!!!UPDATE!!! The ratio for Super Washing Soda should be 1/2 Cup per 5 gallons of water and not 1 cup per 5 gallons. I've recently learned that a heavy solution may cause the charger to work too hard.
Great video! As a test, I assembled an E Tank with a 5 gallon bucket, a car battery charger, a household extension cord and some scrap metal and rusty wrenches. It worked very well! So now I'm using a 13 gal garbage can, rebar for anodes and now your stainless steel all-thread method. Thanks for a great idea!
Thank you for the info. When cutting threaded rod spin two nuts up beyond the cut and place the saw in a groove and keep it nice and steady. Bounces are bad. If there is a bur you can force the nut over it most times.
I don't know if you're aware but for the hearing impaired the background music is extremely distracting. Thank you for educating us on CI but it's tough to watch/listen.
On my older videos, I am unable to alter play background music. I have however stopped using background music on newer videos. I have been learning as I go and hopefully getting better in the process. Thank you so much for watching.
I just recently came across you on utube and I'm really enjoying all of your cast iron videos. Thanks for all of them. I'm in the process of building a electrolysis tank, and can't wait for warm weather to start hitting rummage, and garage sales looking for cast iron cookware. I'm also looking forward to trying your seasoning stick. Keep up the great work!
When rounding the piece of all-thread, or anything threaded, put the nut on first then clean up the end. Once that is done screw the nut off, it will clean off and reform the threads.
Excellent video. I might have missed it. What current/amp setting do you set on you charger? 600 amps, 300 amps, 60, 30, 10, etc? And what current/amp setting on the charger if you were using 5, 10, 20 gallons of water? Or does it matter? Could you substitute vinegar or baking powder instead of baking soda? Your comments. Your video is going to save MANY vintage cast iron cooking products. Also make many friends of senior age very happy. What they once wanted to do, and can not do any longer, will be done. Many thanks amigo
@@castIroncookware My set up. 5 gallon bucket filled with water to completely cover my skillet. 1 cup baking powder. Charger set at 6 amps. I'm trying an old charger first, settings 2/6 amps. At 6 amps things are bubbling nicely. After running about 2 hours things are looking good. It looks like baking powder is working. How about adding vinegar? The good electrical contact is very important. Those weak connections from wore out weak spring battery clamps are absolutely detramental to the process. I think we have something here my friend. Any comments very much appreciated.
@@abdullaex4119 I would avoid vinegar just because vinegar can eat away at the cast iron itself. You can usually find Super Washing Soda at Walmart. That is the preferred ingredient. I have also used vice grips and have your duty clamps to fasten to the tank and also the cast iron.
Sir; I will pass on your intelligent suggestion concerning baking soda. As of right now, folks are amazed at the bubbling waters and history being revived before their eyes. Depending on the results, we will be setting up more buckets for more cast iron cooking impliments. Me thinks we will be short of chargers pretty quick?? Again, many thanks amigo
I just ordered a bench-top DC Power Supply and am planning to do a video when it gets here. I think that it will be a great alternative at about $69.00. I have a friend that has one and he says that it works great. If all goes well, the video will be ready to post on Friday. Since the making of this video, most makers have discontinued the manual chargers. I have contacted many of them and they say they will not be making them anymore. An alternative has become absolutely necessary for the cast iron community.
Using stainless steel for this is a horrible idea. The process would release hexavalent chromium into the air in the vapor. If you have never heard of it, you may have heard of "Erin Brockovich? Hexavalent chromium was the chemical in the water that was making people sick.
@@rh5971 The gasses released are NOT hexavalent chromium, they are hydrogen and oxygen only. However, the hexavalent chromium would accumulate in solution and over time may concentrate and cause health/environmental issues. Regarding scale etc...I don't know if this is a real issue or not? Obviously this is not the same scale as an industrial powerplant as portrayed in Erin Brockovich.
I’m confused. You used Vice Grips to hook to the handle of your pot with the positive. Then you hooked a Blue wire to the negative and hooked that to the CI. You have 2 Grips in use or is that 2nd set just clamped to the charger so you know where it is?
