Lookie What I scored !!

[Tuxdad]

Well its a good score to me....

Was over at a buddy of mine's house, helping with cuttin, splittin, and stackin of some wood...

We were talking(and sometimes cussin') about our old houses and some of the stuff we've done or plan to do(his is over 150 yrs old farmhouse, his birthplace, and mine is a little over 130 yrs old)..

He was rummaging thr one of his old barns, trying to decide which to use for storing wood when he dug this out of a pile...

It's cast Iron !! It's probably as old(if not older then) as his house... It needs a wood dowel for the handle and needs cleaned up(a lot)... I picked up these 2 tools for helping with cleaning it along with steel wool.. They are both brass wired so not to trash the designs on the kettle...

I know it'll need seasoned and all, but my biggest concern is this... Once I seasoned it, I planned to use it as a humidifier, on my woodstove.. Once I have it seasoned, should I add oil to the water with each fill to keep it seasoned, or will the one time do the job, and if I do have to add oil to the water, with each filling how much should I add ??

Thanks in advance...

Tux

 

[99f250]

Try Jasco prep-n-prime its a chemical that converts iron oxide (rust) into iron phospate, it will turn it black, just scrape off the loose scale first, as long as your not going to use it to drink from, there is also a spray paint called Rust Converter, just scrape off the loose stuff and spray, I found a large cast iron caldrun in worse shape then your kettle and it looks almost new. You can find either one at Lowes.

 

[Tuxdad]

Is the Jasco safe for using if I wanted to use the water for drinking still once I clean it ??

I'm still looking for info on whether I'll have to add oil(olive oil) each time I fill it with water or not.. Can't seem to find anything as of yet... I would think that you would need to add a little oil, especially with our water these days... Just not sure how much ...

 

[99f250]

Not sure if you could drink from after you clean, might contact the maker of Jasco. Probably only need to oil it on occasion.

 

[Tuxdad]

I'm thinking, I'll probably just clean it good with the brushes and steel wool, and season it up reall good.. I'd like to keep it useable to drinking water, and such if the need arised...

 

[65535]

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/products/detail.asp?catid=13&subid=47&plid=169

You could also try Naval Jelly.

 

[jw2n]

I heat entirely with wood, and used two cast iron kettles for humidifiers for several years. They rust like crazy, regardless of what you do to them. We switched over to the porcelain (sp?) coated iron, and found that they must have a thorough coating in order to work, otherwise they rust as well. We eventually switched over to some large aluminum pots (3-4 gal) that were bought in a Korean food store. We could not use the water from the cast iron, but it was fine from the alum. Also, we only filled the alum pots every other day as opposed to the two to four fillings per day with the iron. All this is done on a cast iron stove.

Just another bit of info for you. I had always been told to put a couple of marbles in the pot, as they would rattle when your kettle was almost out of water, letting you know it was time to refill. It does not work.

 

[eisman]

If I was going to drink from it, I'd blast the rust off with a light garnet media. Then coat it in vegetable oil (or olive) and bake it. Two or three bakings would give it back that cast iron sheen and be great for preventing any rust. Make sure you never use steel wool on it.

 

[jw2n]

I forgot to add this. When I needed to clean my kettles, I sandblasted them. This takes about two minutes, and they come out looking like new, It will not hurt them.

 

[hector81]

completely out of topic here, but I never noticed that the workmate is made out of bamboo! that's funny!
back on topic: nice find!! post picture once you manage to clean it.

 

[Tuxdad]

If I was going to drink from it, I'd blast the rust off with a light garnet media. Then coat it in vegetable oil (or olive) and bake it. Two or three bakings would give it back that cast iron sheen and be great for preventing any rust. Make sure you never use steel wool on it.

Should I add any extra oil to it when I fill it with water to help keep it seasoned ?? I keep thinking that with boiling water in it after it's seasoned that it'd lose it ...

 

[Joezilla]

Try vinegar on the inside. You'll still be able to use it afterwards. You may want to try those 3m sand pads from lowes too.

