Cast Iron

[jimkim]

I found a kettle. It's at a flea market and more than likely it's just been used for food, but I would really like to be sure before I cook with it. I need a way to test it for contamination. Any help would be appreciated.

[jcwit]

Get a test kit at Lowes or Home Depot. Not sure if Menards carry them or not.

Or check out E-Bay, I just did and they had 310 different sellers.

[jimkim]

Thanks.

[Reload3006]

What I would do with it and I am sure it would work. If you have a fireplace build a fire just like normal put the cast Iron pot on the fire upside down watch it it will turn cherry red. It wouldnt hurt the pot at all heck leave it in there a week. I would bet my life that there will be nothing left in the pot that would hurt you. We used to season new cast iron that way when I was a kid. If you didnt you would get all kinds of oils in your food. after you take it out of the fireplace wash it good with soap n water then coat it with Lard/Bacon grease to keep it from rusting. I know that if it had been used for smelting all the lead will run out and be in your ashes.

[leadman]

It would be about an even trade to buy a new Harbor freight pot vs. the test kit. but then again the HF pot is probably cast in China so how do we know what is in it?

[MT Gianni]

New Harbor Freight pots are tough to get a good seal on. Without a seal your food looses moisture one of the reasons to cook Dutch.

[jimkim]

Does Harbor Freight have a two gallon round bottom kettle for less than twenty dollars? Thanks R3006. I grew up with my Grandmother. She made soap every year. I really wish I knew what happened to her cauldron(big freaking kettle). I'll never forget that smell, or those huge sear your skin, and the dirt with it, clean off soap. They looked like rocks. She didn't have a mould or anything so they just kinda came out with whatever shape they decided to be. lol

[7br]

A while back, I needed to re-season a cast iron skillet. Put it in the oven and let the oven self clean. Took everything off and returned it to a dull grey color. Re-seasoned and was off the the races. (Pancake races, that is) It will put a ton of ash in the oven, so you might consider putting a sheet pan under it.

I would not think it would eliminate contamination by lead though

[Le Loup Solitaire]

As a collector of cast iron I've had to clean quite a number of pieces over the years. Among dealers and collectors there are three methods to chose from..usually. The first way especially for those who have a larger number of pieces to clean, is to set up a plastic vat and prepare a solution of lye or caustic soda,(Red Devil drain cleaner will work) and hang the piece(s) to be cleaned in it for a week or two. The lye will not harm the cast iron but will eat up any buildup, paint or miscellaneous crud of all sorts. Rinse when clean and season. Route #2 is to immerse the piece (or fill it) with ordinary white vinegar which has acetic acid in it. After about an hour gas bubbles can be seen rising to the surface. (and they stink) Do not exceed the bath for more than 4 hours as the acid will also go after the cast iron...can weaken or even destroy the piece. This method will remove rust effectively. Again rinse well when done and re-season. Method three is to put the piece into a camp/woodstove fire and get it red hot or thereabouts; this simply burns/oxidizes off anything you want to get rid of. Do not let it go to white hot. It seems like the simplest method and can be, but be advised that cast iron can warp. Many skillets, griddles, etc have been warped/ruined by being overheated on an ordinary stove. Having a piece that then does not sit flat, rocks on tippy corners, or goes wobbling around is not fun. So if you use this way, go carefully. Any of these routes will completely decontaminate thoroughly, anything noxious, germ related for sure and will also get rid of any residual lead if the piece ever held any. Some folks still have their doubts about that, and if so, you can use all three methods.Repeat them as often as you like, in any order then the problem will be solved, but practically speaking any one method will do the trick and a trip thru all three-- one time, is really way more than enough to decontaminate. LLS

[beagle]

I've rescued bunches of skillets. Place in the fire in the firplace and let it sit. Be sure all areas get heat and if it turns red, so much the better. Next morning, remove, wash clean and dry. Heat oven, rub down heavily with oil ( I use Wesson), place pan in oven and turn off. When pan is cool, remove excess oil if any and it's ready to use. Don't use soap to wash....just soak in warm water. Seals and seasons nicely./beagle

[StratsMan]

I need a way to test it for contamination. Any help would be appreciated.

Jim, are asking about testing for food contamination?? Or asking if there is a test to check if it's been used for melting lead in the past???

I've seen many cast iron utensils re-purposed for lead (use one myself)... If I was considering buying a cast iron cornbread pan, for example, I'd sure want to know if a caster ever used it to make ingots, because that's what I use... and I'd like to find a lead test kit...

[jimkim]

Jim, are asking about testing for food contamination?? Or asking if there is a test to check if it's been used for melting lead in the past???

I've seen many cast iron utensils re-purposed for lead (use one myself)... If I was considering buying a cast iron cornbread pan, for example, I'd sure want to know if a caster ever used it to make ingots, because that's what I use... and I'd like to find a lead test kit...

I want to test it for lead contamination. It has a round bottom and if I didn't already have a big "smelting" pot, I'd use it in a minute. Before I started casting, I never thought about this stuff. I don't know if that's good or bad.
I found this. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM3329381401P?sid=IDx20070921x00003 a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM3329381401

Thanks fellas.

[Mooseman]

Jim,
I think thats a pretty good idea to test for lead . My cast Iron Kettle has lead residue in the bottom that stays in there so it is visible. You cant get a Cast Iron Pot hot enough to vaporize lead (over 3100 Degrees F) and other methods may be dangerous.
I would run that test , then if no lead shows, clean it and re-season it.
This does give me an Idea to put a "Use for lead only" brass tag on my kettle in case it is purchased from my estate in the future.
Rich

[nvbirdman]

Cook a meal for your mother-in-law. Check on her in a week or so.