The blue wires are just and extensions to give me a little slack when hooking everything up. The Negative hooks to the Iron and the Positive hooks to the sacrificial anode.
I have been using stainless steel for all of my connectors. You can find those at ACE Hardware and some of the other hardware stores. I would stay away from any types of coatings altogether.
You really want to avoid using galvanised because of its toxicity. I personally use stainless steel but there are good bit of people that would not use that either because of the potential for hexavalent chromium. Most people will use a plastic container and rebar for the sacrificial anodes.
Just starting to set up for electrolysis. Can I use my stainless steel turkey fryer pot for small items? I see you are using a SS tank. Just curious. Thanks.
There are quite a few people that do not use stainless steel because they're afraid of hexavalent chromium. I have been testing mine and so far have not had an issue.
hey, sub’ed your channel; i see you pinned a comment about your A&H washing soda ratio being incorrect - suspect that may also being causing those explosive bubbles; definitely make sure there’s plenty of ventilation! where in AL are you; i’m down in Tuscaloosa ... would enjoy meeting up with you one day to chat about cast iron ... BTW my 55g e-tank runs very efficiently at the 2A setting; the meter typically read 15-20A ... take care, Mark
I am currently looking for a replacement for my battery charger. No one has finally moved on to greener pastures. When I do finally get a replacement, I will be doing another electrolysis tank setup video. I'm probably going to use a 55 gallon plastic tank with the different type of anode.
@@castIroncookware good deal; i've got a video on my channel of my setup; my charger is very similar to yours ... BTW, sent you a friends request on FB ...
How do you know when your e-tank needs maintenance or needs to be emptied? After a certain number of pieces, or can you tell from the water or does it stop working? Thanks!
The Solutions days pretty constant. You have evaporation but the washing soda does not evaporate. It will get concentrated unless you keep the water levels up. If you have sacrificial anodes, you will have to take them out and clean them when It quits working so well. Other than that, the only thing you have to worried about is sediment in the bottom of the tank but I never really worried about that. My battery charger died and my tank is sitting dormant. I will probably clean it out when I get a new charger. Probably.
+Mike Jones yes it is ventilated somewhat but the hydrogen gas dissipates fairly quickly. I have occasionally took a lighter in ignited it. I know that sounds a little bit crazy but unless the bubbles are huge it's about the same as a small firecracker. I was going to put that on the video but I was afraid to encourage someone to do something maybe that they shouldn't. By the way I've been thinking about doing a weekly Vlog on Mondays called "cast iron cookware answers" where I answer questions from my subscribers and I think this would be a great topic for my first Vlog
I didn't know maybe how long you would leave it unattended & could build up, if not ventilated but that's interesting. Have you ever heard of or tried using molasses & water to clean the rust on ci ?
Hey! Thanks for the video. I was taught that using stainless steel for electrolysis creates hexavalent chromium, which is toxic. Have you read the same thing? In any event, I've subscribed to your channel, thank you for your posts.
The normal battery charger that is used for electrolysis does not create the kind of temps to cause this reaction. Even if it did, the amounts created over a lifetime would still not approach the limitations for disposal. In an industrial setting, the issue is mainly dealing with disposal of the used water.
there has been a lot of discussion lately concerning stainless steel being used for electrolysis. There are different grades of stainless steel with some being more prone to do this than others. The biggest concern that I hear is disposing of old water because of EPA issues. I will put together some info and try to add it to my next cast iron answers video.
[brandon gardner] Now just hold on there mate. Kids could be watching, and we don't put up with no damn yankee citee-slicker talk around here. Take it somewhere else. Got it?
I was curious of using electrolysis on plated pieces. I recently acquired a couple of vintage nickel plated skillets and have heard conflicting stories on using electrolysis. Some say not to some say it's ok. I would like to know your thoughts and experiences on plated pieces.
I've had a few plated pieces that I used my electrolysis tank to clean and they turned out really good. I don't know of any issues from a chemical standpoint though. I've had a couple of pieces that I cleaned and used. When they turn dark from use I decided to retank them so that they could be sold and they looked exactly the same as they did the first time. They did not seem to lose any of their plating.
