Whiskey Barrel

So I was at a garden centre this afternoon that was selling whiskey barrels.
Very tempting at £20.
But it was full of gaps.

How does one water proof it?
It is possible to get barrels without the gaps that don't need some sort of lining??

 

How wide were the gaps, I thought they were built to swell and make themselves water proof, to protect against weathering I have no idea.

 

when you soak with water the wood will expand and should fill out the gaps they should keep them wet otherwise the metal hoops can fall off or worse the sections of wood can drop out and before you know it you have a massive puzzle to put back together if you can

 

There was a little water in the bottom but not much.
The gaps were a mm or two. Just enough to see.

So would I just hose them down for a few minutes??

 

if you give them a spray to keep wet they will soon swell but you need to keep them wet until you plant them up , if growing plants in them you will need a good drainage hole ie 4 in the bottom , I have many moons ago used a half barrel to plant up a mini pond miniature water lily and a small reed mace looked great and when I sold the house too big and too full to take with me.
If you buy two don't when bringing home put them inside of each other they are a burger to get them out of each other , another barrel experience !!! we live and learn .......
Spruce

 

thank you Spruce!
I am hoping to buy a couple of barrels in a few weeks, and I was indeed going to put them one inside the other in the boot. Forewarned is fore-armed!

 

Here is my barrel.
Managed to get 2 into my car (one for me and one for a friend) without having to put one into the other.
Filled with water up to the level where it started leaking.
How long approx will it take for the gaps to seal?

 

It takes as long as it takes.

But you can do as the old prisoners did in the naval prisons and pick oakum! If you get some natural fibre string and force it between the staves with a flat bladed chisel or screwdriver where the water is leaking, this should help! Should you go to Gibraltar (If the Spanish let you in) go to the Garrison Library Garden and see the dozen barrels I cut in half with a hand saw and planted aspidestras in each.

Cheers, Tony.

 

Days? weeks? months?

I go to Gibraltar about twice a year for work.
Not much free time to do my own thing, but next time I am there, I will try and get to the Library Gardens.

 

days

 

Will they be ok over the winter?

I have read that expanding ice can cause problems.

 

I have got one outside the front door, nearly 8 years and still going strong and went through 2011 2012 winter no problems

 

I've kept mine through some very severe winters (with -15 at night for weeks). As I had fish in the pond, which also survived, I would sit a pan of boiled water on the surface of the ice, to melt a hole through. This was more for the fishes benefit, but it probably did help alleviate the pressure on the sides...

 

How big is your barrel?
How many fish do you have in it?

 

A quick question....

The barrel is 43cm tall and 67cm across.
How do I calculate the volume?