Each of these longlasting barrels is made by hand.
Spelled "whiskey," the word describes a North American or Irish adult beverage. Spelled "whisky" it means Scotch. All good spirits spelled both ways are aged in white oak barrels. A standard Kentucky whiskey barrel is three feet tall, 21 inches across the top, two feet thick in the middle and weighs 110 pounds when it's new and dry. Used barrels weigh about 10 pounds more. They are all made by hand and they last for decades. And, after the whiskey is poured out of them people re-invent uses for these solid wood barrels. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Use the whiskey barrel to recycle rainwater. Set three barrel blocks or concrete blocks near the downspout of your rain gutter. The blocks will keep the bottom of the barrel from rotting.
2. Arrange barrel blocks in a circle and arrange the rectangular concrete blocks in a triangle. Check to see if the tops of the blocks are level by placing the bubble level horizontally across the blocks. Adjust blocks if needed.
3. Set the barrel on top of the blocks. Use a dolly to maneuver the barrel if needed. Disconnect the downspout from your rain gutter by hand.
4. Replace the downspout with a rain barrel downspout diverter. Attach the diverter to the gutter using two gutter screws, an electric drill and a screwdriver bit.
5. Cut the top most part of the downspout to fit over the downspout diverter. Cut the downspout with tin snips. Use the template included with the downspout diverter to know where to cut.
6. Reattach the downspout to the diverter using two gutter screws, an electric drill and a screwdriver bit.
7. Drill a one-inch hole in the barrel lid using an electric drill and a one-inch hole saw. Remove the lid from the barrel.
8. Drill a one-inch hole in the side of the barrel just above the bottom for a spigot.
9. Wrap the connection end of a 3/4-inch hose bib spigot with Teflon tape. Screw the spigot into the bottom hole in the whiskey barrel.
10. Push a one-inch rubber washer over the spigot shank inside the rain barrel. Coat the spigot shank and the rubber washer with silicone sealant.
11. Screw a 3/4-inch galvanized locknut onto the spigot shank and tighten the nut with a 3/4-inch box wrench. Tighten the nut until the rubber washer flattens and expands to make a waterproof seal.
12. Put the lid back on the barrel. Connect one end of a length of garden hose to the hose fitting on the downspout diverter. Insert the other end of the hose into the hole in the barrel lid.
13. Attach a garden hose to the hose spigot on the bottom of the barrel. Use the rain water you collect in the barrel to water your lawn.
Tags: downspout diverter, barrel blocks, electric drill, one-inch hole, rubber washer, spigot shank