@@castIroncookware Thanks for the info. Still gathering as much knowledge as I can before starting any restoration. I would hate to potentially ruin a piece.
+Steve sparta Electrolysis Tank Builders Group on Facebook is a great resource. I really advise you to read before you start asking questions though. Once you read the files and cannot find what you're looking for, you can ask questions and they are very good to answer. I wish you good success on your restoration Adventures.
I just got lucky when I found this stainless steel container. If it were not for that, I would be using a plastic container as well. I suppose that it would be a great video to put together one just to share the fundamentals.
I wasn't sure how many gallons are in the tank so that was my way of measuring as I go. I'm hoping to do a electrolysis tank setup 2.0 as soon as I find another battery charger. The next video should be more streamlined into the point.
I'm not sure what you mean. Is it just boring or incorrect in some way? This is one of my early videos and I had a lot to learn on how to present information. It has been a learning process along with a lot of really hard work. I'm still learning today.
Why would you have a metal pot as your electrolysis tank? The rust will adhere to that metal.. duh! Use plastic containers and metal rods or plates instead. Oh my god, your tank ain’t gonna work too well... not with that ratio you’re telling people to use. It should be 1 cup to every 10 gallons of water. So basically half of what you mention. It will let your power source operate easier
I put an update at the top of the comments on the ratio. The stainless steel is a breese to clean. All I have to do is go around it one time with a scrubby and I'm good to go again.
Apparently you are ignorant of the fact that this man is speaking of what he has done and what has worked through trial and error and it seems that he has figured out the process that works extremely well as you can see in all his videos how well his methods work but I'm sure YOU CAN SHOW EVERYONE ON YOUR CHANNEL THE RIGHT WAY TO DO SO !!!! ILL BE WAITING FOR THE VIDEO FROM YOU!!! MR.WANT TO BE AN ASSHOLE !!
@@castIroncookware you're doing fine! The video was not too long and you are not broadcasting news, you're showing people "for free" your hobby and how to produce a nice product one can be proud of when done! i use some of your tips yesterday to clean up a LBL #10 Griswold Griddle! looks really good, hate to see it go! So again, Thanks for all the Videos and the Scriptures at the End!
@@bowe1978 I am gonna keep it going. I'm still learning and improving and will continue sharing as long as I can be helpful. Thank you for the encouragement.
!!!UPDATE!!!
The ratio for Super Washing Soda should be 1/2 Cup per 5 gallons of water and not 1 cup per 5 gallons. I've recently learned that a heavy solution may cause the charger to work too hard.
Well I guess I didn't get the memo. Just got done redoing my tank again. Apparently I had too much soap. Let's see how she does now.
Great video! As a test, I assembled an E Tank with a 5 gallon bucket, a car battery charger, a household extension cord and some scrap metal and rusty wrenches. It worked very well! So now I'm using a 13 gal garbage can, rebar for anodes and now your stainless steel all-thread method. Thanks for a great idea!
You are absolutely welcome.
Thank you for the info. When cutting threaded rod spin two nuts up beyond the cut and place the saw in a groove and keep it nice and steady. Bounces are bad. If there is a bur you can force the nut over it most times.
Thank you!
I've thought of making one of these, ur version seems the easiest one to put together and maintain!
Do you ever need to recharge the water or do you change it all?
I don't know if you're aware but for the hearing impaired the background music is extremely distracting. Thank you for educating us on CI but it's tough to watch/listen.
On my older videos, I am unable to alter play background music. I have however stopped using background music on newer videos. I have been learning as I go and hopefully getting better in the process. Thank you so much for watching.
@@castIroncookware Thank you, Sir. I'm learning a lot from your videos.
@@vickip8447 you're welcome and I am so glad that I can help. I love sharing what little bit I have learned.
I just recently came across you on utube and I'm really enjoying all of your cast iron videos. Thanks for all of them. I'm in the process of building a electrolysis tank, and can't wait for warm weather to start hitting rummage, and garage sales looking for cast iron cookware. I'm also looking forward to trying your seasoning stick. Keep up the great work!
