Electrolysis question

[Coytee]

Anyone here ever fool around with cleaning something (cast iron) with electrolysis?

Here's my question...

Setup: Get plastic laundry bin or something similar. Since I don't have a spare 12v battery laying around to act as some form of (?) rectifier to keep the DC current constant, I might simply use a battery charger.

The anode is my question.

Since this process is line of site, can I connect the battery / charger to the anode but, put more pieces of anode in the tank and 'simply' connect them by a piece of wire so that the main piece is connected to the power source and the others are (hopefully) tagging along for the ride. I was thinking on getting some bare copper ground wire and maybe just wrap it around the powered piece and connect it (wrap it around) to the other pieces on the opposite side of the item being cleaned.

I'm looking at cleaning a handful of cast iron pots/pans and like the idea of surrounding them with anode rather than maybe having to do one side for several hours and then rotate the piece to do the other side.

Then again, maybe I misunderstand the process and am making it more complicated than it need be.

Heaven forbid that I simply get my dainty hands dirty and scrub them when I can make the entire process much more involved []

[jacksonbart]

That is how I shave

[Jay481985]

[DrWho]

yes, but keep the wire out of the water

[Coytee]

This isn't why I'm asking about the electrolysis.... I've got a dutch oven that's probably 90% covered with mild surface rust. I'm planning on trying to bake some bread in it.

I figure while I wait to work on that project I'll need something else to keep me going...

Smells gooooooooooooooooooood!

[Y]

[dtel]

That looks good [] It's my favorite way to make cornbread, add a little sugar or it's terribly plain.

Just did a few myself, but didn't use the dainty method. Just put them on a wire wheel then scrubbed them in soap water with a rough abrasive pad.

Then put them in the oven at 350 for about 10 min to completely dry removed coated with oil and baked for about an 30 min at 400 then raised it to 500 for another 30 min or longer. I then just turned off the over and left them in there to cool. the more you do this or use them after that the better they get.

I only did this to the others I had in the garage because I have 2 that's really seasoned and they are much better than the non-stick junk we have, and cook better.

[Jay481985]

Ifits mild use bar keepers friend and reseason

[Don Richard]

I only did this to the others I had in the garage because I have 2 that's really seasoned and they are much better than the non-stick junk we have, and cook better.

+1 on the cast iron cookware. Really holds the heat and spreads it out evenly.

[Coytee]

Just cause I think it's so cute... in the above picture note on the back burner a 5"x5" cast iron skillet. I use it when I make egg sandwiches. I tried it on a grilled cheese. Though I was able to make a grilled cheese, given how I make them I really need more space. For making an egg for a sandwich, it's perfect.

[Marvel]

+1 on the cast iron cookware. Really holds the heat and spreads it out evenly.

I have one cast iron skillet, but also a bunch of Saladmaster pots/pans, etc. Heavy stainless. They work well, but I tend to use a lot of olive oil when I cook, and you can scub them with just about anything and not hurt them. I got them in the early '70s...

Bruce

[Daddy Dee]

we use seasoned iron skillets all the time now. for years they were just in the cabinets, inherited from moms and grandmoms.

cooked many an omelette in silverstone pans, but came to worry about what chemicals might be leaching into the food.

before we got back to the iron frying pans i tried a couple of ceramic pans. they work great for a few weeks or months then turn into the most gosh awful things ever. they get to where one cannot cook food in them without the worst sticking ever.

for stir fry is use a wonderful old (flat bottom) carbon steel wok. I can get it hot as heck and it won't warp like stainless.

[dtel]

cooked many an omelette in silverstone pans, but came to worry about what chemicals might be leaching into the food.

That's true DD, we had Cockatiels here for a while and I was reading to get info on them, they say when the nonstick pan is heating it puts off a gas that can kill birds in the same house, can't be good.

[JL Sargent]

That's wild about the gas from non-stick pans killing birds. And I thought it was just bad cooking that did that.

Chili, Gumbo, Mississippi Flats w/ Ham, all the good stuff is better in a Cast Iron cooking vessel! We have plent but I still look at the finer specimens at the flea market.

As far as a little rust in a pan. Heck, just wipe in down with a little cooking oil and keep on cookin baby!

[Jay481985]

Perks of cast iron and stainless steel pots and pans, we getsome daily iron into our diets, really.

[Chris A]

As far as a little rust in a pan. Heck, just wipe in down with a little cooking oil and keep on cookin baby!

+1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast-iron_cookware#Cleaning

Chris

[Axz Hout]

y

[jhoak]

The last GF that lived here had a pretty nice collection of Griswold cast iron. Of course she never used any of it. It just hung on the wall and was stacked on shelves.

When she moved out I was left with one CI skillet, a 12" I think but the bottom wasn't flat enough to use on the glass top stove. I ended up giving it to my Son. The only thing I cook with these days is a set of Stainless Steel Cuisinart pans an a Calphalon pasta pot.

It should be noted that pans with non-stick coatings don't begin to off-gas until they reach temperatures greater than 500°. The coating doesn't begin to break down until 660° is reached. Something that should never happen unless you've done something really stupid like sitting an empty pan on an active burner and forgetting about it. If the pan has any oil or butter in it they would have smoked at 400°or less.

Considering the billions of non-stick pans that have been sold and used around the world if they were truly dangerous they'd have long since been outlawed. Either that or Du Pont would have been sued in to bankrupcy years ago.

[Axz Hout]

S

[dtel]

It should be noted that pans with non-stick coatings don't begin to off-gas until they reach temperatures greater than 500°. The coating doesn't begin to break down until 660° is reached. Something that should never happen unless you've done something really stupid like sitting an empty pan on an active burner and forgetting about it. If the pan has any oil or butter in it they would have smoked at 400°or less.

I think it depends on the coating from what I found and you could be right ?

What I read said use low or medium heat, I was thinking you had to warm up the surface a little, if not it looks like it sticks more ? Either way I like the cast iron better

I would say you got ripped off of some really nice cast iron. and she didn't even use them ! [:|]

one of the things I read

" Over the last 50 years many of the companies that produce non-stick coatings have claimed that these products do not emit hazardous chemicals through normal use. More recently these companies have stated that `significant decomposition of the coating will occur only temperatures exceed above 660 degrees F (340 degrees C). These temperatures are well above normal cooking range.`

In recent tests a non-stick frying pan preheated on a conventional, electric stovetop burner reached 736 degrees F in 3 minutes and 20 seconds with temperatures still rising when the tests were halted. The leading brand was shown to hit 721 degrees at 5 minutes. Industry studies have shown that non-stick cookware can release toxic particulates at 446 degrees F. At 680 degrees F, non-stick pans release at least six massively toxic gases."

[dtel]

Coytee I never tried the Electrolysis thing,..........well not on pots but it works great on my legs ! [:#][:$]