[Dan Cash]

This lead contamination thing is blown way out of proportion. The world grew up eating off lead plates (high lead content pewter) drinking from lead cups (same as plates) and drinking out of lead pipes. The andient Romans did, guys like Copernicus and DaVinci did and in any village or city that sprouted prior to 1920 or so, people still drink from lead water pipes. We are all here and doing fine, although that may be where some of the dumb stuff comes from.

[jcwit]

This lead contamination thing is blown way out of proportion. The world grew up eating off lead plates (high lead content pewter) drinking from lead cups (same as plates) and drinking out of lead pipes. The ancient Romans did, guys like Copernicus and DaVinci did and in any village or city that sprouted prior to 1920 or so, people still drink from lead water pipes. We are all here and doing fine, although that may be where some of the dumb stuff comes from.

Correct as far as ancient Romans using lead, but its also the ancient Romans had a very high death toll from lead poisoning.

While I believe the lead scare is blown way out of proportion lets get facts right and not lean just on opinions.

[Suo Gan]

Does Harbor Freight have a two gallon round bottom kettle for less than twenty dollars? Thanks R3006. I grew up with my Grandmother. She made soap every year. I really wish I knew what happened to her cauldron(big freaking kettle). I'll never forget that smell, or those huge sear your skin, and the dirt with it, clean off soap. They looked like rocks. She didn't have a mould or anything so they just kinda came out with whatever shape they decided to be. lol

Did she make her own lye water?

[jimkim]

Did she make her own lye water?

I was a kid and wasn't allowed that close to her while she was doing it, but I do remember her having buckets of wood ash and sifting it for some reason. Being from rural GA I didn't wear shoes around the yard, and I remember her coming out of the house to shoo me away from the area where she made the soap. My feet were covered in ash. It was all over the ground. She was screaming something about me "burning my feet off".

I'm gonna' go out on a limb and say yes.

It really didn't burn that bad. It was about like the time I stuck my feet in a pile of concrete(powder). Grandma, dug and made her own septic tank out of concrete, She also built two rooms on one end of her porch. One was an indoor bathroom. It went with her new septic tank. She also laid her own block and made front and rear steps for the house in the country. We moved there when I was six. Grandma, had grit.

Thanks for the memory.

[Texnmidwest]

My mother's family owned and operated small farms in South Texas. Grit was something that was bred into them. In that inhospitable time and place the weak starved to death! I had an aunt that was still tending her garden at the age of 99. She would turn the soil with a fork and spade. She lived to be 101years young!

[troy_mclure]

You get that iron red hot and it'll vaporize any Lead residue off of it.

[jcwit]

You get that iron red hot and it'll vaporize any Lead residue off of it.


Not really, in fact not at all correct!

All temps listed are Fahrenheit, and are for Fe metal

Faint red----------930
Blood red--------1075
Dark cherry------1175
Med. cherry------1275
Cherry------------1375
Bright cherry-----1450

Now then Lead boils and turns to vaper at 3140 degrees

Quite a difference I'd say

[troy_mclure]

i had thought lead boiled at a way lower temp. my bad.

[MBTcustom]

I take an angle grinder and permanently cut a scull and cross-bones into any piece of cast iron I melt lead with, and try to get PB in there somewhere. Also, I mark every untensil, bowl or cup in the garrage that has been used for reloading. Scull and cross-bones and Pb everything. It may be overboard/paranoid, but its just cheap insurance. I consider it a sin to use a perfectly good dutch oven for melting lead, but I know that it is done a lot, so I dont buy any cast iron unless it is new or I am able to speak with the original owner and see what he used it for. I wouldn't be so concerned but I have a two year old daughter and it scares me that she might get hurt through my ignorance. Adults are able to handle a lot more lead than kids are.
I would like to know if there is a way to test a pot for lead because I know several flea markets that have some awesome vintage pieces for cheap.

[jcwit]

Get a test kit at most any home improvement store ; ie Lowes.

[Reload3006]

Test if you are worried probably not a bad idea. If you turn the pot upside down the lead will melt and run out lead is still heavy and it still melts at the same temp keep the pot in a fireplace and hot for a few days I doubt very seriously that any lead will remain in the pot. If there was ever any in there to begin with. You may have nasty ole poisonous lead in your ashes but hey they have lye in them too. so I dont think the lead will make them any more hazardous than they already are.
IF you really think about it its all rather silly anyway. You drink water that either flows through Lead pipes, Or flows past some joints that have been soldered with lead based solder. It hasn't been more than ten years or so that lead solder was banned. Gag at a gnat and swallow a camel LOL

[MBTcustom]

Maybe your right. I never cared too much before I had my daughter. I may be suffering from over-protective-parent syndrome. Sorry if I drank the coolaid, but lead can screw a kid up if they get a good dose of it. Just what "a good dose" is, who knows?

[jimkim]

Too late any way. Somebody else got it. There's some good info here. I might get a test kit and see if I can decontaminate my ladle. It's an old one about the size of a soup bowl. If it works with that, it'll work with anything.

[MBTcustom]

Hey, If you do that, post your findings would you? they might even make a sticky out of it!

[jcwit]

I vote for being over protecrtive with your young daughter.

She's only has 1 life, give her the best you can, I'll bet you also use a car seat for her.