When rounding the piece of all-thread, or anything threaded, put the nut on first then clean up the end. Once that is done screw the nut off, it will clean off and reform the threads.
Should have said put the nut on before cutting and rounding the all-thread.
I remember learning that when I was younger but forgot about it.
You can also use a automatic charger hooked to a 12 volt battery and jumper cables from the battery to the tank.
I have heard of that but have not tried it yet.
If you would please how long did that take at 40 amps versus 10 amps
Excellent video. I might have missed it. What current/amp setting do you set on you charger? 600 amps, 300 amps, 60, 30, 10, etc? And what current/amp setting on the charger if you were using 5, 10, 20 gallons of water? Or does it matter? Could you substitute vinegar or baking powder instead of baking soda? Your comments. Your video is going to save MANY vintage cast iron cooking products. Also make many friends of senior age very happy. What they once wanted to do, and can not do any longer, will be done. Many thanks amigo
I was using 40 amps but my charger finally played out. I know people using 2 amps with results.
@@castIroncookware
My set up. 5 gallon bucket filled with water to completely cover my skillet. 1 cup baking powder. Charger set at 6 amps. I'm trying an old charger first, settings 2/6 amps. At 6 amps things are bubbling nicely. After running about 2 hours things are looking good. It looks like baking powder is working. How about adding vinegar? The good electrical contact is very important. Those weak connections from wore out weak spring battery clamps are absolutely detramental to the process. I think we have something here my friend. Any comments very much appreciated.
@@abdullaex4119 I would avoid vinegar just because vinegar can eat away at the cast iron itself. You can usually find Super Washing Soda at Walmart. That is the preferred ingredient. I have also used vice grips and have your duty clamps to fasten to the tank and also the cast iron.
Sir; I will pass on your intelligent suggestion concerning baking soda. As of right now, folks are amazed at the bubbling waters and history being revived before their eyes. Depending on the results, we will be setting up more buckets for more cast iron cooking impliments. Me thinks we will be short of chargers pretty quick??
Again, many thanks amigo
@@abdullaex4119 The manual chargers are getting scarce.
One of the recommended Chargers is unavailable in the other is almost $500 is everything possible for entry-level folks
I just ordered a bench-top DC Power Supply and am planning to do a video when it gets here. I think that it will be a great alternative at about $69.00. I have a friend that has one and he says that it works great. If all goes well, the video will be ready to post on Friday. Since the making of this video, most makers have discontinued the manual chargers. I have contacted many of them and they say they will not be making them anymore. An alternative has become absolutely necessary for the cast iron community.
How would one know what stainless steel would be safe to use for the tank and if so would it cause a huge disposal problem with EPA regulations?
Using stainless steel for this is a horrible idea. The process would release hexavalent chromium into the air in the vapor. If you have never heard of it, you may have heard of "Erin Brockovich? Hexavalent chromium was the chemical in the water that was making people sick.
R H on an industrial sized scale yes but not this size undertaking.
@@rh5971 The gasses released are NOT hexavalent chromium, they are hydrogen and oxygen only. However, the hexavalent chromium would accumulate in solution and over time may concentrate and cause health/environmental issues. Regarding scale etc...I don't know if this is a real issue or not? Obviously this is not the same scale as an industrial powerplant as portrayed in Erin Brockovich.
How do you know when it's done? When to stop? Does it stop bubbling?
I’m confused. You used Vice Grips to hook to the handle of your pot with the positive. Then you hooked a Blue wire to the negative and hooked that to the CI. You have 2 Grips in use or is that 2nd set just clamped to the charger so you know where it is?
The blue wires are just and extensions to give me a little slack when hooking everything up. The Negative hooks to the Iron and the Positive hooks to the sacrificial anode.
since we dont want to use anything galvanized due to zinc, are the washers, nuts, bolts, are those galvanized?
I have been using stainless steel for all of my connectors. You can find those at ACE Hardware and some of the other hardware stores. I would stay away from any types of coatings altogether.
