electrolysis question

[Sandy Glenn]

Gave it up and went with the fire!!

Bob, Before you continue cleaning with fire, you need to look over this thread at the top of this board:

http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1388345264

Fire is NOT an accepted method of cleaning iron due to the damage that uncontrolled heat can cause.  You got lucky that there's no visible damage on your skillet.

A lot of people who don't want to bother with electrolysis use either a lye bath or lye-based oven cleaner.

[Bob Sauder]

Are there any concerns about carcinogens being leached into the iron from oven cleaners? I gave a vintage skillet to my daughter and she wanted to make certain I didn't use oven cleaner on it.
bob

[Sandy Glenn]

Are there any concerns about carcinogens being leached into the iron from oven cleaners?

Bob, Hopefully Jeff Friend will chime in with an answer to your question.

I've no real experience using oven cleaner... I set up a lye bath from the get-go and have been very happy with it.

[Herman Gagne]

Bob,
Just do a search on the Internet for the definition of lye and it's uses: good info. there.
Lye contains sodium hydroxide, which is used in soap making, unplugging clogged conduits (liquid plummer), and more.
I spay my cast with it, stuff it in a plastic bag, and wait for a few days: does wonders. Then in the electric bath to remove the rust film, then season.
Cheers.

[Cheryl Watson]

Bob, if using oven cleaner make sure it contains Sodium Hydroxide.
(Yellow Cap Easy-Off, e.g.).

Not all oven cleaners are sodium hydroxide (lye) based.

Wear gloves and eye protection.

Lye is quite soluble, and given the regimen that we recommend with vigorous scrub downs after lye bath, and then again after de-rusting, it is all gone.

We are all still here, with no ill effects, as most everyone here cooks with Cast Iron that they have restored. :)

I would never use a piece of Cast Iron that was not restored... now that could be dangerous, because you never no where it has been, or what it was used for... ;) ;)

When working around my lye baths, I always wear my face shield and chem gloves,,,, and when mixing lye, always add lye to the water, never add water to lye.  (I mix outdoors as this is the one time that fumes occur, on initial mixing)..

[Mark Zizzi]

I would set up a lye bath. All you need is a rubbermaid or similar plastic tote, and a can of lye. It will clean many many pieces..I'm still using my original solution after a few dozen pieces. Nothing could be easier..just toss the piece in and check it after a day or two. Heavy crud will take a few days but you can leave the piece in there for as long as you want and it won't rust in there..weeks or months..or longer. Seems much easier to me than messing with oven cleaner..that you will have to keep buying each time you have a piece to clean. Your "fire" method is not too far from the self cleaning oven method as far as temps go, but less regulated as an oven and sounds very risky to me. 

[Jeff Friend]

Bob, it would be interesting to know why your daughter believes oven cleaner contains carcinogens.  I suspect she read something on the internet that made her come to that conclusion, and it was probably written by someone that didn't bother to look into the matter.  As you know, there is a lot of garbage strew all over the internet.  As a moderator of this board, I try to keep it from becoming another world wide web trash pile.  So I will try to set the record straight with accurate information.  You may or may not agree with what I post below and that is fine with me, but if you (or your daughter) disagree, please show me some some facts that support your position.

If you want to know if a product contains hazardous materials or ingredients, you can read its Safety Data Sheet (SDS), formerly know as a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).  The Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200(g)), requires that the chemical manufacturer, distributor, or importer provide Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for each hazardous chemical to downstream users to communicate information on these hazards. The SDS includes information such as the properties of each chemical; the physical, health, and environmental health hazards; protective measures; and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical.

Easy Off Heavy Duty aerosol, made by Reckett Benckiser, is probably the most common oven cleaner on the market, so I will use it as an example.  The SDS for Easy Off can be found here:  http://www.rbnainfo.com/MSDS//US/Easy%20Off%20Heavy%20Duty%20Oven%20Cleaner%20Aerosol%20EN%20GHS.pdf
Section 3 of the SDS lists the ingredients, quantities, and the Chemical Abstracts Services (CAS) number:

Sodium hydroxide                       2.5 - 5 percent                        CAS 1310-73-2
2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol           2.5 - 5 percent                        CAS 112-34-5
2-aminoethanol                          2.5 - 5 percent                         CAS 141-43-5

No oven cleaner is 100 percent sodium hydroxide.  They are all mostly water.  They contain a significant amount of propellant, which makes them flammable.  In addition to sodium hydroxide, they contain solvents (2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol and 2-aminoethanol in the case of Easy Off) to make them work better.  After doing a little reading, it does not appear that these chemicals are carcinogenic.  They are irritants, especially in the case of eye contact.  They are soluble in water and will not leave a residue if you do a good job cleaning the utensil after using oven cleaner.

I cannot see any reason not to use oven cleaner if you follow good safety practices.  It is a good alternative if you choose not to set up a lye bath.

[Gary Salsman]

You can make an electrolysis setup using a phone charger for a power source. Use it to clean coins and such. Rebar and 6 amps will work good for small hand tools and such. To clean normal sized skillets and other CI, you have to make a setup big enough. Cheryl's  photo are perfect examples of what is perfect for what we are doing. Your setup would have possibly done the job, but it may have taken a few days, not a few hours