Pond in a half whisky barrel?
Question:I have a half whisky barrel which all winter has sat filled with water. The water is pitch black and still smells strongly of whisky.
How can I best clean the barrel so that it can support a pond with aquatic plants, water snails and a couple of small fishes this summer? Is bleach a good idea or will this contaminate the barrel further and mean that pondlife will not flourish?
Elbow grease is a given but is there any cleaning product that can safely assist? Many thanks.
Answers:
I have one and I love it. We used elbow grease and a strong spray of water to get rid of "whatever" was in it. The smell will go away eventually; one summer did it for ours. The fish and plants are still going strong after 5 years. DO NOT USE BLEACH - it will get into the wood and continue to leach out.
Line it with plastic. The heavy duty kind and be prepared to replace it every three or fours years. Wood, whether or not it's saturated in alcohol or anything else, does not make for good aqua-culture.
warm salty water scrub with a brush and let it soak in it overnight
You really cant. Charred oak[an assumption] will retain its taste for years. We use oak. Alcohol boils at 175 Degrees F. Water at 212. Tricky bizness. We distill at almost 200 F. Y ou never get rid if it. But our whiskey is great!
I've seen lots of these. I personally would just let the thing dry and "paint" the inside with two or three coats of clear polyurethane. The poly will seal the thing and stabilize the charring. Why muck up the the things character by trying to scape it off anyway? Just a thought...
More Related Questions & Answers...