically build a cooler with doors. The doors are the tricky part. I figured I'd use a mini-split unit so I don't heat up my garage.

Finding a commercial fridge or freezer would be nice to steal panels and doors from.

 

[mainshipfred]

Hey Fred,

Looks like you have an Inkbird attached to your AC? Wondering what types od temps you are able to reach/maintain with it and do you have any issues or problems with it?

All you have to do is take the thermocouple off the evaporator coil and run it outside the space. Then run the one from the Inkbird inside and plug the AC unit into the Inkbird. Mine is set at 57° and it works just fine. My warehouse has no AC and in the summer it can get to 90+degrees. @Brant, the unit condensate is self evaporating which I think a lot are nowadays.

 

[ibglowin]

All you have to do is take the thermocouple off the evaporator coil and run it outside the space. Then run the one from the Inkbird inside and plug the AC unit into the Inkbird. Mine is set at 57° and it works just fine. My warehouse has no AC and in the summer it can get to 90+degrees. @Brant, the unit condensate is self evaporating which I think a lot are nowadays.

What temps are you able to maintain in the cooler box?

 

[mainshipfred]

What temps are you able to maintain in the cooler box?

Don't know since I never had it set lower than 55°.

 

[ovjock]

All you have to do is take the thermocouple off the evaporator coil and run it outside the space. Then run the one from the Inkbird inside and plug the AC unit into the Inkbird. Mine is set at 57° and it works just fine. My warehouse has no AC and in the summer it can get to 90+degrees. @Brant, the unit condensate is self evaporating which I think a lot are nowadays.

Inkbirds are amazing.

 

[ibglowin]

Don't know since I never had it set lower than 55°.

Were you able to cool the box down to 55F?

 

[mainshipfred]

Were you able to cool the box down to 55F?

I was, it's just in the summer when my shop gets really hot and I didn't want it to work so hard. I figured 57 was close enough to optimal. I don't have a lot of knowledge with mechanical systems but I would thing it's a function of cubic feet, the size of the unit and the amount of product in the cooler.

 

[ovjock]

It seems that wine barrel hoops are galvanized and whiskey barrels are not. This is something I did not know. I gave the hoops a good derustification and painted with clear rustoleum.

 

[mainshipfred]

It seems that wine barrel hoops are galvanized and whiskey barrels are not. This is something I did not know. I gave the hoops a good derustification and painted with clear rustoleum.

View attachment 111654

Neither did I!

 

[ovjock]

Neither did I!

It explains why you never see this in a winery.

 

[ovjock]

Because everything has to be as hard as possible...

These heads are not glued together.

 

[JTS84]

Because everything has to be as hard as possible...
View attachment 111713
These heads are not glued together.

It isn't traditional to glue heads together. When barrels were common for everyday use, the glue of that time was animal based hide glue - which is water soluble. If you start with dry wood and make your joints tight, once they come in contact with a liquid they'll swell up and make the joint even tighter. Watertight, no glue needed.

 

[Brant]

If memory serves, I believe I seen some where they had dowels helping keep the sections aligned. However, I could be mistaken.

If u decide to glue, I would use a minimal amount on the outside edges only. Clamp them together overnight and hope for the best when u reassemble. You could also lay a piece of wood across the faces and screw or glue them together. That would hold them in place during reassembly and eliminate glue on the joints. There are options.

 

[ovjock]

I decided not to glue the pieces together, I wanted to try and use the existing beautiful dove tails. I took @Brant advice and decided to screw them together.

Rather than wood, I took a thin metal plate, strategically drilled 7 holes in it and screwed the plate to the head. I carefully pilot drilled the holes to be exactly the diameter of the screws. I used as short a screw as I could find (1/4"). I was very careful to not overly tighten the screws. Since I now have access to the top of the head, I glued a handle on top so I can lift it from the outside.

Once properly positioned, I will remove the screws and plate and fill the holes with spyles.

This is how it looked.

It is really easy to put the head in now.

 

[ovjock]

And as reward for all that work --- no leaks for the last 18 hours.

 

[mainshipfred]

And as reward for all that work --- no leaks for the last 18 hours.
View attachment 111827

Really nice job, congrats.