First try at electrolysis

F

F. Beard

New member
I've been cleaning skillets with the ovens self clean cycle and a follow-up with SOS pads. I've also soaked with dollar store easy off that has lye. Both methods worked well. Now I have to his old kettle that is full of gunk so I'm trying electrolysis.

Below is my setup and I'm using a mower blade for the anode. After a few hours set at 12 volt fast charge, I removed it and it's coming along pretty good, but needs more time.

Any suggestions are welcome, if I need to modify my procedure. I used 1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer super washing soda.

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Electrolysis works best with line of sight. You have one mower blade for the anode on the front, add one more for the back side of your cast iron piece.

How do you plan on suspending your lid into your tank, horizontal of vertical?


You are going to hang your lid vertical, keep in mind "line of sight"

Make a wire hook from your wood to the handle on the lid, one side of the handle not the center. Make sure that it is long enough to be completely under water. Now take a thin wire from the other side of your handle and run it up on the other side of the lid (inside face) to your wood. Now your lid is vertical.

I do this with DO and kettles, works faster than moving around my piece to reach all the sides.

Only use steel wire inside your tank.
 
Thanks for the tips Jeff and I'll give it a go. The lid sure looks like a match, except you can't remove or replace the top when the bail is in the up position. It fits perfectly after laying the bail down.

Glad ya like my shoes. Maybe I shoulda dressed better for such a clean project. ;)
 
F Beard

My first suggestion would be to get that battery charger clamp out of the water. I have had some problems with my clamps corroding and they are always attached to the wire, not the actual pan and never in the water.

As for lids, I recently discovered that a small c clamp can be used to hold them vertical. Just be sure all the paint has been removed from the c clamp before attaching it to the lid. (An overnight soak in some of your lye solution should remove all the paint from the c clamp.)

I would sure like to see some pictures of that pot and lid. Is it a BSR flat bottom pot?

Good luck

Jack
 
Follow-up: I wasn't happy with the brown stains after all my cleaning efforts, so here's what worked for me. I put it back in the bucket of 50/50 vinegar & water and let it soak overnight. I picked up a Home Depot SS brush for $3. The brown came off easily, but it would start turning brown again before I could finish scrubbing, from the water.

So, I put it back in the vinegar bucket and scrubbed it again, while keeping it partially submerged, and wet. I pulled it out and gave it a fast wash with dawn, under the hydrant, then dried it immediately with a towel and stuck it straight in the preheated oven at 200 degrees. It came out light gray. :) Then I proceeded with it's first seasoning. Then, I put on the burner with a cup of crisco and fried some tater tots, just to break it in.
 
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Sounds like you are on your way. :icon_thumbsup:
I do not know how many pieces you plan on cleaning, but for me vinegar would add to my time and cost cleaning my iron. You have your eTank set up, if you improve it like I posted it will have taken all the brown stuff off without the need for vinegar. When washing use cold water it helps from flash rusting you can get with hot water.
 
Beautiful old pot. That's one heck of a set up for electrolysis. I'm new to this so I'm enjoying all the posts.

I've always used a campfire to heat the CI up and then scrubbed like heck. That's a LOT of work. I think I might try the oven cleaner next time.

Thanks for sharing.
 
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