I'm going to set up a tank over the next few weeks. Would a steel galvanized trash can work with a manual battery charger?
You really want to avoid using galvanised because of its toxicity. I personally use stainless steel but there are good bit of people that would not use that either because of the potential for hexavalent chromium. Most people will use a plastic container and rebar for the sacrificial anodes.
Just starting to set up for electrolysis. Can I use my stainless steel turkey fryer pot for small items? I see you are using a SS tank. Just curious. Thanks.
There are quite a few people that do not use stainless steel because they're afraid of hexavalent chromium. I have been testing mine and so far have not had an issue.
If a cast iron skillet is badly rusted will this method remove the rust or just loosen it?
It will completely remove all rust and all of the organic material as well.
Thanks for the video. I am new to restoring CI and just learning. Does an etank clean off the burnt on grease as well as remove rust?
Yes, it takes it all off.
Great. Thank you for the info.
hey, sub’ed your channel; i see you pinned a comment about your A&H washing soda ratio being incorrect - suspect that may also being causing those explosive bubbles; definitely make sure there’s plenty of ventilation! where in AL are you; i’m down in Tuscaloosa ... would enjoy meeting up with you one day to chat about cast iron ... BTW my 55g e-tank runs very efficiently at the 2A setting; the meter typically read 15-20A ... take care, Mark
I am currently looking for a replacement for my battery charger. No one has finally moved on to greener pastures. When I do finally get a replacement, I will be doing another electrolysis tank setup video. I'm probably going to use a 55 gallon plastic tank with the different type of anode.
@@castIroncookware good deal; i've got a video on my channel of my setup; my charger is very similar to yours ... BTW, sent you a friends request on FB ...
@@bamagtrdude I'll check it out
How do you know when your e-tank needs maintenance or needs to be emptied? After a certain number of pieces, or can you tell from the water or does it stop working? Thanks!
The Solutions days pretty constant. You have evaporation but the washing soda does not evaporate. It will get concentrated unless you keep the water levels up. If you have sacrificial anodes, you will have to take them out and clean them when It quits working so well. Other than that, the only thing you have to worried about is sediment in the bottom of the tank but I never really worried about that. My battery charger died and my tank is sitting dormant. I will probably clean it out when I get a new charger. Probably.
Thanks, good to know. I didn’t have a battery charger so purchased a dc power supply, much cheaper than those big chargers on wheels.
@@JoelFriedlander I will have to look into that. Maybe a good alternative.
Cast Iron Cookware Here’s the one I bought on the recommendation of Brooklyn Cast Iron: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JQXQ8S5
@@JoelFriedlander Let me know how well it works,
Is your shop well ventilated? Hydrogen is explosive as you mentioned. be safe
+Mike Jones yes it is ventilated somewhat but the hydrogen gas dissipates fairly quickly. I have occasionally took a lighter in ignited it. I know that sounds a little bit crazy but unless the bubbles are huge it's about the same as a small firecracker. I was going to put that on the video but I was afraid to encourage someone to do something maybe that they shouldn't. By the way I've been thinking about doing a weekly Vlog on Mondays called "cast iron cookware answers" where I answer questions from my subscribers and I think this would be a great topic for my first Vlog
I didn't know maybe how long you would leave it unattended & could build up, if not ventilated but that's interesting. Have you ever heard of or tried using molasses & water to clean the rust on ci ?
@@MikeJones-jr5hb I will look into the cleaning with molasses. That has got me curious
Hey! Thanks for the video. I was taught that using stainless steel for electrolysis creates hexavalent chromium, which is toxic. Have you read the same thing? In any event, I've subscribed to your channel, thank you for your posts.
The normal battery charger that is used for electrolysis does not create the kind of temps to cause this reaction. Even if it did, the amounts created over a lifetime would still not approach the limitations for disposal. In an industrial setting, the issue is mainly dealing with disposal of the used water.
Most people say dont use stainless because it creates hexavalent chromium during the process.🤔🤔🤔
there has been a lot of discussion lately concerning stainless steel being used for electrolysis. There are different grades of stainless steel with some being more prone to do this than others. The biggest concern that I hear is disposing of old water because of EPA issues. I will put together some info and try to add it to my next cast iron answers video.