 

[eisman]

Cast iron has to "season". My grand-dad taught me never to use soap on it until it did, and you get where you an tell by looking as it seals up. The best thing I can think to say is never leave water in it.

 

[Tuxdad]

Well since I can't use steel wool on it, I'm assuming the brass is safe to use... Wish I had access to a blaster but I'd wana be careful with that because there's some sort of pattern on the lid that I'd like to preserve if possible... This should be a fun little project ...

 

[midnight flyer]

Here's a different thought.

I cook a lot, and part of my arsenal is a small collection of cast iron cookware, some as old as the turn of the century. I actually know the folks (now long deceased) that had it.

I had some nice old Lodge pans that I bought at a yard sale that had a lot more rust than I imagined. I gave up cleaning them as the more I cleaned, it seemed the rust multiplied.

I remembered an old trick for refinishing iron that works like a charm. DO THIS OUTSIDE!! Wear goggles, gloves and stay away from the fumes.

First, clean off all loose debris and wash you pot thoroughly. In a five gallon bucket, add water until you are a little more than a gallon shy of the top. GENTLY pour in a gallon of muratic acid (the stuff from the pool supply section at Home Depot or Lowes).

Tie a rope or wire on the lid, and the pot itself and lower it in. It will turn colors, fumes will escape (which quickly dissipate) and it will bubble. The acid will attack the rust, but leave the iron alone unless you leave it in solution too long. I leave my yard sale finds in for about 30 minutes, then check them. Pull them out with the rope or wire and hose them off and inspect carefully. You will see pits were the bad rust was, but where there was is surface rust it will be gone, or at lease partially so.

Some of the pans I have left in for a couple of hours after checking, and my favorite grill pan required that I make another batch of solution to get all of the rust. When you are satisfied that you have most of the rust, rinse the pot to get off all the acid. Finish cleaning with a stiff brush and sink cleanser. Scrub it good.

You may have a few spots to work on with a small brush, but I leave them on as service marks. Don't use sand paper as you will see grit scratches when you season the pot. The iron will be colored by the acid, and come out a natural gray. Since to this point the acids in the muratic acid are both water water soluble and you can wash off all the cleanser, you can use this to cook with at this point.

Season the pot as you would a cast iron pan. You should know that it will start rusting again immediately inside if you use it to boil water. Oil will not help; it is iron exposed to water. Worse, if you live in an area like we do, your next job at the end of the season will be to clean out a couple of pounds of calcium buildup.

I season my pans every once in a while, but when not in use I just use a spray like Pam and lightly oil them.

I would clean that old girl up and use her on special occasions. For my wood stove, I would do like my buddy does and take a large metail coffee can ( 3 lb.? ) and fill it with water and keep that on the stove. When it gets to the end of the season, he just tosses it in the recycle bin.

Hope that helps.

Robert

 

[Bushman5]

holy crap thats an old one!

look up "soda blasting" in the yeller pages in your area. They use baking soda to clean off rust WITHOUT removing a lot of the iron........then you can coat it inside nadout and bake it in your oven to season it. I would NOT use chem or jell strippers if you plan to boil water in it....

fyi, i have a rusty kettle and i drink the water every day from it.......nothing like a bit of iron in an active persons diet

 

[midnight flyer]

fyi, i have a rusty kettle and i drink the water every day from it.......nothing like a bit of iron in an active persons diet

Well, it makes sense! I used to hunt in a small ranch that had a an old tractor appliance out in the water of the cow pond. The guy that ran the cattle told me that he never took it out because that would get iron to the cows.

Believing this to be complete bul$$hit, I asked a dietitian about it, and she said it worked!! Who knew??

Any way Bushman... we all know you are kinda of a "rustic fellow"....

(Better leave after that one...)

Robert

 

[pvicenzi]

Cast iron tea kettels are usually used as humidifiers. Just put water in them and leave them on the woodstove. Using them tea, affects the taste.