[brandon gardner]
Now just hold on there mate.
Kids could be watching, and we don't put up with no damn yankee citee-slicker talk around here.
Take it somewhere else.
Got it?
I heard that you were to use 1 tablespoon per gallon of water
can I clean 2 pots at a time
I know of people that do. It usually takes a larger/wider tank to avoid missing spots. Electrolysis is a line of site process.
Where did you get your tank?
Someone will selling items out of a storage unit and it just happened to be there under a bunch of junk. I got lucky.
I was curious of using electrolysis on plated pieces. I recently acquired a couple of vintage nickel plated skillets and have heard conflicting stories on using electrolysis. Some say not to some say it's ok. I would like to know your thoughts and experiences on plated pieces.
I've had a few plated pieces that I used my electrolysis tank to clean and they turned out really good. I don't know of any issues from a chemical standpoint though. I've had a couple of pieces that I cleaned and used. When they turn dark from use I decided to retank them so that they could be sold and they looked exactly the same as they did the first time. They did not seem to lose any of their plating.
@@castIroncookware Thanks for the info. Still gathering as much knowledge as I can before starting any restoration. I would hate to potentially ruin a piece.
+Steve sparta Electrolysis Tank Builders Group on Facebook is a great resource. I really advise you to read before you start asking questions though. Once you read the files and cannot find what you're looking for, you can ask questions and they are very good to answer. I wish you good success on your restoration Adventures.
This is confusing because every one of the others use a large plastic bin
I just got lucky when I found this stainless steel container. If it were not for that, I would be using a plastic container as well. I suppose that it would be a great video to put together one just to share the fundamentals.
You live and breath cast iron
omg you put in the soda before you fill tank OMG! what are you doing? you let the hose mix up the soda! you are making this way too hard sir!
I wasn't sure how many gallons are in the tank so that was my way of measuring as I go. I'm hoping to do a electrolysis tank setup 2.0 as soon as I find another battery charger. The next video should be more streamlined into the point.
I hope this was all sarcasm!! Nothing but helpful information found on his Channel thank you sir for all the helpful information
Unfortunately half this clip was taken up with useless informations!
I'm not sure what you mean. Is it just boring or incorrect in some way? This is one of my early videos and I had a lot to learn on how to present information. It has been a learning process along with a lot of really hard work. I'm still learning today.
@Nikki Huffman - What Nikki said!
Why would you have a metal pot as your electrolysis tank? The rust will adhere to that metal.. duh! Use plastic containers and metal rods or plates instead. Oh my god, your tank ain’t gonna work too well... not with that ratio you’re telling people to use. It should be 1 cup to every 10 gallons of water. So basically half of what you mention. It will let your power source operate easier
I put an update at the top of the comments on the ratio. The stainless steel is a breese to clean. All I have to do is go around it one time with a scrubby and I'm good to go again.
"It's Stainless Steel" with the opretive word being "STAINLESS"!!!
Apparently you are ignorant of the fact that this man is speaking of what he has done and what has worked through trial and error and it seems that he has figured out the process that works extremely well as you can see in all his videos how well his methods work but I'm sure YOU CAN SHOW EVERYONE ON YOUR CHANNEL THE RIGHT WAY TO DO SO !!!! ILL BE WAITING FOR THE VIDEO FROM YOU!!! MR.WANT TO BE AN ASSHOLE !!
Dude. I appreciate the info but Get to the point already. This video could have been half as long.
I'm getting better.
@@castIroncookware you're doing fine! The video was not too long and you are not broadcasting news, you're showing people "for free" your hobby and how to produce a nice product one can be proud of when done! i use some of your tips yesterday to clean up a LBL #10 Griswold Griddle! looks really good, hate to see it go! So again, Thanks for all the Videos and the Scriptures at the End!
@@bowe1978 I am gonna keep it going. I'm still learning and improving and will continue sharing as long as I can be helpful. Thank you for the encouragement.